"You And Your Art Deserve To Be Healthy": Big Vacation On Maintaining Artistic Control

I absolutely love making art.

Writing, producing, building a world for the art to live in and tell a story, then connecting with people who want to be a part of this world. It's an exciting and unique experience that not many people get to do. It takes vision and courage.

As an artist, I've been so lucky and grateful for the opportunities I've had. I've been able to write and produce a whole range of projects and artists, both here in Australia and collaborations overseas. I have toured across the country with artists such as Glass Animals and collaborated with labels both here and abroad. I understand the complexities of being an artist in the contemporary music space, along with every other competing priority in our lives. I'll say it again- I absolutely love making art. 

However, how many artists do you know operating from a place of fear and worry of failure and the experience of depression and anxiety when creating and releasing music? 

It astounds me how many artists I know, and those who I am aware of, operating on a small indie scale along with large label backing, that relate to their art this way. It is a worry. Stemming from the habits of comparing yourself to others, scrolling through social media to track the successes and achievements of contemporaries, obsessing over social media numbers, relying on bad advice and messaging from industry sources, trying to manufacture things from a place of pressure and fear, ultimately making decisions that don't serve you and burning out for all the wrong reasons.

To be clear, every artist has some degree of comparison and competitiveness within them- some as simple as checking how other artists do things when releasing music, some as intense as wanting the biggest support slots, playlist adds, social media and streaming numbers and signing shiny-looking label deals. Every artist can identify where they sit on this spectrum if they're honest with themselves. It's all completely fine and natural.

However, suppose the outcome of your comparison and competitiveness causes that fear and worry of failure or more severe depression and anxiety. In that case, a re-think of the relationship you have with creating and releasing music might be in order. You should love making music and the process of releasing your art, connecting with an audience, and everything that comes with that. That can and should be a reality. You should have a healthy relationship with your art.

This new Big Vacation project is exactly that- an opportunity to redefine the relationship with creating and releasing music and connect with others who see the importance of this, too. Is it all easy? No. Do you have to love every part of the process equally? Of course not- and we don't. But we can choose what serves us and what we won't let into our wheelhouse. We have artistic control. 

So, what could this new relationship look like? How do you put it into action?

Here are some things to try as a starting point. Clearly, this is not an exhaustive list of ideas, and I would be very interested to hear what you, as an artist, would add to this:

Artists and Time

How much time do you spend on music? Have a healthy relationship with the time you spend creating, the business and the industry. Draw your boundaries. Open up your time to all the other things in your life- these make you a better human (and, in turn, a better artist:))

Personally, I work in another profession, which I also teach at university, which I'm also doing post-grad studies in, along with family, friends, surfing, thinking, pondering, and, importantly, time to DO NOTHING. These are all really important to me, and I love doing these things too- and they, funnily enough, give me depth and scope when making art. Have a healthy relationship with the time you spend on music.

Artists and Money

Money can hold artists back. Some label deals can lock you into contracts where you don't see any money for a long time. Indie artists generally just don't have the financial resources. We're all aware of the main costs- recording, mixing, mastering, music videos, press shots, content, cover art, publicity, marketing, touring, flights, accommodation, car hire, food, and musicians. We could keep adding to the list, but you see where it's heading.

If you have literally thousands and thousands of dollars to do it- pay for all the experts in these fields because they will add their brilliance to the project.

But you're an indie musician, so you don't.

So, become multi-disciplinary. Learn how to mix your songs, and find a mix engineer you've worked with who would like to mentor you—check in with them. Shoot a music video + content + press shots on your iPhone. Use that to make cover art. Edit your own videos. Again, find mentors to guide you with these things. You could try to do your own publicity, but for real, this might be something to spend time on when the time is right. Play local shows and start touring interstate when you're ready. Reach out to your community of friends in various arts to work on parts of your project with you. Most importantly, do all this how you feel comfortable, within your means, and on your schedule. Don't be pressured by other people's agendas.

Artists and the Industry

Industry connections can be the most challenging part, particularly when starting out. What do I do now I have made some great music? 

You don't need a big team. Find trusted mentors, seek their advice and take up any key introductions if they offer. There are many distribution channels in Australia with great artist support services, too – Ditto and GYROstream are a good start. Find who resonates with you. Find who similar artists are working with. 

Connecting with other artists who sit in your lane and within the world and community you are building is a very organic and authentic way to find who you want to work with. These connections start conversations and introductions and build industry options. Go to shows. Meet people, and always be genuinely nice. 

These are starting points, and I will be sharing more of these reflections on my socials. I would love to hear other alternate ways you have found to make and release music.

 Big Vacation is a very new project, with only two songs deep, but there is much more to come. It is like a vacation from the norm, redefining the relationship with the art and how to connect with an audience. I've put a lot of what I mentioned above into practice already, testing out what works for me, and there's a lot more I'm slowly building, which I'm excited for you to see and hear. So, if you are operating from a place of fear, worry and anxiety, there are other ways to operate. That's not how art should make you feel; the business elements should be an extension of your art, existing to support it. 

You always have an opportunity to redefine your relationship with creating and releasing music. You and your art deserve to be healthy.

Big Vacation is an indie-pop artist from Eora/Sydney. His dreamy new single Store Clerk is out now on all streaming platforms. Check out the music video below.