The Olympics 2016 in Brazil are over. And again it was all about the medals. The Dutch ‘Chef de Mission’ Maurits Hendriks is very disappointed. His task is, according to himself, to motivate the athletes. But they didn’t perform as expected. Very disappointing! What about the Olympic creed? “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The […]
Last year I was talking to a friend about fame. She works in the music business too, with world music artists. Sometimes I wonder why conversations with colleagues from rock/pop are always so worked up, as if they have to proof themselves, all the time. Conversations with colleagues from world music or jazz are much more relaxed. You can also experience it in the atmosphere at conferences for the genres. But that’s a different subject. With a cup of coffee […]
39 years ago, on the first day of summer holiday, I bought a holiday-pass. It was the first time that my small German village had such a holiday pass. One of the offered activities was a trip to an attraction park in the Netherlands. Oh, how much was I looking forward too this, it would have been my first time abroad! With the holiday pass in my bag I was on my way home, by bicycle, when a car hit […]
Last week The Guardian published an article from Fiona McGugan, general manager of the Music Manager’s Forum, about the mental health of musicians. The article is about the role of managers in noticing and addressing mental health problems of their artists. “Maintaining an artist’s health is in the best interest of everyone – the label and the management as well as the artist themselves.” (Rumer Shirakbari) Still, short-term financial interests of the manager can be in conflict with the long-term […]
When starting something new, I often feel floating and at drift. It’s like sitting in a boat in the middle of the ocean. When looking around me, the waves don’t tell me where I am, where I come from or where I’m heading. It all looks the same. I don’t see any progress and I’m tempted to resign. Don’t panic! Thinking about it, I realized that it’s totally natural to feel like this. When you start something new, you walk […]
Have you ever participated in a band-competition? You probably have. There are so many competitions, that you might think that every band must have won at least one of them! Here the basic rules for a band-competition: – Several bands participate, similar to a festival, but they don’t get paid. – The audience come for one of the bands and listens to the others too. – The audience likes the contest-element, it’s a way to participate as audience. – Bands […]
Do you remember Popeye? It’s an almost 90 year old cartoon figure; a sailor man who tries to impress his girl Olive. Though she loves strong men like Bluto. Bluto is tall, strong, with very broad shoulders, with a beard and a small head. Popeye has a big mouth with a pipe, a big chin, big forearms, but he is small and has small shoulders. His secret power is spinach. Spinach makes him invincible, even when fighting against Bluto. Just […]
“If only we could play this major festival, we would become successful and happy.” “If only I could find an agent, I would have many shows and will be happy.” “If only a major record company would discover me, I would become famous and happy.” Do you recognize the if-only thoughts? Many musicians have them. They think that their happiness is dependent on positive events, and that positive events will lead to long-lasting happiness. Research in the ’70s has shows […]
Fame – that’s what most musicians dream about. In the music business we still live with the myth that once you are famous, all problems are solved. NOT! You will encounter a whole lot of new problems. Many musicians struggle with fame and with being famous. They suffer so much that some of them die far to young, like Kurt Cobain or Amy Winehouse. Here 4 P’s that make it so difficult to deal with fame: Personal Imbalance. Fame does […]
If you want a life without stress, don’t become an artist, don’t become a musician! As a musician, you better know how to deal with stress! You need stress if you want to be a good musician. The most common form of stress is to live up to expectations – from others or from yourself. Don’t underestimate your own expectations. At all levels you meet expectations: how you want to sound, how you want to play your instrument, what kind […]
Have you heard of winter-depression? Are you infected too? I can get quite down if the days are so short as they are right now. No wonder that the celebration of the winter solstice is so important in most Nordic cultures. It’s the start of the days getting longer again. Many Christmas customs have their origin in the celebration of winter solstice in Nordic countries. Pines and pine branches stand for the hope of everything getting green again in spring. […]
At school I’ve learned that I have to put extra attention to the subjects I’m not that good at. In my case it was French, Latin and sports. All the good grades in history, religion and music were taken for granted. The focus was on getting better in the stuff that I wasn’t that good at. It took me quite some time to find out that there are alternatives to that approach. Waldorf schools, Montessori schools and other alternative schools […]
After the attack in Paris last week with 89 people being killed at a concert at Le Bataclan, everyone in the music business is shocked and grieved! And we react accordingly. Some Dutch venues have increased safety measures by using twice as much security people ans searching every single visitor and his/her bag. Prince is postponing his European tour. The targeted attack on pop music affects us all. Music is important to us. Music can cross borders and connect people, […]
After some weeks of gray and rainy weather, the sun is back. I now know again why fall is my favorite season. The yellow-orange-brown leaves in the sunshine give everything a golden line. It’s really beautiful to see, the trees are shining like stars! The beauty outside comes with a melancholic touch. I know hat the golden beauty outside is only temporary. End of November you can count the last leaves on a tree on the fingers of one hand. […]
As musicians and as person it’s important to know your purpose. Purpose is about your meaning, knowing what motivates you, why you want what you want. Purpose gives you a direction for your career, it helps you to stand out. On the other side the music business is an ever changing business. Look at the last 150 years and how technical developments have pushed creative developments in the music industry to come from operas with 400 visitors to arena shows […]
