When we were younger, it wasn’t all about the money or the fame; we just created art because it made us fee alive, we created because our hearts willed it so, and we loved the process of self-discovery, before we ever thought about having to gain the approval of the masses; and that was a beautiful thing, wasn’t it?
Now, all of us creative minds are chasing numbers, obsessing over the Twitter-sphere, the Instagram love, the Facebook likes, the Spotify streams, and more; all of us in search of the validation of our own place among the greats, and in that desire alone, we find ourselves not at all feeling great; in any way at all.
How far we have spiraled away from the divine source of our own pure artistic selves, that part of us that was once innocent and stayed close to the heart; close to home; but that’s the thing about home, you can always find your way back, if you want to.
Yes, we have bills to pay, we have careers that we want to create, and we want to know that we impacted someone’s life in a way that feels meaningful; and all these things are real points of stress; but they have become the very things that we are now living for, made even worse by this bloated digital age of purchased greatness and perpetually toxic ideas, like the fact that we can all be celebrities; well, we can’t, simple as that.
If the idea that you might not become a rich celebrity bothers you, then I am talking directly to you, because you are in the matrix, and it’s time for you to unplug from the machine of dreams.
It is time for you to come back home.
What I am trying to make clear is that music promotion has become less about the music standing on its own, and more about the artists ability to play the algorithm game well.
A like for a like has become the mantra sung by far too many artists, and this disingenuous act has left authentic artists buried deep underneath a pile of false fans and media parasites.
There are far too many artists screaming “LOOK AT ME!” considerably louder than the vocals in the music they have made for us all to hear; and it is a deafening roar of desperation; to say the least.
You might not become a celebrity, and chances are, you won’t become one.
This is not meant to crush your dreams, but instead, meant to free you as an artist. It is the reverse-psychology needed to rise above the average and shine with the best of them, because it demands that you stop chasing greatness like it lay somewhere in the far distance, and cleanse the toxic idea that all you need is millions in the bank and sold out venues to earn your rightful place on this planet, among all these stars.
I need you to focus on the art that you create, without worrying about the outcome.
I need you to create music with the door closed, until your inner-self tells you to open that door, and then release this incredible finished work to the waiting world.
I need you to stop worrying about being great; because you already are.
Even as I write this, there is a disturbing sense that no one will ever read these words, and my mind wants to formulate a way to make sure that doesn’t happen; because I have been trained to need your love in-order to be relevant. We can all thank the internet and social media for heightening our own fears of being excluded from humanity, and preventing all of us Artists from ever being good enough (we are, but that’s how it can feel).
It is a terrible sickness to constantly chase the adoration of others, all the while their greatness is being shoved in your face, on a daily-basis, no less.
This is the cold state of the system that we have learned to live within, and for an artist, simply put, it sucks.
I am not trying to complain about it all (or am I?) but I want to see an authentic-analog revolution in the music scene. I want to see more artists focusing more on strengthening their music community, than just trying to build their own bank accounts. I want to see more than just the celebrities getting their posts likes and shared, because we think they are the ones worth making the time for; I want to see indie musicians helping-out indie musicians, far more than they are right now.
Is this too much to ask? I certainly hope not.
You are not expected to help promote every artist of every genre, but you should be more than willing to shed some light on some of the indie music you find that you feel should be heard; trust me, the music celebrities won’t mind you sharing the love.
We get it, your music is the best, but that shouldn’t stop you from supporting those below you, right?
You see, your own successful music promotion is not always about promoting yourself, many times, your true success will be by-product of you promoting someone else; and this is how so many musicians find great success; by sharing the music scene, and strengthening it in the process.
To understand this concept fully, you must open your mind up to human’s natural desire to even the playing field; their innate, and unavoidable need to pay someone back for their good deeds.
You see, if you take the time to help someone else succeed, they will take the time to help you succeed as well. It is so simple to see how this giving self-promotion works that I can’t believe that I feel the need to even write it down.
So, where is this home that I speak of?
Home is the world, and all the people that you share this beautifully-strange planet with. It is the place that is governed by the idea that strangers can become friends, and those friends can learn to help each other succeed together; even across the farthest of distances. Home is the idea that we want everyone to live their best life, and for them to achieve their truest dreams, and we want to help them along that incredible journey.
Being an artist today doesn’t have to suck; but it is going to take a revolution of our own promotional minds to fix the digital and solitary paths most of us have chosen.
We will need to learn to share the attention, and welcome the inspiration that springs forth from the act of doing so. We will need to authentically start to care about other musicians in-order for them and their fans to care about you.
In business, we don’t want to share the success, even though there is more than enough to go around; and sadly, artists have been adopting this cold, dog-eat-dog approach to their own artistic endeavors, and this has left many great artists stranded alone on an island that no one wants to acknowledge; the island of obscurity.
It is time that we start spreading the word around the world, and around the music industry, that indie artists care about other indie artists; and that we are all in this together.
Vote for a better music scene with your likes, your shares, your purchasing of merchandise and music, by coming to their shows, and by choosing to be mindful of the importance of helping someone else succeed while in the process of building up your own Music Empire.
It is not about chasing fame and celebrity, because that road inevitably leads to regret.
It is about you; you the artist, you the person with a heart that wants to speak, and you the artist that doesn’t just look out for themselves alone.
If you want to succeed in promoting your music (or anything really), then I suggest that you start by helping others succeed first.
This is the law of the land, it is also how best to enjoy your time as an artist in today’s misguided music scene.
These may just be my thoughts, but I think I might be on to something here, and I hope that you agree.
Why pay for music promotion when you can learn to promote yourself?
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