Why Talent Alone Is Not Enough
I got my start in the music industry as a live performer.
Whether it was leading bands, sitting in with bands, or solo shows, my world revolved around live music. Day after day my time was spent loading a ton of heavy gear into my 2006 Honda Element, driving an hour to the show, playing 4 hours for a handful of people, breaking down, loading back up, and getting home somewhere around 3 in the morning.
This was nothing short of exhausting.
What made everything more exhausting was the fact that I did not see much growth with what I was doing. For the first five years, I became barely recognizable in my local music scene, but then the next five years seemed to plateau.
Why did no one care? Why wasn't I growing? Why do I feel like I'm wasting time?
It didn't make sense. I was talented, I had real skills as a performer. Eventually, in 2022, I gave up playing live music completely.
Since then, I have had plenty of time to reflect on my experience and thankfully I have found something now that works - and I'm super passionate about it.
What I've come to understand was that I was banking on my talent to deliver success. I thought because I'm a great performer, a great guitar player, I deserve to have success.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Even when it comes to making YouTube videos, the most successful people in this field are NOT the most talented. The most successful people love their craft more than the result of their craft.
I started seeing success on YouTube when I built a process that allows me to enjoy the process itself. That stuck out to people, and they started watching regularly.
The same can be said for some of my favorite creators like Andrew Huang, Music by Blanks, Jon Makes Beats, AudioHaze, Goth Babe, and more. These are folks that show their process, they make genuine connections with others, and they don't stop exploring new territories.
It's no secret, the market is oversaturated with musicians. But there is a desperate need of authenticity. Nobody wants to see TikTok trends, nobody wants to know how hard you worked, nobody wants to hear you say "big things coming soon", we are in a time where viewers crave authenticity.
In the next few newsletters, I'll be diving more into The Authentic Artist, so definitely stick around for more to come.
