fmmblog, Author at Finish More Music

FMM109 – Hack Your Way to Better Productivity

We all want to see progress in our lives, yet I see so many people running around without ever actually moving forward.

Like having your foot down on the accelerator but the wheels are just spinning in the mud.

Being busy but not getting anything done.

I know for a FACT that if that’s happening in one area of your life, chances are that the knock-on effect is holding you back in other areas too…

Including your progress as a music producer.

So in this week’s podcast episode I’m sharing 5 of my best tips to level up your productivity in the studio, at work, or just about anywhere!

If you want toget more done in less time, and be much more fulfilled at the end of each day because of it, then stop what you’re doing…

Dive into this week’s episode now!

Key takeaways

Close open loops – write your ideas down so your mind isn’t full trying to store them all.
Map out the week ahead of you, covering everything you need to do and how long it will (roughly) take to complete.
Plan each day from the priorities in your weekly list, knowing how long you will need to complete.
“Today isn’t over until tomorrow is planned”.
Have one super priority each day, and don’t move on until it’s done. This is often the thing you are avoiding the most.
Build breaks into your day to restore focus and allow space for the unexpected.

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Thank you for listening!

I really appreciate you joining me and I hope you’re enjoying the topics and taking some real value into your music sessions.

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5 April, 2021
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FMM108- Establishing Your Name as an Artist

As a producer it’s not uncommon to enjoy writing various genres of music, and to want to get it all out in the world.

But exploring several creative avenues while establishing your name as an artist can be a confusing business…

“Can I release multiple genres of music under one name?”

“Should I release my side project under a new alias?”

“What happens if my sound changes?”

With so much uncertainty on the ‘right’ way to do things, trying to break onto the scene while satisfying your many creative urges can quickly plunge you into overwhelm…

…and the overwhelm can crush your chances of making it altogether.

The solution? A focused approach to your music that puts your creativity and energy first.

So in this week’s podcast episode I’m sharing my practical, career-focused view on how to establish your name as an artist, so that you can get back to the one thing that will further your career…finishing music.

If you’ve been wrestling with how you’re putting your name out there, or if you’re flirting with a change in direction, then this one’s for you.

Tune into the Finish More Music Podcast now!

Key takeaways

Focusing on one single project while building your reputation will get you results faster and with minimal energy spent. Consider your 80/20.
More aliases equals more time needed to put into socials, marketing and building relationships with labels, which all distract from writing music.
Many artists released their side projects after they had already established their name in the industry.
If you thrive writing multiple genres then thrive doing that. Don’t allow what’s going to happen later down the line to stop you.
“It’s not about what you have, it’s about who you’ve become”.

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Thank you for listening!

I really appreciate you joining me and I hope you’re enjoying the topics and taking some real value into your music sessions.

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29 March, 2021
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FMM107 – Your Plan B is a Waste of Time

Most of us have got an idea of where we want to go in life, and what we’d like to achieve with our music….

You might call it your Plan A.

Your True North that guides you towards your goals, or the path that you hope will lead you towards your version of success.

But what about Plan B?

“Keith, isn’t it sensible to have a back up plan just in case things go wrong?”

Well in this episode I’m debunking your Plan B, discussing exactly why having a backup plan is the safest way to not achieving your goals.

And I’ll be showing you how by doubling down on your Plan A, you’ve got so much to gain.

It all comes down to hedging your bets, to sitting on the fence, to not being fully committed to what you really want…

If your goals in music are truly important to you, then you must show unwavering belief in it.

Because if you do, you’ll reap the rewards for it.

Find out how in this week’s episode of the Finish More Music Podcast!

Key takeaways

“There’s no reason to have a plan B because it distracts from plan A.”
Achieving any significant goal requires unwavering belief that you can hit that goal.
A question opens a mind, a statement closes one.
Plan for bumps in the road, but don’t plan to stop the journey if the bumps start appearing.

Liked this episode? Now try these:

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I really appreciate you joining me and I hope you’re enjoying the topics and taking some real value into your music sessions.

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22 March, 2021
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FMM106 – Enamour

If you’re like most producers, navigating the music industry can seem like a pretty daunting prospect.

With little information out there on the ‘right’ way to approach labels, or how to actually get your music in the hands of the right people, making an impact in an industry often working behind closed doors is a real cause of confusion and overwhelm for many.

So this week I had the pleasure of interviewing Enamour, a rising star of the progessive house scene, who describes his journey from local warmup DJ to in-demand producer releasing on labels like Anjunadeep, Future Classic, Lane 8’s This Never Happened, Rufus Du Sol’s Rose Avenue, Desert Hearts Black, mau5trap and more, all in a matter of a few years.

Not only does he share the strategies he used for building contacts in the music industry, and securing releases on the biggest labels in his genre, Enamour also dives into his creative rituals, how he generates ideas and expands them into full tracks, and gives us a sneak peak into some of his favourite tools to use in the studio.

So if you’re looking to write your best music and break through onto bigger and better labels, you are going to LOVE this episode.

Listen to this week’s episode of the Finish More Music podcast now!

Key takeaways

Don’t send labels tracks you think they’ll like just because it sounds like their previous releases.
Prioritise writing music that fulfills you first and foremost, and a label will be out there to suit it.
“It’s about the song, not about the label. Sure they have the audience, but the audience isn’t going to love you just because you released on it. They’re going to love you because you wrote a great song.”
You can’t be successful without having personal relationships with people that can be honest and give you advice.

Liked this episode? Now try these:

Thank you for listening!

I really appreciate you joining me and I hope you’re enjoying the topics and taking some real value into your music sessions.

If this episode resonated with you and you feel it will have a positive impact on the people you know, please share it  by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this page.

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15 March, 2021
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FMM105 – 5 Ways to Create Inspiration

As an artist, there’s no better feeling than being inspired to write music that lights you up.

But as you may know all too well, inspiration rarely lasts forever.

And when it does suddenly disappear from us, we’re left in a place that NOBODY wants to be in…

The creative rut.

As painful as it is easy to fall into, getting stuck in a rut with no idea of how to get out is a challenge that all producers face at various points throughout their journey…
Unless you’ve got a strategy to defeat it.

So in this week’s podcast episode I’m sharing 5 of my favorite strategies that you can quickly implement to kickstart your creativity again whenever you’ve lost your muse, so you can get back to writing the music you love.

Apply them, and never fear the rut again. Ignore them, and get stuck in for the long haul.

Find how in this week’s episode of the Finish More Music podcast now!

Key takeaways

Work with others to inspire new ways of thinking and step outside your comfort zone.
Have a pool of ideas you can return to whenever you need.
Change your environment to freshen your mind and rest your ears.
Experiment with new workflows to inspire new approaches to making music.
Just do it – “sometimes you have to go on when you don’t feel like it,
and sometimes you’re doing good work when it feels like all you’re managing is to shovel sh*it from a sitting position”.

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I really appreciate you joining me and I hope you’re enjoying the topics and taking some real value into your music sessions.

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8 March, 2021
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FMM104 – The Force Trap: Have You Fallen In?

No matter what stage you’re at in your music production journey, there’s a classic trap that you can easily fall into…and that’s forcing it.

I’m sure you’d love to master every step of the production process yourself, or have a super recognizable and unique ‘sound’, or always get quick results in the studio…

But in reality, pushing for these sorts of things only leads to getting pushed BACK.

And the harder you push, the bigger the frustration that comes with it.

And the bigger the frustration, the slower your progress.

And the slower your progress…well, you get the idea.

So in this week’s podcast episode I’m taking you through four of the key ‘foreceable’ areas of the production process to watch out for, so that you can focus on what really matters…
Writing great music.

Find out what they are by listening to this week’s episode of the Finish More Music podcast now!

Key takeaways

Creativity by its very nature is the process of surrendering, not forcing.
You’re cheating yourself by not embracing all of the resources available for you to allow your creativity to flow.
“If you try and chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.”
When you stop rushing results, results rush to you.

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Thank you for listening!

I really appreciate you joining me and I hope you’re enjoying the topics and taking some real value into your music sessions.

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1 March, 2021
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Fmm103 – How I Structure My Morning for Success

Have you ever set out for the day only to end up bored, tired, lazy, or stuck scrolling through social media longer than you care to admit?

Well, there’s a secret source behind productive, focused, and successful days that absolutely anyone can tap into, but so many choose to skip out on…

The morning!

If there’s one thing that has had the most profound impact on my life, my joy, and my productivity, it’s 100% what I do in the morning before I start the day.

So in this week’s podcast episode, I wanted to share some of the things that I do as soon as I wake up that get me ready and prepared for the day ahead.

And you know what? For the first time EVER I’m going to say this…
You don’t even have to follow them all!

These are just a few things that have had a genuinely positive impact on my life that I think might just work for you too if you give them a try.

And the beautiful thing is they’re SO easy to start doing and they take almost no time at all to complete but will power you forward towards your version of success.

So dive into this week’s episode with me to see how you can kick-start your mornings for a happier, more fulfilling, and more meaningful day.

Key takeaways

Focused, productive, successful mornings, generate focused, productive, successful days

Dedicating some time to self-awareness and reflection can help to flush out negative emotions before they take over.

“The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day”.

Focus on your personal development, and the things that bring you joy.

Success is a few simple disciplines practiced daily

Liked this episode? Now try these:

FMM102 – The Compound Effect

FMM032 – No Discipline, No Success

FMM088 – When Doing Less is Doing More

Thank you for listening!

I really appreciate you joining me and I hope you’re enjoying the topics and taking some real value into your music sessions.

If this episode resonated with you and you feel it will have a positive impact on the people you know, please share it  by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this page.

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23 February, 2021
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FMM102 – The Compound Effect

What if I told you there was a secret to making massive gains in the studio, with almost minimum effort?

You’d probably tell me I’m talking out of my 🍑…

But there absolutely is, and today I’m sharing it with you!

In this week’s podcast episode I’m diving deep into the Compound Effect, a concept that is so powerful it will help you see literal exponential growth in your creativity and music…

And with just a few simple steps everyday, you’ll see huge leaps in the quality of the tracks you write, your knowledge, your output, and most importantly, your enjoyment.

Curious to see how it works?

Listen to the Finish More Music Podcast now!

Key takeaways

Incredible growth comes from the small, often inconsequential steps that we take every single day.
A 1% improvement everyday will lead to a 38x improvement over a year
Following a proven system takes the guesswork out of progressing quickly as a producer.
“Start from a place of simplicity and grow.”

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Thank you for listening!

I really appreciate you joining me and I hope you’re enjoying the topics and taking some real value into your music sessions.

If this episode resonated with you and you feel it will have a positive impact on the people you know, please share it  by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this page.

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15 February, 2021
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FMM101 – Using Your Creative Fears As Fuel For Your Success

For producers, writing music and being creative can be an amazing path to self-discovery…

It helps to shine a light on who you are, what your vision looks like, what your tastes are, and what your sound is.

But it also shines a light on your fears, the things that hold you back…

“What will people say about my music?”

“Is it good enough?”

“Am I talented enough?”

“What will the label say, will I get rejected?”

Everytime you show up to the studio you step into the unknown, encountering various levels of fear and doubt in one way or another.

And for many people, this resistance is seen as the enemy, something that can stop you writing music all together.

But in this week’s podcast episode, I’m showing you how by actually embracing this resistance, you can discover something in you that’s SO powerful… you’ll maximise your results in the studio AND countless other areas of your life.

You’ve got to see it to believe it…

Listen to episode 101 of the Finish More Music podcast now!

Key takeaways

Being creative is much more than the outcome of your studio session.
Creativity lets you step into a world of uncertainty whenever you like.
Treat discomfort and resistance as an object of curiosity, not fear.
Beliefs are lies that we hold to be true.

Quotes

“What we resist, persists.”
“Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that the enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul.” – Steven Pressfield

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Thank you for listening!

I really appreciate you joining me and I hope you’re enjoying the topics and taking some real value into your music sessions.

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8 February, 2021
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FMM100 – 5 Brain Hacks for Turbocharged Learning

It’s the 100th episode of the Finish More Music Podcast (🎉🎉🎉) and to be truthful, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what kind of episode would be fitting for such a milestone…

I’ve been thinking back to all the amazing episodes there’s been in the past, including those with some of the biggest names in electronic music, those that tell stories of amazing breakthroughs, and those that are simply just me and a microphone.

And it made me think back to the whole reason why I started this podcast…

To be able to share everything I’ve learned from my experience coaching thousands of music producers overcome their creative blocks, and release music on the labels they love, so more people can do it too.

And that’s why this week I’m keeping things simple, rounding up some of the most valuable advice I can possibly give.

Because there’s a wealth of information online that can be incredible resources for developing and growing as a music producer, but for so many people that very same information is just a black hole of wasted time…

Bottomless Youtube rabbit-holes, countless gear manuals and production books…

Whilst these resources *can* be brilliant for your learning, they are often simply the ILLUSION of being productive, and rarely inspire you to actually do the thing you need to improve.

So in this week’s podcast, I’m sharing 5 of my best strategies to turbocharge your learning, so that the valuable time you put into improving your music actually translates into genuine growth.

Curious to learn what they are?

Listen to the 100th episode of the Finish More Music Podcast now!

Key takeaways

Knowledge isn’t power until it’s applied.
Use it or lose it – put your learning into practice or quickly forget it.
Try explaining a concept in simple terms to somebody else to discover gaps in your knowledge.
Make time to rest between learning to avoid information overload.

Quotes

Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work
Knowledge isn’t power until it’s applied

Thank you for listening!

I really appreciate you joining me and I hope you’re enjoying the topics and taking some real value into your music sessions.

If this episode resonated with you and you feel it will have a positive impact on the people you know, please share it  by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this page.

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