We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aaron Litschke a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Aaron thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

In 2019 I launched my music label called Forgetful Music. Since then I’ve been realizing just how little I knew about online promotion, how the music streaming platforms pay artists, and how little the payout can be on any given release. To date, I’ve had a little over 7 million streams (thats not a misprint, I’ve had 7 million streams) which has added up to about $220.00. When I was starting I definitely thought that hitting a million streams would have me well on my way to quitting my day job and doing music full time but that’s not how things work in the music streaming business.

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

For as long as I can remember I’ve been in love with music. When I was in kindergarten I had a little Fisher-Price portable tape player that I used to bring with me to kindergarten and play my oldest sister’s Thriller cassette. I also remember dropping the cassette player and it smashing all over the place – it was 100% in slow motion when it happened – I was so sad!
In 5th grade I was in band on and off in school and when I got older I marched in drum line until I was 15.

Right around then I found DJing and I was hooked. At the old age of 16 I started playing at parties (also known as raves) around Minneapolis and I never looked back. I’ve spent most of my life in the dance community here in Minneapolis. I’ve done everything from throwing parties to hosting a monthly dance night at First Avenue in The Record Room where my best friend Matt and I put together shows under the promotion name Loud And Clear. We had a solid run of about 5 years. After that monthly night at First Avenue ended, I did shows with local home run hitter Mike Gervais. Mike had a club night going called System that I joined up with. I actually can’t remember how long that night lasted, we were doing shows at The Bolt and had a good run.

At a certain point, about 9 years ago, my drug and alcohol addiction took over and it wasn’t pretty. I went into treatment which was the end of my DJing and party throwing. It was just too hard to try and step back into that lifestyle and not want to get high or drunk, so I stayed away from it. I lost almost everything when all that happened.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think the reward can vary. I know I’m not getting huge numbers on my releases and that’s humbling but it’s not a bad thing. I think it makes me stronger because it tests my resolve. I also had my release Destroyer Of Worlds receive the Spotify Breakout Artist which was really big for me. That EP is still doing well, I’m getting about a thousand streams on that EP every couple of months just on Spotify. I have no clue if I’ll ever be able to do music as a full time gig but I know for sure it’ll never happen if I quit and I’m not ready to quit yet.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think non-creatives might underestimate the amount of time it takes to write the music, master the music, come up with the album art, make the music video/shorts and then promote the music, all while trying to get your next release ready. Even though it’s a labor of love there’s still a LOT of labor involved!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/litschke1/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aaron.litschke
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Forgetfulmusic4U
• Other: Apple Music
  https://music.apple.com/us/artist/aaron-litschke/495325092

  Spotify
  https://open.spotify.com/user/1250708522?si=9a6402a08d64401c

  Bandcamp

  https://aaronlitschke.bandcamp.com

Image Credits

From left to right.

1. My music label logo, designed by me.

2. Promo pic, taken by Ross Anderson.

3. Album art for my most popular release to date, Destroyer Of Worlds, designed by me.

4. Profile pic from my time hosting shows at First Ave

5. Album cover from my favorite EP

6. Album cover from my first EP on my label