I hope David doesn’t get mad that I published one of his ‘protected’ tweets, but especially in this DIY day and age, the issue of finding a balance between creating your art / product and spending time promoting it a good one to talk about. (Though it’s not just self-promotion that takes artists / composers / musicians away from their work, there are also ‘relevant‘ ‘debates‘ on terminology n shit to tend to.)
I’ve known composers who were exceptionally skillful self-promoters / marketers. And I’ve also known composers who were uninterested / awful at that part of the game. There have been times when I’ve thought a skillful self-promoting composer of mediocre music got more attention / recognition than a composer not very adept at self-promotion but who wrote ‘better’ sounding / crafted music that, in my opinion, deserved the attention much more than the savvy marketer. I’ve known musicians who have some really interesting / inventive ideas about how to present music but lack the skills on their instrument to be a truly engaging, powerful, and respectable proponent of that music, yet they insist on ‘promoting the shit’ out of themselves instead of spending time actually perfecting their craft. I’ve also known some ridiculously talented musicians who toil away in practice rooms and end up completely unnoticed despite their considerable gifts. I realize that this is subjective to a certain extent, but I’d bet that you’d be lying to yourselves if you didn’t think the same exact thing at some point in your musical career whether you’re a composer or a musician.
Can you blame the clever marketer for promoting his/her music with great skill so that they get ‘mad press’ even though you might think it’s half-baked?
Is it the ‘better’ composer’s fault for not taking the time to get their stuff out into the world?
Is there a correlation between hours spent self-promoting and the quality / skill of someone’s work?
What is the optimum balance between developing / creating / mastering your art / music / craft and promoting what you do?
Do you wish you had a manager or is it more fun to DIY?
What does the model musician in 2k10 look like?
I beieve you should work hard to compose as much material as you can of a high quality before you go around blowing your trumpet too loud. Glenn
Both flattered and embarrassed here, but mainly thinking that you’re asking excellent questions. I hope that someday my fairy godmother decides to manage my career for me. Until then, no one will know about my music unless I tell them. It’s just a bit demoralizing to engage in that process.
- D
Way too busy writing to make coherent response. I say use the Internet to be visible and tell people what you are up to, and, if you have time, why. Other than that, as David says, better get writing or you have nothing to promote. Compose/perform first, network later when (e.g. you’re tired, or not yet warmed up for the day), but do both all the time.
That tweet certainly reflects the dilemma of many of us in the trenches. I’ve actually have been thinking much about this very balance this past year or so as I released my second CD and working to get it heard. There is only a limited amount of time and while it is great to be active in promoting yourself and your music, in some sense, getting yourself ‘known’ is also partially out of your control. As you point out, you can write the ‘greatest’ stuff since , but that’s no guarantee anyone will be listening. Also balancing your non-musical life (work, family, etc.) with your musical one, is another challenge. Anyway, I think the best way in the end, is to go Zen: create, tell, play, and let come what may…