What does it mean to be in alignment with your WHY in dance music?
As Supermode’s 2006 hit EDM track goes…‘Tell Me Why.’
At some point in time you as an individual made the conscious decision to pursue your passion for electronic music as a DJ/producer. And, I’m guessing you’ve never looked back, right? Take a moment to reflect and consider WHY you chose to do so.
For pretty much all DJs/producers their reason for getting started is for the love of music. It’s that surging feeling that consumes your entire body when you’re dancing to an infectious beat amongst like-minded spirits. It’s the escapism, community and freedom of expression rooted into electronic dance music culture. It’s all of the above and more that forms an internal calling for many to pursue a life in dance music.
“Electronic music is something you can feel in your soul and you literally wouldn’t know what else to do!”
Naturally as you progress and your career develops, your energy and attention is required across a spectrum of areas and responsibilities. Managing your finances, marketing your music and events, taking care of legal contracts and insurances. All of a sudden you find there are many people with many opinions on what your next step should be. Or you feel under pressure to follow society’s ‘typical’ direction in which a DJ or music producer is told that their career should go in.
💬 New Text Message from The Captain: “There is no right or wrong direction. Everyone’s definition of success and journey through the music industry is completely different so aim to stay focused on your own goals and progress! Don’t let conditioning or outside pressures led you astray.”
All of this extra noise can very gradually steer your focus away from your core purpose as a creative in dance music. Taking with it the goals and passions that are true to you and it can become incredibly harmful to your mental wellbeing and your DJ/producer career.
Hmm...makes sense, but how do I know if this applies to me and my dance music career?
Well, there are a few signs that you may show up when you are not in true alignment with your purpose and your why in dance music. Here are a few.
You aren’t getting the same joy and fulfilment from your work as you once used to. Producing new music, running your club night residency, or even just thinking about your upcoming projects feels draining and consistently like a chore.
When it comes to decision making you don’t really know what you want next out of your career. You feel lost and because of this you tend to look to others for guidance on what you should be doing rather than trusting your own instinct.
You feel like you’re living someone else's plan. Whether that’s a record label or manager, or simply conforming to societal pressures of how your career should look. You are pleasing everyone around you, except you.
You feel disconnected from your work and your achievements. You know that your feature on that national radio show is something many DJs/producers would die for. Although you’re grateful, you just don’t really feel the same hype as everyone around you but you can’t figure out why.
You are in a mindset of ‘once I reach this goal, I’ll be happy’ and because you aren’t in alignment with your true purpose, you rarely are. You reach the goal, expect a huge relief and it doesn’t happen… so now you look for something else to be the next thing to complete you.
Finally, you regularly burn out from stress. If you are working on projects that don't truly fulfil you then you will be more likely to burn out from stress and the immense energy it takes to give your all to something and not be fulfilled by it.
This sounds exactly like me right now! So, what exactly does it mean to be in alignment with my WHY and how do I achieve this?
I’m glad you asked!
Before we go any further, it’s important to say that as with any mindset shifts or mindstyle work there is no quick fix. It takes consistent work and self evaluation to change your way of thinking. However, as a (night) life coach, I’m here to tell you that it is absolutely possible to change your mindset to get more out of your DJ/producer career.
“To be in alignment with your WHY as a DJ/producer is to be living a life true to your intrinsic purpose in music and your values as a human being.”
On a personal level, alignment looks like confidence, secureness in who you are, a feeling of fulfilment no matter the highs and lows, and an overall existence that oozes contentment because you know in your heart that you are exactly where you should be even during tough times.
There is peace, calm and stability for your creativity to flow which results in work you feel happy with and proud of!
As a dance music professional, alignment with your WHY shows up as having clear career goals and consistently hitting them. It’s producing music that you are genuinely passionate about and enjoying the creative process along the way. You don’t waste time on projects and opportunities that don’t help you move the needle in your career. You protect your energy and time for what really matters to you such as studio time, family time and self development work so that you can create and live the successful dance music career that you’ve always dreamt of.
With that vision in mind, does this sound like a mindset shift that you can pass up on? I seriously doubt that.
Some simple steps to get you started
Delve into your deeper values
Your values are what ultimately become your motivators. When you set goals that are driven by your core values as a human being you are taking action in alignment with your authentic-self. Which means you are fulfilling your purpose as a DJ/producer and are giving yourself the best opportunity to succeed in electronic music.
We have an entire blog post dedicated to understanding your deeper values and how this can help us to set goals in dance music. Read more here!
Evaluate what really matters to you in dance music
That’s a big ask and it will take some thought time to uncover your most honest answer. However, here are some simple, easy to use journal prompts to get you thinking.
If I woke up tomorrow with unlimited money and no need to work again, how would I spend my time?
Go through your current music projects and ask yourself if you would still be doing each one if nobody was watching?
Over the years, what are the stand out projects, releases or events that evoked the most excitement and pride in you?
What are the skills as a dance music creative that come to you most naturally? Be it production wise, people skills, event management etc.
Consider some constant goals that you can set yourself
Unlike fixed goals, constant goals have no final destination. Whilst both help us to progress through the music industry, setting yourself some constant goals can help you to remain aligned with your WHY in dance music based on your personal values.
For example, you may decide that you want to use your platform as a DJ/producer to promote and support gender equality in dance music as it aligns with your own value system. You can have fixed goals within this overall mission, such as creating a podcast dedicated to opening up discussion on the topic, or collaborating with a specific brand who shares your vision. However, the overarching goal of supporting gender equality in dance music has no finish line. You will always dedicate your DJ/producer career to actively supporting gender equality. Be that through choosing to only work with those who share this value, curating diverse line-up at your events, or simply through your personal branding.
It’s that kind of life-time dedication that we can only consistently show up for when it’s something that we truly believe in.
Getting clear on your values and the mindset required to succeed in electronic music is a huge part of support that we offer here at The Unicorn Mothership. To find out what programmes are currently available with our (night)life coach Eline Van Auendaerde then check out our latest programmes here. Or, drop us a DM on social media and speak directly to The Captain to answer any questions.
Sign up is now open for our signature wellness program ‘Move The Needle’, designed for DJs & electronic music producers, combines self-guided study with live immersion through an online peer support group to maximise learnings in an interactive way. Find out more!
