Christian P. Pewitt Blogs

Why Taking Time Off From Music Can Harm Your Career

Touring can be an incredibly draining experience, and while it's important to take a breather every now and then, taking too much time of from your music can ultimately have a decidedly detrimental effect on your career.

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Guest post by Patrick McGuire of the ReverbNation Blog

If you’ve just wrapped up a two-month tour with your band, taking a long break from music might sound like a good idea, but it could end up hurting your music career. Other than the lucky few musicians who’ve found ways to sustain themselves purely through music, the rest of us have to engage in a delicate balancing act that often pits our musical ambitions against the very real and pressing needs of everyday life, including careers and relationships. Taking a week or two off of music after a long tour is essential, but take too much time and you might never get back to seriously making music. Here’s why:

It kills your routine

If you’re a typical musician in the fact that you’ve got obligations in the form of a non-musical career and relationships to think about, then building and maintaining a routine for your work in music is absolutely crucial. And for everyone who has ever tried to stick to non-essential work or relationship routines knows, falling out of habits is incredibly easy to do, even if they’re incredibly important.

It’s good to avoid taking long breaks from music because for most people, routines are fragile. Taking a week off here and there is mandatory, but if you can, set a reminder in your phone for a date and time when it’s time to get back to get back to making music.

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Too much time off puts you at risk of losing focus

Just like an athlete training for a competition, musicians and songwriters are better at what they do when they’re focused and engaged in their craft. Taking too much time off of music weakens the musical muscles needed to write music, maintain chops and keep a project afloat. If you want to keep focusing on your musical goals, it’s important that you don’t take too much time off between tours and releases.

With so much new music coming out, your fans may forget about you

Between an increase in the world’s music-making population and today’s single-driven culture, more people are making more music than ever before. This means that if you’ve managed to build some momentum around your music, you’ll risk losing it if you take too much time off between releases. In 2018, the music industry functions in a completely different way than it did even five years ago, and unless you’ve got a massive and loyal following, you’ll need to make writing and releasing music consistently a top priority if you want to sustain a thriving music career. In order to preserve your finances, relationships, and sanity, you’ll need to shift your focus off of your music from time to time, but if you wait too long to release music, you’ll risk losing the interest of your fans and any momentum you’ve worked so hard to build. So the next time you plan on taking time off your music, make sure you solidify and stick to concrete plans to get back to work.

Patrick McGuire is a musician, writer, and educator currently residing in the great city of Philadelphia. He creates music under the name Straight White Teeth, and has a great affinity for dogs and putting his hands in his pockets.

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Don't Be Boring: Artist's Guide To Branding

Deezer, Jazz FM Partner To Honor Iconic Record Labels

Deezer has announced a partnership with Jazz FM in honor of International Jazz Day. The streaming service has joined forces with the radio station on a new series called ‘Jazz Stories,’ which will focus on the history of five iconic jazz labels: Impulse!(Universal), Blue Note (Universal), Columbia (Sony), Atlantic (Warner), and ECM (Universal).

Each week’s hour-long episode will feature commentary from a different presenter as well as accompanying playlists, according to Music Week.

“We’re delighted to partner with Jazz FM to take users on a journey of musical discovery,” said Chris Baughen, VP of content & formats at Deezer. “Every week, fans can learn about the labels behind some of the most renowned artists, while enjoying a hand-picked selection of huge jazz cuts.”

“As the world’s leading Jazz broadcaster, Jazz FM is home to many of the world’s most knowledgeable presenters,” added Nick Pitts, content director at Jazz FM. “With a truly innovative blend of expert curation, fascinating commentary and outstanding music we are proud to be partnering with Deezer to produce and present exclusive playlists on the legendary jazz music labels.”

- CelebrityAccess

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Tencent Plans $4B US IPO That Also Benefits Spotify

Tencent Music, China’s largest music streamer, has reportedly invited investment bankers to pitch how they can guide the company through a U.S. IPO valued as high as $4 billion later this year.

The music arm of Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings will reportedly go public before the end of the year, according to Reuters. Tencent, which could raise $3 - $4 billion with the IPO, has declined to comment on its plans.

In December of last year, Spotify and Tencent agreed to take minority stakes in their respective companies that some reports place high as 10%. An IPO by Tencent could net Spotify tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars.

The two streamers made the deal to improve their position prior to their respective public stock offerings. Spotify went public early last month.

In addition to opening up new potential opportunities for both companies, the stock deal aligned the two music streaming services in future licensing negotiations with labels and music publishers.

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Who is the American home buyer? Probably not what you’re expecting

The times, they are a-changing – at least when it comes to who’s buying homes. According to new data, the face of the American home buyer is evolving, trending “increasingly female, graying and childless.”

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