VERY frustrated DJ/Producer.

[perplex]

To OP.

That's just how it is sometimes man. If Music is important to you, you could create a life's worth of music that never "made it", and it wouldn't be a life wasted.

Im in your same boat. i have spent all my money, and sacrificed a lot to get my music on the track to success, im 29 and i have a daughter on the way. Im looking at my dream now with hesitation. and it hurts, but one thing that makes me feel good. The music.

The music is what I love. Not many people can find or do what they love. And if you keep doing what you love, then how could you say your life is wasted?

i leave you with this quote
"Hope is a Horizon we head for leaving nothing behind us but fear,
And though we may never reach our goals
its hope that is going to save us from who we once were "

[3phase]

I've been producing and mixing for about 7 years. I've only had 1 gig, and despite some friendly comments, none of my tracks or mixes have really garnered much attention. I relocated and took 6 months off from music due to being frustrated. I'm once again inspired to make music and mix. The problem is, I'm 27 years old, competing for gigs with much younger talent, and a lot of the producers you see getting signed these days are also much younger. The gigs that I try to secure are usually given to much younger talent. It really takes down my confidence and makes me think my time has passed. It's kind of a scary thought. I've spent literally every penny I have on equipment, ruined relationships for this music, and have put so much time into it. I love producing but I'm starting to think I'm too old to compete with the younger generation. I'm also realizing that creatively, I'm "losing it". I'm not pushing the barrier as I did when I was younger. My tracks are becoming very generic and it's just frustrating. I feel like I've wasted a lot of my life making music. While my friends are getting married and having kids, I'm still sitting around the midi controllers, trying to make tracks. I've got nothing to show for all the years of producing.

I always believed that if you really want something, try and try again. Fail, fail, fail, and try again. I've wanted this more than anything in my life. LITERALLY. But I just couldn't breakthrough. I'm out in the middle of a snowstorm every weekend handing out my promos. I think I've given out about 5000 cds (They all include info for booking) without a SINGLE email or phone call. My music IS of good quality, and my mixes are very nice. I don't know if this matters but I'm a good looking guy as well but obviously that has no advantage. I just don't get it.

the look is the most important factor theese days.. evrybody uses the same loops and sound as you,.so its just the looks.. but.. thats a very relative quality.. maybe your looks are good for you but not so for the outside world?

[bartend7]

do a little research on Van Gogh.... true artist---absolutely no recognition in his lifetime....but he made some awsome art. Its the process of making music that should be the reward, not fame. if your after fame you better pick something else, because music isn't gonna bring that. I love making music and learning about music, thats what keeps me going. fuck fame, just learn a new instrument or something...its more fun than worrying about money. 27 is too old? get real.

[MPGK]

the look is the most important factor theese days.. evrybody uses the same loops and sound as you

Both not true. Well, the first one might be if you want to reduce yourself to that. I don't know where you got the idea for your second statement, though. I don't even know what you mean by that. Everybody uses the same sounds? What?

[senator adam]

You're not doing it right. You need to take MORE drugs.

[senator adam]

But honestly, stop relying on others to book you. No one cares. Book yourself.

Release your own music. Throw your own event. Repeat. It's almost the only way these days, and it works.

[nopattern]

But honestly, stop relying on others to book you. No one cares. Book yourself.

Release your own music. Throw your own event. Repeat. It's almost the only way these days, and it works.

+1 to this

part of that is related to people's perception of you, it might not be in the interest of an artist to hand out cd's for free, to some people that could devalue their idea of you. Most labels and artists and some of the promoters are pretty cool people and they are looking for like-minded people to chill with rather than get approached with a free cd randomly.

the best method that "always" works is to start throwing parties in your city and booking acts you like in your genre. then play your tracks at the party while so and so artist from so and so label hears it first hand and sees it work right there on a dancefloor. do that for a little bit, it wont take long if your music is good

[Rabalder]

God damn it! This pisses me off! Why the hell did you make music in the first place???
World domination?????
Everything BUT the joy of the music itself???
27 years old??? WTF!!!!!!!
Get married and have some kids and leave the music to people who enjoy it!!
Fame and fortune my ass.
The genuine real deal artist shouldent give a f... about fame and fortune!! If you ask me

[kuniklo]

The real reward of making music is the process itself and the liberating experience of creativity. Chasing recognition and success is a recipe for unhappiness.

[BoddAH]

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.

- Henry David Thoreau

I'll just leave this here.

[BoddAH]

do a little research on Van Gogh.... true artist---absolutely no recognition in his lifetime....but he made some awsome art. Its the process of making music that should be the reward, not fame.

You forgot to mention the part about him killing himself in the end.

[abl385]

The music is what I love. Not many people can find or do what they love. And if you keep doing what you love, then how could you say your life is wasted?

Dude, you are my mentor.

[2be]

do a little research on Van Gogh.... true artist---absolutely no recognition in his lifetime....but he made some awsome art. Its the process of making music that should be the reward, not fame.

You forgot to mention the part about him killing himself in the end.

And the part where he cut off his ear

[EX]

If you're a sensitive soul, you can't enjoy the process of course if you don't have a quiet, peaceful, irritation-free, non-paranoia-inducing place where you can feel you can do it unstymied and unencumbered, free from concerns about potential neighbour complaints/invasions and so on. (I'm just talking about the recording side here.)

Perhaps some out there with greater sense of resilience will disagree but they are not people to whom I could relate.

I used to have discussions with people that would make me feel I hated doing music somehow and was therefore completely misguided in my monomanic tenacity towards it, but over time I realised it is just having to be deprived of sonic privacy and a noise-free environment whilst recording that irks me, because I'm so aware of how much constant disruption and unchosen distraction spoils concentration and threatens potential for excellence (I see it like going for a bike-ride and someone continually pushing you off and still somehow absurdly trying to tell yourself that the cycling is still enjoyable), aside from the obvious potential for street noises to literally spoil the mix, but not music-making generally, which is spiritually rewarding if you are fortunate enough to be able to do so in a way that makes you feel truly free, and then, once liberated, if you are of exceptional talent and yet not exceptionally obscure, external reward should someday follow, assuming some sort of marketing comes into play.

Hope I've not gone off on too much of a tangent there!

[zee verkawound]

This is an excellent thread with a TON of great advice! Of course there are also a bunch of total crap advice posts too, but that's normal on a "forum". This is coming from a guy that has been a very active musician for over 30 years now. Just some basic truth and it's VERY hard to swallow, but here ya go:

1) Music as a "living", BAD IDEA!!! In fact, a STUPID idea that we have ALL had, and one that some continue to torture themselves with. There is not an industry outside the entertainment business that is more unreliable and inconsistent. That is, if you want to keep it "REAL"

2) The better you are "skill wise" musically, and the more creatively unique you are as an artist, are both directly proportionate to the lack of success you will have musically. Why? Because mad skills and ingenious creativity DO NOT sell anything except tickets to the local music store's latest clinic. I have known MANY solo virtuosos that have alternate gigs outside music. They simply can't make it on their "artist's income" and they have ZERO benefits as virtuosos.

3) Music is like any other business in that you have to meet public demands if you hope to make a consistent living. Guess what? The public's attention span is about as fickle and reliable as a midwestern weatherman. That's why most SOLID professional musicians play COVERS which is about as artistically genuine as bozo singing the national anthem at the next Dogers game.

4) You are certainly not too old. Take a look at Squarepusher or anyone of a thousand different noteworthy artists. MANY are in their forties. 27 is VERY young.

5) Most importantly: Music is art and those who appreciate it truly, appreciate it as such. It's when music is looked upon as mere "entertainment" that it's degraded to a professional context. Do you REALLY want to be professional musician, producer or DJ? If you do, it takes a lot of discipline to play material that you REALLY don;t want to have to play. It's a job, right? Why not be what we are ALL deep down inside, just a simple artist with his own vision like everyone else.

I have read so much truth in this thread, but the bottom line is to just be yourself artistically, and then do what you have to do professionally. The two RARELY go together.