How to build a strong support network to motivate you through difficult times
As many music producers within the music industry will be aware of, constantly working on your craft can be extremely lonely. With upwards of 8-12 hours in the studio every day, it can be extremely hard to find time to spend with other people such as family and friends. As a direct consequence of this, depression & other mental health issues can quickly sink in.
The music industry can be tough – there’s no doubt about it. Support networks are therefore becoming a vital piece of infrastructure for literally anybody wishing to become successful. After all, you need a group of people to talk to & rely on when things get difficult. During this article, we’re going to talk about how you can go about building that structure, and why it’s extremely useful for accelerating the progress of your artistic career within EDM.
Firstly, you need to be proactive when reaching out to people asking them to be a part of your support network. After all, if they don’t know you need help, they’re probably not going to give it to you. Create a list of about 30-40 people that you aspire to be like & send them an email or Facebook message explaining exactly what you want them to do. If they are fairly high-profile, you’ll need the request to be something that won’t take up too much of their time. For example, you could tell each other your goals each quarter and have a 10 minute Skype call every 3 months to check-in and see how each other is doing. By holding yourself accountable to somebody you aspire to, you are more likely to put in the work to achieve your goals no matter what it takes. Alternatively, you could reach out to family asking to check in on how you are feeling each weekend so that you have somebody to talk to if you are feeling depressed. Ultimately, by reaching out to a trusted group of individuals, it allows you to have a contingency plan of people to talk to in case something goes bad within your career.
Another way to foster an incredibly strong support network is by hosting events that attract people within your niche. Similar to how producers love connecting with each other at the likes of ADE & Tomorrowland, you could potentially organize a local meetup within your city that caters specifically to EDM producers. It’s more than likely that everybody will be facing similar problems such as creative block or even loneliness. By connecting with local producers, it will give you the opportunity to make a lot of new friends, and to chat about issues that you are facing.
Whilst you are building your support network, it’s important to also focus on what you can do for others – not just what they are able to do in order to help you accelerate your career. Instead of being self-focused, consider helping other people achieve their ambitions as well so the relationship is mutually beneficial. For example, if you meet a producer & they are struggling with loneliness, you could go out on a day trip to somewhere in the city or within nature in order to escape from the static environment of a recording studio. As both of you directly benefit from the relationship, it will make every single interaction a lot more meaningful.
As well as finding new people to join your support network to help you through difficult times, reinforcing your current network is also a great strategy that can boost your confidence and motivation when you need it most. As they have (probably) known you for several years, they will undoubtedly have a lot of respect for you. Even if they aren’t familiar with the electronic music industry or EDM production, simply having someone to talk to (even on the end of a phone) can make a significant difference in your levels of happiness. You don’t necessarily need to spend hours with them every week. However, making the effort to keep them in your circle may prove to be beneficial if you ever need to trust people within your local community that you trust.
Finally, creating group chats and virtual support groups can allow you to have people within the music industry around the world that you can talk to in times of need. After all, being a music producer can be extremely lonely during extensive periods of production or mastering sessions. Posting a status asking people if they’d like to join a positive network of like-minded people is probably the best way to go about establishing a group chat – as well as DM’ing people that you are already close within the industry. Whether it has 5 members, 10 members, or 100, you will all be able to connect with each other, answer questions, and support each other through any difficult times that may be faced as a music producer in the modern age. Even if it is just a group phone call every week for a few minutes, having a positive line of communication with people in your industry is a great way to relieve any stress, depression, anxiety, and other issues commonly faced.
Building a support network does not have to be tough. It does not have to be challenging. Instead, it is a great activity that will help boost your motivation & confidence over a long-term period of time. By establishing trust and regular communication with people that you care about, the challenges within the music industry will become a lot easier to overcome.