We were lucky to catch up with Brandon Dove recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brandon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’ve love to hear an interesting investment story – what was one of the best or worst investments you’ve made? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

From my vantage point in the music industry, conversations about investment (and, specifically, return on investment) are interesting yet disorienting. There are many other professions and/or life paths where the throughline between an investment (of precious finite resources like time, money, energy, etc.) and a desired outcome is more concrete and reliable, or at least easier to perceive. The fact that “success” in a creative field like music doesn’t necessarily exhibit many traditional barriers to entry is what makes its pursuit so exciting and dynamic, yet also so daunting. Given how quickly things move and the landscape changes, it can feel like most investments of time, money, and/or energy hold an equal potential for being worthwhile and not. Meanwhile, in hindsight, your efforts and investments can often hold all sorts of value that may not immediately reveal itself (for years, even). Endlessly weighing the fear of missing out in this way against the fear of having wasted one or more precious finite resources is a fast-track to burnout and/or (perhaps even worse) getting stuck in that purgatory of indecision, talking yourself into and out of every idea for what move you’d like to make next.

This is all to say that, in my experience so far, the best investments within this context that come to mind are of the “bigger picture; pertaining more to your personal headspace and well-being” variety. It hardly feels novel to meet a prompt about investments within an entrepreneurial space with something as heady as, “the best investment for any of your pursuits is in YOURSELF,” especially when that glosses over the really tangible questions of investment that all of us creatives in the music industry are regularly faced with (i.e. “Will this opportunity be worth it?” ; “Will this [degree, product, marketing campaign] be worth it?” ; “Will shifting tons of time and energy towards this [new social media platform, streaming service, etc.] be worth it?” ; “Will continuing to sacrifice other aspects of life for this be worth it?”). But I think it’s true.

Specifically, I think the best investment anyone can make is in their own ability to critically self-reflect and in building their vocabulary for critical self-reflection, where “critical” here most importantly includes “honest.” This isn’t just for the purpose of being more analytically-equipped during the ongoing weighing of options (and claiming for yourself the maximum amount of autonomy in your direction, especially if/when it comes time to course-correct), but also for better understanding and regulating your own emotions surrounding that process.

Next, I think investing in being as “limber” as possible is ideal. To me, this is part-tangible and part-abstract, and involves learning to approach the way you learn, think about, and execute what you do in a way that is holistic, diversified, and systems-oriented. This includes by nature being able to “cast a wide net” when it comes to your ongoing envisioning of what doing “it” (in any sense of the word) actually looks like or could look like and, as a result, being able to pivot and/or better orient yourself within changed landscapes that look nothing like the ones that inspired your pursuit in the first place. I feel bewildered (yet validated, haha) when I remind myself that music streaming, social media, and even Youtube did not exist whatsoever when I was first inspired to pursue music as a kid and began envisioning what that pursuit looked like. Being limber also means being able to cut losses, bounce back, and “fail fast,” all of which are essential when, in reality, making moves by taking chances (and risking some of those precious finite resources) is an inevitable and necessary part of the pursuit.

Finally, I think investing in your own prolonged health, well-being, and joy is of super high importance. That, too, sounds pretty trite. But some of the biggest revelations for me personally so far have come from recognizing that it’s unequivocally about the “long game,” which in turn requires you to think about your own sustainability for the long game. And I don’t just mean exercising more and making time for friends (though both are very much a part of the package here); I’m even referring to aspects of life like financial well-being. It feels like there are so many other entrepreneurial pursuits where working one or more jobs that provide stability while growing the “passion hustle” is embedded within the culture, but in music everyone is somehow made to feel like it’s “all or nothing,” even if the ride would be so much more enjoyable and sustainable long-term with a slightly different life-allocation.

Brandon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Musically, I identify as a player, performer, and writer. Music is as important to me as a personal craft as it is a vehicle for interacting with other people. I play multiple instruments, focus on collaborating with others, and tend to serve the role of “Swiss Army Knife” across different projects and gigs on stage or in the studio, whereby I’m using one or more of my creative languages (i.e., my musical language on guitar/bass/violin/piano/etc., my music theory or compositional vocabulary, my knowledge of tech and production, even my linguistic vocabulary, etc.) to contribute ideas and help other people articulate their ideas, all for the purpose of making something, accomplishing a goal, or solving a problem. Most of my work exists in the form of playing in bands on shows and tours across different genres, and/or making contributions to various studio tracks.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I think, to allude to the “investments” described above, it took some (necessary) time to arrive where I’m currently at with each. In some ways they’re each a sort of “ongoing” practice or pursuit, and not necessarily discrete accolades or check-boxes. They also feel relatively obvious on the surface, but become far more complex when putting them into practice. As far as how what I’m saying relates to resources or things I wish I had arrived at earlier on, I suppose it’s always easy to look back from your current frame of reference and say, “Wow, if I had arrived at this revelation earlier, I’d have saved myself SO much time/stress/etc.” Regardless of whether or not things work that way in actuality, I guess I can say this is true. Deeply investing in myself (and with it, more closely defining and prioritizing my own needs/visions/etc.) is something I could say I wish I went “all-in” on sooner.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Lately, I’ve described the entirety of my mission/goals as seeking to grow as a person, facilitator, creator, and player–in that order of priority, and in perpetuity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jammcard.com/brandonmdove
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonmdove/

Image Credits
Edmund Velasco Jared Rezel B-Sides TV