Feb. 10, 2026

This is the laziest Artist in Music

This is the laziest Artist in Music
The player is loading ...
This is the laziest Artist in Music

Today on the Music Business Newsletter with Matthew Rix, I received an email from the laziest artist in music.
If you have a question in the Music Industry that you would like me to answer, go to https://MatthewRix.com and give me as many details as possible.
#musicbusiness #musicindustry #musicindustrysecrets #matthewrix #artists


Listen to Mattrix Minute for daily Music Business insight without the music industry hype.
Spotify
Apple Music
Amazon Music
YouTube

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:03.279
Hey, this is Matthew Rickson today on the Music business newsletter.

2
00:00:03.399 --> 00:00:06.919
We got one from he tells you he's lazy. He's

3
00:00:06.919 --> 00:00:09.640
an artist who's lazy. He says, Hey, Matthew, I'm going

4
00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:11.439
to be honest right out of the gate, because I

5
00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:14.599
don't see the point in pretending I want a music career.

6
00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:20.079
I want recognition, respect, money, fans, all of it. But

7
00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:22.399
I really don't want to do that much to get there.

8
00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:32.759
You know, I had such a great day. Daughter hit

9
00:00:32.759 --> 00:00:37.479
the home run, breath in my lungs. My team's like, yo,

10
00:00:38.119 --> 00:00:40.880
wait till you see this email. So you want everything,

11
00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:44.200
you just don't want to do anything for it. I mean,

12
00:00:44.200 --> 00:00:47.920
you gotta appreciate the honesty, he says. And before you

13
00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:51.679
jump to conclusions, hear me out. You know, we don't

14
00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:54.200
really have to jump to conclusions when an artist says

15
00:00:54.359 --> 00:00:56.200
I want to be rich and famous, I don't want

16
00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:59.240
to do anything for it, which I like to tell people.

17
00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:01.200
If you want to be famous and you don't want

18
00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:02.479
to work for it, just commit a crime and go

19
00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:05.000
to jail. You'll be in the newspaper, everybody will know

20
00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:08.599
your name. I'm being facetious. Don't commit a crime. Don't

21
00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:12.519
blame me for it. He says. I make music because

22
00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:14.879
I like making music. I don't like posting every day.

23
00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:17.799
I don't like networking, and I don't like building community.

24
00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:21.920
We're still we still have more of the he doesn't like.

25
00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:23.959
But I just wanted to sit there for a second

26
00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:27.280
and let you know that they are artists in twenty

27
00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:29.920
twenty six who don't want to post every day, who

28
00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:33.560
don't like networking, and they just want to make music

29
00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:37.159
and just have the checks come rolling in. But anyways,

30
00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:39.560
he says, I don't like building community. I don't like

31
00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:42.040
DM and people. Oh I bet you like sign into

32
00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:46.760
people's dms. I'm over that. You know that's different. He says.

33
00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:49.920
I don't like content, I don't like playing shows that

34
00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:53.200
don't pay well. And I definitely don't like being told

35
00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:56.560
I have to treat this like a business. So I know,

36
00:01:56.680 --> 00:01:59.159
I paused a few times with all the I don't likes.

37
00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:04.560
So let's let's go back over that. He says, I

38
00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:08.120
like making music. I don't like posting every day. I

39
00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:11.199
don't like networking. I don't like building community. I don't

40
00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:14.039
like DM and people. I don't like content. I don't

41
00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:16.360
like playing shows that don't pay well, and I definitely

42
00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:18.719
don't like being told I have to treat this like

43
00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:20.800
a business. Okay, So if you don't treat it like

44
00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:26.039
a business, then what is it. It's a hobby. It's

45
00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:30.439
a hobby, right, Well, let's be honest here. Most hobbies

46
00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:36.159
don't bring you fame. Most hobbies don't bring you money. Okay,

47
00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:39.800
my son's got a three D printer. It's a hobby.

48
00:02:39.960 --> 00:02:43.800
He's not gonna get famous from that hobby. That's is

49
00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:46.560
why it is. He goes. But somehow it feels like

50
00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:49.599
everyone else expects me to do all of that stuff

51
00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:57.000
just to get a shot. Yeah. Yeah, everybody else wants

52
00:02:57.039 --> 00:02:59.800
me to network, and everybody else wants me to post content.

53
00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:02.960
Everybody wants me to play shows that aren't paying thousands

54
00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:12.280
of dollars. But what he says, I've released a few songs.

55
00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:14.840
They're good, at least I think they are, and my

56
00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:17.560
friends think they are too. Your friend's opinion of your

57
00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:19.919
music doesn't matter, And I don't care who the artist is.

58
00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:23.479
It doesn't matter. He's said, which should count for something,

59
00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:28.319
It doesn't, It doesn't. I don't see why I should

60
00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:31.560
have to constantly prove myself online, it's not okay. So

61
00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:34.639
the artists who prove themselves online or feel like they

62
00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:38.319
need to prove themselves online, usually that all they're doing

63
00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:41.520
is responding to haters. Somebody says your song sucks, and

64
00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:44.400
then you post thirty five replies about it in your

65
00:03:44.439 --> 00:03:49.280
stories or whatever. You post online to bring awareness of

66
00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:52.919
your music. Bring you post online, to promote. You post

67
00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:55.360
online so people get to know who you are, so

68
00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:57.800
you're not just some jerk who's putting music out there

69
00:03:57.800 --> 00:04:01.840
that they don't have any connection with. You. Promote so

70
00:04:01.960 --> 00:04:04.439
the people who do invest their time and money into

71
00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:07.479
your music know that you have new music coming out.

72
00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:11.400
The people who post to prove something usually flame out

73
00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:16.279
very quickly, he says. So, he says, why should I

74
00:04:16.360 --> 00:04:19.519
have to constantly prove myself online just because an algorithm says, so,

75
00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:26.879
what is up? Okay, we are going to create a

76
00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:31.279
counter the next video. We're gonna have a digital counter.

77
00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:34.120
For how many times an artist in twenty twenty six

78
00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:39.680
blames the algorithm for whatever. He says. If the music

79
00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:42.480
is good, shouldn't just travel on its own? No, because

80
00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:45.560
how people are gonna if you're not posting? And let's

81
00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:47.959
just say you created a few singles, you threw them

82
00:04:47.959 --> 00:04:51.240
out on Spotify. You did no heavy lifting at all.

83
00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:53.519
Like you're like, I created the song. I'm done. I'm

84
00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:55.920
gonna take a nap. How people gonna find out about it?

85
00:04:57.279 --> 00:05:00.199
There's over a hundred million songs on Apple Music. How

86
00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:05.319
are they going to find yours? Your plan? Because you

87
00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:06.839
don't want to do any of this because I don't

88
00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:12.399
like it is you hope people bump into it? He says,

89
00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:14.600
I get annoyed when people say you have to want

90
00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:16.800
it bad enough. You do have to want it bad enough.

91
00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:18.879
You have to sacrifice for what you want in life.

92
00:05:18.920 --> 00:05:20.920
If you don't sacrifice for what you want, what you

93
00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:24.160
want becomes a sacrifice. I don't care what that's with.

94
00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:27.639
I don't care if that's your health, your relationship, your music,

95
00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:33.839
you're nine to five, It doesn't matter. If you don't

96
00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:36.720
sacrifice for what you want, what you want becomes a sacrifice.

97
00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:41.160
This way it is, he says, I do want it.

98
00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:46.040
I don't think you do. He says, I just don't

99
00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:49.959
want to rearrange my entire life, personality, or schedule around it.

100
00:05:50.040 --> 00:05:56.319
Dear God Almighty, then why why? Then? Just Okay, here's

101
00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:00.279
the deal. There is nothing wrong if you just want

102
00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:02.680
to make music, throw it out there, and if five

103
00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:04.600
of your friends listen to it, you're happy and you

104
00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:06.279
move on with your life and you release another song.

105
00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:09.920
Nothing wrong with that at all. But you're telling me

106
00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:12.560
you want fame, you want money, you want all of this,

107
00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.399
but you're not gonna work for it. You're not gonna

108
00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:18.560
You're not going to change your life in the slightest

109
00:06:18.600 --> 00:06:24.720
bit for all that stuff you want. Who does this

110
00:06:24.839 --> 00:06:30.720
make sense to? And the problem is there's probably somebody

111
00:06:30.759 --> 00:06:35.720
in your life, or multiple people in your life, who go, yeah, yeah,

112
00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:39.360
good for you. This is this is this is ridiculous.

113
00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:43.800
He says. I don't want to wake up early to

114
00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.079
make content. I don't wake up early to make content.

115
00:06:46.839 --> 00:06:51.000
There's a whole like online thing of like you gotta

116
00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:54.360
get up early, you gotta make your bed, you gotta

117
00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:56.879
do all this stuff like before six am. Like that's crap.

118
00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:00.079
That's absolute crap. I got friends all the time. You

119
00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:01.360
want to go have breakfast, I'm like, yeah, I love

120
00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:02.639
to have breakfast with you. They're like, oh, yeah, you

121
00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:04.319
want to go at six thirty And I'm like, nope,

122
00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:07.279
I will see you at nine thirty, He says, I

123
00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:09.319
don't want to wake up early to make content. I

124
00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:14.480
don't most content most creative people are night OLPs. But

125
00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:17.279
there's that, he says. I don't want to spend nights

126
00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:20.040
replying to comments. So what are else are you doing

127
00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:23.759
at night? Oh? I gotta watch that new show on

128
00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:27.920
Netflix and binge it? He says. I don't want to

129
00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:31.120
grind for years just to maybe get noticed. Well, then

130
00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:36.839
you're not like then, just quit? Just quit now, he says. Honestly,

131
00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:39.439
I feel like someone should just hear my music, recognize

132
00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:41.839
the potential, and help me take it from there. How

133
00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:46.519
are they going to hear your music? How are if

134
00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:51.560
if you're not promoting to get your music in the

135
00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:53.680
ears of people so they can share it with their

136
00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:57.480
friends so it can kind of spread. And you're not

137
00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:00.279
creating content that drives people to your music so they

138
00:08:00.279 --> 00:08:01.800
can put it in their ears and hear it and

139
00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:05.560
then it can spread. How do you expect people to

140
00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:13.040
hear your music to help you? You got I mean, seriously, seriously,

141
00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:16.759
we have to label this and email from the laziest

142
00:08:16.839 --> 00:08:20.639
artist ever or the most entitled I'm not sure which one.

143
00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:26.240
Let's continue, he says, that's how it used to work, right. No, No,

144
00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:30.319
it didn't work like that. It never ever works like that.

145
00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:33.919
And here's why, because back in the day, you still

146
00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:36.279
had to play shows, and it didn't have to be

147
00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:38.559
good pain shows. It could have just been a show.

148
00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:41.039
And I mean we're talking like back in the day

149
00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:43.000
when he wanted the forties and fifties, when they're playing

150
00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:49.519
bowling alleys and sock ops to get discovered. I'm sure

151
00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:51.639
those shows didn't pay well. They probably didn't pay at all,

152
00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:54.799
he says. Someone gets he goes. That's how it used

153
00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:57.559
to work, right, Someone gets discovered, Things start moving and

154
00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:01.159
the boring stuff gets handled by other people. Right, But

155
00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:04.919
at some point in the beginning stages, you are personally

156
00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:10.559
responsible for that boring stuff. That's just how it goes.

157
00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:27.080
I actually asked my team are we being trolled here?

158
00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:33.960
And we this artist did include links. This artist has

159
00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:39.600
eighty monthly listeners, and we found the Instagram and there

160
00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:43.080
is there is. It is as low effort as low

161
00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:45.840
effort can get. And if you keep doing what you're doing,

162
00:09:45.879 --> 00:09:47.960
you're gonna keep getting what you're getting, which is nothing.

163
00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:53.320
You're getting no results at all. You have to you

164
00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:57.679
have to. You have to work the hardest in the

165
00:09:57.720 --> 00:10:01.960
beginning to get a team to take up that pressure

166
00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:04.360
for you to go and do the stuff that you

167
00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:07.240
don't want to do. I think every artist should strive

168
00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:10.120
for one day to be like, Okay, that one thing

169
00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:14.200
I did every single day. I hated that and I

170
00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:16.799
cannot wait to be successful. So I don't have to

171
00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:23.200
do that. Will you do that? No, you just don't

172
00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:24.279
want to do it now. I'm just not going to

173
00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:29.519
do it now. Piss off. I'm not doing it, he says.

174
00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:31.720
This whole email is like I don't want to. I

175
00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:33.840
don't want to. It's like talking to a child. He says.

176
00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:38.120
I also don't want to spend money or tour or

177
00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:44.000
move cities, or change my sound or collaborate unless it's convenient.

178
00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:54.039
I mean, I think here's what I think. I think

179
00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:56.960
you just had your heart broken and you're just letting

180
00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:59.519
it all out here on Uncle Matt. It's fine. I'm

181
00:10:59.559 --> 00:11:01.320
here for you, all right. I got big shoulders. I

182
00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:03.639
can hold you, I can hug you, you can cry,

183
00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:07.720
you can snop, bubble it up. Because if if this

184
00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:10.000
is truly who you are as an artist. For three

185
00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:12.720
hundred and sixty five days, year after year after year.

186
00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:16.600
My guy, you're never getting a team that you want.

187
00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:19.120
You're never gonna make money. You're never gonna make a dime,

188
00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:21.679
all right, Your eighty monthly listeners is where you will

189
00:11:21.720 --> 00:11:24.879
peek in life, he says. But I still want the outcome.

190
00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:28.000
So I guess my question is there a realistic way

191
00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:30.559
to succeed in music without doing all the extra stuff

192
00:11:30.600 --> 00:11:35.879
everyone keeps pushing. Absolutely not, unless you're like a hot

193
00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:38.519
woman and you have an of page and you got

194
00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:42.559
you know, three million simps who pay you monthly and

195
00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:44.039
then you can get them to listen to your music.

196
00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:47.639
There is no way, and that's not a good strategy anyways, people,

197
00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:50.840
But there is no way that you just sit on

198
00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:54.480
your butt, do nothing, refuse to do anything, let everybody

199
00:11:54.519 --> 00:11:56.919
know the stuff you don't want to do, and then

200
00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:58.440
sit around and wait for the checks to come in.

201
00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:02.200
There's there's absolutely no And you don't want to spend money,

202
00:12:02.600 --> 00:12:04.759
and you don't want a tour, and you don't want

203
00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:07.960
to collaborate, and you don't want a network. You want

204
00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:11.720
to just sit in your home, make music and cash checks.

205
00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:15.840
That's it. And you will make music when it's convenient

206
00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:17.720
because you're not gonna reply to comments at night. You're

207
00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:20.279
not gonna wake up early and do content. This is

208
00:12:25.320 --> 00:12:27.840
he says, Or is the industry just biased towards people

209
00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:31.200
who enjoy being busy and loud. No, the industry rewards

210
00:12:32.039 --> 00:12:40.320
people who make an effort, and if you make zero effort, none,

211
00:12:40.519 --> 00:12:46.399
you're gonna get no results. Just so you know, yikes,

212
00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:49.960
he says. I'm not trying to be negative. I don't

213
00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:51.919
think you're being negative. I think you're being an idiot.

214
00:12:52.039 --> 00:12:53.679
But he says, I just don't want to lie to

215
00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:56.639
myself about what I'm willing to do. Let me know

216
00:12:56.679 --> 00:12:59.360
what you think. I think I did a good enough job.

217
00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:06.480
Let you know what I think I think. If you

218
00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:08.519
were sitting across from me at a coffee table, I

219
00:13:08.519 --> 00:13:11.600
would tell you straight up. I think you're one of

220
00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:13.720
the most entitled and lazy artists I've ever seen in

221
00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:18.159
my life. I think you're going to get absolutely nowhere.

222
00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:22.440
I think you should be happy and grateful for the

223
00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:26.559
eighty monthly listeners you have and realize that that's probably

224
00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:30.759
numbers gonna that number is probably gonna dwindle in no time.

225
00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:35.080
You don't want to do anything you've made that abundantly clear.

226
00:13:35.159 --> 00:13:37.600
Now I will say this because I beat you up

227
00:13:37.639 --> 00:13:43.000
this entire email. I appreciate how honest you are because

228
00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:45.279
if I was still in an R and you came

229
00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:48.919
to my office with this attitude, at least I won't

230
00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:52.480
find out three months down the road. Yeah, because a

231
00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:54.759
lot of times, like sometimes you work with artists or

232
00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:57.679
you have a business dealer or whatever, and you're like, hey,

233
00:13:57.919 --> 00:13:59.879
I wish I would have known three months ago that

234
00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:02.799
you're crazy and I'm crazy, and our two types are

235
00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:05.559
crazy just don't collaborate well in this world. So we

236
00:14:05.639 --> 00:14:09.679
need to end this partnership, relationship whatever. You make sure

237
00:14:09.720 --> 00:14:12.399
that doesn't happen. And I do appreciate that because you

238
00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:14.279
would walk in, you would tell me all these things

239
00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:16.080
you're not going to do, and basically you're not doing

240
00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:19.159
anything besides making music. That's it. You probably even have

241
00:14:19.159 --> 00:14:20.919
a problem that you got to pay to release your music,

242
00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:24.480
God forbid. So I do appreciate that because I think

243
00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:26.320
that you're gonna save a lot of people a lot

244
00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:29.879
of time when you would do absolutely nothing. But other

245
00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:35.200
than that, if this is legit and you're eighty monthly

246
00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:42.159
listeners and your low effort Instagram is what you plan

247
00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:43.960
on doing for the rest of your life with music,

248
00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:48.200
My guy, this is your life in music, and enjoy

249
00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:50.919
those eighty monthly listeners because you ain't getting anything better

250
00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:54.559
than that. You cannot throw music out there and hope

251
00:14:54.559 --> 00:14:56.480
the people bump into it. Not when there's over one

252
00:14:56.519 --> 00:14:59.919
hundred million songs on Apple on Spotify that are co

253
00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:04.000
beating for your attention. It's not gonna happen. But thanks

254
00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:06.799
for the email on a joyous day. You have made

255
00:15:06.840 --> 00:15:08.679
me laugh. And if you have a question on the

256
00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:10.559
music industry that you'd like for me to answer, just

257
00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:13.480
go to Matthewix dot com click submit your question, give

258
00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:17.159
me as many details as possible, and hopefully you're not

259
00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:19.600
as delusional as this guy. I am Matthew Rix and

260
00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:21.960
until next time, I will talk to you later.