I wrote this in July of 2023, when I hit a decade of being a musician. They’re rules I return to often.

1. You cannot quantify the value of art with stream counts.
2. Steer clear people who rob you of your enthusiasm.
3. Create consistently, share (release) consistently.
4. There is no one more important to a music project than the artist making it.
5. Protect your creative time like it is time spent with your child.
6. Choose wisely whose feedback you take onboard.
7. Do not ever think that you know all you need to know.
8. Your goal is not to share your best art, but to share your journey towards creating your best art¹.
9. Shamelessly identify as an artist who thinks in artistic ways.
10. Build connections with likeminded artists, and always give AND receive help.
11. If you were happy with a creation at the start of the day, but not so much at the end, trust that listeners will feel as you did at the start of the day.
12. Know that what you are doing is valuable, and find ways to create even more value through other means (teaching, mentoring, giving advice, building community).

notes:

1. I heard this one from an interview with Chet Faker. ↩︎