Maintaining Authenticity as Your Career Grows
How do I Handle Success Without Losing Myself?
Success brings pressure: pressure to repeat hits, pressure to stay commercially viable, pressure to meet expectations. Maintaining authenticity while succeeding is difficult but essential for long-term career satisfaction.
Stay Connected to Your Core
Remember why you make music. Not for success, but for expression. When you focus on expression first and success second, you make better art. When you focus on success first, you compromise authenticity and ironically undermine long-term success.
Protect Your Creative Autonomy
As you succeed, more people want input on your work. Label executives, managers, A&R people. Protect your creative autonomy. You can listen to input without being controlled by it. Make decisions aligned with your values, not with external pressure.
Auf Wiedersehen, amigos.
