Introduction: Welcome to Progressions

Hey!

Welcome to the very first episode of

Success in the Music Industry.

I figured the only way to start this

journey off would be to introduce myself and

summarize why I decided to start a podcast

in the first place.

My name is Travis Ference.

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

career as a mixer, producer and recording

engineer in Los Angeles.

I've worked with a range of artists from

big to small that span across all genres.

I've been involved with projects that have

charted and I've been awarded platinum records.

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

were probably never heard outside of the

artist's social circle.

In that time, I've learned a lot.

Obviously a lot about how to make a record

and how to navigate the music industry, but there

are plenty of podcasts and YouTube channels

and masterclasses that have that cover already.

Something that there is not a lot of talk

about in this industry is setting goals and

how to define what success is to you.

These are things that I've learned along

the way as well, particularly in the

last several years.

When I step back and look at the music industry

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

people live their lives.

I can see it because I've lived a lot

of them myself.

For example, when you're chasing a passion,

there's a tendency to believe that you

have to sacrifice everything and to live

the artist struggle.

I remember moving to Los Angeles.

I was proud to sleep on the floor of my apartment

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

was really going for it.

Even though I could afford a bed.

Think of the songwriter, who's working two

non-music jobs to pay their bills and doing

shows at open mikes for tips or the producer

who's making beats and selling them for 20

bucks because they want to be cheaper than the

next guy or the engineer doing mixes for free

for every band they can find in hopes that

they'll get hired back.

When the band blows up, these are all familiar

stories and we've all been there or are

there and no others in the same boats.

And we know that they don't all

have happy endings.

Especially, if you don't have a goal and

a vision, then there's something about the

arts that also compels people to put a lot of

focus on peer approval.

For some reason, they have to judge

their success by the success or failure

of those around them.

I spent years of my life hoping every record I

did was as successful as the last record, one

of my peers did, and that they might notice.

It doesn't matter how fulfilling the experience

of making the record was.

Or how great the friendships you made with

the people involved were.

It all comes down to, was it better

than something else?

So combine the artist struggle with this quest

for pure approval, and you have a recipe for

the scarcity mindset.

The idea that every gig is the last gig

you'll ever book.

And the more gigs you do, the more chances

of having a hit.

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

than everybody else.

So on and so forth.

And you've got yourself a cycle that probably ends

in some form of burnout.

At this point, you're probably thinking

this sounds kind of like a bitter rant

and you feel like I'm probably hitting things

that seem unrelated.

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

know if I want to keep listening to this, but

bear with me just for another couple minutes.

I think that if you set out on a quest to

chase your dream without defining what your goals

are and by doing so what success is for you.

Then you will run a much higher risk of looking

back one day and seeing that you ran the rat race

and sure it was exciting, but you actually achieved

very little and at worst ended up on fulfilled.

And I'm not saying the things I mentioned

earlier, won't give you success and happiness.

The artist struggle is probably the most

exciting part of starting your journey

and can lead to piles of inspiration and striving

to create the best work you can possibly

create is definitely not a bad thing either,

but don't do it just to spite the success

of those around you.

And you love what you do.

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

day learn that saying yes to everything is

going to leave you saying no to something else.

So after all that still no answer.

Why is this guy starting a podcast?

Why is he still talking?

Why am I still listening?

I thought a podcast would be a great way

to share the stories of people that have lived

through and are still living through the many

parts of the music career journey that you are

most likely on yourself.

I'll be bringing guests on from all areas of

the industry, producers, engineers, musicians,

managers, and various other creatives.

I want there to be a story for everyone.

I don't want this just to be another

interview show though.

I want to put a twist on things.

My goal is to highlight a specific career milestone

or a particularly successful career,

and try to break down the steps and turning

points in that person's life that led them

to achieve that goal.

I'm a big proponent of setting goals and then

working backwards to break down the steps

that need to happen to get you there.

When I say breaking things down to steps,

I mean, breaking them down to clear,

actionable steps.

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

a small predetermined step on your journey

than it is to get up in the morning and

quote, get a global number one smash hit.

Although you can wake up in the morning one

day and have a global number one smash hit.

A lot of people in this industry put their faith

in luck and they search for inspiration from

things like the muse.

I don't believe the people who have thriving

careers and fulfilling lives in music can

look back and attribute it all to luck.

Sure.

People can catch a break, but you need to be

prepared for that moment.

At some point in their career, successful people

committed themselves to a goal and they took

steps to achieve it.

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

I want to bring to light the steps that people

have taken to lead them to their successes.

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

on the spot and ask them what their current goal

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

So I'm excited for this new adventure.

Hopefully you are as well.

Hopefully you're still listening.

Hopefully somebody is still listening.

I will be learning to interview people on

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

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

but I do promise to bring you guests with

stories that will help you make breakthroughs

in your career.

I'll also be highlighting concepts and ideas in my

pre-interview openings that I hope you'll find

inspiring and helpful and will make you a

more productive and a more creative person.

Things that I think go hand in hand, making

records will always be my passion, obviously.

Helping an artist get their creative vision

out into the world and seeing the impact that

it can have on the lives of the people.

It reaches has got to be one of the

most satisfying experiences that one

can have at least in terms of career life.

I see the show as an extension of that as

an opportunity to help not only artists reach

their goals and define their vision, but also

to help other people in the industry with theirs.

If you've enjoyed what I'll call our

introductory rant.

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

might help you accomplish your goals, or even

maybe just inspire you to start something,

please subscribe to this podcast and keep a

lookout for new episodes.

My goal is to release episodes

on a weekly basis.

If you feel like, you know, someone who

could get value out of this show, please

do share it with them.

A little word of mouth will go a long way

for us while we're just getting started.

So thanks for listening and I look forward

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