Some situations require lawyers and litigations. Others will just be a waste of your time and energy. Possibly finances too. We’ve compiled a list of 5 instances you’ll very likely run into as a musician that won’t be pretty or feel comfortable and that in our opinion, it will benefit you the most if you just breathe in, breathe out, and let it go.
5. The No-Show Collaborator.
If someone was supposed to show up the day of your live event to be your hype man/ your DJ/ your backup vocalist, and there’s no trace of them, make sure they’re alive and let it go. People flake out all the time in all industries and in all honesty, you want to discover the bad apples early on so that you avoid them later. Don’t stress it or press it. Smile, be nice, and don’t work with this person again. And yes, you should be ready to replace any one person for your shows. Sh*t happens. Sometimes literally.
4. The Mediocre Music Video.
Unless you paid enough money to be able to take the videographer to small claims court, let it go. You WILL have at least one crappy-looking music video in the beginning of your career. If it looks THAT bad, just forget about it altogether and you guessed it, don’t employ the services of the guy/gal again. The very limited budget available to indie artists when starting out, unfortunately, places them in the sphere of poorly prepared and ill-equipped video editors. The best get paid decently and work with relatively known to actually famous acts. Very rarely amongst the cheap companies will you find a talented visionary that hasn’t blown up yet.
3. The I’m-Not-Signing-No-Contract Dude.
Yes, they often use double negations which should probably be a good indicator of poor work ethic. There are enough rookies in the music business who are even talented but get allergies at the sight of a dotted line. You don’t want to force ANYONE to sign anything if that’s not what they want to do. They will then have the right to claim they were pressured into signing and good luck debating that if push came to shove. Learn your lesson, let it go.
2. The Forgetful A&R.
Ah… The good ol’ A&R who believes in you so much that they never follow through with their meeting or phone call and you wonder if you’ll ever catch a break. Chances are, you won’t. It’s kind of your fault for having put your hopes in an A&R in the first place. Today’s modern musicians know they are the only ones responsible for the course of success or failure of their careers. Anyways, since we care about you and you need to know how to cope with this situation, here’s our advice: let. it. go. Don’t waste time on it. Who sincerely believes in you, WILL SHOW UP.
1. The Almost-Made-It Record Deal.
This one stings the most. Because by the time you find yourself in this situation, you’ve likely become efficient at surviving no-show collaborators, taking down poorly done visuals, burning bridges with unprofessionals who hate contracts, dodging shady A&Rs who’ve likely even asked you for money. You’re a damn hero with skin as thick as an alligator. And yet, you too will have your chunk of contracts that never materialized that were supposed to be your big break. Don’t cry over spilled milk and get back to mind storming over creative ads, better songs, more spectacular gigs. And collect those phone numbers and e-mails!
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