We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful AUSTIN LEE. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with AUSTIN below.
Hi AUSTIN, thanks for joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
Before I decided to pursue my music career full-time, I had a pretty conventional lifestyle. I worked 9-to-5, five a week like most, and used the money I made from my time at Google to pay off my student loans.
Nowadays, I do miss the normalcy of that lifestyle, but I don’t regret making the choice to leave that behind me. Because now I have no doubts that I made the right decision for myself, and that I’m ultimately happier now.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Personally, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is when fans tell me that my music spoke to them in some way. I’ve struggle with depression for the majority of my life, so if my music is able to help someone else feel unalone, even for a moment, then it was worth struggling through it.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned, and a problem that I struggle with to this day, is the not letting one’s self-worth as an artist be wrapped around their performance analytics. Whether it’s the number of followers on Instagram, or the amount of monthly listeners on Spotify, it’s easy to fall into a trap of overinflating one’s ego because they see “growth.” Likewise, it’s easy to feel like a failure when one notices a lack of growth in listeners.
Art is art. Analytics are analytics. While in today’s day and age they are ultimately conjoined into the same experience, one must remember their validity as an artist and as an individual is not represented by their performance metrics.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/aleebi
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleebi/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aleebi
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/Aleebi
Image Credits
Gino Lucas