You may have heard the expression: “Dreams don't pay the rent!” 

   The only thing artists get paid without even applying for the job is Reality Checks. Trust us. We get the full amount without taxation. The everyday grind has a way of throwing in reminders of things that require our attention and resources beyond our creative pursuits.  

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

     According to the many music business books that we've read, and conversations with some in the industry, there's are basics of what it takes to “make it”. There's talent (you either have creativity or a way to make another's creativity relatable to the masses, or both), hard work, drive, discipline, sacrifice (they never say what) - and let's not forget the unspoken factor… money - whether it's yours or someone else's. And then throw in a dash of je ne sais quois and “it's who you know” for those who like it extra layered. We purposely did not say luck because we don't agree with the way that term just sweeps actual effort under the rug. 

     Recently, we received an email from a man who was a former manager for a currently extremely well-known female artist.  We'd heard of him through an online acquaintance.  He'd sent out a list of things - steps to take, if you will - to move our career forward. His former client followed everything he told her to do years ago, and now she sells out tours. He assures that artists who implement the steps would achieve a near-similar success.  

     Example:

• Have (or find) a monthly budget for music (production, recording, gear, ads & marketing, submissions, merch, videography, quality music videos, new professional band photos every 3 months, etc.) 
• Spend at least 2+ hours a day networking, creating content, getting gigs to perform, and fan interaction
• Have a group of family or friends that support what you do (Implied: literally HAVE family and friends that financially support you)

     Some of these were scalable.  Some we could find a way to do ourselves.  Some we could save up to outsource for their skill.  So, encouraged by what we read, we ventured to ask said former manager what his fee was at the time of working with the then young unknown female artist and what it would translate to now if he took on other artists to mentor.  His answer…. $100K/year. THEN. That was his fee then in the early 2000s!

    The thing is… this former female client of his that (we guess) followed everything he told her to do had her parents who were willing to support her.  They owned their own business and were an upper middle-class family. This was just at the beginning of social media and before algorithms were a thing.  She had no 9-5 job of her own, so she could probably spend quite a lot of time focusing on his advice.  She did not have mouths to feed, or bills or loans to pay. She didn't have to deal with the internet as it is now, or feeding into the algorithms.  And she most likely had the friends that probably attended every single show.  Honestly, that's amazingly great for her! As far as music careers go, that's a pretty ideal beginning. This is not to say she hasn't faced hardships or that she didn't have talent or drive.  But her determination is no different or more than others that we know have been at this longer than her (or us) and they'd done even more than this former manager had suggested.  This is only to point out there is no one-size-fits-all application to our individual journeys in creating art or pursuing our dreams.  We don't know if anyone else has followed his entire list and whether they've achieved the success they were looking to obtain.  We can only do what we can to the best that we can. 

     On the night “Cry A Little Deeper" was written (circa 2011-2012), we were sitting in near darkness in our living room. One of us was on the rug designed with flowers and diamond shapes; one of us sat on a blue footstool that had tiny gold crowns on it (it was a gift from a WWII veteran who thought of us as his grandkids); and the last of us was playing with a penny she'd found on our glass coffee table. The melody was given as the objects surrounding us metaphorically lent themselves to the lyrics. We never knew which would come first - melody or words…. we just prayed they'd come at all. 

     The reality of life is that it is a struggle. All good things are meant to be so. Yet, part of the good fight lies in not forgetting that dreams are still there to be lived, because the noise and demands of everyday existence are intentionally much louder than the quiet hum of creative inspiration.  And it takes quite literally everything to not let it go.  For us, we cannot bring ourselves to ignore it's call.

     So, we keep going.

     And, if you are facing your own struggles in the pursuit of that which fulfills you, of what you love doing, we encourage you to keep going, too.  While dreams may take a long time to pay the rent - if ever - they're really the only inhabitants that have a right to abide rent-free in your life. 

xx

The Girls