Pressures of the music industry – what I’ve learned to support my mental health

Growing up, my mother and I travelled and lived in various places together. From living in Amsterdam, to Tanzania in Africa, and seeing how different people live their lives, changed my thoughts on “success”. My mother is a filmmaker and from a young age, I was writing music, songs and poetry. Despite having very little, we made use with the resources and I quickly learned that to be creative, you do not need the materialistic factors in order for it to be an amazing piece.

We came to London when I turned 12 or 13, and I was slightly overwhelmed by the amount of opportunities there were, both creatively and socially. While I managed going to school with working on my music, it is fair to say that you can lose sight of maintaining your mental health when chasing success in the music industry. It can be competitive, and at times intimidating. To combat this, I would make lists of things that I wanted to improve on musically, for my own benefits, and not to fit a particular criteria of what a “creative” must be like.

Maintaining a healthy balance between your wellbeing and the drive to do more, and be more creative, can be challenging. There are so many different factors that can position you to feel like you are not doing enough. The important thing to remember is to pace yourself.

In London, where everything seems so fast paced, it is easy to fall into constantly thinking about what you want more of. I have learned to appreciate how far I have come creatively, and to be kinder to my mind in that sense.

Maintaining a balance of personal life, family life, work life, creativity and/or any other parts of your life is exhausting and draining. Bringing music into your ritual, in a way that betters your mental health and not because you feel obliged to do so, will ease the pressure and from experience, you produce better music that way too.

Remember why you’re creating music in the first place

Success. We can all be sucked into a world where gaining other people’s validation can be what drives us to do more. But more importantly, remembering why you have written a particular song or made something creative, reminding yourself what it means to you, will install a much more fulfilling reason for doing what you are doing.

When I was younger, I would alter different parts of my work in order to please others to a certain degree. I would forget why I was making what I was making. However, documenting what each piece meant to me reminded me that it is okay if it does not fit for everyone. If your piece of creative work is not seen to be ideal or the right fit, it is okay. I learned to be content with rejection by writing down what I thought went wrong, what went well and how I can move forward from here. 

Meeting one person's version of success does not matter. As long as you are satisfied with your own work and are confident that it reflects you, and the story that you wish to tell.  Uncertainty is a massive factor in the music business. Although it may be stressful to get to the top (whatever the top may be), what you learn on the way is far more rewarding.

I learned to have fun with creating, collaborating and getting more involved with music-based organisations (such as the Roundhouse in Camden), that facilitate the space to be explorative without any expectations.