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The Phantom Banger wrote:

deadly habit wrote: that and be a good supportive woman in what i do

sex change in order?

bare jokes in here today

well, i've released on some of my favourite labels, i've toured Australia, I've played all over europe, i've released an album that was album of the month in DJ Mag, blah blah blah.

Which, 5 years ago, I would have thought would have been my definition of success. Some of it was great - playing at festivals to 2,000 people is awesome, getting the 5 star VIP treatment in China on a friday night then walking back into work on a monday morning like you're the king is awesome too - and some of it wasn't (DJing to an empty room in a foreign country when the promoter has paid a thousand quid to get you there, getting ripped off by labels and DJs you used to respect). I am still more broke now than I was as a student, struggling to get regular gigs, desperate not to go back to the call centre, lying awake at night worrying about how i'm gonna pay my bills. and that's definitely not my definition of success!

so yeah. most people find their definition of success changes as they get further along!

setspeed wrote:well, i've released on some of my favourite labels, i've toured Australia, I've played all over europe, i've released an album that was album of the month in DJ Mag, blah blah blah.

Which, 5 years ago, I would have thought would have been my definition of success. Some of it was great - playing at festivals to 2,000 people is awesome, getting the 5 star VIP treatment in China on a friday night then walking back into work on a monday morning like you're the king is awesome too - and some of it wasn't (DJing to an empty room in a foreign country when the promoter has paid a thousand quid to get you there, getting ripped off by labels and DJs you used to respect). I am still more broke now than I was as a student, struggling to get regular gigs, desperate not to go back to the call centre, lying awake at night worrying about how i'm gonna pay my bills. and that's definitely not my definition of success!

so yeah. most people find their definition of success changes as they get further along!

:script:
success in edm rarely helps money wise unfortunately
thats what i wish would change

setspeed wrote:well, i've released on some of my favourite labels, i've toured Australia, I've played all over europe, i've released an album that was album of the month in DJ Mag, blah blah blah.

Which, 5 years ago, I would have thought would have been my definition of success. Some of it was great - playing at festivals to 2,000 people is awesome, getting the 5 star VIP treatment in China on a friday night then walking back into work on a monday morning like you're the king is awesome too - and some of it wasn't (DJing to an empty room in a foreign country when the promoter has paid a thousand quid to get you there, getting ripped off by labels and DJs you used to respect). I am still more broke now than I was as a student, struggling to get regular gigs, desperate not to go back to the call centre, lying awake at night worrying about how i'm gonna pay my bills. and that's definitely not my definition of success!

so yeah. most people find their definition of success changes as they get further along!

Rock n roll

for me I'd just like to finish a few tunes that I'm actually proud of

back2onett wrote:

setspeed wrote:well, i've released on some of my favourite labels, i've toured Australia, I've played all over europe, i've released an album that was album of the month in DJ Mag, blah blah blah.

Which, 5 years ago, I would have thought would have been my definition of success. Some of it was great - playing at festivals to 2,000 people is awesome, getting the 5 star VIP treatment in China on a friday night then walking back into work on a monday morning like you're the king is awesome too - and some of it wasn't (DJing to an empty room in a foreign country when the promoter has paid a thousand quid to get you there, getting ripped off by labels and DJs you used to respect). I am still more broke now than I was as a student, struggling to get regular gigs, desperate not to go back to the call centre, lying awake at night worrying about how i'm gonna pay my bills. and that's definitely not my definition of success!

so yeah. most people find their definition of success changes as they get further along!

Rock n roll

for me I'd just like to finish a few tunes that I'm actually proud of

you'll do it
first time i did was when i got noticed and featured
when you have confidence and happiness in what you make the end product reflects it to the world
same concept as smiling on the phone. people can hear that

here's the thing:

what next?

the concept of 'success' should never be a single point. In an ideal world, it's a moving target... you set goals to reach, reach 'em, and progress.

so your friends play your tracks... then other dj's play your tracks... you get a track on the radio... get a tune on radio 1... do some digital releases... do a few vinyl releases... play out more... get picked up by a booking agent... play some festivals... do remixes... get a manager...

what next? all of these are great yardsticks, but none of them are, to me, "success." Success is what happens when yr bustin' yr ass trying to make all those bits happen, fit together, and to have the whole circle that it fits in grow outwards-- have your music connect with more people, write more music, collaborate more, play more gigs, write more records, expand the reach of your music, etc.

cliffs: Success is the PROCESS

sharm

make good music.

every new track is a success... and i hear everytime a little progress... that's enough for me. i'm way too fresh at producing to think of a release or something.

but i think the last big 'success' was that dubplate i made. not really a success coz anyone could do this with any shit tune. but it feels good to have it! feels right

so anyway, to conclude - definition of success is currently, do it for myself.

all that other shit i was talking about, everyone else made money, but i very often made zilch. Distributors, labels, agents, shops, airlines, yadda yadda. Now, I'm working 1000 times harder to hit up promoters, write more music under more names and in more styles, make a useful contribution to the scenes I work in (see bassmusicblog, all the free tunes & mixes on our soundcloud, the free i.d. & baobinga album, the bass music blog netlabel that will soon be dropping more stuff, club nights, helping out my crew, etc), promote all my stuff myself, blah blah. if i still don't make any money, then i'm no worse off than i was before, but if i do make some, result!

Setspeed, your blog is fantastic man!!! Content, layout, links--- everything.

Think my biggest success for me is quite recent and thats playing get darker and having people outside a club 2 days later congratulate you and compliment, that was quite a feelin' spesh cause I was dreading having that sort of treatment, I took it in my stride though!

My ultimate goal is to write an album, thats all really - I don't care if it gets released or not, I just want to write a 15track album. i feel albums express so much of an artist and really affects people f done right i'd b happy if people also had memories good or bad connected towards my music.


i dunno i guess i just want to writ emusi people have a connection with, thats my ultimate goal

Honestly I just want loads of money.

Well I've already gotten two of my songs in mixes so far which is pretty good, one goal reached. I suppose the next steps is what most people would want to do:

Get tunes signed on a digital record label
Get radio airtime, radio 1 would be bloody awesome however very optimistic for someone like me
Get signed to one of the bigger record labels and then getting my tunes put out on CD, vinyl and digital
Learn how to DJ then gradually get a few gigs but build it up

I reckon this will take a few decades though.

1.) releasing on a label


still workin on that

Sharm, you're talking about building and living your life around your love, your music. Yeah of course that is success!

But my life isn't based on music. Really my life is based on my family. I work on music all the time, and enjoy the process, so that is success for me.


Here is the pedestrian shit -

I'd like to have 1 track included in something that is pressed to vinyl.

I would feel like I had succeed in a worldly manner by such a release.

Of course that track would need to be on par with the tracks that I really admire and respect for me to be willing to let it out into the world.

2 ultimate success's for me would be,

Get booked to play at a club, to play music i make and stuff i enjoy.

Have someone who's music i love, to ask me for a 320 or wav

that is all

setspeed - Carl craig isnt lister i assume ur joking.....

ive had a few minor successes, nothing really in grand scheme of things, played a few nice gigs (france, germany, chicago, london, mcr) vinyl release, 3 cds, a few digi stuff but couldnt progress as couldnt afford to. sucks. now 9-5 which pays OK but no time to produce :|Had a track on Virgin Trains onboard radio as well too bizarrely. No idea how that came about ! Still waiting to get paid for that.....

happily married to a very supportive musican, which is cool. priorities shift as you get older too, im 33 now, no way im trekking to the otherside of the country to play at 3 in the morning, lapped that up ten years ago. happy making tunes at my own pace with no reference to whats new/cool/in, doing my thing in a vaguely dupstep styley, gone off dnb totally TBH, getting well back into acid house/techno too. All good fun. Got an EP coming out on UKTRends which is nice. Just want to keep playing with stuff when i feel like it,rather than having too. Well into masterchef at the mo lol. Always avoided doing music for a career as wanted to keep it as something i do for fun not a job.

To have my own label pushing vinyl. Then to setup a bi-monthly event up here.

Not too far to go I hope!

As Sharmaji well said, success come in short goals... (well thats would i have been told in my days)

E.G if you say one day you want to have a vinyl release, well thats the overall picture, however you should focus of the small steps to keep you focused on the bigger image, i.e :

- You have to be writing good music first (subjective of course, but people will let you know if your doing so or not)
- Once you are, you go to make contacts, this is a industry where who is know is more important then what you know.... fact! Dj's/blogger/radio pluggers/ producers/ promoters / label heads etc you need to know a few, and build on your list.
- Once thats done, you will get picked up soon, as long as your formal.