We were lucky to catch up with Steve DeMott recently and have shared our conversation below.
Steve, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
A lot of time people think there’s magic involved in making a living in the creative field. I approached it like starting a business. I created an LLC & then began networking with people & businesses that were likely to need my services. It didn’t happen all at once & it required a lot of perseverance.
I also don;t believe in the “plan B” mentality. If you give yourself a way out, a parachute, you will pull that rip cord the minute things get rough. Things are guaranteed to get rough, but the better able you are to weather the rough patches, the sooner your success will come.
The one thing I wish I had done earlier than I did was to join professional organizations to help build a bigger name for myself.
Steve, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a GRAMMY® nominated Producer, Engineer, Songwriter, and Musician. I studied Songwriting and Music Production and Engineering at Berklee College of Music, and have been involved in the professional music world for almost 30 years.
I have worked on projects for 1 Tribe Collective (GRAMMY® nominated for Best Album), Sennheiser (TEC Award winner), Mimage Pictures, Ford, Ubisoft & Microsoft Studios. In addition to my freelance work, I also manage a commercial studio and am a regular article contributor and podcast guest for Production Expert.
My goal in any project is to bring the vision to fruition and make it the best it can be. Whether that’s a song, and album, a podcast, audio for video or a movie, it doesn’t matter. I dive in and act as the catalyst that brings it to it’s full potential. I love my job & never take for granted how rare it is to be able to pursue my passion as a career. Being involved in music and audio excites me.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Let me be clear, I think everyone is an artist/creative until they’re told they’re not! I blame our focus on quantifiable learning for the misdirection of so many undiscovered creatives. In art there is no right or wrong. It’s subjective. So it’s easier to teach math & reading, which have quantifiable “rightness”. The school systems need to cultivate creatives much better than they do.
With that said, the most rewarding aspect of what I do is getting to release something into the world that didn’t exist before I created, or at least help create, it.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I believe art enriches everyone’s life. My goal is to get as much of it out into the world as I can & raise awareness of the dangers of depreciating art & artists in our society.
Imagine a world without creatives. No music, no books, no movies or shows. no paintings or sculptures. All buildings made as big concrete slabs with no soul. Is that the kind of world you want to live in?
Contact Info:
- Website: stevedmott.com
- Instagram: @stevedemott
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stevedemottmusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demott/