The importance of flexibility in the music business

OK, it’s official. I am once again delaying the release date of my new album. We haven’t had the chance to finish the recording yet. Besides, I feel like there are still few more songs on the way for this album 😉 Is this the end of the world? Nope! Will I end up doing the same thing somewhere down the line again? Probably.

Music business is business where it is very hard to set tight schedules. We are talking about creative process here. And even though you need to work within some kind of time frame, there has to be flexibility. I wonder how many albums in the past ended up not living up to their potential, due to the fact that some suit in an office needed to have the album out in accordance with their schedule?

This is why I am an independent artist. This is why I am in charge, no one else. Still, I believe my schedule is starting to be quite demanding even compared to some of the busy major label artists. But you need to be flexible. By this I am not giving you an excuse to procrastinate, or spend your day playing Playstation. I am saying that sometimes you need to sleep on it. If you record something, almost always the next day with fresh ears you will have better perspective on it. Same goes with songwriting, even though I believe you should finish every song you start, sometimes it helps to take a break and come back to it the next morning.

You also need to be flexible when it comes to other people. If you want a particular musician to work with you, you need to allow for their schedule as well. You can’t just expect everyone to drop everything when you tell them to do so. At the same time, it is important to recognise when people are wasting your time as well. If they don’t want to make the effort, drop them and move on. There are plenty of musicians looking for opportunities out there.

Flexibility is a quality I have noticed the best musicians are good at. They also know what they want, and won’t be wasting your time. So learn to be flexible, know what you want and conduct your business in a professional manner.

J.P.

The author J.P. Kallio is a singer songwriter
To get EIGHT of his songs for free go HERE