And so it begins...
Why Substack and why now.
This is kind of exciting!
I’ve always been someone who gets incredibly excited when starting something new. I’ve also always been someone who tires of something quickly, so if you’re reading this and wondering why I’ve not posted in some time…
But I’m a bit more determined to keep this up for one specific and important reason. I’m not getting any younger, and I am increasingly fearful that I may never fulfil my ambition to make my own way in the world with my own art.
You see, I’ve been entrenched in the corporate world for my regular paycheck for many, many years. Whenever I’ve had a glimmer of an opportunity to escape and forge my own path, I’ve found myself to be incredibly risk-averse and have run to the relative safety of a permanent, contracted role where someone pays me and takes care of all the stresses and worries like tax and pensions.
Why This, Why Now ?
But as I advance in years, with my own mortality weighing heavy on my mind, I am realising that if I don’t do something soon, I may never do it. If not now, then when? As I say farewell to old friends who have left this world too soon, the reality hits home that I could also pop off and never leave a worthwhile legacy.
Moreover, all this stuff inside me, my passion, enthusiasm and love for the industry that I’m involved in, that of the music business, will just decompose with me. And that’s not fun.
Why Substack?
I’ve become increasingly aware of this as a platform and when exploring it, it seemed to offer me what I needed to get stuff out there that wouldn’t fit on any of my current platforms, for whatever reason. Maybe the content is out of date, or maybe it’s just not good enough.
Maybe it’s too niche or too abstract. Whatever it is, I want a home for that and I still feel others might find it engaging, inspiring and interesting. And why expend all of that effort for no reward? After starting my own company in October 2023, simply to ensure that I’m paying my taxes correctly, I’ve become more confident in asking people to pay me for the things I love doing.
What I’ve found is that way more people than I expected seem prepared to do that! And if I’m ever going to break from the shackles of corporate slavery, then I’m going to need every penny I can get.
What Can You Expect?
If you already know me or know my work, you will know that I’m as verbose as they come. I write like I talk… a lot. So expect a bunch of stream-of-consciousness stuff. It might just be some rambling, incoherent rant, or it might be me trying to try out some ideas by writing them down.
My plan initially is to copy over some of the work that I posted on my blog, failedmuso.com. There’s some decent stuff there that seems to get lost, and I think it may deserve a wider airing, if you will. Plus, I’ve neglected my blog for far too long. My work for Sound On Sound, Gearnews and my own YouTube channel, Pro Synth Network, on top of the day job, simply robs me of time and energy to keep that site up.
The plan, therefore, is to convert that to more of a shop front for the business, Failed Muso Ltd. A place where one can check out my services and be more of a business card/portfolio. That way, I can leave it to work for me without me working too much on it.
Well… What Are We Waiting For?
Indeed! No time like the present. Let’s do this and see how long I can keep this up. All I ask of you, other than your generous subscription, is to lend me your eyes and mind for a while and hopefully enjoy what you read. Please engage with me, positively or negatively, but ALWAYS constructively and respectfully. There’s already far too much hate fuelling the algorithms these days, so let’s be grown-up, reasonable and rational.
Thanks for reading, thanks in advance for staying and let’s be friends!