Good morning all ! :D
I hope you're enjoying the weekend and that you didn't overdo it last night and you don't have a massive hangover. I was really reasonable and up with the birds as usual...
I realize it's been a while since I've told you about my oh so exciting life so there you go ! :D
Today I want to write about the perks of being an indie musician - or the reason I feel so tired ^^
Everybody says it - and it may even be completely true - there's never been a better time to be an indie artist. With internet and the social media, you can pretty much build everything you want for free from your computer. What people don't tell or don't realize is that it takes a tremendous amount of time and effort. Before I decided to take my music seriously, I read that when you're indie, you basically spend 80% of your time doing marketing and social media and only 20% actually making music (And I'm pretty sure it works for all kind of arts ^^). At my stage, that would be more like 90-10... :p
So here's the typical day for me : I wake up very early (I'm an early bird obviously) and I work on my twitter account (less and less Facebook because if you don't pay to get your post advertised, people don't see it... Quite annoying !) So far I have 1200 something followers. That's good and not so hard when you take the time. Only thing is, apart from a dozen people who actually answer or comment, those 1200 don't do much. They exist. So the next step is to make them interact (and it takes time and ideas...). I don't really answer to private messages because there's a lot of spam (and crazy people in love with me or sending me pics of their private parts...), but I check them nonetheless.
If I didn't forget to plug the alarm clock, I work on my fiancee's twitter. She's writing amazing short stories and is more into writing than marketing ;)
If I don't forget, I check my FB account, answer a few emails and check out my youtube account. Usually I'm in complete desperation at that time because of the ridiculous amount of views...
Then I go to work, because well yeah, I can't afford to be an indie musician making no money with my music ^^ But when I'm at work, my mind's racing like crazy to find new ideas of covers or original songs or pictures I would like to take of me (because when you're an artist, you definitely have the crazy ego ^^), finding ideas for an upcoming gig (only have one so far ^^)... This is never ending.
By 5pm I'm done with work and heading home. You would think that I can work on my music by that moment. Actually no. Because when you're a grown up, you need to go buy your own groceries, feed the cat (or even take him ER Style to the vet because once again he fought with the neighbor’s cat who's stronger than him), clean the house, cook something for your fiancee (ok she's also cooking so that's really nice), remember which idea you wanted to work on, write down some stuff not to forget because you didn't do it when you had the idea during the day, eat, not fall asleep in front of the TV (which is easy because we don't have a tv ^^), and only then go in the studio. At that point, if I manage to go to the studio (which is a spare bedroom with all our music gear), I win. As passionate as one can be, when it's the end of the day and you already had your share of work, going back to your other work in heavy lifting ! And I'm not even talking about the long evenings in front of your computer trying to come up with some great arrangements and it's just not working :p Inspiration is a bitch ! ^^
Weekends are pretty much the same. I get up early (apparently I can't sleep after 6.30 am, no matter how many hours I slept... But I'm a crazy nap lover ^^), write a blog post, work on twitter, think about all the things I would like to do during the day (currently : cleaning the studio, work on a new cover, do some vocal exercices, practise for my band's practice tonight, cook some delicious meals, iron all the clothes I haven't ironed yet, do some laundry and probably some other stuff I'm not thinking about right now like exercising my poor body ^^).
So there you go ! Still wanna be an indie artist ? I do. I can't really imagine my life without making music and my crazy ego will not let me just play in my living room...
On another note, the DIY model is becoming DIWO : Do It With Others. Well where are the others ??? All the people I know are also in the indie business and working their ass off on some project so I can't really ask them for help. And I don't know so many people because we've been moving a lot for the past couple of years and I don't make friends easily.
So I have two options here : Making new friends (We went out last night and what I saw was kinda weird and made me feel old - and I'm only 29) or upgrading my organisation skills.
I haven't decided yet what to do next. I'll let you know as soon as I know myself ;)
If you have any idea or magic recipe; please leave a comment or contact me (I'm checking all my email btw ^^).
Enjoy your day !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheers !
I hope you're enjoying the weekend and that you didn't overdo it last night and you don't have a massive hangover. I was really reasonable and up with the birds as usual...
I realize it's been a while since I've told you about my oh so exciting life so there you go ! :D
Today I want to write about the perks of being an indie musician - or the reason I feel so tired ^^
Everybody says it - and it may even be completely true - there's never been a better time to be an indie artist. With internet and the social media, you can pretty much build everything you want for free from your computer. What people don't tell or don't realize is that it takes a tremendous amount of time and effort. Before I decided to take my music seriously, I read that when you're indie, you basically spend 80% of your time doing marketing and social media and only 20% actually making music (And I'm pretty sure it works for all kind of arts ^^). At my stage, that would be more like 90-10... :p
So here's the typical day for me : I wake up very early (I'm an early bird obviously) and I work on my twitter account (less and less Facebook because if you don't pay to get your post advertised, people don't see it... Quite annoying !) So far I have 1200 something followers. That's good and not so hard when you take the time. Only thing is, apart from a dozen people who actually answer or comment, those 1200 don't do much. They exist. So the next step is to make them interact (and it takes time and ideas...). I don't really answer to private messages because there's a lot of spam (and crazy people in love with me or sending me pics of their private parts...), but I check them nonetheless.
If I didn't forget to plug the alarm clock, I work on my fiancee's twitter. She's writing amazing short stories and is more into writing than marketing ;)
If I don't forget, I check my FB account, answer a few emails and check out my youtube account. Usually I'm in complete desperation at that time because of the ridiculous amount of views...
Then I go to work, because well yeah, I can't afford to be an indie musician making no money with my music ^^ But when I'm at work, my mind's racing like crazy to find new ideas of covers or original songs or pictures I would like to take of me (because when you're an artist, you definitely have the crazy ego ^^), finding ideas for an upcoming gig (only have one so far ^^)... This is never ending.
By 5pm I'm done with work and heading home. You would think that I can work on my music by that moment. Actually no. Because when you're a grown up, you need to go buy your own groceries, feed the cat (or even take him ER Style to the vet because once again he fought with the neighbor’s cat who's stronger than him), clean the house, cook something for your fiancee (ok she's also cooking so that's really nice), remember which idea you wanted to work on, write down some stuff not to forget because you didn't do it when you had the idea during the day, eat, not fall asleep in front of the TV (which is easy because we don't have a tv ^^), and only then go in the studio. At that point, if I manage to go to the studio (which is a spare bedroom with all our music gear), I win. As passionate as one can be, when it's the end of the day and you already had your share of work, going back to your other work in heavy lifting ! And I'm not even talking about the long evenings in front of your computer trying to come up with some great arrangements and it's just not working :p Inspiration is a bitch ! ^^
Weekends are pretty much the same. I get up early (apparently I can't sleep after 6.30 am, no matter how many hours I slept... But I'm a crazy nap lover ^^), write a blog post, work on twitter, think about all the things I would like to do during the day (currently : cleaning the studio, work on a new cover, do some vocal exercices, practise for my band's practice tonight, cook some delicious meals, iron all the clothes I haven't ironed yet, do some laundry and probably some other stuff I'm not thinking about right now like exercising my poor body ^^).
So there you go ! Still wanna be an indie artist ? I do. I can't really imagine my life without making music and my crazy ego will not let me just play in my living room...
On another note, the DIY model is becoming DIWO : Do It With Others. Well where are the others ??? All the people I know are also in the indie business and working their ass off on some project so I can't really ask them for help. And I don't know so many people because we've been moving a lot for the past couple of years and I don't make friends easily.
So I have two options here : Making new friends (We went out last night and what I saw was kinda weird and made me feel old - and I'm only 29) or upgrading my organisation skills.
I haven't decided yet what to do next. I'll let you know as soon as I know myself ;)
If you have any idea or magic recipe; please leave a comment or contact me (I'm checking all my email btw ^^).
Enjoy your day !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheers !