Life of a Creative -Getting out of your own way.
To dedicate your life in the creative landscape is both a gift and a curse. It’s a romantic tale of freedom and individuality away from the constraints of the normal workplace environment. This fantasy however, does not just occur magically one day as if it’s a modern-day fairy tale. More than likely, you will live, at least temporarily, in the restricted and unimaginative world, that is your job. Each hour that goes by, you're watching the clock, waiting for this work day to end, so you can begin a new one immediately after. This job, is the one you want. The one where passion lies. The one you want to wake up to every day doing without the interruption of a 9-5.
This is the curse. You have a passion and a dream, and only so many hours in the day to try and achieve those dreams. It becomes more and more frustrating when days quickly turn to months and years, and you begin to question the reality of reaching that dream. The thought of not being able to create is like living life without the ability to breathe, and most jobs are built to suffocate those thoughts until they no longer exist. The honest truth is, most will not succeed in the music business. The rate of success is so low, if you stop to actually think about your decision to make this your future, thoughts of craziness followed by self-doubt will slowly enter your mind.
The biggest mistake I continue to see artists/creatives make is getting in their own way. Discipline is imperative to any craft and is a necessary evil in weeding out those that want that fairy tale ending without putting in the work to achieve it. It's easy to use the studio as a mental escape from the soulless cubicle cage you just left from, but it's also just as easy to forget the studio is a job. Being a creative person is fun. You create art out of thin air. It's fun to make a beat. It's fun to write a dope rhyme. It's not fun to finish the beat. Or maybe mix it. Or revisit it the next day and actually have to put real work into tracking it out. Having a rhyme book full of written words appears to be a productive use of your time. But recording over and over those exact bars until you get it right, just to find out it's not the one, is not fun at all. I know you want to perform on stage, every artist does. But how many days have you spent rehearsing. Is your set, show ready, or did you just hand a flash drive or cell phone to the DJ and expect that fairy tale ending.
This is where the fork in the road occurs and I see too many artists take the easy way out. Move onto the next fun thing without doing the hard part. The most common response to this when asked, is always, “It's not ready yet”, or “I'm trying to make it perfect”. The truth is, it will never be perfect. Perfection does not exist. It's an excuse for insecurity. The right time does not exist. I'm sure a large number of people reading this has a laptop and/or hard drive full of “not ready yet” pieces of music or art. I am completely guilty of this. Years ago, I produced a solid product, unique business plan, and money invested. Somehow, I couldn't let it go. To this day, insecurity is the only logical reason for that, especially if you're creating something completely unique and there is no reference for what it is, just strangers' opinions.
Once you immerse yourself fully into the art, mentally it's never ready. Insecurity kicks in. Music has an expiration date. Styles change, your audience grows up and matures, sonically those records will eventually sound dated. Studio perfectionists will keep re-producing great work until it's not so great anymore. Getting out of your own way. Chris Lighty, legendary executive, RIP, tells a great story of having to go to Q-TIP, and literally ripping the album out of his hands because he would forever be reworking it, searching for the holy grail of perfection. Had he not done that, we would never have “Low End Theory” album to enjoy and pass on to the next generation of hip hop fans. The other obvious example is Dr. Dre and the mythical beast that is Detox. For him, it's never good enough. I'm sure thoughts and pressure behind the idea of it not living up to past classic material, is always lurking deep in the subconscious. But in the end, the ones that suffer are the fans, that just want to hear good music.
Platforms such as FusionandCo, I feel are absolutely essential in educating artists about the industry as a whole and preparing them to enter this crazy world that is the music business. However, all the training and preparation on earth cannot overcome the simple mistake of getting in your own way. It’s the never-ending argument over art vs commerce or even left-brain vs right-brain. Every now and again, I think everyone should stop and look in the mirror and ask themselves. Is this a hobby, a fun escape from my everyday reality, or is this going to be a viable revenue generating operation. The only wrong answer is not being honest with yourself.
Until next time... ~ ScottyJewlz ~