Hits and misses

Dave and I were sitting at the cafe the other day. Talking about the cadence of putting out work.

Social media makes it look like something needs to come out every day. Multiple times per day if you can.

Artists, Kanye West, Drake, some of our favourites, put out an album once per year, once per couple of years. Sometimes it hits, sometimes it doesn’t.

A new iPhone comes out once per year. I don’t need one but for some reason I’ve been wanting one. The latest smartphones are getting closer to being the same each year. If you have one of the top ones, chances are you’ve got the same features as the rest. This isn't a bad thing. It happens with all technology.

We went back and forth trying to find a happy medium for our own work.

After a while, we realised, there really isn’t one. You make it up as you go. Use procrastination as a compass. If you’re bored of something, move onto the next thing without a second thought. The reason? Because if you’re bored, chances are the person reading, listening, watching your work will be as well.

Out of the dozens of songs an artist puts out over a decade, 1, 2, 3 may change the game, they’ll be the soundtracks of the season. 4-6 will be towards the top of the charts. And the rest will be forgotten about.

Better to be prolific, making whatever drives your curiosity. A few pieces of it may turn into a hit, most of it won’t. However, this depends on your definition of a hit. Is being proud of something a hit? Despite how it performs?

Perhaps that’s a better way to go. Instead of trying to make a hit, use the spark of interest to make something your proud of.

The best thing is, doing it that way, you can’t miss.