It’s a funny thing making it. The destination in your mind, the seal of approval, it’s so vague. I mean how do you know when you’ve ‘made it’? Does someone tell you? Is there a party and the cake reads ‘congrats! You made it!’? If you are in a band, or you play or sing solo, there is this idea that people measure your success by, have you MADE IT, have I heard anything you’ve done? So, to help navigate this tricky area, I am going to give you a list of signs you have definitely made it.
1. You have won X factor. Simple, easy to measure. If Simon thought you were good enough, so will everyone else.
2. You have headlined Glastonbury. None of your random stages carry on. Pyramid or nothing.
3. You broke the internet last time you dropped a single
4. Your song was covered for a charity single
5. You have made a smooth transition from Grammy winner to Oscar winner.
That is it. Five easy tell tale signs you have made it as an artist and are officially a success. If you haven’t cleared at least 3 of these, seriously, why bother? Ok, ok. Just incase you feel like continuing to express yourself as an artist despite this obvious failure, here is a list of signs you may also have ‘made it’.
1. It makes you happy
2. Someone on the radio said your name once
3. You put a song on soundcloud and someone heard it!
4. It makes you happy
5. Your friends know you play
6. Your family know you play
7. You were on a bill, anywhere
8. It makes you happy
9. It makes you happy
10.It makes you happy
I know it sounds cheesy, I know I’m about 3 seconds away from a live laugh love meme, but seriously, if you are enjoying it in any way, you are making it. Take credit where its due, see how much you have achieved. Yes have massive, unreachable goals, they make you better. But don’t forget that you sat once and thought, “I might give that a go” and you did. Every recording and poster and social media follower is a huge achievement. If you have a name for your band, say it over and over and realise its a thing you made come to life. If you have something recorded, play it loudly and know that there was once silence there. You did that! Being an artist is fucking hard sometimes, its self doubting and expensive and exposes all your most vulnerable, creative parts, but its class isn’t it? We are a community of self deprecation and sarcasm, and I wouldn’t change a one of you, but I will also massively celebrate with you when they play 11 seconds of your song before the weather report on a station that doesn’t reach Newry. Because you decided to do it, you made something new, and I think you have made it.
