Hip-hop production tutorials, news, review, marketing and ideas.

Right before the holiday period, I was sent this book by music entrepreneur Derek Sivers,to read and blog on how it could apply or not to my situation (producer/composer/songwriter).

Well damn it, it helped. Anybody who works in any creative field, painting, music, film, photo… always get these endless thoughts and questions. Is this good enough?, will I be able to live of my art one day?, quit my day job?, should I do more ‘commercial’ work?…. I have these questions constantly. MacLeod doesn’t tell you what to do nor does he have the solution to everything. He gives out his opinion an backs it up with examples that you can relate to.

Nobody can tell you if what you’re doing is good, meaningful or worthwhile. The more compelling the path the more lonely it is.[...]when you finally come up with The Big Idea, after years of toil struggle, and doubt, how do you know werger or not it is “The One”? Answer you don’t

This sentence resonated through my head. How would I know. I won’t know. And truthfully I will never know if I don’t get these songs out. The problem I have is that I tend to keep the songs  and rework them until they are ‘good enough’ and often over produced and dull. The spark in it that started these songs is tamed and polished. Passage like this opened my eyes. It is facts that I know but easily forget. It’s like satying motivated 24/7. Some days you have to be unmotivated to appreciate all the other ones.

To be able to read someone past experiences lets you think about yours in a different way. “Is it just me or……” No it’s not only you! Often I watch in-studio footage  to get me started on slow days.  A good example is Ryan Leslie’s videos:

Being good at anything is like figure skating. The definition of being good at it, is being able to make it look easy. But it never is easy. Never

Beside the obvious editing, my guess is his sessions are not always like this one. If they are, well great for him but the amount work put in before has to be huge! How come its easy for him to do this? He worked on his craft for a long time and he is focused. That the stage all artists need to get at. The overnight success is rare and popularized by the medias. Instead of idolizing others, I should lace the boots, fire the pc and get to work. Get my craft together. Tighter. Get those piano lessons I have been meaning to take for the last 2 years. Get the blog pumped up, send some MORE songs to artists. I intend to do it. Its often the same producers that are on top (Timbaland, Neptunes, Swizz Beats…) THEY PUT IN THE WORK.

90% of what separates successful people and failed people is time, effort and stamina.

The book is full of insightful sentences. I feed off of that. There is way to many to list them all. Check Derek’s list of the chapters and his notes on them.

Two other great sentences that earned a “take a minute and ponder” look from me were:

Stay ahead of the culture by creating the culture

Good ideas alter the power balance in relationship. That is why good ideas are always initially resisted

These two go hand in hand. I am guilty of sometime resisting a new trend, new ways, new fashions. But in the end, I think anything worthwhile will stay. We are constantly hit with new trends that are just fads. They are pretty easy to identify but are in such a large number that when a real great idea comes along I tend to be reluctant. I need to change that. I got to stop being slow and overwork everything. We all make mistakes. Learn and move on.

A fancy tool just gives the second-rater one more pillar to hide behind. Which is why there are so many second-rate art directors with state-of-the-art Macintosh computers.

(Lol How many times have you been to a studio with a sick layout, the latest Pro Tools rig and 153 different mics. Yet the music sounds like a dying donkey…. well not really but you get my point)

It is kind of comforting to hear someone put in words the questions that haunted me at times. It helped me to get a different view on situation I live. If anything, it pumps me more when I read it. I have to channel that energy and make something concrete out of it.

In the end, you are responsible for what happens to you. It might take a long time but it will happen. And probably not for where you thought it would! Keep your eyes open for opportunities. Make the most out of them. Push the boundaries and be great, No less.

You don’t know if your idea is any good the moment it’s created. Neither does anyone else. The most you can hope for is a strong gut feeling that it is. And trusting your feeling is not as easy as the optimists say it is.

I read the book and relate to it. Now what?

Be effective

Get to work

Network

Stay open to new ideas

Do music everyday(even if nothing comes out)

Find ways to lay down ideas on the fly, because creativity never strikes at the right time

Stop making excuses and get on with it. Time waits for no one

The best way to get approval is not to need it

DO YOU

and I will do me!