Today’s post is a little bit different - instead of focusing on a specific album rollout, marketing plan, or music strategy I thought it’d be worth covering the idea of playing the long game.

It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot in all areas of life and think there’s a lot of applications in music and creative endeavors.

This newsletter highlights:

• Playing the long game

Let’s dive in ⬇️

A few years ago, I made this tweet however I don’t think I really understand the gravity of what I was saying until now.

It’s one thing to say that great things (as well as success and results) take time, however it’s another thing to actually put in that time and see the results materialize long term.

In an era of instant-gratification on social media where it can feel like everyone is achieving success quickly, it’s so easy to forget that great things and anything worthwhile take time. This includes success in a professional field, passion project, creative endeavor, etc.

Consistency over time while evaluating your results to see what’s working is so important in achieving any sort of success.

I’ve been thinking about a few ideas.

#1 - Know the game you’re playing

Before doing anything, it’s important to know the game you’re playing. Okay okay, everyone says this lol but what does it actually mean? It means at the onset of doing something, understanding how long it might take to achieve success or whatever benchmark you’re aiming for, what is required to be successful in that endeavor, and making a decision to committ and stick to it for that duration. For example…

I’m in no way a financial expert, however I’m aware that in investing the phrase “know the game you’re playing” is used often. Are you day trading and hoping to catch surges of momentum on individual stocks, or buying and holding for years or decades at a time?

In music, the same concept applies. What game are you playing? Are you playing the feature game and trying to get as many features as possible? Are you playing the volume game and just trying to release as much music as possible?

In music, but also anything in life, it’s important to understand the parameters of what you’re trying to achieve, how long it might realistically take, and then make the decision to stick with it.

#2- Sticking to it (the system)

Part of playing the long game isn’t just making the decision to play it or that it’s going to take a while…it’s reverse engineering a system for success and having a plan.

For example, if you’re an artist and you want to play the long game - let’s say you want to build a catalog and realize it’s going to take time to see any sort of success (for example it could realistically take 18-24 months of putting out music consistently at the earliest) and you make the decision that you’re going to stick to it.

Okay great…making the decision is cool, but what’s the plan?

If you acknowledge it can take time to see success, how many songs do you want to release per year? For example sake, let’s say you want to release a song every 2 weeks and drop 26 songs.

How much money does it cost to record 26 songs?

How much money does it cost to mix + master 26 songs?

How much money does artwork cost for 26 songs?

How much money does it cost to create content for 26 songs?

Is that scalable? What you want to do for 1 song…can you do that for 26? How about 52 over 2 years? Do you have the time + resources needed? Answering those questions is part of building a plan. Knowing the step by step details will help outline a blueprint you can follow on the journey.

There’s different phases of “sticking to something”:

-There’s doing it repetitively and turning it into a routine

-Doing it so repetitively that that routine turns into a habit

-Making consistency a non negotiable for so long that it becomes part of your identity

Putting out a song every 2 weeks can be a habit until you do it for 12 months straight and it becomes part of your identity. “This is who I am - I don’t just do it “sometimes” or “when I feel like it” but it’s part of how I carry myself”

Same thing applies to investing, saving, working out, eating healthy, growing a business, etc. Actions turn to habits which turn to routines which eventually becomes part of who you are when you do it consistent enough.

#3 - Don’t get rattled

Social media is designed to show you the “highlights” of everyone else’s lives. Very few people share or post what went into what feels like success or those high moments, even though the majority of the day to day are those moments of hard work, doubt, uncertainty, and grinding it out. It’s so important to not let social media dissuade you from the mission and the path you’ve committed to (especially as an artist or creative and getting caught up in the seemingly success of other artists).

Understanding the game you’re playing is key here - if you’re playing the long game and commit to consistency, it’s important not to get too high or low.

Again, I’m not a financial expert but the same concept applies in finance - I’ve seen running jokes that when the S&P dips, people start freaking out and selling whatever of their assets are being affected in efforts to try and minimize the damage. Those people are likely playing short term games, which is why those highs and lows affect them so much.

For someone who is buying and holding long term, they’re actually buying more when the process drops and everyone is selling because they know they’re playing the long game and these highs and lows will inevitably happen.

#4 - The big picture

Not to sound too much like the thought leadership preachy stuff that I myself find corny (lol) but I think a lot about how we really are the sum of the actions we take everyday.

Daily actions compound over weeks

Weekly actions compound over months

Monthly actions compound over years

Yearly actions compound over decades

Almost nothing worthwhile comes easy and almost always takes time. With the speed of how fast things on move on social media and the instant-gratification that comes with it, now more than ever it’s important to be reminded of the importance of knowing the game you’re playing and if it’s a long game, that consistency over time helps win.

Thanks for reading, until next time.