Nov. 21, 2025

How to Keep Going When You’ve Been Burned in the Music Industry

How to Keep Going When You’ve Been Burned in the Music Industry
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How to Keep Going When You’ve Been Burned in the Music Industry

In this episode of the Music Business Newsletter with Matthew Rix, I read one of the rawest, most honest emails I’ve ever received.
A musician in his 30s tired, disappointed, and skeptical wrote in to vent.
He doesn’t believe I can help him. He barely thinks anyone can help him at this point.
After years in music, he’s been:
• Betrayed by close friends
• Let down by bandmates who walked away
• Ghosted by producers and managers
• Fed promises that never turned into anything
• Burned enough times that hope feels dangerous
Now he’s jaded. He’s bitter. He’s exhausted.
And he’s asking a brutally real question:
“Why should I even keep doing music anymore?”
If you’ve ever felt burned by the people around you, or like the industry has taken more than it’s given back, this episode is going to feel uncomfortably familiar in a good way.
Got your own story or question?
Go to https://MatthewRix.com.
Tell me everything the details matter, and your story could help someone else survive this industry too.


Listen to Mattrix Minute for daily Music Business insight without the music industry hype.
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Hey, this is Matthew Ricks, and today on the Music

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Business newsletter, we have an email from an artist who's

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been burned by a lot of people in the industry.

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But before we dive into that email, I'm gonna go

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ahead and ask you to click like and subscribe to

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this channel. If you have a comment, good or bad,

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please drop it below. And if you have a question

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on the music industry that you'd like for me to answer,

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just go to Matthewicks dot com click submit your question,

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give me as many details as possible, and I will

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answer it here Now for the email, I just also

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want a caution. This is a this might this could

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be a trigger warning for some of you who've been

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in the industry for a while, he says, Matthew, I'll

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be straight with you from the start. I'm a skeptic.

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I'm not even convinced you can help me, and honestly,

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I'm not expecting you to. I'm writing this more because

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I need to vent somewhere that isn't my notes app

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or my steering wheel. We've all been there about everything

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in life. Safe place here invent, and I think, I think,

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I think, if if anybody would be honest with themselves.

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I think everybody would say, whatever the whatever the situation

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is in your life, that yeah, you vented into your

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app and in your car. The the problems I have

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solved talking it out just by myself in the car.

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Sometimes I let I tell people that I think you

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should probably work it out alone before you get on

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the phone or you send that email. But let's continue

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with this email, he says. I'm a guy in my

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third he's been doing music for a long time, and

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the only thing I've gotten consistently from people in this

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industry is disappointment. He says. I've been betrayed by people

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who are supposed to be closest to me. Bandmates I

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trusted walked out of me right before shows, or behind

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my back started making plans to replace me. I can

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relate to all of this now. Out in business, you're

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going to have people who they're going to line up

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your replacement before because they can't have that gap, so

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they're going to maybe start interviewing behind you, behind your back.

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I'm not technically a fan of that. I don't like

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monkey branching, but it does happen. Being betrayed by people

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who were supposedly closest to you. Yeah, check bandmates I

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trusted walked out of me right before shows. I actually

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had that happen in twenty fourteen. Matric's minute had taken off.

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We were getting ready to do a bunch of events

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around the country and then the world, and I think

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a week before my right hand guy, I had my

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partner that I was doing business with, but then my

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right hand guy, the guy who at this time in

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my life he could look at me and know if

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I was having a good day or if he needed

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to bring something up whatever, he quit, just up and quit.

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He I think he, honestly, I think he found a girl,

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and I think of that, if I remember correctly, he

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found a girl and he just didn't want to do

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this anymore. And I'm still I'm still close with them

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because I also understand that, like everybody's got to do

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their thing, I can't hold you in my circle. And

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then behind my back started making plans to replace me.

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So in two thousand and three, I won't mention the

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name of the band. I was out on tour with

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the band doing merchandise and I started in a van

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with them. Then their single took off and everybody was

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sweating them, and they just kept getting bigger and bigger

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and bigger. And we were opening but on an arena

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tour and the band started like we were bros two

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months prior, and this one weekend they were just they

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were kind of squirrely with me. And I will always

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remember we were in Indiana. It was like February snowing

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out and we're in the bus because we went from

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a van to like a crappy bus to a good

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bus to like a really good bus, like all within

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a year. And I was like, what is going on?

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And they're like, no, nothing, everything's cool. We'll talk tomorrow

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because we were going home the next day and I

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was like, no, we're going to talk now. Well lo

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and behold. I had ticked off their manager and because

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he was doing something I just didn't agree with and

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they needed to get through this weekend run and then

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they were going to fire me when we got back

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to Nashville, and I found out that they were that

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whole week because we went out on the weekend and

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then we came home for a couple of days and

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we went back out on the weekend. They were interviewing

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people behind my back, and the guy that they wanted

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couldn't have started that weekend. He was on another two

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were and so they just they strung me along that weekend.

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It was kind of a betrayal because I had turned down,

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you know, I was doing merch at this time. I

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had turned down other gigs to stay with those guys

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because they were like family, and nobody had my back,

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you know, nobody said, well, this is how mad is

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or like they just they just rolled over for their manager.

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Long story short on that one band went on to

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do amazing things. I actually ran into them a couple

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of years later when I was working for a label

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and everything was cool. It's it is the nature of

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the business. I do not do business this way. I

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don't go behind people's backs and start replacing people. But

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a lot of people do because they they don't want to.

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They don't want to fire you. I mean now, granted,

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basically on Saturday night, I found out that tomorrow night

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you're getting fired when you get back to Nashville. So

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the next twenty four to thirty hours was a little awkward,

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but we survived. But a lot of people don't want

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to have that gap, you know, So if the guy

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they wanted couldn't start for a month. They would have

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stretched it out for a month with me, he continues.

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Friends promised they'd help with gigs, promotions, connections, and then

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vanish the second it required effort. Don't rely on friends.

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I don't think you should rely on family either. I

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just unless you're like seventeen eighteen years old and you're

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you know, your parents are helping you kind of filter

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things out. But I don't think you rely on your family.

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I don't think your family. You know, I grew up

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in a music industry family. There was a there was

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one point that everybody in my family was in the

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music industry. And sometimes it you know, you know, your

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sibling doesn't like this artist, but you're working with this artist.

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There's times that you might have to do something that's

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going to tick off somebody in your family. But you

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got to kind of do what's right for you, even

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though you know, and I'm like this, I'm guilty. It's like, well,

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you know I don't work with them. You shouldn't either.

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You know. I was with a woman for a pretty

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good amount of time who worked at a record label,

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and one of our top artists was a group that

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I wouldn't even walk across the room to say hi

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to and they want to do the same for me,

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And it just kind of can get a little bit interesting.

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But when it comes to friends, friends will tell you

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what yeah, yeah, yeah, of course, because they think it's

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gonna be easy. But then also you have friends who

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will be jealous, or you have friends who think you're

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wasting your time, and it's just kind of a kind

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of a terrible situation to rely on friends for stuff

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like that. I also don't believe you do business with

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friends because you're gonna do You're gonna approach things differently.

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Same thing with family. I don't think you do business

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with family. But I don't think you do business with

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friends because you guys are gonna you guys might want

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to get to the same place, but you're gonna take

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it different ways, right, And then the friendship gets fractured,

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and then the business might not happen, or the venture

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might have and might not happen, and you've lost a

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friendship as well. I think your friends just need to

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be your friends, you know, they need to be the

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people that you kind of unplugged from. They're kind of

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the people who keep you centered and humbled, if you will,

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but let's continue with email. He says, the friends you know,

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promised to help with gigs, promotions, connections, and vanished the

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seconds required effort. Producers told me they believed in me,

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then ghosted me. Managers hyped me up and said they

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take me to the next level, then never return a call.

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And once I signed something that was supposed to be

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a partnership, managers hyped me up and said they take

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me to the next level, then never returned a call.

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Once I signed something that was supposed to be a partnership.

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The other night, I was out at a showcase and

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there's a couple of artists planned, like six to seven artists,

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and there was one guy who was absolutely phenomenal that

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wasn't even the artist that we were out there looking at.

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And my my buddy, who's a producer, was like, I'm

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gonna go up to them and you know, tell them

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like you're the next big thing. I was like, yeah,

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you should, because the songs were great. That's producers told

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you that they believed in you, and then they ghosted you.

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Managers hyped you up and said they take you to

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the next level, then never return a call. Once you

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signed something that was supposed to be a partnership, So

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producers telling you that they believed in you and then

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ghosted you. That's producer talk, you know though. I mean

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producers and our guys label heads. Dude, They'll tell you

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whatever they need to just to get out of your face,

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just to get you to like leave them alone. I

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know stories of artists like going up to like producers

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and and our directors while they're at dinner with their family,

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you know, pitching their music or hey I e mailgie,

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never got back. Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, I believe in you.

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The manager is hyping you up and said they take

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you to the next level, then never returned to call.

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Once you sign something, that one is that the uh?

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I mean? So you don't say, so you sign a contract,

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then you get ghosted? What what that do? You just

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like move on and side another contract and get ghosted again.

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And I'm wondering, you say, producers and managers like is

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this one or is this like constantly producers are like,

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oh yeah, we love you, and then they never talk

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to you. And managers you keep signing with and then

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it goes bust. He continues, People in this industry swear

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they'll introduce me to the right people, and it all

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leads to months of waiting around for something that never happens. Yeah,

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I mean this, dude, Honestly, this sounds like a lot

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of people are just a lot of It sounds like

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a lot of people in this industry. I don't you

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don't say where you live, but dude, you're probably like

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in people's faces and they're just telling you whatever, whatever

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the whatever you want to hear, just to just to

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get out of their face. I have never told people

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like I'll introduce you. I got best friends, They've traveled

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with me and will still be out to dinner. We'll

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still be in the airport together. And someone will come

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up in the industry and they're like, you know that guy.

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I'm like, yeah, like you never like told the's like,

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I don't bribe about that stuff. I will never promise like, oh,

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introduce you to X, Y and Z like I actually, honestly,

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like a lot of times with people, I'll be like, hey,

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this guy's probably gonna approach you. Run let's use of

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what I do. But he continues every time someone tells

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me they're going to help. It's like the kiss of death,

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nothing ever comes from it. Well, here's the thing. Are

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they volunteering to help or are you asking them to help?

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Like our producers, like, dude, I heard your music, you're awesome.

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I want to work with you, like what happened at

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the showcase? Or are you going up to the producer

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and he's like, yeah, you should work with me and

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he's like, yeah, yeah, you know, it would be the

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next big thing. I don't every time someone tells me

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they're going to help, it's like the kiss of death.

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Nothing ever comes from it. I'm wondering. I don't want

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to beat you up here, but I'm wondering if there's

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a little bit of like you're hounding these people. They

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tell you whatever you want to hear, so you leave

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or hang up the phone or get out of their face,

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and then you walk away and they're just relieved that

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you left, Like are you coming on way too strong?

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Like a thirsty guy on a dating app. At this point,

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00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:24.960
the empty promises sting more than the outright rejection. At

229
00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:29.000
least rejection is honest. Yeah, I don't. That's a big

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thing in the industry because then let's say you do

231
00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:35.519
do something amazing in six or twelve months, they can

232
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come back around and just ah, it's really busy. You know,

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dog dog had to go to the groomerfe wife got pregnant.

234
00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:48.279
You know, you know, like they can because they they'll

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blow you off without hurt, without blowing up the bridge,

236
00:12:52.200 --> 00:12:54.200
so that they can always come back. And you just

237
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kind of hang out there. You're just you're just kicking it.

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I don't. I don't. I don't do that because I've

239
00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:03.799
had it happen to me. You made meetings I've had,

240
00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:06.039
especially when I was like starting off. I mean I

241
00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:09.559
was sixteen. I worked that jive till I was nineteen,

242
00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:11.759
and then I like didn't want to do labels anymore.

243
00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:14.879
So I started traveling on the road with bands, doing merchandise,

244
00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:17.919
teching stuff like that. You would have meetings with people

245
00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:20.840
and you're like, I got the gig, and you would

246
00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:23.919
never know. Even when I was doing merchandise. I remember

247
00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:28.240
one manager kept promising me next week, next week. Oh,

248
00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:30.159
we'll get together next week. Oh yep, we're gonna you're

249
00:13:30.200 --> 00:13:33.200
gonna work with a starting next week. Let's just nail

250
00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:35.519
it down next week, dude, I'm still waiting. That was

251
00:13:35.559 --> 00:13:37.879
twenty four years ago. I'm still waiting for next week

252
00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:45.360
to come. I tend to do more of I don't

253
00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:48.039
you know. I'll straight up just tell you like I'm

254
00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:51.120
not interested. I don't like your music. I think you're

255
00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:52.600
a waste of my time. I think I'd be a

256
00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:55.759
waste of your time. Like I just, I just I

257
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ain't got time to play games with people. He continues.

258
00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:02.559
At this point, the empty promises thing more than the

259
00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:06.399
outright rejection. At least rejection is honest. He said. I

260
00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:08.879
used to be hopeful. I used to trust people. I

261
00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:11.679
used to think hard work and loyalty actually meant something.

262
00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:15.840
Now I'm jaded, I'm bitter, and I'm tired. You used

263
00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:17.679
to be hopeful, You used to trust people, used to

264
00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:20.879
think hard work and loyalty actually meant something. Now I'm jaded,

265
00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:23.799
I'm bitter, I'm tired. So a couple of things is one,

266
00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:27.480
you're getting in front of these people and they're telling

267
00:14:27.480 --> 00:14:29.399
you a bunch of stuff to walk away. Let's just

268
00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:30.919
get you to walk away. That's what I think is

269
00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:34.720
probably happening. More than anything. You're getting your friends to

270
00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:37.039
do the work that you need to be doing yourself.

271
00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:42.840
You're signing contracts and then getting ghosted, which is crazy.

272
00:14:42.919 --> 00:14:46.600
So that makes me think that you're probably either a

273
00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:50.960
little entitled, or you sign a contract and then you

274
00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:53.519
just start barking orders and everyone's like, forget this, dude,

275
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he continues, And I feel stupid forever believing people would

276
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show up for me if I showed up for them. Yeah,

277
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I you know, going back to my music business family,

278
00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:11.039
and I've had this happen with friends, and I'm sure

279
00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:13.759
I've done it with friends. You know I've I've been

280
00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:20.879
the person who's done it. You would think your closest friends,

281
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you think your family, You would think these people would

282
00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:26.440
be there for you, that they're not going to get

283
00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:29.440
jealous if you go ahead of them. You know, your

284
00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:31.759
friends that have seen you struggle, your friends that have

285
00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:37.039
seen you laboring. You think they would be the biggest supporters.

286
00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:43.759
But usually usually that's not the case. Unfortunately, my closest

287
00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:45.960
friends these days, the people that I rely on, the

288
00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:48.200
people who know how dirty and messy of a person

289
00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:50.559
I am. The people who know me in and out

290
00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:53.279
aren't in the music industry. Half of them don't even

291
00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:55.840
half of them couldn't even explain what I do. And

292
00:15:55.960 --> 00:16:00.320
under a minute, and I love it. You know, I

293
00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:05.240
got My best friends are in tech, in corporate America,

294
00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:12.799
in construction, they're pastors, and those are the guys that

295
00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:17.159
you can kind of vent to and they're going to

296
00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:19.919
give you a perspective that isn't based on industry stuff,

297
00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:23.080
because the music industry does do stuff kind of backwards

298
00:16:23.080 --> 00:16:25.919
in some ways, and most people in the music industry,

299
00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:27.360
I don't care if they're your family, I don't care

300
00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:29.799
if they're your friends. I don't care if they're a producer.

301
00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:34.240
You came around, they'd slit your throat if it meant

302
00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:37.039
they could get ahead, because it's a doggy dog industry

303
00:16:38.200 --> 00:16:41.279
and that's just the way it is, unfortunately, and it

304
00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:46.159
only gets worse you don't say where you live. People

305
00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:49.320
always say about La being like really like cutthroat, and

306
00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:54.039
like Nashville's far worse because it's smaller, so the dagger,

307
00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:57.879
you know, reaches your neck quicker. He says, I feel

308
00:16:57.919 --> 00:16:59.960
stupid forever believing people would show up for me if

309
00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:03.200
I showed up for them. Well, I don't think you

310
00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:06.319
show up for people so that you can cast that

311
00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:10.880
check later. I think you show up for people because

312
00:17:10.920 --> 00:17:13.039
you genuinely love these people. And you want to help

313
00:17:13.079 --> 00:17:18.839
them regardless. I mean, and you don't keep score either.

314
00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:21.319
It sounds like you keep a lot of score unfortunately

315
00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:24.240
for you. You know, if your friend's moving, you don't

316
00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:26.000
sit there and be like, Okay, I'm gonna help you move.

317
00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:27.640
But you know I got a show coming up in

318
00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:29.559
a month, you better promote it for me. Like, no,

319
00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:36.279
you just be a good friend. Let your friends understand.

320
00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:39.039
And I've said this on Matrics minutes before and everything.

321
00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:41.920
Most of your friends when you're starting off will root

322
00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:44.440
and chair for you because you're doing something they would

323
00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:47.759
never do, or they'll make you know, oh, i'd love

324
00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:49.519
to do that button. They give you their laundry list

325
00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:52.960
of excuses. The minute that that thing that you're working

326
00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:55.000
towards gets in the way of the friendship or makes

327
00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:57.200
them feel bad that they're not pursuing their dream, the

328
00:17:57.240 --> 00:18:03.279
friendship's over. The friendship's over. And if you're doing business

329
00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:07.759
with somebody and you have bigger ambitions or you have

330
00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:10.519
a different work ethic than they do, it's going to

331
00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:13.559
fracture the friendship. That's why you shouldn't do business with friends,

332
00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:15.680
because I think the friendship is more important than the

333
00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:21.119
business and I'm I'm wondering when it comes to you

334
00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:23.319
with your friends, they say they're going to help, and

335
00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:26.519
then you're probably just treating them all like servants. That's

336
00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:29.400
what That's what it feels like to me. He goes, So,

337
00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:32.960
here's my real question, and I doubt there's a pretty

338
00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:36.039
answer to it. Why should I keep going? Because you

339
00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:42.359
love music? That's why you keep going? Because you love music.

340
00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:45.599
You love the way that your music makes you feel.

341
00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:47.640
You love the way that music makes you makes other

342
00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:50.319
people feel. You love to be able to express yourself

343
00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:56.240
and get it out there, he says. Also, why shouldn't

344
00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:59.000
I just walk away and spare myself the heartbreak? Stop

345
00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:02.720
relying on people, relying yourself? Says, Why shouldn't I just

346
00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:06.480
walk away and spare myself the heartbreak? Just rely on yourself.

347
00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:13.519
If you become self sufficient and you're committed to your

348
00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:18.839
purpose and your your mission, the right people will come around.

349
00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:23.839
But if you got your hand out and you're treating

350
00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:26.359
your friends like mop bucket assistance, and then you sign

351
00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:28.319
a contractor the manager and you're like, all right, get

352
00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:30.519
to work. Here's the twenty five things you need to do,

353
00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:35.039
I'd probably ghost you too, Like dude, I'm not your servant.

354
00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:39.400
He also says, why shouldn't I let this industry turn

355
00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:42.400
me cold after everything it's taken from me? Because you

356
00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:45.920
love the music, you love the art that you do.

357
00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:51.440
I'm one of these people who I haven't gotten jaded

358
00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:54.400
because you talk to some guys who've been in the industry. Man,

359
00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:55.880
they've been in the industry for three years, and they're

360
00:19:55.880 --> 00:19:59.640
already jaded, and they criticize it and they mock being

361
00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:02.759
in the me a industry. Why are you still here?

362
00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:06.279
Like I'm in the industry because I love it now. Granted,

363
00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:09.519
I am blessed more than others because I've been able

364
00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:11.480
to kind of do what I want when I want to,

365
00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:14.359
Like I don't work at a label, I don't have

366
00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:16.680
to go to an office every day, Like everything I

367
00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:20.640
do is on my terms. But I've had betrayal. I've

368
00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:24.279
had people lie to me. I've literally had the closest

369
00:20:24.279 --> 00:20:31.720
people in my life betray me because of the industry.

370
00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:34.680
And when you stop relying. I don't know if you're

371
00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.319
a spiritual person or but as a as a Christian,

372
00:20:38.359 --> 00:20:40.160
as a follower of Jesus, like I have to rely

373
00:20:40.279 --> 00:20:45.279
on Jesus in God more than I have to rely

374
00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:49.720
on anybody else. And when you kind of realize that

375
00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:54.119
you've probably promised to people before and didn't delivery, you've

376
00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:59.400
probably you know, treated people poorly like you get you

377
00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:02.519
get grace people now, that does not mean you work

378
00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:05.680
with them. That does not mean if somebody stabs you

379
00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:08.599
in the back, betrays you, you forgive them, you move on,

380
00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:12.839
but you don't work with them again. Okay, he says,

381
00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.240
I'm not quitting music because I don't love it. I'm

382
00:21:15.240 --> 00:21:17.359
just tired of feeling like I'm pouring into something that

383
00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:21.759
never pours back. You are so focused on what everybody

384
00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:24.440
else is doing, but you're not looking at the blessings

385
00:21:24.440 --> 00:21:27.240
that you have. You're not looking at the music that

386
00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:29.759
you've recorded, the gift that you have to write songs,

387
00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:33.839
to release music, to play live. There's something about you,

388
00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:37.119
and I don't mean to dog you here, but there's

389
00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:41.720
something about you that is causing everybody to do this.

390
00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:44.599
Because if you're at this point where you're ready to

391
00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:46.640
walk away from music because your friends have walked out

392
00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:50.079
and you, producers lie to you, managers signed contracts and

393
00:21:50.119 --> 00:21:53.079
you never hear from them, band members are replacing you.

394
00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:55.839
Walking out right before a show. There's something about you

395
00:21:56.640 --> 00:21:59.440
that is causing this to happen. And so instead of

396
00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:04.000
looking at everybody else, look at yourself. Why is it

397
00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:07.039
that nobody wants to help you? Why is it that

398
00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:12.079
everything you do blows up? Are your expectations to I?

399
00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.599
Are you too demanding? Are you too belittling of people?

400
00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:19.079
Are you a micro manager? Whatever that is is what's

401
00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:23.680
causing this right now. It's look, the industry is corrupt.

402
00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:26.960
The industry will lie to your face. The industry will

403
00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:30.240
tell you things you want to hear and they don't

404
00:22:30.279 --> 00:22:32.680
mean it. Now, what can you do with that? You

405
00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:36.599
can walk away, or you can be different. You can

406
00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:40.759
be the person who helps somebody knowing you're never getting

407
00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:46.240
anything back in return. You can be the person who

408
00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:48.640
tells somebody in the industry that you're going to show

409
00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:50.279
up to help them move a couch, and you're going

410
00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:52.599
to be there, not with your hand out, not with

411
00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:55.680
a payback coming, just because you want to help that person,

412
00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:59.119
because you don't want to see them go through a

413
00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:02.359
minute of their lives struggling, and so you're gonna help

414
00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:05.720
them regardless if it benefits you or not. He says,

415
00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:07.680
if you have anything real to say about that. Cool,

416
00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:09.799
If not, at least I got this off my chest. Well,

417
00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:13.039
I'm glad you got it off your chest. And I

418
00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:16.640
hope that you know that I'm not beating you up,

419
00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:21.680
but that I am challenging you. I have a person

420
00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:26.759
in my life who literally can't follow a clock. They

421
00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:30.720
tell you something that's going to change tomorrow, and they

422
00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:34.000
believe that everybody needs to be on antidepressants. And I

423
00:23:34.039 --> 00:23:40.559
told him, I said, what's the common denominator here? You?

424
00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:44.240
You're the common denominator here? Everybody you're, from your family

425
00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:46.519
to your friends, everything needs to be on anti depressants

426
00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:49.039
because they're so depressed, or they're this or that. What's

427
00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:53.839
the common denominator you are? So, if all of this

428
00:23:53.880 --> 00:23:57.279
is happening to you, my guy, who's the common denominator?

429
00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:04.240
Change your approach, Stop keeping score, Stop expecting everybody to

430
00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:06.119
do stuff for you. You do it yourself. If that

431
00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:09.279
means you got to scale back, fine, but you need

432
00:24:09.319 --> 00:24:12.599
to take control of your own career, of your own music,

433
00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:17.599
and stop expecting somebody else to come save you. But

434
00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:19.920
thank you for the email, Thanks for getting that off

435
00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:21.599
your chest. If you have a question on the music

436
00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:23.200
industry that you'd like for me to answer. Just go

437
00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:26.799
to Matthewricks dot com click submit your question, give you

438
00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:29.279
as many details as possible, and we'll answer it here

439
00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:33.039
on the channel. I am Matthew Ricks and until next time,

440
00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:34.640
I will talk to you later