A few years ago I did some freelance work for Derek Sivers.
For those who don't know, Derek Sivers is the founder of CDBaby. He's moved on from the company, and appears to mostly be doing brain work as some sort of musical buddha. I've kept up on his personal site off and on since programming for cdbaby.
His site is like crack, he's got a big font and short paragraphs - it's highly addictive to independent musicians that are looking to find some sort of toehold or advice on how to get ahead. Derek's obviously got a ton of perspective on what works and what doesn't work for independent musicians, and enjoys sharing what he's learned. I enjoy it a lot.
Today he has an interview with Amber Rubarth. This one was interesting to me because she tells her story about how she got to where she is now (a full-time living touring and selling cds), from a period of time five years ago before she knew how to play music.
This isn't really Amber or Derek's fault - some of it is just the undeniable appetite of musicians who "haven't made it yet" to see those who "have made it" as being the source of some sort of wisdom. But sometimes I read these stories and they come across to me as a how-to, as in "what worked for me should therefore work for you!".
And that's clearly ridiculous. Creative success is actually a very funny formula - it's not just luck and talent and work, there's also an element of blissful ignorance, the selfish interests of others, just a lot of things that are out of our direct control.
We all as people have built-in structural advantages, as well - gifts we're born with that don't require work and development, but just jump in to help us during all those small key moments in life. The success we get from these advantages shouldn't be ascribed to work or talent, either.
Of course, it's impossible to know where the dividing points are. If I've reached a measure of success and my belief in plaid unicorns has never been challenged, then I might conclude that my devotion to plaid unicorns has been essential to my success. But I might also believe that about practicing at least an hour a day, and maybe that would be correct.
But since we never really know... I think that means it's our responsibility as artists to never let go of that humility. I think there's danger in concluding that any external measure of success is something that we caused and created and that others can learn from. It's just too elusive of a concept, too random and quicksilver. There are some great pointers and suggestions in the interview, but as always, your mileage may vary.
