// The Word This Week

There’s a special kind of exhaustion that only musicians know. I’m not talking about the bone-deep fatigue after a show, or the ache in your back from lugging amps up three flights of stairs because the dive bar’s “elevator” is an ancient pulley system manned by a ghost. No, I’m talking about the existential weariness of throwing every shred of your soul into your music and still feeling like you’re stuck at square one.

I see you. I’ve been you.

You’ve got talent. You’ve got songs that rip your heart out every time you play them. You’ve got a vision that keeps you awake at night—not in an “I’m so inspired” way, but in an “if I don’t make this work, I’m going to lose my mind” way. And yet, the gap between where you are and where you want to be feels more like a chasm, an abyss, a goddamn cosmic joke.

Every day, you’re up against an industry that’s designed to keep you out. You’re not imagining it. The gates are locked, and the gatekeepers are too busy stacking their mountains of cash to notice you banging at the door. The music industry is a rigged game, and the house always wins. The major labels, the faceless conglomerates, the streaming moguls—they’re not interested in your art. They’re interested in your content. Because to them, that’s all it is: content.

I hate that word. I bet you do too.

You didn’t get into music to create “content.” You got into music because you had something to say, something to share, something to make people feel. But somewhere along the line, it became less about creating and more about converting. Not converting as in touching souls, but converting as in “turning engagement into monetizable metrics” or whatever the latest industry PowerPoint is spouting.

You’re Not Crazy—It Really Is That Hard

If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly playing catch-up, here’s the truth: the industry is built on moving goalposts. One day, it’s all about Instagram Reels. The next, it’s TikTok or die. You’re supposed to build a brand, grow your audience, monetize your following—oh, and don’t forget to actually make music somewhere in there.

But every time you post, it feels like screaming into the void. You’ve read the articles, taken the webinars, watched the YouTube gurus with their slick hair and their "10 Tips to Go Viral" videos. You’ve tried to “crack the algorithm.” Spoiler: you can’t. The algorithm isn’t a puzzle to solve. It’s a treadmill that speeds up the harder you run.

And the more you try to play the game, the less it feels like you. Suddenly, the artist who started making music to connect with people is now a reluctant content creator, an unpaid intern at the corporation of their own brand.

If that hits too close to home, good. Let’s keep digging.

Mindset: The One Thing You Can Actually Control

If you’ve been doing this for a while, you know that the industry will chew you up and spit you out without so much as a backward glance. It’s an ouroboros of exploitation, devouring artists and churning out “viral hits” faster than you can say “royalty rate.”

But here’s the thing: the industry can take your streams, your playlists, your algorithms—but it can’t take your mindset.

When I was in a band, I thought talent was enough. I thought if I wrote good songs and played good shows, eventually someone would notice. Someone did—but it wasn’t a manager or a label. It was a bartender who told me my set was “not as bad as last week’s.” Cool, thanks.

I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t have a system. And I definitely didn’t have the right mindset. When things went wrong—and they always did—I took it personally. I thought every setback was proof that I wasn’t cut out for this. And that’s the danger of the wrong mindset: it makes you think failure is a reflection of your worth, not just a part of the process.

It took me years to realize that the only thing I could control was how I responded to the chaos. And when I stopped taking it all so personally, I started seeing failure for what it really was: free data. Every rejection was a lesson. Every bad gig was practice. Every “no” was one step closer to the right “yes.”

Branding & Identity: Being Yourself Without Getting Buried

I get it. The idea of “branding” feels like selling out. It feels gross. Like you’re supposed to package yourself into a marketable product with a USP (unique selling proposition, because apparently, we’re all just startups now). But here’s the truth: if you don’t define your brand, someone else will. And they probably won’t get it right.

Your brand isn’t a logo. It’s not a tagline. It’s the story you tell every time you step on stage, every time you post, every time someone listens to your music. It’s the feeling you create, the promise you make, the world you invite your fans into.

When you get this right, everything else gets easier. Your posts start to feel more natural. Your fans start to connect with you on a deeper level. And when the industry sharks come sniffing around, they see you as a fully-formed artist, not just another piece of “content” to monetize.

Why I Wrote “Build Your Foundation”

I’ve been on both sides of this. I’ve been the struggling artist, and I’ve been the guy running a media company, trying to help other artists avoid the same mistakes. I wrote Build Your Foundation because I needed it when I was in the trenches.

I needed someone to tell me that mindset wasn’t just self-help fluff—it was survival. I needed someone to teach me how to build a brand without losing my identity. I needed a guide to the essentials—press kits, bios, EPKs—because every time an opportunity came up, I was scrambling, and it cost me.

Build Your Foundation is everything I wish I’d known. It’s not just a book; it’s a blueprint. It’s my way of giving you a head start, a fighting chance. It’s available as an eBook now, with the paperback edition coming soon. Because I know some of you (me included) need to hold the damn thing in your hands, dog-ear the pages, and write in the margins.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start building, grab it. It won’t solve all your problems, but it’ll give you the tools to face them head-on.

Because, yeah, the industry is a nightmare. But if you’ve made it this far, you’re already tougher than they want you to be.

Now let’s make you unstoppable.

—Lance

If you want to join our community and learn from us in real-time, check out our V1LLAG3 Discord server. Ask questions about music, the industry, promotion, and anything else your heart desires. Just don’t ask us to write your essay (Lance might actually do it)