Where To Put Your Focus
Major music industry players are rattled with angst over streaming numbers, Spotify payouts, label contracts, social media promotion and absorbing as much attention as possible on the internet. However, I am not.
It’s not that I don’t care, but the attention economy and shifting industry infrastructure are not my areas of concern. My philosophy has always been it all starts with a song. Before you can jump into the world of promotion, you need to have a great product. My focus has always been the song itself.
I believe that without a hit song you cannot have a seat at the proverbial table. While executives are worried about the end game, I’m worried about the first move. How can a writer shape a lyric? How can they tell their story? How do they develop compelling songcraft? My purpose is to make sure that songwriters have the tools and education they need in order to develop their craft and themselves.
Artists and songwriters used to have a definitive path to success: get signed by a label or publisher and get launched into the stratosphere. With the advent of the internet, those traditional gatekeepers have been sidelined. Anyone can release music regardless of its caliber. Mediocre songs have flooded the online space, but talent still wins out. Creating incredible songs is a good way for artists and songwriters to stand out.
Specialized professions require hard work, higher education, attendance of workshops, and lots of intention. Doctors, architects, and pilots all need the time, space and tools to gain footing in their respective careers.
The same is true for songwriters. They must put in the time and energy to be unique, to be able to share their perspective in a story that is a few minutes long and 200 words. And, they must be able to perform this feat over and over again. Songwriting is not a career for the faint of heart. It takes soul searching, dedication, the knowledge of how to collaborate and a gritty attitude that will breed the uniqueness needed to stand out amongst all the others out there.
How much time and energy you put into your development will directly correlate with your success. So, you need to ask yourself, “how much of myself am I willing to put into my dream?”
