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

Alberto, appreciate you joining 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?

The key to making a full-time living from the arts is diversifying your income sources and exploring various paths within the arts.

Primarily, especially in the early stages, it involves applying your technical skills to serve those who are offered money in exchange of their creative and technical services. To this day, composers and audio post-production houses, for which I undertake projects (often outsourced to professionals like me), remain a significant part of my income.

These initial gigs serve as a foundation, providing you with the credentials to access the creative roles yourself. Add networking to the equation and that’s how you bring filmmakers, producers and other creatives outside your field to your pool of clients.

Once you’ve demonstrated your ability to deliver high-quality services at competitive prices, consistency becomes key. Maintaining this quality and actively growing your client base through methods like email outreach and event attendance ensures your success over time.

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

At Solvaudio (solvaudio.com), we offer complete music and audio post-production solutions for film, TV, and video games. We are a one-stop solution for filmmakers that provides creative and technical support for all kinds of audio post-production and music needs.

The prices are very affordable, and the quality is undeniably there. We were born to provide an affordable one-stop solution for independent filmmakers so that they can get the sound of their films right on a budget.

We really care about your film from a fully comprehensive sound and music perspective. That’s what sets up apart and what I am most proud of.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I am making myself what I would have loved to see when I was learning the craft!

You can check it out here: https://www.tiktok.com/@albertoanayamusic

It’s completely free, there is a new reel with new advice/tips/insight coming every Monday, and I am putting it out there for the community as my way to give back.

It’s no bullshit. And everything is from or based on actual books, knowledge and/or experience.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Meritocracy is the most important lesson that I had to unlearn. Because it doesn’t exist.

Working your ass off studying and sacrificing everything without looking back to get anywhere at any cost guarantees you nothing more than what you learn along the way.

I’m someone who has been incredibly lucky in life, and I’ve also taken risks like staying for a job offer in the global epicenter of the pandemic when it erupted, and no one knew anything. Many times, you’re not fully aware of the risks you’re taking until years later. And to make matters worse, those risks are a sacrifice that others unfairly endure too, as they don’t choose to be far from you and they suffer your absences equally.

Even today, the price I pay every day to make a living with this is still incredibly high. But I’ll keep paying it until it’s cheaper to regret.

In short, don’t be like me or think like me. Do it only if you need to.