Transcription
Today we're going to talk about how one habit can change your entire artist career. The number one problem most artists face has nothing to do with talent, but more with mindset and habits. Your mindset and habits could be keeping you from the next level of success. One habit can be the difference between a faded dream or a dream becoming reality. That's how it starts. One choice, one shift, one new standard that you hold yourself to.
Every legendary artist you admire didn't accidentally end up headlining the main stages, flying private, or living a life filled with creative freedom. They built it slowly over time, brick by brick, all through habit. If you want to build a similar reality for yourself, you're going to need to apply strong habits to your artist life. Most people think that with top artists, it was all talent or luck, which there's some of that, but it's much more about what they did day in and day out when no one was watching. And because I've had the blessing of working alongside or being friends with these kind of artists, I got to see what they were doing behind closed doors and what they actually did to affect change and growth, which is exactly what we're going to talk about today.
The seven most effective habits I learned from the last 20 years working alongside and collaborating with some of the world's biggest dance music artists. We'll cover the secret hacks that fuel momentum, focus, content, branding, and make the music transcend. In each section of this video, I'll give a personal account from collaborating or interacting with these artists and then the habit or mindset that I learned from them. And this is not meant to be name-droppy stories as much as it is personal experiences of how certain moments drastically impacted me and how I thought about art, marketing, and life. And this is the dance music edition for the seven habits. So I'll be covering lessons I learned from Skrillex, Steve Aoki, Swedish House Mafia, A-Trak, Alice in Wonderland, and more. Once I discuss the method or habit, I'll then give the tactical way you could apply this to your own artist career. And who am I to even talk about this? If you want to hear more about my story, there's a link in the description that goes into my experiences being in the music industry for 20 years and running a multi-million dollar creative agency, The Cult Creatives, for the last 10. If you're serious about making this your life, not just a hobby, not just chasing a moment, but building a legacy, this is where it starts. Habits. So, let's dive in.
Number one, be yourself. The first rule or habit is simple but powerful. Too many artists get caught up chasing what's trending, what's hot on Beatport or TikTok, what the algorithm is favoring that week. But the truth is, every trend you chase is already on its way out. Times are different now, but I remember being in a studio session with Skrillex, who was one of my early production mentors, and we were talking about new music he was showing me, which combined intricate dubstep and drum and bass sound design, but with pop and big room elements. The conversation was about how he was mixing together a bunch of things that he loved in one pot. I thought it was super unique, and I asked him who he was making it for. He had a great answer. He said that he was making it for him, but hoped other people would like how different it was. I remember clocking that exactly. He's making it for himself first. This was a super powerful lesson for me early on in my production career. He made that mindset into a habit of how he made things. He was aware of the audience, but he was also very aware of himself, what he loved, and what he wanted to make. He didn't show up trying to copy and make what was popular. He came from a pop-punk background, loved glitchy, aggressive sound design, and we came up in the era of Ed Banger, Justice, and Indie Dance, so there was influence there. His music wasn't trying to fit in. So, by default, it stood out. It confused people at first. I remember playing some of his early stuff at Avalon and the dance floor didn't know how to dance to it. But ultimately, it changed the game. He wasn't building for the audience first. He was making it for himself. That's what made it real. And ironically, that's what ended up attracting millions and creating a long sustainable career for him as an artist.
And being yourself doesn't mean ignoring the audience. It means trusting that your uniqueness is your biggest advantage. When you create from your core, your experiences, your obsessions, the things you love, your sound, it resonates deeper. You can't fake authenticity. Today's audiences are more perceptive than ever. They can feel when something's true, and they can definitely feel when it's not. And that connection, that energy is what turns casual listeners into lifelong fans. And we saw this exact same thing with Noizu and ISOxo. Their point of view, style, energy, and the delivery of the brand was 100% authentic to them. Millions of people connected with that authenticity, and the two guys who seem to know exactly who they were. So, think about what you love. What kind of music were you into as a kid? What scenes or styles still give you that feeling now? Explore what you feel like is missing from the modern scene in music, and start pulling on those threads. Make your own recipe. I have a longer video on the Neighborhood Art Supply channel that goes deeper on how to find your signature sound if you're looking to explore that further. But ultimately, what if the thing you've been holding back from doing is exactly what the audience has been waiting to hear? The most memorable artists in the world are the ones who went left when everybody else went right. The ones who refused to fit in. The ones who created their own space but invited others to join. Because when you build something authentic to you, the right people show up and they'll stick with you for the long run and consistently be curious about what you're going to do next.
All right, so what's the tactic here? Get clear on who you are by laying out the things that you love from your past and present. I have another video on the Neighborhood Art Supply channel that goes into the exercises of how to do this and I'll link that in the description. But the things that you love make you who you are. Hold these things close and constantly run the things that you're making through the filter of, "Is this me? Does this represent the things that I care about?"
Number two, be intentional. So, you're not just throwing tracks into the wind. You're building something. You need to know where it's going. Every project, every release, every brand choice should reflect a bigger vision. So, a great example of this is Chris Lake. Early on in his career, he was making big room and electro house that fit perfectly into the festival circuit. We booked him a bunch at our Control shows that we were throwing in the early 2010s, and I spent some months working out of Rising Studios where Chris's studio was down the hall. I remember having a conversation with Chris around 2014 and he was talking about shifting his brand and sound. He wanted to get away from the big room thing and he was being pulled towards more of an underground, high-taste type sound. So he made the decision to make the shift and instead of staying where it was safe, he ultimately leaned into his instincts. This was a big transition and he completely distanced himself from the big room scene. And it wasn't something that caught super quickly after making the transition. But in 2017, he was featured on the House compilation which was curated by Skrillex. And that was the beginning of the new Chris Lake era, which he's built into a very successful community over the last 8 years. And he's actually a rare case of someone who changed sounds but didn't change his name. He kept his name, but then groomed a new audience and community to understand what his sound was going to be about. He made his brand feel cooler, more curated, and more precise. And that intentional pivot became one of the best decisions of his career. He aligned his sound with his identity. And then people connected with that clarity.
When you're not intentional, you become reactive. You jump on whatever feels exciting in the moment, and you can lose your sense of direction. The best artists make moves with purpose. They don't just release music, they release statements. Everything from the mixdown to the cover art to the content to the music videos, the collaborators. It's all part of a cohesive strategy that's done with intention.
Okay. So, what's the tactic for this habit? So, for this, do a journal session where you ask yourself, "What kind of career do I really want? What kind of rooms do I want to play? What do I want my music to represent when people talk about me 5 or 10 years from now? What's this all about for me as an artist?" And once you define all this, it's about getting committed. Decide. It's starting with the end in mind. You reverse engineer everything towards that decision. And that clarity creates trust with the audience. And this is why they're going to follow you for the long term.
Number three, make content like a pro athlete practices. Content isn't just marketing. It's modern visibility. If no one sees you, they'll never hear the music. And it's not just about posting randomly. It's about developing a content system. A repeatable workflow that keeps your face, your sound, and your story in front of people who care. Over the last year, we've been working with James Hype, who in my opinion, when it comes to content, is one of the best out there. He doesn't just rely on the music to carry all the weight. He treats his content like a job. He documents his tour, his sets, shows his routines, breaks down his setups, interacts with fans, and crafts a singular narrative all around the music. There's a lot of it, but it's not at all random. It's like a pro athlete approaching their sport. It's a discipline. It's the content version of a four-day workout for an Olympian. He doesn't film when he feels like it. He films as a part of a built-in habit. His fans gave him the nickname "La Machina," the machine. And that's not by accident. He is a machine, but he'll tell you himself, he wasn't born as a machine. He built the machine over years of tiny efforts and commitments. He's also big on working out, and he approaches content like performance training. Some reps are going to suck. Some ideas won't hit, but consistency builds rhythm, and rhythm creates breakthroughs. And you don't need to be perfect here. Post when it's ugly. Post when it's late. Post when it's uncomfortable. James will still film even when he's had a few hours sleep in three days because he's played so many shows. The content treadmill never stops and it's the direct way for you to have a conversation and storytell to the right people. He brings the audience into his life and his authenticity, and they connect. It is extreme commitment to do it at this level and it's okay if you're not there today. But this is how many of the pros are doing it. They are approaching it as a never-stopping, ongoing machine that helps you build your audience and your dreams.
So then what's the tactic here? So start with one small habit or discipline. Something that you can stick to for six months. Could be as simple as walking to the mailbox, but it's something that you do every day. Then once you get one habit down, stack another. Start adding the most important things that benefit your artist project. Create high stakes for yourself if you don't do the habits. And as a note here, don't add new habits until you've officially locked the ones that you've been working on. People can get discipline drunk and have 30 things that they need to do every morning as a part of the routine just to get started. So just add a few in the beginning, but try to assess which ones will lead you the best results for what you're after with the project. How you do anything is how you do everything. If you can find more consistent discipline around your artist project, that will be a major step towards leveling up.
[Music] Ever wonder how to truly cut through the noise and get your music to a broader audience? The Cult Creatives is a niche agency servicing the communities and brands surrounding the spaces of music and fashion. Our unique backgrounds of being highly involved with some of the largest music and fashion brands in the world gives us a unique perspective on how to connect creatives with their audiences. We offer a variety of services including creative direction, design, photography, videography, and strategy. Head to the cultcreatives.com to learn more. The Cult Creatives. Not to be replicated, but if you try, we wouldn't blame you. [Music]
Number four, the brand is everything. Your music is the soundtrack, but what about the movie? Branding is how you shape the way that people experience your art. It's how you set the room that your art sits in. It gives it context. It's how you control the emotional frequency that your name broadcasts. And it's not just colors, fonts, graphics, and logos. It's the feeling someone gets when they hear your name or see your visuals. So, in the 2010s, when we were booking our concerts in Hollywood, in order to book the artists, we had to submit offers to their agents. For our venue size, the offers to those artists could be anywhere from $1,500 up to $100K. The offer was based on the artist's draw and what we projected the ticket sales to be. At the same time that I was curating these concerts, I was also producing music and touring for my own artist project. I was doing collaborations, remixes, and spending a lot of time in the studio with different artists. One of the groups that we booked regularly at the shows that I had also been in the studio with was Dope D.O.D. They were good friends and always delivered an insane show. For an upcoming anniversary date for the Control shows, we wanted to go big. So, we submitted an offer for Dope D.O.D. Around that same time, we submitted another offer for a different artist who I was also working with in the studio. This artist was a super talented studio producer and had had some Beatport hits. So, because I'd been in the studio with both of them, I got to see how they worked. And what was interesting about these two artists, and granted, every artist is different. But in the studio, pound-for-pound, they were technically the same, but when it came to the offers for the same show, one was 20 times higher than the other. Now, since they were technically both about the same level in the studio, what was the difference? The answer was super simple. The brand. Dope D.O.D. didn't just play music, they put on a show. Time-coded visuals, champagne sprays, banana costumes in the crowd, high energy, inside jokes, a personality, a world. They gave the fans a reason to care, connect, and come back. So, what were they doing with the brand that the other artist wasn't? The other artist was a great producer, but had no clear brand, no story, no experience beyond the music and the hits. And his sets were great, but they were just DJ sets. So seeing the stark difference on this one budget and this one set of offers changed how I saw branding for music artists forever. This was the power of what a great brand can do. And in that same era, artists like Swedish House Mafia or Excision were using the same playbook. And the same thing applies today. Artists like Fred again.., John Summit, ANNA, or Noizu and ISOxo have built incredible brand universes. The best artists don't just sound good, they stand for something. There's a clear story for the audience to believe in. When someone visits your profile, they should immediately understand what kind of experience they're stepping into. Every photo, every color scheme, every font, even your captions should all echo your creative tone. Think about it. With movie trailers, you know pretty quickly if it's a horror, comedy, drama, or action movie, and what style of film it's going to be and who the characters are. And sometimes the overview of the story happens in less than 60 seconds. Your brand's movie should be no different. Think of the brand as a bridge between your audience and your art.
So then what's the tactic with this habit? If your brand is lacking a visual identity or story, watch the Neighborhood Art Supply channel that I'll link in the description that gives you the exact process on how to build or rebrand a music project from scratch, start to finish. Do that exercise and build a brand that can't be ignored. And if you need help with this part, you know where we are. The Cult Creatives, thecultcreatives.com.
Number five, you're an entertainer. You're not just a producer, a DJ, a musician. You're an entertainer. Don't forget that. This habit separates the good from the unforgettable. Great music might get someone to listen once, but a memorable, notable performance gets people to come back, bring friends, and talk about you for weeks. I spent a lot of my early years in music, doing tour dates here and there with Steve Aoki. And what he understood more than most is that his brand wasn't just music. It was a spectacle. It was notable moments that would get people talking. Stage diving, raft riding in the audience, the cake tosses, the mic work, the crowd surfing. It created a sense of chaos and fun that made his shows feel different than other DJs that were just pressing buttons and curating the music. Every performance became a moment and moments get remembered. He built emotion around what his brand meant. And whether you loved it or you hated it, you knew about it. So ask yourself this, what gets people to talk about your show after they leave? What makes your performance different than just listening to the track on Spotify? Think about your social content the same way and think about your music videos the same way. It's all an opportunity to create an emotional tie. Every entertaining moment is a chance to turn a passive listener into a lifelong fan. Make your shows unforgettable and get people talking.
Okay, so then what's the tactic here? For bigger content posts, show moments, bigger press moments, ask yourself these questions: What will make this entertaining? What will make this memorable? Why would people talk about something like this? If I was someone who had no idea who this artist was, would this be something that would pique my interest? As often as you can, run things through these filter questions. You're a creative person, and if you create space to actually think about the answers to these questions, you'll come up with some strong stuff.
Number six, be a leader. Behind every solo artist is a leader, a decision-maker. If you're a one-person brand, that leader has to be you. So, a few years back, we were in a meeting with Alice Longyu Liu building a brand around her collaboration that she had with another artist. This awesome thing happened. We were all sitting around a table and in the middle of the meeting, she stood up and said, "All of you guys are way too tall." Everybody sitting at the table was 6 foot or taller. She ended up doing the rest of the meeting standing up and walking around the table as we kicked around ideas. It was a subtle thing, but it did change the energy of the meeting for the better. There was a clear captain in that moment. She was collaborating, but she was directing the overall vision. And you can tell that she does this exact same thing with her brand. Her point of view drives the visuals, the tone, the content, and the music. There's alignment because there's leadership and a vision that she keeps. And being a leader doesn't mean doing it all yourself. It means owning the results. It means knowing your priorities, managing your time, choosing your collaborations carefully, and holding the line when something doesn't align to your vision. You are responsible for all of this. And leadership also means creating structure. Are your projects on a timeline? Do you have goals each month? Are you tracking your content, outreach, creative growth? Are you moving as a leader would? And if you're collaborating with people on your team, are you the type of person that they would want to follow? Most artists stall not because of a lack of talent, but because of a lack of direction. There's a leadership gap. Even artists who've made it to the middle end up fading away because of a lack of clarity or leadership. If you want your career to grow, you have to take the wheel. Be creative, but also be a leader.
So then what's the tactic for this habit? There's so much information out there on how to be a great leader. YouTube videos, books, posts about leadership that you can research to up your game, but mostly it's about getting straight in your own head. This project is either going to live or die because of you and the things you do and show up for. So you've got to get straight with the voices in your own head. Therapy is great for this, but the more you try things, the more you gain confidence, and the more confidence you have, the easier it becomes to lead. You can't lead anything by making excuses.
Number seven, sharpen your creative saw. If you're not evolving creatively, you're falling behind. And creativity doesn't come from waiting, it comes from feeding it. Our good friend A-Trak has been doing this for decades. From his turntableism and battle roots to collaborations with legends and newcomers alike, his creativity stays sharp because he's always seeking, always exploring, always exposing himself to new ideas. He goes to art galleries. He dives into different genres. He studies visuals, both old and new, design, architecture, anything that sharpens his taste. He doesn't rely on inspiration to magically show up. He cultivates it. Creativity is a part of the brain, and your brain is a muscle. And like any muscle, it needs tension, fuel, and rest. That means exposing yourself to things outside of your genre bubble. Go to a low-fi jazz show. Go to a metal show. Watch international movies. Study old album covers. Hang out with fashion designers. Talk to photographers and up-and-coming filmmakers. Ask about their process. Get curious. Plug into the grid of creativity. The more inputs you have, the more interesting your outputs become. You'll connect dots that others can't see. You'll build a sound, a brand, and a presence that feels rich because it's built on personal experience. Creativity also grows in conversation and pushing yourself. Get into writing sessions, do collabs that you're not fully comfortable with, share ideas with non-musicians, let other perspectives challenge and inspire you. And for our job as artists, sharpening your creative saw isn't optional. It's how you stay ahead. Because in a scene that's moving this fast, your originality is your best currency.
So, what's the tactic here? So, for this one, I'm going to explain a little story and then that will help you with the tactic. So, for me, if I were to go back and you were to ask my high school friends, they might have given you a nicer version of the story, but truthfully, I wasn't cultured or cool back then. I wanted to be, I just didn't have the depth yet. I grew up in small towns. We didn't travel all that much, so those were my only reference points. I hadn't seen that much of the world yet, so I didn't have much perspective. And then that all changed when I moved to California and I started traveling for music. Suddenly my eyes were open and I got to experience so many things from fashion to art to food to architecture, cultures, design and philosophies from all around the world. I became addicted to curiosity and I was constantly fascinated by how different people express their creativity. And since then, taking on a life as an artist and a creative person, I've made it a habit to study art and different art mediums. I study art now like most guys study sports. I watch fashion runway, visit museums, read design books, read books on story, and I dive deeper into whatever catches my eye. It's not a chore, it's instinct now. And over time, a habit like this becomes your edge. You build up a vast ocean of references. And after 10, 20, 30 years, that toolbox becomes full of a never-ending reservoir of references. And spoiler alert, that's all art really is. It's just using tools, referencing, and remixing, making new recipes out of the ingredients you've collected. The best artists I know drive their unique perspectives with three things: discovery, creation, and sharing. So stay hungry, stay curious, stay open. That's how you evolve, and build a sustainable career.
So there it is. The seven best habits that I've learned from these bigger artists over the last 20 years. These artists don't chase trends, they shape culture. But the truth is, most artists won't take these habits seriously. In the same sense that there's millions of people in the world wanting to be professional athletes, but it's a very small percentage that do it at the highest level. The difference is who's taking it the most serious, who's got the commitment, who's got the vision, and who's going to stick with it. So, I hope all this made sense and it was valuable. Most of the time, the only thing standing between an artist and their next level is fear, habits, or mindset. If you want to collaborate with us on your project, you know where we are. All things The Cult Creatives, thecultcreatives.com. Either way, I hope this helps you on your creative journey and gives you some habits to add into the fold.