Wednesday 4th May, 2022

It’s not you, it’s them… (although, it’s kind of you)

I got’s two things to talk about this week. The first is an attempt at mitigating your mental health, cynicism, & overall sense of constant rejection. (assuming that you’re an artist that is) The second is an off shoot of my college assignments & some of the important work to do in the earlier days of your career: positioning. Let’s get into it.

Firstly: It’s WHO you know

I can only speak for Ireland, & even then, I can only speak to what I’ve seen & heard… but success seems to be about ‘who you know’. At least to a certain extent. Does this sound unfair? If you’re the artist, it probably sounds like a nightmare. I can’t tell you how many talented artists get overlooked for less experienced, less developed, & unoriginal artists… I’ve tried for years to reach out for opportunities like ‘Ireland Music Week’ & have been overlooked, only to see teenage artists with no career, experience, or general skill find their way into those same opportunities. Now, to be fair, I wasn’t ready to make the most out of an opportunity to play ‘IMW’ & neither were those artists. (It didn’t actually help them all that much unfortunately.) You see in the ‘meritocracy’ the most talented & effective creators should rise to the top & find success. Opportunities should be given to those who deserve them… or so the idealist says.

Let’s explain this ‘nepotistic’ behaviour. Why is it who you know? How does this help anyone?

As a general tip for life, if there’s something that makes no sense, & seems silly or backwards, you probably don’t know enough about it. As for the nepotism in the Irish music industry, it makes perfect sense when you think of the people choosing the next artist. Record labels, Publishers, Managers, etc… all of these ‘gatekeepers’ are professional risk takers. Artists are people… even worse, they’re creatives… & we tend to be a more unreliable breed than most. Most artists that get signed to record labels don’t find success… the band might break up, the artist might just give up out of frustration.. or they need to pay rent. If your job is taking a risk on an artist, you need to mitigate that risk as much as possible if you’re going to survive. An A&R agent at Sony will get fired if they keep bringing in unreliable acts. If a manager sinks 2 years of groundwork into an artist who completely changes their genre, then those 2 years are kind of wasted. Imagine working for 2 years to build someones career only for them to turn around & say that they just don’t feel ‘inspired’ anymore. (you’d have to murder them…)

Anyways, you get what I mean. If you don’t know why you’ve been overlooked time & time again, chances are, you’re not seen as a safe bet. Maybe you’re only 2 years into your career. Maybe you play experimental Cottage core/Neo-Jazz fusion. Maybe you haven’t figured out your sound, your look, your philosophy, your audience… I could go on.

Suddenly it makes sense that it’s about who you know. If I need to make a gamble on an artist that I don’t know, I need some kind of confidence to take them on. This is where recommendations come from. If an established blogger thinks you’re worth investing in, then that’s a little more proof. If a radio DJ jumps on the bandwagon, that’s a little more proof. Maybe a music lawyer recommends working with you. At this stage I might want to go to your show. Then maybe I’ll reach out & want to work with you. There’s a whole industry waiting for the next ‘safe bet’ to pop up. This is how the likes of Gavin James gets brought up the ranks. Not only did he prove that he can work hard, sing well enough, write songs, & appeal to a lot of people, but he proved that he wasn’t going to give up… he was going to make music with or without industry support. Uniquely creative or not, he was a safe bet.

I’m not trying to suggest that you pick up a guitar & start singing middle of the road love songs. What I’m hoping to impart is a little bit of the logic built into the music industry. Too many times have I listened to artists, on the brink of giving up on their dreams, complain about how unfair the industry is. It is unfair… but we live in a capitalist world. Your creative worth is measured by how many tickets you can sell… it’s measured by how many people you can convince to buy some kind of hair cream in a brand sponsorship… it’s bullshit I know. (it’s why I’m investing my future into Patreon)

Finally on this point, if you ever feel like it’s all too much, & it really is damaging your mental health, reach out to Minding Creative Minds. They’re a free mental health service for artists in Ireland. I have been in some very low places over the years, & when I reached out to them they really helped me out. Another option is reaching out to your friends, other artists who go through the same gauntlet, or even myself. Just remember that you’re not alone in your frustration & rejection.

Secondly: Positioning!

If you’re unfamiliar with what the word positioning means in the context of music, it’s simple enough. It’s where you position yourself alongside similar musicians. It’s your position in the ticket selling hierarchy. It’s your position in the minds of your audience. It’s a few things, but in general, it’s about where you are in your career.

Why should you care about all of this? Surely you’re so unique that you’re unlike anyone else. You’re not boxing yourself into a genre… how boring! Unfortunately, every single artist is ‘unique’. Chances are, if you don’t sound like anyone else, you need to do some research. This is the pain of positioning… it’s why some PR companies do this for you as a part of their services. You can do some basic stuff though. Look at the artists that inspire the work you’re making. Artists that you’d put your songs in a playlist with. Look at who’s supporting them on tour, or who they’re supporting. Do they collaborate with anyone? Do they feature or have featured artists? Who are the artists covering their songs online? If you’re based in Ireland you should try the Breaking Tunes ‘sounds like’ feature to find other people who think they have a similar sound.

The benefits of positioning are fantastic for guiding your next steps. If you want to reach new audiences, maybe reach out to these similar artists & play or record together. Find their followers on social media & use them as a template for social media ads. Look at the comments section of their famous youtube videos to see what their fans love most about them, & lean into this aspect of your music. To know how many tickets you can sell in your city is a great bit of info to have. It’s humbling for sure… but it’s a metric that you can use to set goals. Personally, I think I could sell 200 tickets in Dublin. Why? I kind of sold 200 in 2019 for the Smock Alley show. Since then I’ve changed my sound a lot, & had a pandemic slow down my momentum. With a film & an album to launch however, I’ve got so much more to offer. But selling 200 tickets in Dublin is only a step towards selling 20 tickets in Belfast, Cork, or Limerick… & selling 2 in London…. These numbers need focus to build. When you honestly position yourself in terms of ticket numbers, it gives you a clear direction to move in.

Positioning helps you keep an eye on what your pocket of the industry is up to. There’s no point keeping tabs on a New Metal band if you’re a Lo-Fi artist. It reduces the work load, & lets you keep an eye on your competition… & your community. It helps you differentiate yourself from those who already exist out there. Maybe you’re like Dermot Kennedy, but you have a political stance. Maybe you’re like Sinead O’Conner, but you’re also a materialistic ‘good times’ artist.

The more you know yourself, & what you want, the easier you are to help. (Positioning helps this)

That’s all for this week my pretties… I’ve some college assignments to finish.

Have a sunny day,

Nathan