The future..
Before I say anything about my future plans I just want to say a heartfelt thankyou for all your amazing comments and well-wishes following my post yesterday. It's so nice to feel that I made a difference, however small it is/was and you proved to me that I'm not alone in my assumptions but let's not forget, this is only music when all is said and done.
So, now comes the future and it's scary, especially after doing the same job for so long but being in music all these years did toughen me up to be able to take on new challenges. I also made a ton of mistakes in my career that I have learned from. I know I'll make more but 'every little helps' (no, that's not me hinting that I'm not gonna go work for Tesco).
I'm dropping out of making music professionally and to me, that means I'm NOT going to be chasing sales, Beatport chart positions, airplay. There will be no 'ooo, look at me and how successful I am' posts on Facebook, no active promotion of new tracks, no DJ mailouts, no looking for or competing for gigs (I can't see me DJing again TBH), no sucking up to 'big' DJs and certainly no change to the music I make. It's pure and simple, if you don't like what I do, if you don't like the tempo, the sounds or that it doesn't sound like the new XYZ release then don't listen to it. In fact, just delete me from your Facebook, Twitter, etc, and go enjoy everyone/troll else's music.
It would be hypocritical for me to change my producer status (as an artist) back to that of an amateur and continue to sell my music as a product in the same manner as before but that will not stop me from actually making music - quite the opposite in fact. I will continue to make music in whatever shape, form, genre and tempo I choose and it will all be available to download. It will be on one website only (probably Soundcloud), no Beatport, Audiojelly, iTunes, Spotify etc. I don't expect to hear anything on the usual radio shows unless the DJ themselves seeks out the tracks and chooses to download them (that is almost guaranteed to not happen). Should you wish to donate a small amount or get it free, the choice will be entirely yours. If you donate you can be sure that your donation will come straight to me and will be used to pay for hosting, Soundcloud accounts etc and maybe the occasional beer (if you don't mind!) for which I will be very grateful!
Music is no longer my day job (ok, dream day job!). As for when I will release tracks, well, that's simple - when they are ready and I just don't know when that will be. If there is anything I will upload it. No release dates, no promotion.
If you want to share my music I can't stop you and to be honest I accept that it will probably happen. I just ask one favour. If you do share the music, PLEASE do not try making money from it using premium bitlockers. It's just plain disrespectful to me as it is for any musician to have someone profiteering from something they have no rights to. There is no need for you to reupload, rehost or bit torrent it when the music is freely available from the source. Just point your followers or friends to the original download page and give THEM the choice of supporting me directly. The mess that the music business is in, is due in part to illegal sharing and take it from me MUSICIANS DO SUFFER either financially or psychologically because of it. I doubt things will change but YOU CAN and, if enough people do see the need to support musicians financially, in however small a way (a few cents or pennies), the whole business will change for the better and we won't see this massive divide widen further. As a bonus, you should actually feel proud that you made a stand and appreciated what the musician did. I am sure they will be thankful to you. I know I will be!
Beyond music....
So, with the music side of things put aside I have to think about life and what I'm going to do next. I wasn't exactly clever about the future when I was younger so I don't have a specific trade or profession to fall back on but I have learned a lot and learned about business. I am a risk taker and my attitude is that when enough people say your good enough to do something you probably are, or at least not far off it, so my focus will be on the things I've learned and earned from over the past few years.
You might not know it but I'm responsible for a lot of my own design work. I have designed countless club posters, flyers and the odd record sleeve. I designed my own album artwork, website, graphics and even made websites for several big DJs, a few DJ agencies and other businesses. I also dived into the world of film making and visual FX a few years ago and I've slowly honed my skills, particularly in VFX and motion graphics to the point of being confident to take on commercial work.
At the moment I am working on tour visuals and projections for a couple of well-known DJs and I'm taking my first steps into filming and producing music videos and commercials at a more professional level. Art and design was the first thing I fell in love with and it was the one thing I excelled at in school all those years ago and I stuck with it. Visual mediums go hand-in-hand with music and, for me, it was a natural path to follow. My ultimate ambition is to make films but I know the film industry is even more cut-throat than the music business so I'm not holding my breath but who knows? I've still got a long way to go and a stupid amount to learn before I can even consider trying it, not to mention the next-to-impossible task of securing the finance to do so but music and DJing taught me that you can do anything you set your mind to. Who knows, if nothing else, I might be the guy behind the lens of the next DJ XYZ video and if I am I'll put in as much imagination and creativity as I do with music.
The other areas I'm focusing on are outside of the creative sphere. Maybe I watch too much 'Apprentice' but I started to spot the need for certain things and business opportunities. It's a job but it's also a business that I can grow. It's nowhere near as much fun as doing something creatively but hopefully it will be the key to pursuing other creative things for me in the future and that is very motivating. I'm used to hard work, late nights and stress thanks to the last 16 years so nothing really changes.
I will keep my Pulser Facebook, Twitter and website going for now and maybe post the occasional update about whatever it is that I'm doing if I think it might interest you. I'll also still be here to offer advice if and when I have the time but, if you're trying to break through in Trance or other EDM genres for the sake of popularity, fame and fortune I am not the right guy to ask
Thankyou all again and sorry for the looooong posts but when you have something to say it's best to say it all.
Keep dreaming!
Andy
