Watch and Listen to this Podcast episode on YouTube.
I’ve felt less and less like a ‘producer’ lately. Let me explain…
My incomes from streaming, beat sales, and brand partnerships are flourishing. So I’m less dependent on producer related sales, which has allowed me the opportunity to explore more with my music!
Since reaching 100k subscribers on YouTube in March 2022, I’ve been thinking more about what I really want to do with my music career.
I really want to be an artist. Or, at the very least, an ‘artist-producer’.
I think good examples are WondaGurl and Metro Boomin’.
This new desire has forced to me do a lot of research on how to grow as an artist. I’ve learned many helpful things, like how to monetize my music more strategically.
But, man…
There is some TERRIBLE information out there. Like… just god awful, time wasting bullshit that has people running around like chickens with their heads cut off!
So I’m not here today to tell you everything I know. Quite the contrary.
Today, I want to share with you 3 total myths about artist development. It’s my goal to help you avoid these at all costs, because I can tell you from experience that they will waste years of your life.
These myths are…
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You MUST worship the algorithm to gain fans and make money.
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The ‘grind and hustle’ mentality is the only way to make it.
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Say YES to every opportunity.
If you have questions about these topics, please comment on them below. And if you learn something here and enjoy the content, consider subscribing to my newsletter for more cool stuff like this!
Please share this post with a friend, as it greatly helps my site against the google algorithm (lol). And as you do, I wish you a wonderful learning experience.
God bless you and enjoy!
Get 1-month of Beatstars 'Pro Plan' free with code PRODBYCHU!
ALGORITHM WORSHIP.
100% myth.
Or, it’s at least 90% myth.
Let me explain.
You kind of need to know how to use the algorithm. Like… you need to know how it works.
But.. no shit, right?
Like… how are you gonna be in the workplace, and not even know how to use the printer or the fax machine??
But like… niggas be on YouTube damn near telling people they need a PhD in 'algorithmology' before you can start making any progress.
Nigga, no.
You need to understand the algorithm. At most, you should respect it.
But trust me when I say that you don’t need to learn any social media algorithms. Been there, done that. It’s a fucking waste of time.
What you really need is a PLAN.
I believe Napoleon Hill put it best…
“The persistent man with a poor plan stands a better chance of winning than the man with a perfect plan who hesitates and waivers in carrying it out.”
First, make good music.
If your music is awful, that’s your primordial issue. No amount of planning past this point will matter if your music is ass. Once you make music that is worthy of attention, then you can move on.
Here are a few YouTube channels that will teach you how to improve the quality of your music for free 🙏
Once your music is fire, write what your goals are, and then figure out how you’re going to measure them.
Is increasing your fans a goal? Okay, well, then maybe you can measure that by your YouTube subscribers and Instagram followers?
Then you can learn the few things about which ever social media algorithm you’re using so that you can more effectively apply your plan.
But if you just say… ‘I want more followers’… but you don’t understand what those followers actually translate to and what you have to offer them, then you’ll just be following stupid Instagram hack after hack. You’ll keep failing miserably, not understanding why.
Don’t worship the algorithm. Make a plan and make the algorithm worship you.
Get 1-month of Beatstars 'Pro Plan' free with code PRODBYCHU!
THE GRIND MENTALITY
Myth. Throw this one in the trash.
And trust me, I understand the grind, homie.
I was n varsity for three years in high school…
In three different sports.
AND I went to and graduated from an Ivy League university with a 3.0 GPA
AND I would have kept going. Kept grinding.
Except that… the ‘thing’ that always happens when you grind pointlessly, happened to me.
During my PhD program, I finally decide I had enough and just quit… right in the middle. I basically did what Grammy nominated producer, 6ix, did when he quit college 30 credits shy of a dual degree.
But… the thing is… this is the case in my life whether or not I like what I’m doing.
Hustle and fanaticism have a way of ruining everything they come into contact with.
Whenever I’m trying to make tutorials on a topic I don’t enjoy, or cook up beats in a vibe I hate, my art suffers.
I often tell myself that I just need to push through it for the grind.. but to be honest it never really feels worth it.
Sure, I end up with a check sometimes, but my soul always feels a little empty after. I’ve found that money doesn’t really fix that feeling.
So, I’m not saying ‘don’t go ham’.
Nah. If you find something you love, go balls to the wall.
But when you start to get ‘that feeling’ (that ‘when is this ever gonna end’ feeling), try taking a break.
Remember, this isn’t a competition at all. Your life is about telling a story.
You want that story to be as beautiful as possible, so it has to come from a place of joy and abundance, not scarcity and stress.
I believe King Solomon covered this one very nicely.
“I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and do good while they live.”
So before we move on to the final myth, I just want to shout out the last sponsor for today. Visit my store for 35% off everything! (Use code YOUTUBE35KITS for 35% of your next kit order, use code YOUTUBE35BEATS for 35% off beats, and use code YOUTUBE35COLLAB for 35% off collabs).
ALWAYS SAY YES.
Myth from hell.
This is legitimately the worst advice be ever gotten. And I once let someone convince me to pick Bulbasaur as my starter Pokémon, so trust me when I say I know about poor advice.
I’m going to make this one simple for you.
Every time you say ‘yes’ to something, you are saying ‘no’ to something else.
If your friends invite you out to a party and you say ‘yes’, you are now saying ‘no’ to staying in and resting.
If you say ‘yes’ to a project you really don’t want to do, you are now saying ‘no’ to working on art you actually care about.
If you say ‘yes’ to that cheap client, you are now saying ‘no’ to quality customers.
Do you see where I’m going?
Every ‘yes’ is a ‘no’. And every ‘no’ is a ‘yes’, but they don’t work the same way - it depends on which comes first.
If you say ‘yes’ first, you’ve gone into tunnel vision. You are now committed and you’ve said ‘no’ to all other possibility for the time being.
But if you say ‘no’ first, you are taking control by determining what you do not want to do. And, in the same instant, you are saying ‘yes’ to literally everything else that is possible other than what you already said ‘no’ to.
Are you seeing the power of ‘no’?
The next time you get that ‘gut feeling’ about an annoying client, a feature you don’t want to do, or a custom beat you don’t want to make… try saying no.
You might turn down a bit of money up front, but you might actually be opening up the possibility for an even bigger opportunity.
Get 1-month of Beatstars 'Pro Plan' free with code PRODBYCHU!
So, if I had to condense this all into one point, it’d be this.
Everything is a myth.
I think this is made clear is Don Miguel Ruiz’s ‘The Fifth Agreement’ where he stresses the importance of being skeptical of everything you perceive.
Until you’ve tested it for yourself, it is 100% a myth. This applies even to all the information I’ve given you here today.
The only way I could do this was by going out there and trying things on my own.
It’s only my hope that this will steer you a bit in the right direction.
Until next time.
Stay happy, stay healthy, and always be creating. Just make sure it’s…
Dope Content Only.
I love you.
And I’ll see you real soon.
Peace.
Join My Label, DOPE 🔥
