Asking for Help
Lately I’ve been preoccupied with the future, not in that “living in the future” way though! Reason being, I’ve been quietly setting things up to prepare for a new chapter in my life (will announce it properly when the time’s right). Honestly, it’s scary and uncomfortable. The words “struggle” and “sustainability” have been surfacing in my consciousness.
Sustainability
because I want to keep creating and putting out music, at a pace that I’m happy with.
The old method of working a job to raise the money needed to create, release and promote an album, doesn’t allow one to produce songs at a desirable rate. Social media is important, but I still believe that a songwriter’s first and foremost task is to write good songs. Without these, there wouldn’t be any point to this, would there?
Struggle
because I’ve begun to accept the responsibilities placed on myself and to the ones I love, that I know I have to make things work somehow.
Yet at the same time, I find it difficult to ask for help, even though there are people out there who want to give in a capacity larger than streaming my songs. I know that it stems from a low self-esteem, an ingrained belief that I don’t deserve the help and generosity of others, that wants me to sabotage my own success.
In my mind, the recurring dialogue sounds like “What fans? I don’t have anything to offer them, I’m not good enough, why would they say yes?”. I refuse to believe that, because the truth is, what’s the worst that could happen? They could say no, and that is definitely not the end of the world.
I’m no Amanda Palmer but I want to believe in the power of asking. I want to believe that my songs have touched your lives and that you would want to support the creation of more music.
The Solution: Bandcamp Subscriptions
That’s why I’ve decided to start using Bandcamp Subscriptions: to give you the option to support me in a more sustainable way.
For starters, you’ll get the stuff you’ve always wanted: B-sides and live recordings that I didn’t think were good enough for an official release, but I think that you might appreciate them, flaws and all.
You’ll also get the entire Vertical Rush discography, official and otherwise, where you’ll hear a younger me sing and perform on some of the songs.
I also plan to share clips of the songs-in-progress at the end of each month, to assure you that I’m writing as hard as I can! We could even arrange a subscriber-only living room concert =)
Let’s Make Music Together
I don’t dislike the current trends of music consumption, not at all. In fact, the Internet has taken my music further than I imagined. I’ll still put out stuff on Spotify and the other usual channels, and I’m already grateful for you listening to the music there.
But like I mentioned earlier, it’s an option for those of you who want to give more and get more back in return. If you need more information about how Bandcamp Subscriptions work, check out the following links:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/11/bandcamp-musicians-subscription-services
https://aristake.com/post/turn-your-fans-into-paying-subscribers-with-this-platform
A big “Thank You” in advance to everyone who chooses to get on board with this! I’ve never done something like this before and I’m looking forward to being part of a community that passionately supports the creation of independent music.
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