BIGSOUND Acts Reveal The Most Challenging Thing About Being An Artist In 2023

Kid Heron

For me, as an independent artist: administrative tasks, financing the recording and release process, and overcoming the stress and anxiety of releasing new music …but I love a good challenge.

Boomchild

I think most artists would agree that the pressure to be more than just an artist is the most stressful thing about the whole process. Of course, the game comes with its ups and downs, but we feel like the growing market of social media and continuous noise, which us artists have to compete with, creates an environment where sometimes our art and other artists’ music fall short in reaching its audiences on the basis that there's just so much internet jargon out there on a day-to-day basis.

Yorke

Either the rising cost of touring post-pandemic OR content creation being deemed as almost as important as the music.

Radio Free Alice

Having to self-promote through social media because we're really bad at that.

RAAVE TAPES

Our live set has pivoted from a three-piece rock band to a shiny new two-piece electronic set. Our biggest challenge has been getting our heads around all of the new tech, synchronising our dance moves & living life without a drummer.

Siobhan Cotchin

Touring is difficult, especially in the post-COVID world. There are lots of costs involved, and it is quite hard to finance it all as an independent artist. Since COVID, the landscape has changed, with people attending shows.

We have seen that a number of festivals are being cancelled due to low ticket sales, and people are reluctant to purchase tickets prior to shows, making it difficult for artists to determine whether certain shows and festivals are viable.

Kobie Dee

The most challenging thing for me is finding the balance between work/family/friends/downtime.

Foley

Connecting to your audience beyond social media - it’s so amazing to be able to reach more people through social, but it’s also hard to feel that true person-to-person connection. That’s why touring is so critical; to see your fans in person and truly be human with them. BigSound is our first opportunity to come to Australia and connect in person with the Australian audience.

Freight Train Foxes

This is possibly cliche, but the toughest thing about being an artist in 2023 is where to focus our attention.

There is so much noise in the world, so many things vying for our attention, that making the time to focus on actually creating is tougher than ever before. Being an artist requires you to be okay with just sitting, taking a breath, and observing the world around you.

Being an artist requires you to unplug from your analytical brain and embrace a discovery mindset. And I'm confident that when it comes to blocking out that noise, it's never been more challenging in our history than it is right now.

STUMPS

Now that playing gigs is back in a big way for many acts, I think our biggest challenge is still having to balance our day jobs and playing interstate shows. We love it though and feel very fortunate to be doing what we are doing, so we try not to think about playing in a band as a challenge.

Miss June

1. Recovering from the COVID-19 Pandemic.  We were touring off the back of our debut album, and it all got cancelled in 2020. I (Bel) had to go back to full-time work in the hospital which was insanely busy and also scary. I think this period of chaos really affected everyone globally.

2. Virality - Going viral on TikTok… we are yet to delve into this market, but I hear it's all the rage.

Charm of Finches

Having the space to create when life gets busy.

Alf the Great

I often find it hard to find the time to focus on creating my own art, as I am committed to supporting my mob and other Indigenous Australian people in my community. I am the co-founder of Blak Label Music, a music hub where I started to support First Nations people in navigating the music industry. I am also an engineer by trade and have taken steps to ensure mob are supported within this respective industry too. As an artist, it's so hard to just focus on one thing these days, and even harder to support the Community and yourself while doing it.

Moaning Lisa

Running your own race. This might be a bit of a personal one, but sometimes it's just so hard not to compare yourself to all the amazing acts we see around us. I think we just have to keep reminding ourselves that we are one of one and celebrate everyone's successes when they come.

It's a cut-throat industry, and everybody has to make sacrifices to keep being a part of it. Collaborating and making something together that none of us could ever have done on our own is what makes it all worth it.

PRETTY BLEAK

Money. It’s extremely expensive to operate a band that has the kinds of aspirations that we do. We hold ourselves to a very high standard, in our art and in the way we present ourselves to the world.

We refuse to take shortcuts, and what this means is that when the tool required to complete a task is money, we have no choice but to spend the money. We all come from rural Victorian working-class backgrounds, and none of us have had the opportunity to transcend the working class so far in our lives.

We’ve also never had any kind of financial backing from a third party when it comes to the expenses that trying to make it in music requires. So we’re all perpetually poor, working multiple jobs to try and scrape enough money together to live, and to pour into the band. This creates a significant amount of personal hardship and stress. Everything else when it comes to our band is a pleasure to engage in, so there’s no doubt that if money wasn’t an issue for us, then we'd have no answer to this question whatsoever.

Delivery

Playing music is fun. If you’re happy to put in the work and don’t take the wins for granted, it’s not that hard. We also have a new song with a key change in it, which means anything is possible.

FELONY.

The mystery of being an artist is slowly fading away with the involvement of social media and the internet. I think I struggle with that a lot. The constant pressure to be always uploading everything you’re doing frankly sucks. I don't want to see what my favourite bands are eating for breakfast!

I want to be the kid lying awake at night and wondering what they’re doing right now where they are or what they’re thinking or writing. Sounds stalker-ish I’m aware but not losing that tension and mystery as an artist is super important to me - so I’m still trying to figure out how to hack it while still incorporating the big wide web.

Twine

One of the most challenging things about being an artist is the financial instability coming from low or no guarantees from venues when booking shows, low income from streaming services and the general costs associated with touring - particularly as we are from Adelaide and in order to expand our reach, we need to regularly play shows in the Eastern states.

Kristal West

For me personally, finding funding to support my music projects is the most challenging thing as well as being a single mother & constantly finding solutions to overcome any barriers.

Moss

I think some parts of the underground electronic scene are still recovering from COVID and while it takes time, it actually opens up a clean slate for a new generation of artists to come through and express themselves in new ways and waves.

Otiuh

Pairing releases with visuals - great fun - also exhausting!

Komang

The pressure to focus on social media branding and content creation rather than making dope music (which is what we're all here for, really). That, as well as no minimum wage for musicians, and DJs being booked over live musicians cos it's cheaper.

Also, you make very little money from streaming, thanks to streaming giants like Spotify. The music industry is built upon musicians and our work, and yet we receive very little remuneration and rewards from it all. Artists need to unionise.

Behind You

Staying focused on making music. There's a lot of noise to get swept up in. The business side of being in a band is a real vortex, plus the general lingering dread of the climate crisis, isolating social scenes, shit memes and bad internet energy.

It's an inspiring time for making aggressive music, but there are times when cynicism creeps in, and it all feels a little pointless - it's easy to forget what it is you set out to do in the first place.

mostly sleeping 

Damn, this is like my last therapy session. Finding the balance between writing, releasing and making radical TikToks, particularly as a solo artist. Also paying rent in London is wild. But it's all manageable! I think the shift in attitude is key for someone like me.

Tamara & The Dreams

Aside from my own anxiety, procrastination and fear of failure? The stale pale male music establishment in this country that keeps booking line-ups full of dudes.

CHISEKO

For me, there are two. The first is operating in an industry where artists are consistently undervalued and underpaid for their efforts. For example, having to work several jobs at a time to fund travel flights etc., if you’re serious about making it long term, meaning that financially and mentally it can really be a struggle.

Often, I feel like I’m Sisyphus, pushing a ball up a hill that only wants to roll down. There is government assistance in the form of grants etc., but the competition for those things is steep. I feel as though artists need more assistance so that we can thrive and help build a culture that in turn will benefit consumers.

The other really challenging thing is having to be an everyman. In today’s world, you have to be a social media expert, marketing expert, photographer, videographer, editor, CEO and so much more. It’s impossible as a grassroots artist to juggle all of these things and the learning curve is too steep.

The extra work slows down the development of your music and if you can’t afford to hire people as most artists can’t you have to do it all yourself. I think the expectations of artists in today’s world are really unrealistic, and this has been made worse by the fact that we often aren’t duly compensated for our work.