Be Positive

The key to living a beautiful life and having success in this business or any other is understanding the concept of mind over matter. As creative people we are always tasked with stepping outside of our creative space to focus on the dreaded business or financial. Most of us choose to ignore it or just lie to ourselves about it, therefor we end up wasting our talents by being underpaid and never realizing the full potential of our gifts. It's as if we see doing business in a negative light so we continue to defer those responsibilities to others with no results on our behalf. It's important to ALWAYS be positive and see the glass as half full and never half empty. Remember that this is a business and if we are going to make enough money to support ourselves and others then we have to be as inspired to handle business as we are when it comes to creating art. No more complaining or beating yourself up. You truly are what you think you are so there is no room for negative words, actions, thoughts or relationships. Having this attitude will inspire you to move forward in truly turning your creative gift into a valuable commodity for the buying public. If we know that playing clubs doesn't pay enough, then don't complain or be negative about it and never settle. There are several ways to increase your income that don't involve you getting a job outside of your field. You just have to look at it from a creative point of view. Write down your skill sets and place value to them other than just playing gigs. Whether it's teaching private lessons, consulting or developing a program that is unique to who you are and what you do. Just be positive and creative about it. I mean if you spend eight hours a day punching a clock to be underpaid, what else can you do to build your own creative, financially successful business in that same eight hours a day? Think about the amount of energy we expend in getting booked in clubs. Now what if we expended the same energy in developing alternate incomes streams that are derived from our creative skills. My friends it is possible! Just stay positive and enjoy the journey.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2012

Passing Judgement

The one thing that will never change about this business is opinions and EVERYONE has one. What we have to be careful about is passing judgement. We all have likes and dislikes as industry people and yet another set of likes and dislikes as artists and musicians. Any healthy or constructive criticism is always welcomed and needed for growth but criticizing out of jealously or just malcontent is not beneficial to the artist or our business. We all know that there is a vast difference between great music and commercial music. Now there is some commercial music that can be considered great but for the most part commercial music serves the moment. It serves a cultural and societal point of view. It is simply a snapshot and should be looked at as such. We should always keep the quality bar raised but that doesn't mean that we disregard anything new or outside our particular box. Marketing or not, if millions of people buy into a song or artist, there is something that connects and that is not always ONLY about music. It could be the subject matter, the delivery and it's always about timing. Certain songs and artists just work at a certain time based on their social relevance. The buying public is not buying music based on perfection, they buy music that relates to their lives. Just as I've heard Jazz purists talk down about smooth Jazz not realizing that smooth jazz sells a lot more than traditional jazz because of it relevance to the current culture. If looked at correctly, the Jazz purists would see that smooth Jazz can be used as a door to get people to discover traditional Jazz. Most people are more than willing to learn but they have to feel respected as listeners and not be made to feel unintelligent because they happen to like smooth Jazz. Most of the music is just instrumental R&B and the quality of the musicianship is high and, for the most part the recordings sound great and are easily accessible for the listener. The same can be said for other genres like the blues. Most blues purist will be quick to define what is REAL blues without realizing that the blues is more than just a certain beat or set of chord changes. The blues is truly the foundation of ALL forms of American popular music but it too has grown and continues to morph into new and exciting things. The problem is those that refuse to let it do so. Some think they are preserving something but they are only destroying it because if you don't get a younger generation to embrace the music, who will carry it forward? Yes, it is vital to always know the tradition and where the music came from but we must not ever be afraid to let it grow and we must never mock the the things we don't understand. Be careful passing judgement. Live, love and create freely while enjoying your journey.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2012

Music In Schools

One of the greatest contributors to the music industry is music education. Most of our greatest artists' have gotten there inspiration from a school music class but things have drastically changed. Over the last fifteen years, funding for school music programs has been cut to almost nothing. There was a time when schools had a budget that allowed them to supply instruments to any child that wanted to play but that is no longer the case. The issue is sadly not ALL financial. The saddest fact is that the people that make policy have totally devalued the importance of arts education. The focus is now on test scores and how a school district rates. This environment does not at all serve the well being of the students. Children are no longer learning, they are simply being taught to memorize facts for a test and the teachers no longer have time to be creative in their teaching styles because they know that if they don't achieve a certain score on the test that their very job may be at risk. The solution to saving music and arts in schools rests on our shoulders as professional musicians and artists. Every state has an arts commission or arts council that is eligible to receive arts grants to help send us into schools to fill the void. The process usually requires artists to join a roster by applying and meeting certain criteria. It also helps if you take a few classes that will help you learn how to take what you do into the classroom. Not all of us know how to simplify what we do or put it into a classroom format that will benefit children. This is where having a partnership with educators can come in handy. They can help us with the basic formats. As independent consultants, we are not bound so strictly by the rules that most teachers are so we can really get into teaching music and arts. It is important that we work with the teachers to know what their specific needs are as well. It is truly up to us to help educate the next generation of artists. Do the research in your area and reach out to your local arts commission or arts council to get more information on how to get involved. Enjoy the journey.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2012