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Big Ideas
Jailed by Your Fanbase
Do you feel imprisoned by your fanbase?
Look through these symptoms and rate each of them from 0 - 10...
“0” being “not true at all” and “10” being “100% true”.
Clear Values
Symptoms of Imprisonment by Your Fanbase
How true do the symptoms feel?
The reason you listen to the kind of music you make is because you have to.
00
0Making your artist music is a grind, and is only getting harder.
00
0You’re making less and less music, and relying more heavily on touring - even though you know it’s unlikely to last.
00
0You keep starting side projects which are VERY different from the music that made you successful.
00
0You look at other artists making music wildly different from yours and desperately wish you were them.
00
0You look down on (or in your worse moments feel contempt for) your fans, quickly followed by shame and guilt.
00
0If you DJ, you hardly play your own music (although you do play other music in the genre).
00
0If you DJ, you find yourself playing music that’s inappropriate for the situation.
00
0If you don’t already, you desperately want to make music for films, produce bands, or (if you’re an instrumental artist) “focus on songwriting”.
00
0There are no rows in this table
You scored: 0
0
If You Scored...
Then....
0
WOOHOO! You’re criminally getting away with being an artist.
1 - 20
You’re seeing the first signs of becoming jailed by your fanbase. If success as an artist is what you’re after, then this is a good place to keep that in check.
21 - 40
You’re unaware of the red flags (or possibly choosing to ignore the red flags) of becoming imprisoned by your fanbase. It’s obvious that something needs to change, but what? And how?
41 - 60
Your fans love your old stuff, but the new stuff doesn’t seem to get the same love. It feels like new album releases are more and more a drag and you’re not looking forward to studio sessions. No motivation. No push. Just surviving.
61 - 80
Your friends, family, and team give you the side-eye and wonder what’s going on because you’ve been acting weird around the people who love your music.
81 - 90
Your fans have you chained up against the wall with your nails practically being pulled by your fans, inch-by-inch. You need a “get out of jail” card FAST.
There are no rows in this table
If you scored 20 or higher, I’m willing to bet you’re locked in the Fanbase Trap.
It’s Not Your Fault
It’s not something to feel ashamed of. Your feelings of contempt towards your fanbase are unpleasant, but utterly understandable.
Because while your fans put a roof over your head. while they feed your kids, while they have delivered the kind of life (you thought) you always dreamed of...
They’re also crushing you. The massive weight of those expectations. How those expectations are the scaffolding upon which the whole of your life is built.
And HOW DARE YOU!
I mean, you’ve been incredibly lucky. You’ve achieved your wildest dreams. You’ve got your wish. There are people who would KILL to be where you are now. And what makes this even worse, is those expectations, this guilt and shame are amplified by your team.
Your manager, your agent, the people who believe in what you do, who believe in your music, who believe in YOU!
Because if you’re at or near the top, THEIR livelihoods, THEIR businesses, THEIR lives depend on YOUR ability to make this music...
This music you desperately don’t want to make.
You pretend you do. You have to pretend you do. Because if you didn’t - what would happen? You’ve seen so many stars fade around you. Or even worse - crash and burn.
This CANNOT happen to you. It won’t.
So you steel yourself for another session in the studio through the week. Waiting for it all to be over - when you can go and play again at the weekend.
The crowds, the lights, the booze, the drugs, the energy you get from the places you play will allow you to forget. To pretend you DO want to do this. That you ARE living your dream.
But inside, you know the artist who made the music responsible for your success is slowly dying inside.
EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
What you have to know is - this isn’t your fault. You DO NOT need to feel guilt or shame. And there is a way through this.
You CAN make music which lights you up without destroying your career. You CAN do what you did in the first place. It’s simply a different set of skills which are no more difficult than the ones you built to get here.
But most of all remember this:
To delight them - surprise yourself.
If you have a fanbase of over 250k and this is familiar, hit me back (100% confidentiality guaranteed)...
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