It’s almost 2017! Can you believe it? We still can’t. However, we have to let this sink in soon because another year requires another you.
A completely new you. Now this is not just some motivational thingie, it’s actually scientific. If you see milestone events such as birthday, anniversary, a new baby, a new house, a new pair of shoes as a chance to improve yourself, then why not a new year? Constant self-checking and self-improvement is after all very essential for success.
For our artist friends, here are some life-altering resolutions that we think could really boost your career this 2017.
Table of Contents
LEVEL UP ON SELF-PROMOTION
Online, offline, in the other dimension…make sure you get everything covered!
First, Google your name or band and make sure you get rid of the ones that’s not helping your branding, and boost the sites that show your skills (own website, IMDB, Vimeo, Youtube, Flickr, Linkedin, etc).
Next, start sending e-mails. You would not believe how many people get sales and good connections just by approaching people through email. Many businesses start that way and we don’t see why you should not start promoting yourself this way even if you’re an artist.
Lastly, don’t forget the physical stuff- cool business card, posters for your shows, creative cd packaging for your demo reel, colored vinyl. This will set you part from those who put all their eggs online.
SEPARATE WORK AND PLAY
They say if you love your job, it’s as if you don’t work a single day in your life.
That’s utter BS. Most of us get over the romance and do the work. Even if you love painting or making music, you still have to get up during the most uninspiring days to do your work.
It’s highly important that you separate work and play so that play would be more fun and work would be more efficient. The best poems are written without interruption from Facebook and Whatsapp; The best leisure time is when you’re not multitasking.
How to do this? Stick to a schedule or use leisure as rewards. Reward yourself with 15 minutes of fun every two hours of work, for example.
You can also work all day and play all night. See which works best for you and stick to your plan.
CHOOSE COLLABORATORS WISELY
You’ve been through a lot of partnerships that do not go well.
It’s either they get lazy, get bossy, get too much money, or get all the credit. But you’re still hopeful. Every person is different after all.
But how do you prevent bad collaborations from happening again? Here are some suggestions: 1. Do a background check; 2. Draft a contract; 3. Call them out the moment they start doing any of the ones mentioned above.
DON’T LET A WEEK PASS WITHOUT DOING YOUR CRAFT
Sometimes, we get too focused on the romantic aspect of being an artist that we start to feel like we’re achieving something even if we’re not.
One example is a struggling writer who likes the feeling of being a struggling writer with a small pay check who drinks every night for inspiration.
He’d rather marinate in the feeling of “I’m a struggling writer” but doesn’t make any output. You say you have a day job while you do your art but if you’re not doing your art, then you simply have a boring job.
Time is precious. Do more.
DON’T BE LAZY ON SUBMISSIONS
This year, make it a point to send your stuff to people. Do it! There are so many festivals, so many concerts, so many contests, so many events.
Set one whole day to make a list of the most important deadlines for this year and make sure you send all of them. There are so many reminder apps that you simply have no excuse not to send on time.
This could potentially put your career to new heights. Remember that famous quote by Woody Allen…80% of success is showing up? That’s very true.
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James Hill is a veteran of the music industry. He first worked at Warner Reprise Records then later joined Interscope/ Geffen Records where he managed producers and songwriters and got his first platinum record for Keyshia Cole’s The Way It Is. He is now helping indie artists with branding and manufacturing through his company Unified Manufacturing, a CD/DVD, custom vinyl records and merch company in LA.
