I have two main problems with my music career.
1) I spend too much time learning and not enough time doing.
2) A very real lack of time and money to try new things due to other obligations. (Yes, I AM a full-time musician but a large portion of my work is producing music for third parties that does not really further my career)
There's not much I can do about the latter at the moment, but it's time to make a change to the former!
I've read a lot, listened to audiobooks and podcasts and I know much about goal-setting, social networking, positive mental attitudes and everything else it takes to make it big in the music industry. What I've been lacking is what I like to call “the big boot” – the “kick in the backside” to inspire me to take action on all I've learnt.
Today I noticed a tweet from Ariel Hyatt (who's work I was already very familiar with) about the “Music Success in Nine Weeks Blog Challenge 2.0” – this is exactly what I need, a challenge to help me feel like there's somebody watching over my shoulder. It can be a lonely life as a musician, never really knowing if there's anybody listening to you. So the prospect of a prize and Ariel's team watching my every move should hopefully be enough to get rid of any procrastination with the fear of that “big boot” about to make it's impact on my derriere!
The plan is that I read Ariel's book, take action on what I learn and blog about it here. Sounds simple doesn't it? The question is – can I keep it up for the full 9 weeks?
Of course, it may take longer to see a real effect on my career but it will be interesting to see if anything does change within these few weeks. So, for a point of reference – Where am I now?
I'm lucky enough to be making music as a full-time occupation but most of this is library cover versions. I hear my voice in many public places, but nobody ever knows it's me and I've already been paid for the work. I love having this as a job and it's my bread and butter income – let's face it, the majority of musicians have another job and I'd much rather be doing this than some other soul-defeating labour.
As for Jesta – the name I've been recording under for many years now – the plan is to have a project that involves me making the music I really want to make and hopefully at some point make this my main income earner. I've not been performing live much for a few years and want to get back into that, as well as finding the time to write new music and record the many songs I've got sitting around.
There have been times when Jesta has picked up momentum – usually when some podcasters have played a song on their shows. The problem is I leave it too long to act much on it – to keep the momentum going. I need a plan, a big boot, a challenge. Maybe this will do it for me…
Recent Comments