As artists, we tend to get mad or frustrated sometimes, and that puts a bad light on us that we should avoid at all costs. In addition to that, when this negativity takes over, it can affect our music, and even ourselves. Therefore, here are some things you should avoid at ALL costs as an artist…
4 THOUGHTS FROM ME
1. Stop complaining that labels are against you, or even picking fights with them. I’ve seen producers, and I’ve been guilty of that, feeling neglected by labels or like the labels they are signed to are putting them ‘on the side’ because they have other priorities. First of all, while this could be true, it’s highly unlikely and it’s possibly an excuse for something that you’re not doing correctly. When I had a long-term contract with a label, I thought they were avoiding my songs to ‘keep me tied to the contract’, but, looking back, I wasn’t delivering good music and they were right. Then, I started sending songs to another label and always got rejections, so I thought it was something from that A&R against me, but again, the quality of my music wasn’t there. If you’re feeling this way towards a label, take responsibility and look inside first. More often than not, you’ll learn that there’s nothing against you and it’s just a way for us to cover the big truth… we need to write better music. If you have a relationship with the label, mention how you’re feeling to them, or ask them how you can develop your songs to get them signed again. Or, ask for feedback from your peers and check if it makes sense for the label to act this way with you. After the label or peer feedback, create a game plan to improve what you need to develop. Second, if you and your peers believe the label is truly being unfair, just don’t send songs to that label anymore, and move on. Our time is too limited to hold on to stuff like this and, if you do, you’re just wasting time and energy
2. Stop thinking you’ve won the race, and get back to making and releasing music! Some artists in the industry achieve milestones and think that this is enough for them to keep on living off them forever. For example, they may have one song that does really well according to their standards, and they just keep repeating the formula. However, for you to keep this dream alive, you have to adapt to the trends of your genre and put out more releases that eventually put you back where you were. Therefore, (1) definitely have the time to enjoy what you’ve achieved, but don’t forget that as an artist you need to be a constant hunter for your next song, or you can soon be forgotten by some new kid on the block. (2) Don’t forget to adapt your music along the way, or you can become the oldie who has stopped in time and can’t move on.
3. Stop calling out artists publicly for personal matters. Some artists see undermining other artists as a way to make them bigger or make them ‘stand out’, but that almost always makes you look terrible and hurts how people perceive you. If you have personal matters with an artist, exposing them in public will only show the bad side of you, something I’m sure your friends and fans will not enjoy since that’s not what they want to hear from you. Instead, your fans and friends like you because of your music and your personality, and not because you pick fights with everyone. Therefore, (1) Treat this matter privately as it can avoid this matter becoming an even bigger thing, and this is the kind of publicity that you don’t want. (2) If you have something against someone in the industry, think twice before posting something against that person as posting it publicly can more harm you, more than do you anything good.
4. Treat every artist the same way, regardless if they are smaller or bigger than you. The more you grow as an artist and the more your songs start to achieve better results, it’s really easy for you to forget where you started and start ignoring producer friends that you now consider ‘smaller than you’. I know it happens because even the smallest hint that you’re going up in the career ladder can make you feel this way, but that honestly doesn’t help you in any way. (1) Be polite and talk to anyone as if they were someone you know, and as someone you know, you likely won’t ignore them or be rude to them. If you’re rude to an artist or fan that looks up to you, you most likely will lose them for life. Instead, when you surprise someone who’s not expecting you to answer them by answering them, you can possibly create a superfan, which is the person that will happily share the story of how nice you are and also your music to other people. (2) Respect every artist the same way you would like to be respected. If you’re eventually in a position that will give you a spotlight, that doesn’t give you the right to, for example, play a longer set than it was established as this wouldn’t be correct with the other supporting artists of the night. Remember to treat people and other artists the same way you’d like to be treated.
Disclaimer: You will feel negative at times, and that’s ok. It happens to all of us. (1) Get out of your computer and out of your phone. (2) Go for a walk and let the storm in your go away, then, with a calmer mind, act. When your mind is cloudy or negative, you’ll act cloudy or negative, and that’s something you don’t want for yourself
1 QUESTION FOR YOU
What else should you stop doing right now?
1. Don’t be a troll: Again, being a troll will bring you more harm than anything good, and there’s no need for that. If you’re not involved in a subject, stay out of it.
2. Don’t be a negative person: Music production is already a pretty hard task and no producer needs negativity in their career. I personally stay away from negative people as much as I can, regardless of how much they could help me in my journey… It’s not worth it.
3. Don’t avoid responsibility: Instead, take responsibility for everything that you can. If you receive bad feedback, being a troll will bring you more harm than anything good for example, don’t be mad at the person who took the time to listen to your song, but see how you need to develop to get better
