The 4 Seasons of a Music Artist: How to Nurture and Create Better Music

The 4 Seasons of a Music Artist: How to Nurture and Create Better Music

As an artist, your creativity rotates around different seasons. ❄️????????☀️

When you understand the dynamic nature of the flow of the artistic process more fully, you will know with more confidence what energy and attention to bring to each phase.

Most artists today are overwhelmed working on everything at once. Writing, recording, branding, marketing, promoting is all going on at the same time and the quality of their music suffers as a result. It is not possible to do everything at once and do it well. Maggie Rogers spoke of this last year saying she much prefers when artists work on a body of material vs. singles concentrating on a body of work. At my label services company, we foster the importance of quality over quantity and help artists take more time to dive deeper into the process of writing and making their records to help their careers. If you continue trying to do everything all at once on a regular basis, your craft and productivity will suffer quite a bit. And that will significantly affect the success of your music career. Being busy doesn’t nurture great art. It’s virtually impossible to create, record and promote all at the same time and not feel scattered to the wind.

Once you start to realize that it really is all about the music first and that you need to allow time to sink deeper into the creative process, you will start to nurture and create better music that will make more of an impact. The most important thing you do for your music career is to write and record meaningful music that other people want to hear. It all starts with YOU, your talent, your craft, your voice, your message, your songs. Artist development in the creative stage must be nurtured well enough and long enough to produce a result. Don’t let this modern world rush you and sacrifice your artistry! Great art is never rushed. It is a process.

The 4 Seasons of a Music Artist: How to Nurture and Create Better Music

1. SEASON OF GATHERING

In the Gathering Season, your creativity will seem low, but this is a time when you are gathering new information or processing emotions or experiences. It can be a time of uncertainty and feeling a little complacent. It’s a great time to let yourself roam, wander and observe. It can last for a few months or up to a year or longer. The Season of Gathering always precedes a time of writing.

  • Gathering Season Affirmation: I observe the world around me and my feelings.
  • Gathering Season Question: What am I noticing?
  • Gathering Season Suggestion: Keep a journal. During this time jot down your feelings and observations in the notes on your phone or in a journal to refer to later in the writing season.

2. THE SEASON OF WRITING

In the Writing Season, the fountain is flowing and you have so many ideas you can hardly write them all down. When you are in this phase it is a great practice to spend time every day to capture the gold as the fountain does not always flow as richly as now.

  • Writing Season Affirmation: I show up every day to write as much as I can.
  • Writing Season Question: What am I trying to say, what music is trying to come through?
  • Writing Season Suggestion: It is important during this time that you revere this time as sacred and try to get down as much as you can. turn off your phone, put a “do not disturb” sign on your door. Do not edit while writing. Go back to edit later. Let it flow!!

3. THE SEASON OF RECORDING

In Recording Season, you are taking your lovely song bones and bringing them to life. The studio is a place of heightened creativity, collaboration and listening. It’s a great moment to bring your full attention and trust your intuition as you become the critic of your own work (in the best of ways). Inundated your project and your collaborators with a feeling of positivity so everyone can do their best work.

  • Recording Season Affirmation: I come to each session with an open mind, allowing creativity to flow through me.
  • Recording Season Question: What is this music trying to say? How can I help?
  • Recording Season Suggestion: During the recording process, it is helpful to take a day or two to rest your ears. When you listen again, trust your first impressions as with fresh ears, they are usually dead-on right. Don’t be afraid to keep tweaking until it is just right.

4. THE SEASON OF PROMOTING

In the final season of Promoting, whether touring, live streaming or sharing your music with the world, this is a season of coming out of your cave and braving the world with your new music. Artists are often uncomfortable at first, as there is a lot of anxiety over how it will be perceived. See this season as a beautiful opportunity to share your hard work, music, message, and most importantly, your heart and mission with the people you love and new friends.

  • Promoting Season Affirmation: I love sharing my music with others. I hope to [inspire] them (add your word of choice in the brackets: i.e.: comfort, empower etc).
  • Promoting Season Question: In what ways can I share the emotion and heart of this project to connect with new and existing friends?
    Tip: Sharing stories and what you went through help. But put the focus on THEM not you.
    For ex.: you could share a quick story (but that gets to the emotion) and then ask them if they have ever felt that way?
  • Promoting Season Suggestion: Promoting your music is really sharing it. Think more heart-based and less “market-y”. When you communicate from your heart, through real stories of life, people will connect with the authenticity. People fall in love with people who are not afraid to be themselves. How simple is that!

Follow us over on Instagram where we post this kind of content! This post is going viral over there. Check it out here.

Looking for an opportunity to deepen your craft and authenticity on your next project? Look no further. Cari created a 6 module program to do just that. 

CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS to Cari’s Step Up to the Spotlight 6 Week Kickstart Artist Development Program

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Hi, I’m Cari Cole.

You’ve got talent, but you want to become great at it. You’re in the right place! My mission is to help you refine your unique artist vision to bring to the world.

About Cari Cole

Cari Cole is the CEO / Founder of caricole.com and CCVM: Label Without Walls. She is a Holistic Vocal Coach, Artist Development Expert, A&R Director, and Songwriter based in New York City helping artists for the past 38 years. She is a mentor for Women in Music and The Association of Independent Music Publishers.

Her latest venture, CCVM a label services company, provides artists with a seamless path from creation to completion. After 30+ years of observing the overwhelm and challenges that artists face, Cari pulled together the best top creative professionals and designed a new approach to supporting our artists.

Disclaimer:
The information provided on Cari Cole's website is informational only and should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on Cari Cole's website. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately.

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