Being exposed to what everyone does, every day, non-stop, there’s a lot of pressure keeping up with that fast pace. Especially in the music/entertainment industry. Every day new songs come out, albums are released, video’s are put online. A lot of artists release free music, instead of waiting on a label, just to stay relevant. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it works in their favor.

How do you know what to do and when to do it?

First, before society became over-exposed, most artists actually created art. They stayed true to their art instead of being in a rush to put something out there. Quality is very important. Just because there will be a group of people/fans, who will buy music, doesn’t mean it’s something of the same level quality as put out before. As an artist, you have to really think about what it is that you want. What do you want to accomplish with your music? How do you want to put yourself out there? How do you want to be perceived as an artist? Not just by your potential fans, but also in the eyes of other artists, your peers and people you may possible want to work with in the future. Below are a few steps that will help in prioritizing.

1. First figure out what type of artist you are. Why do you make music/create art? Is it for yourself or for other people? Really be honest with yourself.
2. Make a general long term plan (5-10 years) for yourself. Then make a short term plan based on this plan (12-18 months).
3. Determine how you want to reach your goals (number of album releases etc.) for the coming year.
4. Find out which (media) channels work best for you, and how you can maximize those, to use them for the coming year, to help reach your goals.
5. Create a strategy based off of #4, so you have everything laid out for you, only having to create the content (music/art), without thinking about the rest.

The 5 steps above will help you figure out what is most important right now for you. It also helps in making those important things happen, without being all over the place with everything. The steps lead to a plan for you to work on, to stay focused, but this plan can always be adjusted if you come across things along the way, or if you go faster or slower than planned. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that you don’t let others distract you from your focus, from your plan. Patrick Lencioni (business management) said it best: “If everything is important, then nothing is important.”

If you need any help figuring out what you need to do first, how to prioritise or need help with putting together a strategy plan, let me know. You can reach me through the contact form or through info@paykolmus.com.