What style?
While focusing on the content of the art itself is the most important, if you want to be successful in the world of music (and any creative endeavour, really), you need to be mindful of the real world of business, and marketing. Luckily my ‘real’ job has taught me a lot, and furthermore, there’s the interwebs as a magical resource to help you out.
I have a number of musical interests. For one, I have really loved getting into singing and learning how to use my instrument over the last many years. It is such a powerful medium of expression, and scary as shit when it comes to being vulnerable and exposed. There really is no hiding; you’re putting it all out there in the moment.
I have always had a tumultuous relationship with performing, going way back in the day to my earliest piano recitals. That moment of performance can just be so nerve wracking, and it’s something that takes great practise. In certain settings - like a public speaking engagement in my corporate life - I almost thrive on it, and get a high off the challenge to connect with your audience. In the musical context when you’re working of a highly scripted result that you’re looking to achieve, there is a lot more on the line in terms of accuracy and delivery. It is one I have not yet mastered, nor been well practised at.
When I consider where I could take myself in terms of pursuing a more professional musical livelihood, I am uncertain. While everyone loves a bit of positive recognition, connected to the paragraph above, I don’t know that seeking the spotlight is what I’m after. In fact, I’m not convinced I don’t have an outright fear of it. From that perspective, developing my skills into more of an arms-length artist, building passive income from online streaming and other avenues, has some attraction. But back to where we started this conversation around marketing and business, part of the equation comes down to finding an audience. Who might be that audience? And what avenue of my musical interests would that be connecting with?
So let’s give it a go, and perhaps you can help me with that. Below are a few different musical examples of things I’ve drafted. One is a self-written and arranged song. Another is an original piece of electronic music. And the third is a cover song.
Whilst the first and the third are similar in that they both involve me singing, which one(s) would you be interested in hearing more of?