We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kevin Walkman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kevin below.

Kevin, appreciate you 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?

I’m really happy as an artist, but it definitely took me awhile to get there. I think many of us crave stability, especially financial, and with art, especially in the beginning, that doesn’t really exist. I tried to convince myself for YEARS that I didn’t want to be an artist for that exact reason; I wanted to be the kid who jumped into a full time job right after college, got their own place, and started an adult life. After lying to myself for years, I realized music was the only thing I had a real passion for (and the only thing I was good at), and that passion was much stronger than the want or need for a full time/regular job.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi! So I’m Kevin Walkman, and I’m an indie pop/indie rock musician. I kind of stumbled into this industry, even though its all I’ve ever wanted to do. I met my friend nick in college, and messing around in his home studio together, we created this song called “WasteUrTime” that took off a little bit (by our standards at the time), and from there we just decided to really go after this and start making music for a living. I like to think my image and also my music is truly genuine. I like feeling like the boy-next-door who also writes music! I don’t want my songs to come from a larger-than-life perspective. I’m just a guy who so happens to have very strong emotions, and I release that by writing music, and I think people that listen to my tracks have connected with that :)

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Yes! “All you need to know about the Music Business” by Donald S. Passman. This is a MUST read for any artist trying to do everything on their own. Most musicians at the start are not going to have managers and booking agents and tour managers and etc etc. This book helped me do some of those things efficiently on my own, and also helped me understand how label and distribution deals work. Artists hold a lot of power these days in negotiating with the labels, so I think its really important for an artist to not only know their worth, but also know how these deals work and what they can get out of it before they go to the table with these industry people.

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

I’ve found that non-creatives are more likely to see your job in music as legitimate if they can physically see the stream numbers, or know that you signed a deal, etc etc, and I think thats a really bad way to measure success in music, especially at the beginning stages. Musicians that are just starting are likely already working a job outside of music 30-40 hours a week, while also trying to find time to make their art too. I think its important to not be asking people things like “Oh, so what’s your REAL job?” and just to let people be creative! Obviously not every single creative or artist will continue down that road for the rest of their lives, but that’s for that specific person to figure out.

Contact Info:

• Website: kevinwalkman.com
• Instagram: @KevWalkman
• Twitter: @KevWalkman
• Other: You can follow me on tiktok @KevWalkman too!

Image Credits
Madelyn Van Trieste