Rough Edge: Advice From Tim Sweeney; 09/04

EXPLORING TERM "ARTIST"
Advice from Tim Sweeney

September 2004

By Tim Sweeney (http://www.TSAMusic.com)

An artist cannot be simply defined by the genre of art they create. You cannot define a painter merely by what he has painted, a film maker by the scenes in their film, a writer based upon the words in his book, a sculptor by what appears to be in front of you, an actor by the last role he or she portrayed and so on. The same is true with your music. You are not merely and cannot be classified solely as a music artist. You have written lyrics that "paint a picture" of your original inspiration. An inspiration that lets people know of your passion for a certain thought, idea, or commonly shared experience in life.

You are a writer, a poet, a philosopher, a social commentator, a political activist, a motivator, a speaker, a person of vision and a musician. As you can see, you as an artist cannot be easily defined by the genre of art you create or participate in. So why do you define your audience and your music's exposure based upon the style of music you create and perform?

If your music features lyrics of what you deem are of great importance about life, love, politics, society, or life experiences we all share, why not reach out to the thousands or even millions of people who will not come to your shows but can be truly impacted and motivated your words and insights. Instead of focusing only on those people you think will come to your next show, reach out and share with everyone your vision, your passion, the essence of who you truly are as an artist. Help them to "find themselves" through your art.

Push yourself to go beyond simply writing a song and playing at the local coffeehouse or bar to an audience that is mentally and usually physically not there. You live in a city of thousands of people but you choose to expose your music and art elsewhere. Your original inspiration was to help people see what they were missing in life. But you are ignoring the very people who live right next to you who need your message and insight right now to play a show for the same 25 people miles away!

Understand that your music is not simply what at first glance it appears to be. It's not a song but a collection of art that if you truly believe in, can reach thousands of people in the very city where you live if you want it to. But to be able to accomplish this you must learn to treat your music not as music but as art. That requires you find all that is in it and you design a plan of how to expose the various pieces of it to different audiences that will get it and embrace it.

Remember, art is what the person who is exposed to it interprets it to be. However, it never hurts for the artists themselves to share their personal vision of what their art is.

Want to learn how to expand beyond what is in your music and present to the thousands of people in your home city and state what the true value is in your songs? There are two ways to do it.

One, I have a brand new audio book entitled, "Understanding Who You Are As An Artist," that is only available at http://www.TSAMusic.com.

Two, if you are really serious about reaching out to thousands, if not millions, of people with your music and the messages in it, join me in person at http://www.ArtistStrategies.com so I can help you personally create a marketing plan for you and your music.

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