Introduction: Welcome to Progressions

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Hey!

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Welcome to the very first episode of

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Success in the Music Industry.

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I figured the only way to start this

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journey off would be to introduce myself and

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summarize why I decided to start a podcast

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in the first place.

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My name is Travis Ference.

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And over the last 15 years, I've built a

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career as a mixer, producer and recording

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engineer in Los Angeles.

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I've worked with a range of artists from

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big to small that span across all genres.

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I've been involved with projects that have

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charted and I've been awarded platinum records.

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And on the flip side, I've made records that

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were probably never heard outside of the

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artist's social circle.

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In that time, I've learned a lot.

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Obviously a lot about how to make a record

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and how to navigate the music industry, but there

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are plenty of podcasts and YouTube channels

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and masterclasses that have that cover already.

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Something that there is not a lot of talk

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about in this industry is setting goals and

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how to define what success is to you.

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These are things that I've learned along

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the way as well, particularly in the

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last several years.

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When I step back and look at the music industry

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around me, I see a lot of obstacles in the way that

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people live their lives.

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I can see it because I've lived a lot

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of them myself.

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For example, when you're chasing a passion,

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there's a tendency to believe that you

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have to sacrifice everything and to live

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the artist struggle.

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I remember moving to Los Angeles.

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I was proud to sleep on the floor of my apartment

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because it didn't have a bed made me feel like I

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was really going for it.

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Even though I could afford a bed.

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Think of the songwriter, who's working two

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non-music jobs to pay their bills and doing

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shows at open mikes for tips or the producer

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who's making beats and selling them for 20

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bucks because they want to be cheaper than the

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next guy or the engineer doing mixes for free

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for every band they can find in hopes that

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they'll get hired back.

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When the band blows up, these are all familiar

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stories and we've all been there or are

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there and no others in the same boats.

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And we know that they don't all

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have happy endings.

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Especially, if you don't have a goal and

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a vision, then there's something about the

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arts that also compels people to put a lot of

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focus on peer approval.

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For some reason, they have to judge

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their success by the success or failure

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of those around them.

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I spent years of my life hoping every record I

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did was as successful as the last record, one

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of my peers did, and that they might notice.

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It doesn't matter how fulfilling the experience

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of making the record was.

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Or how great the friendships you made with

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the people involved were.

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It all comes down to, was it better

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than something else?

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So combine the artist struggle with this quest

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for pure approval, and you have a recipe for

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the scarcity mindset.

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The idea that every gig is the last gig

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you'll ever book.

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And the more gigs you do, the more chances

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of having a hit.

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And if you have a hit, then it will be better

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than everybody else.

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So on and so forth.

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And you've got yourself a cycle that probably ends

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in some form of burnout.

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At this point, you're probably thinking

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this sounds kind of like a bitter rant

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and you feel like I'm probably hitting things

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that seem unrelated.

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And you're thinking, man, I don't even

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know if I want to keep listening to this, but

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bear with me just for another couple minutes.

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I think that if you set out on a quest to

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chase your dream without defining what your goals

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are and by doing so what success is for you.

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Then you will run a much higher risk of looking

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back one day and seeing that you ran the rat race

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and sure it was exciting, but you actually achieved

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very little and at worst ended up on fulfilled.

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And I'm not saying the things I mentioned

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earlier, won't give you success and happiness.

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The artist struggle is probably the most

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exciting part of starting your journey

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and can lead to piles of inspiration and striving

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to create the best work you can possibly

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create is definitely not a bad thing either,

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but don't do it just to spite the success

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of those around you.

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And you love what you do.

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So taking a lot of gigs is not wrong, but one

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day learn that saying yes to everything is

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going to leave you saying no to something else.

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So after all that still no answer.

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Why is this guy starting a podcast?

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Why is he still talking?

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Why am I still listening?

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I thought a podcast would be a great way

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to share the stories of people that have lived

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through and are still living through the many

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parts of the music career journey that you are

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most likely on yourself.

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I'll be bringing guests on from all areas of

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the industry, producers, engineers, musicians,

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managers, and various other creatives.

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I want there to be a story for everyone.

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I don't want this just to be another

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interview show though.

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I want to put a twist on things.

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My goal is to highlight a specific career milestone

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or a particularly successful career,

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and try to break down the steps and turning

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points in that person's life that led them

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to achieve that goal.

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I'm a big proponent of setting goals and then

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working backwards to break down the steps

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that need to happen to get you there.

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When I say breaking things down to steps,

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I mean, breaking them down to clear,

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actionable steps.

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It's way easier to get up in the morning and take

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a small predetermined step on your journey

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than it is to get up in the morning and

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quote, get a global number one smash hit.

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Although you can wake up in the morning one

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day and have a global number one smash hit.

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A lot of people in this industry put their faith

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in luck and they search for inspiration from

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things like the muse.

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I don't believe the people who have thriving

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careers and fulfilling lives in music can

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look back and attribute it all to luck.

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Sure.

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People can catch a break, but you need to be

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prepared for that moment.

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At some point in their career, successful people

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committed themselves to a goal and they took

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steps to achieve it.

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That's what I want to focus on in this show.

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I want to bring to light the steps that people

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have taken to lead them to their successes.

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And for one final twist, I'd like to put my guests

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on the spot and ask them what their current goal

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is and what's their next smallest step look like.

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So I'm excited for this new adventure.

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Hopefully you are as well.

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Hopefully you're still listening.

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Hopefully somebody is still listening.

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I will be learning to interview people on

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the fly, so you'll have to give me a little

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bit of room for air, but I'll try my best,

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but I do promise to bring you guests with

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stories that will help you make breakthroughs

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in your career.

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I'll also be highlighting concepts and ideas in my

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pre-interview openings that I hope you'll find

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inspiring and helpful and will make you a

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more productive and a more creative person.

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Things that I think go hand in hand, making

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records will always be my passion, obviously.

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Helping an artist get their creative vision

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out into the world and seeing the impact that

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it can have on the lives of the people.

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It reaches has got to be one of the

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most satisfying experiences that one

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can have at least in terms of career life.

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I see the show as an extension of that as

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an opportunity to help not only artists reach

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their goals and define their vision, but also

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to help other people in the industry with theirs.

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If you've enjoyed what I'll call our

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introductory rant.

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And you're all curious about how, or if this

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might help you accomplish your goals, or even

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maybe just inspire you to start something,

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please subscribe to this podcast and keep a

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lookout for new episodes.

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My goal is to release episodes

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on a weekly basis.

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If you feel like, you know, someone who

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could get value out of this show, please

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do share it with them.

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A little word of mouth will go a long way

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for us while we're just getting started.

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So thanks for listening and I look forward

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to going on this ride with you all, and I'll