The Music Business Rollercoaster

The ebb and flow - excitement and disappointment - it's so draining you get to a point where you don't let yourself get excited about anything because nothing is certain or permanent, and the industry is in so much confusion and turmoil it's hard to know what goals to have, let alone what steps to take to get there. Sure, this is true of life anyway - especially when you're younger, at transition points in life - but this is a constant state of existence in the music business.

Get a band, lose a band....label interest, an A level producer - ah, it doesn't pan out... what you think is going to be a big show turns out to be a crowd that's dead or not there to see you...gear up for the next show, the venue is almost empty...then a breakthrough, stage diving, people talking about it for days after...excitement about the mastered final mixes turns into scrapping it all to start over - then you do start over and the end result is awesome and you think you're so glad you didn't stop.

So now? Maybe it doesn't break through, maybe no one connects to it or it's the wrong time - maybe you go on the road and come back with stories and scars and some cash! - or just a week-long hangover. The ups and downs start to wear on you, they destroy a bit of you at every downturn.

But maybe what's leftover - after all that turmoil and uncertainty and disappointment - maybe that's the best part anyway. It's the rawest part of you, and the strongest.

So the moral? You can't change any of this. It's part of the game. But you can react by saying f*ck it and not letting it slow you down for long.