Over To You: Is It Time To Give Up?

With a lot of honesty, our reader Chris writes: “I’m after some life advice. Like a lot of aspiring DJ/producers, I had aspirations of making a career out of my interests / talents but it hasn’t worked out the way I hoped.

“I played guitar and was in a band from the age of 18 to 23, went to uni and studied Music Technology and got a 3rd (lost interest half way through), then in my mid-20s became interested in electronic music and thought I’d give DJing and production a go and ended up DJing in a few bars (mix of all genres) and from weddings to some cooler places.

“Fast forward to a now, and I DJ on a Friday night in a bar and in a wedding venue on a Saturday (occasionally other days when they have weddings booked in). But I’ve never had any music released and I’ve only ever finished a few tracks that I’m happy with. I’m 31, live at home with parents, and I currently don’t have any money!

“Living at home has enabled me to keep on trying this ‘life’ which is great but I think it’s also kept me in a false reality where I don’t have many big responsibilities. I now feel bitter and frustrated all the time whenever and every hour spent trying to create music unsuccessfully just feels like an extra nail in my music career coffin.

“In a nutshell, I’m thinking of just selling all my equipment and never doing any of this again – but although I feel like this a lot, something keeps bringing me back to it, even though 90% of the time, it’s all making me miserable! Any advice for me? Similar situations? Would love some perspective on this…”

Digital DJ Tips says:

Well you’ve definitely got some self knowledge Chris and I think you know that living at home isn’t helping you, and also I get the sense that your issue is more than just whether or not you can get DJing or production success. After all, you are at least playing DJ sets and you have at least finished a few tunes – things many people on this site would love to have achieved! Set in a different context, these things could be deemed a success.

What is that context? Well, how about finding a job you enjoy, the money from which would enable you to live somewhere else that inspires you more than home, and having DJing as a serious hobby/part time job? It’d take all the pressure off you to “succeed-or-die” in your music career, and you may find that all of a sudden, 90% of the time you’re loving it again.

However, this is a great one to throw open to the audience, many of whom I have no doubt have been through similar and will have first-hand advice to pass on to you. So…

…over to you! Have you been in a similar situation to Chris? If he asked for your advice, what would it be? Please share in the comments.