An Interview with a Student

I teach music, part-time, at a secondary school in the UK. I work predominantly with 16-18 year olds. For reasons of teaching professionalism and safeguarding, I don't tell my students about OSC specifically, however I do explain to them that I operate a musical pseudonym for my personal creative outlet, and talk to them about some aspects of my commission work; co-writing/producing, video-game soundtracks, background music for YouTubers, and so on (always with a degree of non-specificity, so that they can't go digging online to figure out what my musical pseudonym is).

One discerning student is undertaking a research project about careers in music, and how they (the student) can best approach working as a freelance musician in the coming years. As part of this research they interviewed several musicians, including me, about the work they do and how they got into it.

They asked me to take off my teacher hat, and speak as I would, were I being interviewed for a podcast or article. Their questions were thoughtful and in some instances, thought provoking, and so I thought I'd share a transcript of my answers here on my blog, in case any musicians similar to me, perhaps in an earlier stage of their careers might find it helpful and/or interesting.

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Question 1: How did you get a start in this industry?

"I don’t believe that many people “start” as such, in the music industry. It’s more a matter of gradually becoming absorbed into the music industry (or more precisely, one of its many niches). In my teens, and later at university, I would be in bands (as a keyboardist). Some bands would specifically play cover-songs, perform in pubs and small clubs, and do function-band work (corporate parties, weddings, etc). Some other bands I worked with would write their own music, and we would gig original material at bars, pubs, and rock-music clubs, in the hope of growing our local fan-base and maybe get the attention of some sort of management and/or record-label affiliates (this was pre-social-media, so we were still doing things the old fashioned way; literally getting out there and performing on stages and growing a reputation verbally amongst youngsters the same age as us).

"Was that working in the music industry though…? It’s hard to say for sure. In some ways, I don’t consider that as working in the industry, as we weren’t making much money, and we were more interested in just getting out there, playing live, and getting experience. However, whether it was "working in the music industry" or not, it was generally a positive thing and helped set me up for some of what was to come later in my career.

"Through doing this sort of thing on a very regular basis (several gigs a week), I honed my skills, developed my musical ear, made important musically-collaborative friendships, got to know some worthwhile people in management and A&R, and also learned some pitfalls such as who’s not to be trusted, what to looks out for as potential scams, etc.

"Due to twists and turns in my personal life, namely having a child in my mid 20s, my musician lifestyle was no longer conducive to a stable income or the rigours of raising a family, so I side-stepped into music-education, as teaching offered more employment stability.

"I still wanted to keep a toe in the water (so to speak) with music creation, and returned to my earlier-years' approach of using music technology to create ensemble productions, by myself (at home, in the evenings after work, once my son was put to bed). I would start posting my musical creations online in places such as SoundCloud and YouTube, and began using social media as a means of networking.

"During this time, I would seek out people doing similar things (musically) to me, by searching the appropriate genre hashtags on Twitter, Facebook, SoundCloud, etc. If I liked their music, I’d start interacting with them, and over time, through interacting with like-minded musicians, engaging with their posts, and so on, I found my listener-base had started to grow into something more meaningful. Over time, after regularly releasing music and networking on social media in this manner, I eventually found myself with a meaningful fan-base of several thousand people, as well as several independent record labels who wished to work with me and release my music on physical media such as vinyl, CD, and cassette. I also started to be contacted by people who wanted to commission me to work on things such as co-producing, collaborations, video-game soundtracks, background music for YouTube videos and Twitch streams, background music for television, and short, independent movies, writing articles for Music Radar magazine, and more.

"As my music catalogue and fan-base grew, I taught myself how to better manage the logistical side of what I was doing, namely maintaining multiple social media accounts, a website, a mailing-list, merchandise, managing my accounts, completing tax-returns, and much more.

"To return to my initial point, I didn’t necessarily start out in the music industry, but rather, I just started making music, posting it online, and talking to people about it. Over time, the online music scene for my genre(s) cultivated me into something that a niche group of people wanted to hear more of, and most importantly, were willing to spend money on. This in turn forced me to get get a grip of the "industry" or "business" side of working as a freelance composer/producer. My initial approach was definitely to do music first, and the business side of things were firmly an afterthought once some money started to be generated. This made things difficult at times, and if I did it again, I'd definitely give more thought, research and preparation to the "industry" or "business" side of things earlier on in my development."

Question 2: What is the most important thing you've learnt in your career?

"So far… I think the most important thing I’ve learned is to only focus on what I can control, and not compare or compete against other people doing similar sorts of things. The last few years have been a minefield of problematic hurdles for musicians. Between Covid leading to venue closures, recessions leading to a decline in physical merchandise sales, the ever-changing algorithm trends on streaming platforms, and streaming platforms ever-shrinking royalty rates, AI music, AI bots on social media recycling clickbait that’s impossible to compete with due to the sheer quantity of it, and so on… These are all things that make the life of an independent musician very challenging. Moreover, they are beyond the control of any one individual, and so rather than complain about it, fight it, or try the impossible task of competing against it, I’ve learned to just let go and not think or worry about any of it.

"I focus on trying to make the best, most enjoyable, and most relatable music that I believe my audiences (and/or commission clients) would want to hear. I focus on the positive messaging that I can put out on my social media accounts and directly into my fans’ inboxes via my mailing list, and essentially step back from everything else. The churn of the social-media-grind is a bit too hectic for my tastes, and I’ve learned to just ignore it.

Perhaps going-hard on trying to have things blow-up and go viral online might pay dividends, but I’m doubtful. I’ve made my peace with the fact that I’m not attaining the big-money, rockstar lifestyle, or reaching the giddy heights of success, fame and wealth that the large YouTube channels achieve. Artistically, I’m very fulfilled, and that in itself brings me a great deal of inner peace and solace."

Question 3: What is your favourite part of the production process?

"As far as I’m aware… I love cooking up new ideas at the piano, the guitar, the bass guitar, a synthesiser, or within Logic Pro. Once the idea is formed, the subsequent hours of recording, editing and mixing are actually somewhat vague as I rarely remember them in any detail. I just sort of lock-in and get on with it... Not much conscious thought, no distractions, just musical sculpting.

"I guess I tend to zone-out and not think about anything much whilst creating. I definitely work in what some people refer to as a flow-state; the consciousness is largely disengaged, and I’m just functioning on instinctive autopilot. It’s a bit like therapy or meditation in that regard, I guess. I don’t remember much about that stage of the creative process, but I always feel buoyed up and refreshed afterwards.

"It's a bit like going to the gym, actually. You know you went. You know you felt positive afterwards, but you don't really remember much about the specifics of your workout routine.

"Once the work is finished, the sense of accomplishment is a great feeling. So, I like the start, and the end of the creative process the best, I guess. Something happens in between that I think I enjoy, but I can’t say for sure, as I’m rarely consciously paying attention to any active thought processes at that time."

Question 4: How do you balance technical precision with creativity?

"Brilliant question! The struggle is real when it comes to precision and creativity. Corrective editing in music is rife, across all genres from cutting edge electronic music, through pop, rock, RnB, funk, soul, and even classical music. What makes a human performance humane are all the “imperfections”; the ebbs and flow in timing, expression, dynamics, etc. Even the most accomplished players/singers, when mapped to digital grids in music production software will be inaccurate (to small degrees). However, when I record, and see the sound-wave transients or MIDI notes not perfectly aligning with the grid, the temptation to utilise the technology to quantise and “correct” my “mistakes” is a very strong one.

"It’s genre-specific though. If I’m making Synthwave music, the entire aesthetic is centred around electronic, digital-precision, and so quantising is par for the course. It’s a genre not concerned with virtuosic performances, but rather capturing an emotion evocative of the dawn of the digital age, and so I have no qualms using digital processes such as quantisation.

"I force myself to resist the urge to “fix” the more humane aspects of my music when working in other genres. If everyone quantised all of their music, all the time, where would the fun be in listening to it?

"Further to this, the pursuit of perfection can plague the editing and mixing process in a production, and you have to learn when to let go, compromise and settle for things being plenty adequate, and moving on to the next project. I know people who procrastinate and worry greatly about how good or bad they think their music sounds. They will spend forever tweaking and adjusting things, and put off ever releasing it or moving on to creating something new. To what end is there any good in doing this? Will the audience know the difference, or even care? Just release it already!

"I’ve learned to work quite quickly, and like to remind myself that if it sounds good, it is good. My creative philosophy is to accept that how something sounds is a reflection of my mood and headspace at the time of creation.

"For example, if I make a piece of music on Tuesday, that piece of music will reflect where my head’s at on that Tuesday, and I’m comfortable with sharing that online, even if it’s not entirely "perfect" in the eyes/ears of others. This modus operandi isn’t for everyone, which I understand. However, I have high standards and always work to these standards, and so I can release music safely in the knowledge that even if something I make is a little rough around the edges (by my standards), it’s most likely still a strong and good quality production, in the grand scheme of things.

"Moreover, relating back to my previous point about only focusing on what you can control… I can control how good my music sounds, and I can control when I decide it’s ready to be considered finished. That control is empowering and I prefer to exercise this control, as opposed to getting stagnated in procrastination"

Question 5: What is your biggest challenge as a music producer?

"I think my biggest challenge is simply finding new audiences and potential, or new clients for commission work. Whilst I’ve managed to accumulate an engaged, positive and meaningful audience (and client base) over the last decade, it’s still very modest in size, and whilst it is always growing, it does so very slowly. Currently my streaming revenues and freelance work is by no means a financially-viable full-time occupation. To make my freelance commissions and streaming revenues a full-time occupation would require an increase of four or five times the amount of monthly streams I currently receive, as well as at least a doubling in my commissioned work (annually). You’d be surprised at how challenging such an increase can actually be."

Question 6: What advice would you give someone who is starting in music production?

"Be a jack of all trades!

"Forget the saying “jack of all trades, master of none”, and all the negative connotations that brings. That old saying has been misquoted and removed from its original meaning which was: “It’s better to be a jack of all trades, than a master of one”. Most of humanity’s greatest artists and engineering innovators were multi-skilled individuals, not singular virtuosos. You don’t need to be a virtuoso musician to be a great or successful musician.

"Music is about human connections, reaching people emotionally with melodies, harmonies, rhythms, tone and lyricism. Musicians are storytellers working in the abstract. Conveying a musical story is more important than being able to play an instrument to a world-beating level (leave that to all the child-prodigies on Instagram and TikTok).

"In order to best empower yourself to be as creative as you can be, and to elevate yourself to a position whereby you can convey your creations to the world online and/or in person, I would recommend the following:

• Get adequately sufficient on more than one instrument (I consider singing as an instrument, so if you sing, learn an instrument, and if you play an instrument but want to sing, learn to sing!)

• Play and compose music as much as you can - force yourself if you have to! Make composition part of your daily routine - creativity and inspiration is a habit that is to be exercised

• Collaborate regularly with other like minded musicians, as well as those from very different musical backgrounds

• Learn a little bit (doesn't have to be a lot, just the basics) about music production software, filming and video-editing software, photography and image editing software - This will empower you to get more out of your ideas (and give you new ideas and inspiration)

• Learn a little bit about marketing, branding, and how to best present yourself coherently and consistently across multiple online platforms

• Figure out how to write/talk positively about your work and artistic vision, without seeming pretentious or arrogant

• Get used to networking, in person and online

• Perform live on stage, at least semi-regularly (both for your musical discipline, and for your audiences' enjoyment)

• Learn how to manage a spreadsheet and keep accounts of all the income, costs and expenditure of your musical ventures - it’s a chore at first, but it gets easier and it's very helpful in the long-run

• Get organised! Use a diary/calendar and log everything in it, thus planning your time effectively. Go as far as setting annual reminders for the anniversaries of music you released (this prompts you to reflect on how far you’ve come, and it serves as a reminder to drive internet traffic to older content with “#ThrowBackThursday” and “#OnThisDay” style social media posts)

• Be gracious, courteous, kind and humble. I’ve had numerous, well-paying opportunities arise from people who happened to have interacted with me several years prior, and remembered me, because I took the time to understand and thoughtfully reply to their messages (as opposed to giving a very generic, noncommittal reply, or worse, ghosting them and not replying at all)

• Make your own luck by taking every opportunity possible to collaborate, meet and greet people, both in person and online. This way you're more likely to find yourself in the right place at the right time, for a possible career changing opportunity

• Be patient. The overnight, viral successes we often see/hear about online are the exceptions, not the norm. The normal thing is to grow gradually and steadily, over many years, ever-improving, learning and maturing until you reach an apex whereby you have the confidence, mastery of your craft, and logistical framework with which to maximise your music’s potential to earn an income.

• Remember that you never stop learning and always keep an open mind to new ideas, trends, technologies, creative-philosophies, musical concepts, creative evolutions, and so on. Being a musician is as much a lifestyle choice as it is a profession."