NHT Blog

As a performer, of course your focus is going to be on putting on a great show.  Similarly, if you’re an author, your priority is to write a terrific book.  Heck, even if your craft is podcasting or being a YouTuber, that’s where you are putting all your energies and making sure you’re delivering a top-quality product with each release.

On the episode of my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast that comes out the day after tomorrow (on September 4th), you’ll hear Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, guitar player Eric Hirshberg talking about wanting to get the best musicians and letting them do what they excel at.  The person on drums should be the best drummer.  Whoever plays keyboards should be the best keyboardist.  And so on.

Just over five months ago I wrote a blog about not ditching someone, saying that, with the way things are in 2024, you will get busted.  And some recent occurrences and observations have made me realize that there are some related situations playing out that you can learn from so as to avoid.

You can appreciate that as the host of the weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast, I not only look at a lot of bios, websites, and EPKs from artists that I interview, but even more from those that I end up passing on booking as a guest.

I almost stopped myself from writing this because I thought, “Didn’t I write something fairly recently where I said that even though it’s not Mental Health Awareness Month (May) anymore, we still need to take action to keep ourselves on the right path that way?”

I remember many years ago when I worked for, well, let me politely say a senior.  He would often be heard saying, “We don’t want to confuse people.”  As much as a co-worker and I would kind of giggle about it, thinking it was misplaced, his message would have some relevance today.

In this creator economy, it’s easy to get distracted by something shiny.  Or, as some people would want you to believe, pivot.

Nowadays people like to say that “Everybody has a podcast” or “Everybody has written a book.”  You might not have done one or both – yet – but could very well be thinking about heading in that direction.  In 2024, a lot of people are using one or both of those to enhance their brand and expand their reach, regardless of what field they’re in.

A few years ago, a client of mine told me about a shift that had occurred in their family with regards to holidays such as Christmas and birthdays.  In other words, if it were an occasion where gifts would be given, it was time to reevaluate going through the motions and asking the recipient for their wish list.

The thinking here was that in just a few years, that person would already have forgotten who they got that blue sweater from.  But, if a focus were instead put on experiences, memories would be created that would last, dare we say, a lifetime!

The pressure to constantly produce content and perform can lead to burnout and mental health issues.  Time management strategies and prioritization techniques are critical tools to succeed as an indie music artist without compromising your mental and physical health.  Let’s face it, you love making music, or videos, or writing, or whatever creative pursuit you find yourself in the midst of.  Or maybe it’s that you used to love it.

In two months, it will be ten years that I have been publishing a blog every Monday here on the website.  As I say quite often on my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast, I have a “bizarre mental rolodex” of past guests that I’ve interviewed on that show.  And similarly, I have a rather good inventory somewhere up in my brain too of past posts that I’ve put up.