What have you sacrificed or lost through making music?

[Dusk]

"You're supposed to get depressed, make music, travel the world bearing your soul for not much money"

Right now Im not doing much travelling, Im in my bedroom, as usual.

[Atheory]

would never give up a women for music, its just unneccesary when you could just establish a few boundries for your time.

[MINIMALTECHNOHOUSE]

would never give up a women for music, its just unneccesary when you could just establish a few boundries for your time.

+1 fck that.

My cock needs love too...

[PsyTox]

I kicked out my best friend/roommate and broke up with my girlfriend of 3 years because they were taking me completely away from music (needy bitches). I don't regret either and never will.

Sounds like girl and friend were not at all the right person for you. I'd throw my music out the window straightaway if it would come between me and my wife. But hey, to each its own Lucky enough she actually encourages me to go on when I get doubts or get descouraged. Bless her

the only thing I gave up over the years is money. BIG amounts of hard earned cash (and sometimes not so hard earned, and sometimes not earned at all). But don't regret a single moment, it's just ... well, sh!t happens

Anyway, to the topic starter: send out your music, period. Because you will never get satisfied and maybe all you need is someone else's perspective on your productions. Don't post em on boards and stuff, just buy a stack of CD's and send them to labels you like. Period.

[ano.phi]

Sounds like girl and friend were not at all the right person for you.

You got the idea.

[async]

Dear Dusk,
Hardly anyone makes it in the music biz. I've got a really good buddy that was at one point widely acclaimed, he's now too broke to buy himself a sandwich... all due to a narrow focus (well and because he knew the risks when he quit his job to start doing only music).

First, I say you focus on taking care of yourself and chill out a bit on music. It's important to make time to further your art, but you should think about what's important to you as a person and focus on that. At the same time, you should remember that you probably wouldn't be all that happy with a "better job" with more pay and tons of fairweather friends.

Remember to take everything in moderation. Consider making a change. Take up meditation. Find something that interests you (like maybe hacking on sound-generating electronics) and focus on that.

With respect to music, don't be afraid to repeat yourself. Analyze and refine your sound and then embellish what you've done.
Personally the most helpful thing to me was to make connections with friends that are as into producing music as I am (if not more) and insist on spending face time with them. Go to bars with them, chill with them and pick their brains.

[miroslav]

Very simply, Ive been sitting in my bedroom for over the last ten years. I have *tried* to maintain a decent life balance, did school and university and threw myself into those things authentically, and those other things (girlfriend, clubbing, drug abuse etc.)

However I realise that now Im no longer a kid with endless time to waste. Ive become really conscious that all the hours I spend hunched over my MIDI keyboard and Nord Lead are hours that others are spending developing their career, playing team sports, going to the gym, strengthening their friendship circles, seeing the world, going out for dinner, etc etc. I've definitely lost friends through repeatedly shutting myself away to work on music. This has become critical distraction from my task of trying to create good music.

It would be ok, I think, if the "gamble" had paid off by now, but in reality Im still refining my sound and never satisfied, meaning ive never sent work out even though I know its there-or-thereabouts.

I wondered if anyone else had any thoughts on this?

The saying goes that sacrifices must be made to create anything worthwhile, and part of me is 100% determined that my life should produce something special, out of the ordinary, even if I lose things in the process.

lol.... I laugh because what you say is precisely what I think at times - from the other side as a non-music producer! I guess you can say that I've done the career thing. I've done a lot already, work-wise, and I'm finishing up very shortly with a masters in business from a good university in my country. And I love electronic music and still do the amateur/bedroom DJ thing when I have time. But I don't have that much time anymore because the choices I've made end up eating up a lot of time...

And sometimes after a really great show or a really inspiring live set, I think to myself: "What if I had really put myself into the music instead of doing what I'm doing? Were the choices and sacrifices I made worth it?" And I've watched a friend or two of mine who committed to it get some stuff out and actually get somewhere with it...certainly farther than I ever did...

I guess I don't have any deeper answer or statement to make than (1) you're not alone in this; and (2) there is always an opportunity cost and the grass always looks greener on the other side...

[::BLM::]

Dear Dusk,
Hardly anyone makes it in the music biz. I've got a really good buddy that was at one point widely acclaimed, he's now too broke to buy himself a sandwich... all due to a narrow focus (well and because he knew the risks when he quit his job to start doing only music).

First, I say you focus on taking care of yourself and chill out a bit on music. It's important to make time to further your art, but you should think about what's important to you as a person and focus on that. At the same time, you should remember that you probably wouldn't be all that happy with a "better job" with more pay and tons of fairweather friends.

Remember to take everything in moderation. Consider making a change. Take up meditation. Find something that interests you (like maybe hacking on sound-generating electronics) and focus on that.

With respect to music, don't be afraid to repeat yourself. Analyze and refine your sound and then embellish what you've done.
Personally the most helpful thing to me was to make connections with friends that are as into producing music as I am (if not more) and insist on spending face time with them. Go to bars with them, chill with them and pick their brains.

I know loads and loads of people that are living just off the music. I'm not sure if this means they have made it, but if music is their job it pretty much means they have. Thing is your not going to make much money from your productions, its th djing that gets you the cash to live.