We recently connected with Adam Skeppar and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Adam thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I have been able to earn a full-time living from being a musician. The trick is to have many different skills and to always plan ahead. Let’s say you’re going on tour, have you written any songs before the tour that are now going to be published? Can you record guitar parts while on tour and produce songs? Have you planned out social media content for the tour? Perhaps recorded something beforehand? What are you going to do after the tour? Of course you want to enjoy the tour, but you need to able to simoultaneously have projects going that will give you passive income while also earning the active income.

It hasn’t been like this from day one. I think that many of us start out thinking that you want to learn how to play the instrument and that that’ll be enough, which in some cases it is, but most often not. You’ll be surprised how many of your favourite musicians also know how to produce, play other instruments, record, write songs etc. That’s because you need the whole package, and financially, having written songs for big artists, will boost your passive and long-term income. That’s why it’s important to get good at understanding royalties, publishing shares and writing shares etc.

Some of the major steps was of course going on tour for the first time, or playing live shows for the first time. And of course writing and publishing a song for the first time. I definitely think knowing this stuff at an early point can be really helpful, you should let the passion drive you, but it doesn’t hurt to learn the business side of things along side it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a guitarist from Stockholm, Sweden. Originally actually from a town south of stockholm called Sodertalje. I started playing guitar when I was 12, and gradually started playing different genres and with different bands. I moved to Los Angeles when I was 21 to study at Musicians Institute and worked in LA and in the US after that. As a guitar player I offer good versatility, knowledge of sounds, songwriting abilities and comfortable to come up with things on the spot, stage presence, serving the song. I think what sets me apart is my versatility, I could play any style, and I know what to type of feel you need for different styles while also providing my own touch. If an artist needs me to come up with a new intro for a song to do live for example I’ll be able to come up with it relatively fast, and if you want to arrange the song differently I’ll be able to do that as well, I’m very flexible in that regard.

What I’m most proud of is the fact that I’ve been able to have a varied music career touring in America and internationally, playing in small clubs or big theatres while doing different kinds of music. Playing TV gigs doing pop, R&B, while doing Jazz gigs in Stockholm etc. I’ve been able to do different styles that I like to play. I also got to join Steve Vai on stage in 2018 at his big Jamathon event, and I won the Outstanding Player Award at Musicians Institute that same year which I’m also proud of.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, playing live is easily the best part of the job. I love recording songs and releasing songs, but getting to be on stage is the best part. Travelling to some amazing places has also been a very nice bonus. I enjoy that life. But spending alot of time on the creative side and finally getting to release something is a great feeling too, so it works both ways.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Yes! It’s important to be consistent and to understand your strengths, and be versatile like I said before. Variety and consistency is key, It’s important to nail down what it is you want to be too, and plan ahead in that direction. I started uploading videos more consistently back in 2016 and combining that with touring, doing different projects etc will increase your following.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamskeppar/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adam.skeppar/?locale=sv_SE
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamskeppar
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adamskeppar2116