I remember working with a friend of mine on one of our joint ventures: creating and hosting events. We would assign ourselves tasks that each of us had to handle – no questions asked. We worked well together but I often annoyed him, worrying about work that had not been assigned to me – worrying about his work. He came up with a brilliant idea that we should work on the basis of a “separation of concerns”.  This means to be concerned only with what you have on your plate. This phrase has stuck with me throughout my career – also helping me be part of goal-driven teams. It has helped shape an effective work ethic which often robs me of all my sleep, but I am glad that I worked with him because it helped me understand and challenge myself to establish a balanced view of the entertainment industry: the creative and the business.

And so on this here conversation, I am hoping we can talk about how the artist can expand themselves far beyond creating music (or whatever the product may be), that an artist can create a self-sustained career by entertaining the idea that business matters more than talent. Here we are looking at how collaborative work allows us to work on the basis of a separation of concerns – provided the team has an aligned vision. Here let’s talk about how we can use immediate resources to help drive our careers.

The entertainment industry is evolving fast, I am sure the covid-19 pandemic has made this more fact than before. It’s becoming difficult for artist to focus on the art, more often we find ourselves having to alternate between different job descriptions – most of which we aren’t even qualified for.

It’s wild.

All the while evolving, the industry has become quite receptive of new artists – young musicians are breaking into the scene by any means necessary and it’s a beautiful thing to see. This means that it’s also the perfect time to really think about how you want to establish yourself, to say what kind of artist you are. This needs an active personality because essentially, part of being a creator is creating opportunities for your work – to give yourself the best possible chance to succeed.

At the very basic, it helps to have a team, people who you can share your ideas with and maybe even align with theirs and move the work collaboratively. Your team can help setup shoots, images which help build our social media identities. Working in a team allows each person to focus on particular tasks – you are able to stretch yourself further. So the musician will record music, the photographer (or that person with a nice phone) takes and edits pictures, another handles social media posts, etc. A team is an opportunity.

Learning is another wild factor. If you’re going to dive into a particular industry, it helps to learn the trade. Imagine applying for a job you have no concept of, no one is going to hire you. The same goes with the music industry – if you don’t learn about licensing your music, different record and distribution companies, how the radio and television platforms work, you won’t get hired. The lockdown has given us ample time – the internet is vast with information (I love YouTube videos because I’m a visual person) and you can literally find information that easily. It empowers you as an upcoming artist, it gives you the intellect which gets you a seat at the table – go for it.

Lastly, practice makes perfect. Practice your music, you’re at a better advantage if your product is actually impressive. Practice being the artist you want to succeed and everything else will take care of itself.

Alas, happy music making – be sure to share some of your experiences on the comments, looking forward to hearing from you!