A Love Letter to Your Music
Happy Valentine’s Day! While some of you may be feeling the love this week with roses and chocolates and tacky teddy bears, others of you are blocking out the commercialized, Hallmark holiday and avoiding the subject of love at all costs.
Whether or not you have a human (or pet) love in your life, there is another thing out there that us musicians and artists may need to step up and send some metaphorical roses to….our music.
When was the last time you sat down and reminded yourself of why you chose to pursue a career in music in the first place?
What is it that you ADORE about music?
Why do you want to spend the rest of your life with music?
It’s so easy to lose touch with why you first fell in love with your passion with the noise of social media bombarding you with ideas of what you should or should be doing and feeling. But what better day to remind yourself of the love you have with yourself and your songs than the national day of love?!
Getting really clear about why and what you love about music will help you get back to the most important foundational piece of your business. It will not only reinvigorate and motivate you to keep going, but it will also help clarify what is truly important to you. Was music an escape? Was it a dance party that lifted your spirits? Was it the way music allowed you to feel seen? Was it hearing insane guitar riffs that made you want to master the guitar?
Go back to your first date with music and think about the kryptonite that made you want to go back for a second date.
I have no doubt that you will find new inspiration for your songwriting, and a new found focus and appreciation for what YOU bring to the table. As an audience member, would you prefer to watch an artist who is having the time of their life on stage, or would you rather watch an artist who may have a flawless vocal performance but are clearly not connected to what they are singing?
When you love what you do, people will love what you do too.
Once you’ve explored the love between you and your music, then ask yourself, who else out there will appreciate this kind of love? Not everyone loves the same. Not everyone will be able to feel the connection that you feel with your music and that’s OK. Don’t waste your time trying to reach those people who don’t care or who always point out your flaws.
Find your tribe who speaks your love language.
Maybe you first fell in love with music and songwriting because it was the only way you knew how to communicate your feelings and feel heard. So perhaps an audience you want to pursue are those that have a history of not feeling heard. Maybe they come from a home where it was frowned upon to speak up for yourself or go against the grain. Maybe they were bullied in school and lost the confidence to speak up. Then, you can go find an anti-bullying organization that needs entertainment at their next event and open yourself up to a completely new audience that you already have something in common with….you get the idea? Write down any and all ideas that come to mind!
That is how you build a sustainable career - with fans who have something in common with you, will advocate for you, tell their friends about you and spend their hard earned money on you.
You will find those people once you realize what you truly love about the music YOU make.
Much love,
Sheridan