Indie Sustainability Ep. 04: Applications

We’ve talked about what sustainability means for your creative practice, and why it’s important for every artist to care about-even amateurs and hobbyists.

Now, let’s get into how to achieve it.

We’ll break it down into 5 individual steps.

#1: amazing creative material

Fantastic quality of your work needs to be a given.

There are a bajillion people all trying to make it, so you need to be putting something out there that is a cut above, quality-wise, and with a unique voice.

Otherwise, there’s no reason for anyone to pick your stuff above everyone else’s on Bandcamp.

Most artists stop here: once they’ve achieved quality+uniqueness, they assume that’s enough on its own. Unfortunately, that’s not how the world works. Please, do more!

It would be amazing if we lived in a world where the best quality musical work always resulted in success for those that made it. Unfortunately, there’s some magical thinking going on there: quality of work is an absolutely essential starting point, but not enough by itself.

#2: Professionalism.

This means:

-prompt, clear communications, always.

-doing what you say you’ll do when you say you’ll do it.

-knowledge/application of common biz practices.

-honesty, integrity, transparency.

-the ability to work to a deadline.

-Paying/trading with collaborators that are helping you.

-The ability to collaborate.

You will always get called back if you exhibit these traits.

#3: honest promotion and marketing strategies

-your creative life is not a pie where if someone else gets some, you get less. Giving to your fanbase and colleagues comes first.

-Apply your creativity to promo, and do stuff that others aren’t.

-Promotion that you’re not stoked about isn’t honest. And dishonest promo doesn’t work.

-If you’re not really excited to tell the world about your project, no one else will be. Thinking you’re above the promo game turns a long shot into no shot.

#4: Building stronger, more diverse creative communities that value transparency.

-Artists looking beyond their own noses, and helping other artists out as a primary concern.

-Being ok with having frank conversations about money, and speaking up if you’re getting jerked around.

-Building up everyone else around you just as much as your own work, in as diverse and inclusive a way as possible.

-Sharing your good fortune if you’ve done well!

#5: Formalizing smaller community pockets into larger collective bargaining orgs.

-Musicians unions exist. They are weak b/c artists either don’t know, or don’t care, about them.

-The struggling artist doesn’t have to be a given, just b/c that’s how it’s always been.

-The steps to better treatment have been walked before, it just involves coordinated labor organization.

Artists historically haven’t been very interested in getting organized, to their detriment. The work to change that starts now, with you.

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This is what grassroots work to improve our creative lives looks like.

Think about how what we’ve talked about is different from what actually goes on at DIY shows, gallery openings, recording studios, whatever.

What can you do to move the needle forward, steadily, in your own practice?

What changes can you make in your own approach to sustainability?