I was talking with a coaching client the other day, and he said something that really stuck with me. He was sharing how hard it can be to balance the creative side of making music with all the admin and business stuff that comes with trying to build a career in sync licensing. The pitching, networking, organizing files, registering songs, following up, and on and on.

I could really relate to my client’s feelings. It’s easy to get lost in the business side of music.  If you don’t strike the right balance, it can really drain your creative juices and lead to burn out.

It reminded me of something I’ve felt many times myself. Sometimes I get a little tired of writing articles about the technical side of this business. Things like contracts, music publishing, and marketing aren’t always the most exciting parts of what we do.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to stop sharing that kind of content. I want to help you navigate this crazy music business in the most effective way I can and I feel a strong sense of duty to pass along what I’ve learned. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to do that for the last 15 years of running this website, my podcast, blog and so on.

But every now and then, I have to hit pause and remind myself why I’m doing all this in the first place. I didn’t get into this business for the money or a desire for a fame.

For me, it’s always been about the music. The actual creation of it. The playing, the improvising, the exploring. That spark that first pulled me in when I was twelve years old making music in the basement of my childhood home. 

That sense of wonder and possibility I felt when I first heard a song that moved me or when I learned a simple blues lick and realized I could say something genuine with it.

That feeling never really goes away. It just gets buried sometimes under spreadsheets and submission deadlines. Sometimes, when we make music our job, or try to make it our job, we can lose sight of why we make music in the first place.

When I find myself drifting too far from that original love of music, I try to take a step back and return to my roots. I give myself permission to unplug from the hustle, even for a day or two, and just make music with no agenda. No target, no pitch, no brief. Just music for the sake of music.

I did that recently, and what came out was an instrumental piece I recorded called Lunes. It’s a sort of Pink Floyd-esque guitar piece. I wasn’t trying to write something for sync. I was just playing from the heart and what came out is one my favorite things I’ve ever recorded on the guitar.  It’s raw and emotive and very real.

You can check it out on my Youtube channel here:
Watch "Lunes" on YouTube

I hope you enjoy it, and maybe even feel a little spark of your own when you listen. My wish is that it reminds you of whatever it was that pulled you into music in the first place.  Are you making the kind of music you’re inspired to make?  Are you expressing what you want to express with your music?   Feel free to leave your own songs in the comments of the video.

Stay focused. Keep working hard. But don’t forget to make space for the magic that got you started on this journey in the first place.

Talk soon,
 Aaron