Starting or managing a musical career when you have children comes with challenges, and many artists either decide to put their career on hold when they have children or abandon it completely. We understand that this might not be a choice for you, however, especially if you’re the sole breadwinner and your music is paying the bills. So, what can you do to maintain an active career while taking care of your family? Let’s take a look at how you can be a successful artist and parent at the same time.
Stay In Touch with Your Fans Through Vlogging
If you’re a well-established artist or are growing your fanbase, one of the best ways to stay in their minds is through a vlog. This could be a vlog about family life, or you could let them see your creative process if you’re working on projects from home. Not only will this give you a chance to stay relevant, but you’ll also be able to form a deeper connection with your fanbase and they’ll feel more invested in your career and its success.
Record Closer to Home
If your current recording studio is far from where you live, then you might have to find a studio that’s closer to home. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere, you should be able to find a studio close to home that will give you comparable results to the studio you usually use.
If you live in a major city and you record there but the studio is a long drive away, you should also consider looking for one in your neighborhood. If you’re from Brooklyn, for instance, and you usually record in Manhattan, then it would be better logistically to find a studio in Brooklyn.
The good news is that you’ll have no trouble finding a good Brooklyn music studio and you could end up making savings by working from there. The best Brooklyn recording studio is run by Pirate, offering some of the best deals in the city with top-of-the-line installations. You can also book with them at any time of the day or night, which will make things more convenient for you.
Manage Your Time Better
You might have to make changes to your usual creative process to deal with time constraints. If you tend to be indecisive when you’re recording, try to maximize your time and record every single idea when you’re in the studio instead of nitpicking. You may also have to record or write songs in chunks to fit your writing and recording time around your schedule.
Diversify Your Income
You could also find ways to make money from home if you have to go on a hiatus. One of the easiest ways that you could do this would be to give lessons. If you’re a major artist, then you could create a course and release it on Masterclass. If you’re a background musician or singer, then you could give classes remotely either to individuals or groups. All you need is a video conference platform like Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet and you could start teaching right away.
Now could also be a great time to up your merchandise game. If you haven’t been big on merchandise yet, you could start brainstorming ideas for items. You could also offer mentoring services to aspiring artists and charge a fee. These are all ways that you could earn a little bit or a lot of money on the side while you concentrate on what’s important.
Be Ready to Make Some Sacrifices
Managing your time better also means eliminating wasteful activities. If you like going on five-hour Netflix marathons, you might have to cut them down to two. You will also need to ask people in your family if they can take on more responsibilities around the house.
You can’t do it alone, and you need to remind your children of how hard you’re working to keep your ship afloat. If things are getting too hard to manage, have a meeting with them, and see which chores your children could pick up.
One thing you shouldn’t do is neglect your career if that’s all you have. So, if you have to hire help like a nanny or ask someone close to you if they can take care of the kids when you have professional obligations, even if it’s for a fee, don’t hesitate to do it.
Use Your Children as Inspiration
You also shouldn’t assume that being around your children will stifle your creativity. Having children could have a transformative effect on your career, so try creating at home and see how that works. Children can be great critics too. They could even help you come up with melodies, elements you could add to songs, or lyrics. Not only that, but your children might be more aware of recent trends in the music industry and give you some ideas on how you could stay current. Try to see your children more as a resource than a hindrance and things will go much better.
Remember to Put Your Family First
You also have to be ready to take a break if you need to. You’ll never be able to relive your child’s first steps or their first piano recital. If you can, at least be fully present during important occasions and mark them well in advance. Also, let your team and label know of any special event in advance and make sure that you have no contractual occasions on that day.
Don’t Feel Guilty
One thing you shouldn’t do, however, is feel guilty. If you’ve managed to give your children a wonderful life thanks to your music, they will appreciate every effort you put in. As long as you genuinely try, you’d be surprised at how understanding children can be, even the younger ones.
As you can see, it’s still possible to have a successful career as a musician when you have a family. You will have to make adjustments, but once you have a routine set, things should go much more smoothly.
