Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hugh Lindsey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hugh, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I love this question. Every day I get to wake up and do one of the things I love most, write and produce songs.
Every day I also wake up and wonder “what the heck am I doing with my life”.

Building a career in something that I’m extremely passionate about has been no small adventure. I’ve quickly learned that it takes a lot of discipline and practice to let business and passion co-exist. Often times I want to give up on learning that balance and just go back to writing songs in my living where no one would ever hear them, while a work a regular job to pay the bills.

As a creator, you want to create when you feel inspired. As someone running a business, you have to clock in every day to keep the business running.

I’m learning more about how to balance business and passion every day, but the fact is, no matter how difficult it is, I’m really happy knowing that I’ve stayed true to myself by pursuing a career in something that I love.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

When people ask me “what do you do,” I tell them “I’m a music producer and a songwriter”. It’s a quick and easy answer. It’s also an honest answer. The question that really cut to the heart however is when I’m asked “why do you do what you do?” Everyone likes to be asked that right?

I write and produce music because it helps me heal. It’s like my best friend and my therapist. Everyone needs music for different reasons. For some people music is purely fun, for others it’s sophisticated, for someone else it’s a way to pass the time, and so on and so forth.
For me, music is healing.

I decided to pursue a career in music because I wanted to help people learn about themselves and their emotions. Every song is an invitation that invites people to connect with the human experience and hopefully helps each person (myself included) live a little more wholeheartedly.

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

In the music business, it’s “easy” to be the Artist. What isn’t easy is creating and managing a business as an Artist. At times it almost feels impossible.

Here are some of the resources that taught me that it is in fact possible.

Ari Herstand’s book “How To Make It In The New Music Business”.
I wish I had found this book the moment I decided to pursue a career in music. It has been my most consistent go-to when it comes to Music Business education that is focused on being an Artist first.

Burstimo | Music PR and Promotion
Burstimo has a youtube channel where they share loads of helpful information about Marketing and Promotional strategies.

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

Creative risks. Risk is something I think a lot of people have difficulty with. As a creative, taking risks (especially in the beginning) is an unavoidable part of the journey. You have to be willing to let go and jump into the unknown at times. Sometimes the risk is writing a song you’re not sure people will like. Other times (most often in my experience) the biggest risks come up around finances.
Building a career in the music business requires a lot of investment. I think a lot of creatives often don’t take enough time to gather the “proof” that their investments will pay off. They just take the risk because they are “passionate about art”. This is a common disconnect between creatives and non-creatives. Creatives want to risk it all for sake of the art. Non-creatives want to make sure that they are going to invest their time and money in something that will “work”. I think it takes both in order to have a successful career in a creative field.
I believe some of the best art comes from those who not only know how to “risk it all for sake of art” but know how to get their product out to the right people because they put in the business leg work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hughlindsey.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/hughlindseyofficial
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCohpc98wuPzeT25OBYpYgDw

Image Credits
Daniel Cunningham