Many times the problem comes from within

I am writing this entry after talking and exchanging experiences with many, many artists, and it is about the success or failure of a musical project when it comes to bands.

Considering that the fact of carrying out a musical project is not an easy task, this becomes even more complicated if within the band there is an issue that has not been treated with due care, and that corresponds to each of the members, in a closed-door meeting, to individually answer the following question:

What do I want to achieve with this project?

For example, if the guitar player thinks "for me this is a hobby that helps me distract my weekend from my work and/or studies, and my aspirations are to play every now and then, without going beyond having a good time", while the drummer thinks "I want to make this as my life-project, and I'm going to put blood, sweat and tears to get to the top", the moment will inevitably come when both of these visions will be confronted. This becomes even more complicated when there is money already involved in albums, recordings, videos, tours, etc. 

In the end, it's about putting on the table all the expectations that each one has when working together. The ideal is to do this from the beginning, or before important decisions are made, and to do it in detail. The previous example is perhaps two opposite poles, but there is a great spectrum of visions between them, which would still clash if they are incompatible.

Surprising as it may seem, I have noticed that many bands have not done this work of being sincere among each of their members; and it is complicated, because when those clashes of visions occur, there are frustrations, then internal conflicts, and sometimes even fights aired through social networks. What can we say about the separation or end of the bands?

Remembering again that pursuing a musical project requires a lot of effort, that effort is much more bearable if the members and their expectations are perfectly aligned, regardless of whether they are professional or not. 

So the call is for bands that have not yet had this conversation, to have it as soon as possible, to avoid as much as possible bad times and frustrations in the future.

How to self-manage a tour. Part 4: Touring Artist Behavior

In this fourth and last post of this series, we will talk about the recommended behavior of the artist while on tour. In a previous post we had talked about teamwork, but in this one it refers more to the individual behavior of each person.

With everything organized and ready for the tour, an adventure that was planned well in advance finally begins. It will always be very rewarding to travel, meet new people, live new experiences, and of course, play live. However, the fundamental thing to understand is that THIS IS A JOB, NOT A HOLIDAY. Even though the whole atmosphere around a tour is with a lot of enthusiasm, of doing something we wish and like very much, we must not lose the perspective that we must be in good condition to perform several concerts in a row, in addition to continuing the logistical and promotional work in every aspect. And that requires rest, especially considering that many times the hours of sleep are going to be less.

That's why that old cliché of "sex, drugs and rock and roll on the road" doesn't apply in the case of a self-managed tour (nor in any kind of tour). Of course there have to be moments of recreation and relaxation, hopefully well planned and balanced, and the tone is always going to be many things to attend to, if we want everything to go well, and rest does not mean the same as "party, party and party".

All of this demands that the artist's behavior be in accordance with the context in which the tour takes place. For example, parties and alcohol after a concert, are not very recommended if the next day you have to get up very early and continue traveling to play in another city. That's why everything has to be discussed and agreed upon before starting the tour, because if the behavior of one or more team members is not appropriate, the friction and disagreements begin, along with the possibility of the live show being diminished.

Basically, you have to have a lot of responsibility to know what the limits are when it comes to behaving on tour.

I would like to mention something that comes out of the latter. What happens with some of the great artists, who show how they do crazy things and party after every concert, and still tour for months and years? Here you have to be clear that they have a staff of people who are in charge of everything, and that's why they have much more free time than a self-managed artist. And the second thing is that each one of them, independent if they are an emerging or consolidated artist or a star, knows where their own limit of behavior is, in order to deliver the best show every night and be as professional as possible.

A final reflection is that a self-managed tour is an instance that requires planning for months, along with efforts of all kinds and many people, regardless of the style and format of the artist. Therefore, a proper behavior during the execution of the tour guarantees many more possibilities that everything will go well, and also generates the possibility of making another tour in the future, perhaps of greater importance, and this allows the emerging artist to continue growing and consolidating.

How to self-manage a tour. Part 3: Promotion

For a self-managed tour, once the concerts are booked, the route drawn up and the logistics resolved, a very important element follows: the promotion of each concert, because however well organized everything is, it would be a shame if no one attended each of the dates.

There is no one right way to promote, since each case depends on the artist and his or her fan base in each place where the concert is to be held. It could be that this base is non-existent, and the objective of the concert is to find the first fans; or the artist has a solid legion of followers who are waiting for his/her visit, either for the first time or as a recurring event.

Regardless of this, there is one key figure that should not be overlooked, and that is the promoter, that is, a person who is in charge of spreading the word about the concert in the city that is going to take place. This person can be the same person who organizes the concert, or someone different (hired by the artist or the organizer), or even the same artist working remotely. Whoever it is, it is essential that someone is in charge of disseminating the event, and both the artist and the promoter each have essential roles to play. Let's see what they are:

The role of the artist in the promotion consists basically in generating content to enthuse people to attend the concert, and providing it to the promoter. This content is usually the following:

• Graphics and logos for making posters, or even the already designed poster

• High quality photographs of the artist

• Full biography of the artist for press releases and interviews

• All kinds of videos, from video clips, live videos, to videos for the social networks calling for the event.

It also helps a lot if the artist uploads by himself promotional content of the event through their own social networks.

The role of the promoter is to be constantly working and distributing this content through the appropriate channels, so that it reaches the people who know the artist, or who might like it if they don't know him/her. In addition, the promotion has to start from a sufficient time according to the amount of people that we want to attend the event. Therefore, the tasks of the promoter would be:

• To send information about the event to the press and local media

• To coordinate interviews with local media

• The constant diffusion of the event in social networks

• The dissemination of event information on mailing lists

• Printing and distribution of graphic material (posters and fliers)

• The coordination of competitions in networks and local media

• The diffusion with the artist in person, in visits to media and TV

• Coordinate other types of dissemination with the artist, for example meet and greet, clinics, etc.

It is important to understand that within these lists, the work of external professionals is needed, such as a graphic designer (for graphics and posters), a printer if necessary, and also a journalist (to prepare press releases, for example), among others. This is why these items must be considered in the tour budget, or even from the promoter itself.

Finally, in case the artist is the promoter, he has to do both, something that is not easy, especially working remotely before the tour starts. This case occurs when the artist hired a place directly to do a concert, without having a manager in between.

With a very good promotion, there are many more possibilities that people will attend the event, and that it will be an unforgettable occasion for all the participants: artist, managers, and audience.

How to self-manage a tour. Part 2: Logistics and organization

In the previous post we discussed the initial planning to self-manage a tour, where the most important thing is: to have the team (artist + staff) confirmed with availability to travel, to have the dates confirmed, and to have a budget to pay for the tour independently of the payments to receive for each concert. Now in this entry we will talk about the organizational details, so that everything goes well at the time of starting the tour.

First of all, the most important elements are the work permits and / or invitation letters, for both the artist and the staff, especially when travelling to other countries. It is absolutely not recommended to do a tour without this, due to risks of fines and serious penalties.

Then, another important element of the logistics of a tour, has to do with the succession of dates in the calendar, versus how to transport ourselves between one date and another, especially if they are on consecutive days. This is something fundamental, and was mentioned in the previous post. Since the budget is often limited, it is much better to try to manage the dates geographically as close as possible to each other, because if not, it makes the item of transportation very expensive. In addition, this allows the artist and team to be well-rested, as the trips between one city and another are shorter.

Once the concert locations are clear, obviously the next step is to decide how to travel from one city to another, and also how to do it within each location. To do this you have to consider the amount of kilometers to travel, and reach a balance between comfort, security, and budget, regardless of whether that cost is covered by the local promoter or by us. For example, it may be more comfortable to rent a van for transportation, but if it is very expensive, we must evaluate if it is better to travel in a train or even in an intercity bus, where we must also consider the transfer of instruments and equipment. The best way to do this analysis is to ask yourself: 1) how much budget we have, 2) how many people and which type of load needs to be transported, 3) consider the safety of everyone and everything in the move, and 4) always keep in mind WHAT IS THE MAIN GOAL OF THE TOUR. It is recommended to perform this analysis in an excel sheet, considering all these variables.

Once the transportation has been defined, the next step is to manage the accommodation in each city. Here, along with the aforementioned variables of budget, comfort and security, we must add CLOSENESS to the venue. Not necessarily the closer it means the more expensive, but you do have to look for the best alternative according to the existing possibilities. All this also considering what are the alternatives, if any, offered by local production.

The next item is food. Again, alternatives must be considered together with local production, and also to consider if any member of the team has special needs in terms of food, in order to not have subsequent health problems. A separate mention is that although there are ways to save money, safety is also important, therefore it is not good to eat in places with not proper hygiene and / or food care conditions.

Finally, the concert itself must be managed: backline, schedule plan, infrastructure, etc. All this was explained in a previous article in this same blog.

Without a doubt that a good organization and planning in advance of all these elements, will make the tour run very good, and even if all is ok, you can add more dates and concerts during the tour itself.

How to self-manage a tour. Part 1: Initial management and planning

Without a doubt an important step for any emerging artist is to make a tour of concerts in places different from those where he resides, in order to show his music and his show to a new audience, and thus continue to grow and develop his proposal.

At the same time, a tour is an instance that requires an important amount of planning, as well as the work of several people involved, regardless of the size of the tour. That's why it is essential to have as many solved details in advance as possible, in order to avoid complicated situations that affect the working environment, and therefore, the concerts themselves.

In the case of an emerging artist, it is almost certain that his first tours during the first years of the project will be self-managed. After that, the goal is to achieve a certain status that an agency, a manager or an external party will manage the future tours, and the artist will only take care about the show itself. That's why THIS POST IS ORIENTATED TO ARTISTS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR SELF-MANAGEMENT ADVICE FOR THEIR OWN TOURS.

Therefore, when the artist is in charge of organizing a tour, the most important thing is to be clear about what kind of goals he wants to achieve with it, because if that is not the case, there can be a lot of frustration, bad times and even friction within the team.

The objectives to make a tour can be, for example:

- To have the experience of going on tour

- To establish a network of contacts in other places

- To attracting the first fans in other places

- To build loyalty among existing followers, and to attract new ones

- To make a cohesion in a working team when travelling

- To make money

- Others

It may be one or several, but the important thing is TO BE CLEAR ABOUT WHY WE ARE ORGANIZING THE TOUR.

Once the goals are defined, a series of stages are initiated which we will look in detail. This first post talks about the initial management, and then it will be the turn of logistics, promotion and finally the execution of the tour.

About the initial management of the tour, let's see step by step each of the elements involved:

1) To define the period and duration of the tour:

There are certain milestones that trigger the possibility of a tour. It can be, for example, the invitation to a festival or an important event of the style of the artist, and in order to take advantage of the trip, smaller concerts before and / or after that event can be managed in the same city or nearby locations. Another fact is the season, mostly summer, which many artists take advantage of to organize tours. Or it may be the season of the beginning of the school and/or university period, depending on the type of audience the artist is targeting. These are just a few examples, and there may be more milestones according to each artist.

Whatever the period to tour, it is also important to understand that the more in advance arrangements are made, the more possibilities there are to make a good tour, since nowadays, the music industry in terms of tours, works more and more in advance of time, sometimes even having the events committed from one year to another.

2) To coordinate the group of people who goes on tour:

This element is directly related to the previous one, since in the case of a band, at least all the members must be able to attend the whole tour, and if in the period of the tour, one or more of them cannot attend for various reasons, the possibility of rescheduling the tour or looking for possible replacements of members must be analyzed, among other possibilities.

In addition, it is necessary to consider if the show requires a technical staff in an essential way, such as a sound engineer, lighting technician, roadies, etc. and also to know their availability.

3) To consider a budget for the tour:

It is important to be clear if one of the objectives of the tour is to make money or not, and because of that, it is the artist who must define it and have available hopefully 100% of the money of the total costs of the tour before it starts, since different scenarios might occur. This is because sometimes the payments contemplated will not be made on the same days of the shows, but can even happen several months after each performance, for example.

By this way, the expenses of transportation, accomodation, fees of session musicians and staff, etc. are covered. Besides, it is also important to consider an important amount of money for contingencies and emergency situations.

4) To get the dates themselves:

As mentioned above, one of the triggers of a tour is the invitation to one or two important events for the artist. To these, a couple more can be added with equal relevance, and we can call them "pillar" events, that is to say, based on those events the rest of the tour is assembled adding more dates, in a convenient and correlative way according to objectives, proximity and budget. All this requires a constant monitoring and negotiation with each venue.

To conclude this first entry, just to emphasize that if the management is done properly, there are better chances that everything goes well, because a tour well achieved is very rewarding for any artist, and surely will be a very good memory for him and his audience.

Cohesion within a team

When we are part of an artistic project as a musician, regardless if it is a soloist, a band or a large orchestra, we will always be interacting with more people in different types of instances: in a rehearsal, a live performance or a tour of several performances in different places.

Understanding that this team is made up of people, and not machines, it is why we have to consider on one hand that each person is unique, and has its own features and peculiarities; and on the other hand, that these people are part of a group that seeks a common goal, in this case, the success of the artistic instance they are part of.

That is why interpersonal relationships within this team become crucial, because if they are not well managed, they can generate additional stress to that which already exists in an artistic project, especially at the emerging level. Perhaps a rehearsal or a live performance alone is not so complex, but nowadays there are many artists who go out to play outside their cities of residence, and that implies a greater work of cohesion in the team.

Therefore, the important thing is that not only the professional instance will be a success, but also that we will end with very good memories of having shared with good people, and with a feeling of pleasure and enthusiasm to participate in it. Two essential elements are necessary for this: LEADERSHIP AND ADAPTATION CAPACITY.

Leadership, as we have seen before, consists of going in direction of a cause (in this case the success of the project) and also of protecting the team. In ideal conditions, especially when it is necessary to go and play outside the city, this role is assigned to a "Tour Manager" whose job is not only to keep an eye on the situations of the project at all times (logistics, press, negotiations, schedules, etc.) but also to maintain good cohesion within the team. However, at the level of emerging artists, many times that Tour Manager is one of the musicians themselves and the rest of the team/staff are the other musicians in the band/solo, and also perhaps the budget allows only to travel with a sound engineer. In order to protect this team, this leader must have anticipated as many details as possible, so that the team is in a good mood at all times, so that when external stress situations appear, they do not cause frictions in the team.

The other key element is the ability of each team member to adapt to different situations. For this, it is very important that each of the members has a personality that is easy to adapt to change, to the unexpected, and not to put their own ego before situations that could not be foreseen, which will undoubtedly occur. For example, if on a tour, one of the dates contemplated does not have the agreed technical requirements from the venue, but there are already many tickets sold and it is impossible to cancel the date, perhaps you have to play with other amplifiers that are not the best, but that accomplish the minimum requirements to make a good show. Like this one, there are many more examples.

Being part of an artistic project with more people is almost the same as being part of a family, and you need leadership, respect, good treatment and adaptability to be able to carry out the project, and not just be good musically, since as in any human group, it is the relationships in the group that often decide the success or failure of the objective being pursued.

The importance of logistics in a live concert

When we have finally reached an agreement for a live concert that we are going to organice, we have several points to consider: rehearsing our show as much as possible, working on the promotion, etc.; and also taking care about the element we will be talking about today: the logistics of the event.

When we talk about logistics, we mean everything that needs to be organised weeks and days before the event, along with everything that happens on the day itself. Everything, so that the presentation goes as good as possible, regardless of its size. In addition, there is another very important reason why logistics of the event have to be perfect: to reduce the stress level of the artist and his/her staff.

In order for all this to work perfectly, it needs to be a fundamental element: Good Leadership. There has to be someone in charge of all the logistics, either the artist himself or a technical producer who works with him. This person in charge has to manage everything from the beginning, and along with this, to protect his staff and collaborate with third parties, because if this is not the case, there is a great risk that the event will be a failure.

Let's see which details need to be considered by whoever is in charge, so that the logistics of the event expects to be the best:

• To be in constant communication with the venue, with its people, so as the date approaches, everything expects to be organized.

• To exchange technical riders of the artist and the venue, so the day of the event everything that was agreed between both parties is available. For this, you can often ask for the help of the band's FOH (front of house) engineer.

• To elaborate together with the venue, a schedule plan for the day of the event. This consists in a detailed document with the schedules of all the activities that are going to happen in the day, which include the arrival of the artist to the venue, sound check times, duration of the show, etc.

• It is essential that this schedule plan has to be sent at least four days in advance by e-mail to everyone involved in the event: artists, technical staff, local people, guest musicians, etc. And it must contain as much information as possible, such as telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of all of them.

• Prepare a printed list with all the band’s equipment, to check it at the arrival and departure from the venue, otherwise we could have the risk of losing cables, equipment, tools, etc. It is also suggested to mark everything that is property of the artist.

• If it has been agreed, consider catering (food) for artists and staff.

• Coordinate transportation of artist and staff to and from the venue.

• Finally, to be able to solve in a good way, with respect and collaboration, all the unexpected situations that may arise on the day of the event, which sometimes happen. An concert is an instance where there are a lot of people involved, and where more people are expected to be received as an audience. So, good treatment to people, the ability to make quick and accurate decisions, and keeping calm all the time, are the fundamental elements of a good leader that will be needed that day.

Clearly the purpose of a live concert, independent if it is for ten people or thousands of them, is that it goes perfectly, the people ended happily, and the artist felt he gave his best. That's why good logistics before the event contributes enormously to achieve it. And in the case of emerging artists, many times they will be the ones who will direct that logistics, so the more prepared and well leaded it is, the better will be the results.

It's not just about playing well: The importance of a good stage performance

When we attend a concert, no matter the style, we always go with the expectation of having a good time, that the artist on stage delivers an impeccable show according to his/her style, and that we not only return happy after the show, but also we are with the need (almost addiction) to see him again. This has happened to us several times, and that is why we already have our own list of favourite artists.

However, sometimes it happens that when we go to see a live concert of an artist, usually for the first time, since we don't know them, we realize that they have very good songs and they play them very well, but after the attended the event, we left it with the feeling that something was missing, even though musically they sounded ok. And if someone asks us if we would go to see them again, the answer is probably: "I don't know, I already saw them and it was good".

The difference between the first case and the second one, is what we call "show", is the performance of the artist that goes beyond just playing good songs, and which today in the music and entertainment industry is something fundamental and determining to be able to continue to exist as an artist. That "show" I am referring, consists in generating an "emotional connection" with the audience, and this is why you pay a ticket when you go to a concert, because if not, it would be enough to stay at home listening to the mp3 player or our mobile phones.

This emotional connection consists of everything that is attached to the musical performance: the attitude on stage, the clothing, the dialogue with the audience between songs and during them, etc., in other words, everything that makes the concert attendees get involved with the artist and with the message he/she wants to give.

And here comes the most important thing: The emotional connection does not happen by magic or because the artist was born with a "gift", but rather it is prepared, worked on and rehearsed; in the same way that songs are prepared, rehearsed and studied. This is something that is obligatory for everyone who wants to aspire to achieve more in their musical endeavour, regardless of whether their projection is as an amateur or a professional.

Just as there are music producers everywhere, it is also the case that in places with a more advanced musical industry (such as the USA and Europe, for example), there are also "live show producers", who are responsible for advising artists (many of them with a massive audience) on all the details of their live performance on stage. This term should not be confused with show promoters, who are those who are responsible for organising a concert in a city.

The topic of stage performance and making an emotional connection is too big to be discussed in this post, but here are some tips to start putting it into practice:

• The most important thing is that the stage performance has to be in line with the essence of the artist and also with his/her style. He/she has to be honest with what he/she feels, and this is called "authenticity". This is the first thing that the audience perceives.

• It is not necessary to spend excessive amounts of money on expensive sets or pretentious stage devices. Everything starts with the person on stage and their attitude towards the audience. Then comes the rest of the things.

• Always look in the eyes of the audience, if not, we make them notice shyness and insecurity on our part. And the audience wants to see someone confident and dependable on stage.

• Prepare and write down everything that happens between songs: greetings, jokes, emotional situations, etc, Those are part of the show and have to seem spontaneous.

• Rehearse in front of a mirror all of this, or film yourself and then review to correct movements and actions.

• If something unexpected happens in a show, as it is possible, take it naturally and calmly, solve the problem and continue with the show as planned. The audience doesn’t care if everything isn’t going perfect, but it will be uncomfortable if they see that the artist himself is uncomfortable.

I propose you two exercises: Go to Youtube and choose ten videos of your favourite artists, and watch them in mute, in order to see the coherence between your stage work and your music. Then do the same with artists who, according to you, they are not authentic.

And finally, do the same with recordings of your own live shows.

The Artist and the negotiation of his/her live show

Many times artists, in this case musicians, complain that their art is not valued or is not well paid. Every now and then we hear a band complaining because such a venue does not pay them a fee to play there, or even charges them for it. Or also some cultural instance in another city where they only offer tickets and accommodation, but no fees for the artist. 

Let's try to clarify the issue to avoid confusion.

When a musician is required as a sessionist, whether in a studio or live, his employer will be the music director or music producer. This employer will offer a certain amount of money for the musician's services, such as rehearsals, recordings, and live performances, among others, until the end of the project. The musician will then consider whether or not to accept the job, appealing to his or her resume, studies, experience, equipment, etc. All this operates under the same logic of the salaried worker in any work area.

However, when it comes to our own artistic project (either as a band or as a soloist), we are operating under the canons of entrepreneurship, with the same risks and benefits that this entails. And the essence of entrepreneurship means that potential clients are free to choose whether or not to buy what the project generates. Today we will refer to the live show.

Who are these "possible clients" of our artistic project when playing live? They are three: A private promoter, a government entity, or the direct audience. Let's break down each one of them.

A private promoter of concerts or live shows, is the person who is responsible for buying a show to the artist under the terms and conditions that both agree. If there is no agreement, then the business is not carried out. And if there is, then a mutual commitment is generated. Both parties (artist and promoter) agree on the roles that correspond to each one of them: normally the artist is in charge of preparing the best possible show, and the promoter is in charge of the logistics, advertising, management of the venue, management of sponsorships, payments to the artist, etc. Usually the artist also helps with their networks to promote the event, and the ideal is that everything is in writing, so that no conflicts occur during the development of the agreement. It is important to understand that the promoter, no matter how enthusiastic he is about music, is also a person who needs to make money, so he is not going to take a risk with an artist if he does not consider that the audience convocation is enough versus what he has to invest to make his business profitable.

A government entity is very similar to an agreement with a private promoter, with the only difference that in this case the money to carry out the project comes from public funds, in order to contribute with art in the community where it is located. There is a cultural manager who does a similar job to the promoter, and it is also important that everything is backed up in writing to avoid problems. In these cases, sometimes resources can be limited, and therefore the artist is free to choose whether to accept the agreement or not. 

The third option mentioned refers to the direct audience, this means that it is the artist himself who decides to organize the event and act as a promoter. He is the one who is in charge of the logistics, the diffusion, the coordination and, of course, the management of the place where the show is going to take place. Obviously, the artist bears all the expenses involved, with the intention of achieving the objective he has set.

This last point is very important, because apart from paying for a designer, transportation, equipment, network advertising (if they so decide), accommodation if the show is in another city, etc., there is a negotiation with the venue where the event is going to take place. And here we must take into account something fundamental:

The venue and its managers do not have the obligation to do charity with an artist, but they will look after their own interests, and that is something totally respectable.

There are many types of venues where events are held with artists, and they all have their own way of making agreements with them. Some charge for playing, others don't charge but don't pay either, and others pay a fixed fee. Usually the artist's profit is from the tickets sold. Some venues even charge a certain percentage of those tickets. Everything is variable at this point.

Let's put ourselves in a venue’s shoes, where live events are held. It can be a bar, a theater, a hall, an auditorium, etc. That place is also surely someone's enterprise, and he will want to have the highest possible profits. They also have expenses: employees, waiters, cleaners, administrative staff, etc., and they have several ways to finance themselves, one of them being to charge the artist a fixed fee. In the case of bars, usually their earnings come from the sale of alcohol and food, and in exchange they do not charge the artist for playing and he takes 100% of the tickets. For that reason, the bar can also choose which day of the week it offers. It all depends on each particular case.

In the same way and consequently, the artist is also entitled to choose or not if he makes an agreement with a place and its conditions.

Finally, it must be clear that when an artist is just starting, practically his only option to play is going to be the latter, that is, that the artist organizes his own show. As we have already seen, this costs money, and the most advisable thing is that this money is obtained from other instances (separate works, savings, etc.) and is considered as an investment for the artistic project. It will then be up to the artist's good management and planning to know if in the future that investment will have paid off.

The importance of goals and a working plan in an artistic project

"Making music makes me happy, with it I feel alive", can be a very recurrent sentence when you ask a music artist, whether amateur or professional, why he does what he does. However, this dedication is often accompanied by an enormous amount of frustration, most of the time unnecessary.

These frustrations are of the most diverse nature, it could be, for example, that the expected number of people did not attend a concert, or not have enough money to record an album/Ep/single, or not have a room to rehearse, or not be able to be the opening act for my favorite band, or have a parallel job because I cannot make a living playing, and so on. All of this is independent if the artist makes music as a hobby or as a (supposedly) professional.

Be that as it may, all these frustrations have a common origin, and that origin is the inability to answer the following question: "What do I want? It seems strange, since if we ask any artist that question, he will surely answer: "my greatest desire is to make a living by music", or if he is an amateur, he would answer: "I would like to play better", or "play in several concerts". Answers that seem to be legitimate and worthwhile goals.

When I refer to the inability to answer that question, I am referring to a very important element that does not appear in the previous answers, and which is the way to go from frustration to realization, it is the element that makes the goals go from being mere ethereal dreams, to being realizable objectives, no matter how big they are. That element is quantification.

Quantification refers to everything that has numbers and dates. It is as simple as that.

It's very different to say: "I want to make a living by music", than to say: "in three more years, on this same date, I want to make a profit of 2.000 € a month, after taxes and living expenses, by playing in concerts with my own artistic project, both in my home country and abroad". Sounds much clearer, doesn't it?

The quantification of goals, solves half of the problem, and immediately appears the other half, also in the form of a question: "What do I have to do to make things happen that will make those goals to be accomplished? That question implies the appearance of a fundamental tool: A working plan.

Now, before moving on to that working plan, it would be good to understand what happens when we try to quantify goals, and why it is sometimes difficult. Many times these unquantified ethereal desires serve as a refuge for us in the fantasy, they serve as escape routes; but when we quantify them, it means coming face to face with reality, with my reality, and how I struggle to change it. This can sometimes be very complex for many people, because it takes real courage and determination to change that reality, and not all people have that courage. How do we know if we have that courage? Only everyone knows their answer. 

Going back to the working plan, it will show us the different stages and smaller goals (also quantified) to achieve the larger objective. It requires real discipline and rigor to accomplish each stage of the plan, no matter if our ultimate goal is at an amateur or professional artistic level.

Let's take look at a simple example, which can be applied to both amateur and professional artists: "I want to record an album with my band, and then promote it live"

The first thing to do is to modify the statement, to transform it into something quantifiable: "I want, within a chronological year, to record an album with my band in the first six months, and in the other six, to perform at least 4 concerts a month to promote it, returning the initial investment, and generating the same amount in profits to invest in future projects". Then, establish the working plan to accomplish that quantified objective. 

What are the important elements in an action plan? There are two elements: a timeline with goals, and a budget.

The goal timeline should have dates, descriptions, and numbers, whereas the budget is knowing how much the final cost of the entire plan is, how much money we have, and if we have a lack of it, knowing where and how we get it. The more detailed and quantified everything is, the better.

Let's do the exercise of assuming the following: "the total plan costs 10.000 € , and in the band we are 4 members and each one can contribute with $2.000 €, so we will have to generate as a band 2.000 € with concerts, within 6 months", that would be the budget.

The timeline would be as follows:

- From 1 January to 31 March: composition of the songs, 9 in total

- From April 1 to 30: rehearsal of the songs, twice a week, two hours each rehearsal

- From April 1 to 30: get a place to do the launch concert

- From May 1 to 15: recording of the songs

- From May 16th to 31st: mixing and mastering of the songs

- From May 1st to 31st: working on the art concept and design of the album

- June 1: sending the master to manufacture 500 physical copies

- June 15: Digital streaming and physical copies are available 

- June 15 to June 30: Launching concert promotion starts

- July 2nd: Launching concert

- From July 6th to December 31st: to do a minimum of 4 concerts per month in the band's place of origin and outside it, with a minimum of 3 press notes in media for each concert.

Obviously this timeline is just an example, and it depends on the goals (quantified) to be achieved, in accordance surely with other bigger goals, and depending on the purpose of the band, its music style and the ambitions of its members. 

It is important to understand that unexpected events and modifications to the plan may occur. This is normal, but you must always have the final objective as your primary focus. It requires discipline, commitment and daily work to accomplish this, regardless if it is for professional or hobby purposes.

Without a working plan, everything is likely to fail, and frustrations like the ones we talked about at the beginning of this article will always be there, and worse, many times those frustrations will lead us to outsource responsibilities to everyone but ourselves.

On the contrary, having a working plan will allow us to achieve the goals we set for ourselves, not only in our music career, but also in any other area of life.