"I finally feel like a real artist"

My dear tortured composer, 

I pray the week has treated you well. 

That unceasing flows poured from your pen onto the page. 

That what you created left you with a sense of numinous awe at the wonder that is music.

Regardless of where your week has left you, I have a story for you today. 

It all begins with the words uttered by one of my students at the end of a recent coaching call: 

“I finally feel like a real artist”

Can you guess what made him say that? 

Did he just finish and release his first piece of music? 

No, he has been finishing and releasing music for years. 

Did some prominent artist or publication offer him a glowing compliment? 

No, that hasn’t happened to him yet. 

Did a bearded half-giant riding a magical motorcycle show up to his house and proclaim, “You’re a composer, Harry” and whisk him off to a whimsical school full of high-class composers and artists? 

Alas, no. But perhaps one day. 

You see, my student uttered these words after doing something much more shocking. 

Something that would make the skin of most composers crawl…

Something so vile…

So disturbing…

So DISGUSTING…

That many composers would not dare even say it out loud. 

Because, you see my fellow tortured composer, my student had just started… 

Running Facebook Ads for His Music!

O woe to my virgin eyes! 

Woe to my innocent ears!

As the founder of a 339 year old composers society, I was clutching my pearls in terror. 

After I picked myself up off the floor and had one of my servants bring me a lemon spritzer and put on a Haydn string quartet to cleanse my ears…I decided to explore further.

You see, my student had been writing and releasing music for years. 

And like many composers, he was putting it out into the world and experiencing…crickets. 

He was starting to feel frustrated. 

And had decided, at my recommendation, to do something about it. 

 At my recommendation, he had settled on running these disturbing Facebook Ads. 

He was convinced they would do nothing for him. 

And in many ways, he didn’t like the idea of “marketing” his music. 

And was certain that if he did try, it would basically be like lighting his money on fire. 

Fortunately, after a little bit of strategizing…

And giving him a deeper explanation of what advertising really is…

He decided to give these ads a try. 

And in just a short amount of time, something amazing happened. 

He got nearly 10 times the number of plays on his piece of music than he had ever gotten on anything in the past. 

Now mind you, these weren’t big numbers. But they were a massive jump.

And this little bit of success was all triggered by a simple shift in mindset. 

You see, most of the composers I talk to think advertising is a dirty word. 

Some might even call it…

Naughty.

I used to feel this way. 

I despised the idea of marketing myself and my music (kinda still do). 

I just wanted to CREATE and have someone else handle all that icky business stuff for me. 

It wasn’t until I stumbled upon a dusty old book by a cookware salesman that everything changed. 

This cookware donning author explained that selling something didn’t have to be icky if you went about it the right way.

And that selling could be giving something, if the thing you were selling actually solved a problem or made someone’s life better. 

And when I really thought about it, there was a LOT of music that had made my music significantly better. 

There’s music I’d heard that was more than a gift.

And when I had that realization, I also realized that if I put in the time…I could probably make music that would help people. That would be a gift. 

That would solve a problem they had. And maybe even make their life better. 

And when I shifted from a mindset of trying to “take” something from listeners, or “capturing” their attention…

And realized I had something to “give”...

And that all I had to do was to put whatever I had to give in front of a bunch of people…

Everything totally shifted. 

It became WAY easier to promote music. 

Because it wasn’t about me at that point. 

It was about helping. 

And finding out where the people I could help were hanging out. 

And when my student had this realization…that he could HELP people by sharing his music. 

It became way easier to promote. 

And when he realized the power he had with the internet and advertising…

Where you can literally share your music with someone from across the globe that likes a similar artist, and do it in a way that is fun, engaging, and may give them a piece of music they listen to for life…

EVERYTHING changes. 

And that moment.

That realization…

THAT is what made him feel like a real artist. 

And if you can imagine that—and get into that frame of mind—all of that “icky” business work can become your favorite part of the process. 

Because part of the process of completing music may be figuring out where it fits in the world. 

Where it fits in the context of music history. 

I could be wrong on this one. 

But that buzz you get when you figure out how to release it is palpable. When you figure out where your music “fits.”

When you realize how you can explain it to someone else. And when you figure out who that someone else is that might like it. 

It’s something that may make your composing a little less “tortured.”

So just give that some thought for the week. 

In upcoming editions, my dear tortured composer, I’ll give some more ideas on how to actually do that. 

But for now, remember…

The world waits for your music…

Luke

P.S. – I get that this can be hard. At this point, I’ve talked to literally hundreds of composers, producers, and musicians about how to “put themselves out there.” 

If you’d like to get your music out in the world, and figure out how to get more listeners that could potentially love your music, I’m working on putting together a little case study of composers that want to do just that.

Just hit “reply” and I’ll send you the details.

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