An Indie Musician's Diary VOL. 1

March 24- 26 Progress & the Fear of Failure

Part 1: For My Community - Fans & Friends

The longer I progress as an indie musician, the more I realise that I can't do this all on my own, but I try to get by with the limited resources I have. You see, i not only have to write, arrange, record and edit the music.

Web design

I just updated my homepage: www.featherheadmedia.com I added a new background with water and melting ice (from my talented photograph friend Laila Gustavsson) and a new tab called "books" to help people find the books I am writing here on Wattpad. I changed the title fonts and the overall style too. I am striving to go away from the boxy design with square frames and make it clean and artsy. I don't have anyone to do web design for me so I do my best at Wix.com. It is an easy way to make a homepage but it is getting expensive. This update took me nearly five hours. 

I updated the Wix music box design and changed many texts. Go and check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.  :-)

Videos/graphics

I'm getting into contact with designers, photographers and people with a keen eye for graphics. Like I said, I have too much to do. Why not let others in on making my music videos? I have a need for 5 minute HD videos takes at a beautiful places to have as backgrounds for new music videos. If you have some high resolution landscape pics/videos you'd like to share with me that would be useful on my homepage or as backgrounds for music videos  , please contact me. 

I have a need to refresh the album design before release and have two graphic designers giving me feedback at the moment. 

Promotion
I toik some time to look into various radio stations snd reviewers checking to see what they are out looking for. If they usually review music that resembles what I am doing and they have enough followers I put them on a '"to contact list" and name which song(s) I should send to each one, where and how to send etc.
When the release drops I want to have everything ready.

Together with my updated presskits and my "one page" Im getting closer to beong ready. Looking through the stations takes time.

I also added a few to my Facebook or Twitter feed to watch certain ones more closely. Maybe it's too much work and I'll only get a few good reviews but not submitting won't get me anywhere...

Mixing

I have trouble getting things finished. Maybe it's because I have so much to do. Perhaps it is that I am doing too many things at once. My friends keep asking when I am going to get the music out there. Soon, I say...and I keep working on it. 

Maybe it is the fear of failure. I am, on the one hand deathly afraid of doing any mix less than perfect and on the other hand I realise that I am new at this. I never really know when I am "done" with each song. Other's do. When their heads are bopping no matter where I play the track, that's when it's done. I need to share more often and earlier in order not to overdo it. 

I used to paint on demand. I had an airbrush business and could paint on any surface, metal, plastic, paper, shoes, car doors, mannequins...you name it, I've painted on it. I learned early on that I had to quit before I thought I was done but after the customer was satisfied. As a creative we are never satisfied. But it is enough that the ones who perceive it are happy with the result.

And, this is my first album and I'm learning. It's o.k to be uncertain. But I am careful and do as well as I can. On one hanh, after three years, enough is enough and I want to move on. on the other hand, if I put three years into this it better be good.

So what took me so long? I wish I could go into it here. So much work. I'll spare yoi the details. In this diary, I'm moving on forward not reflecting backwards. Keepin my eyes on the prize.