And Then You Make It To Coachella

It's hard to imagine just how shitty it must feel to be an artist.

You just spent months trying to create a great album based on all your life experiences up until the point you released your album. This album is based off material that is near and dear to you. You have no idea if people are even going to like this album. What if they don't like this music, the musical representation of your life experiences? That's gotta be a terrifying thought.

And then you release your project. You're excited for people to hear it. You can't wait to hear it's initial reception. You know you have your favorites on the project, but will other people like it as much as you? What if it's not as good as you think it is? What if this, the project that you've poured your heart into for so long, flops?

And a bit to your surprise, it's received exceptionally well. People from across the world are listening to and appreciating your art. Now you get scared because you've essentially shared your life with the world. I've got to assume that that's another frightening thought. But you try to look past that and focus on the music. You just tell yourself that you just want to keep working and focus on your next project. But now you're faced with problems that you've never faced before.

Before your album release, you were a nobody. no one knew you; this afforded you the opportunity to take your time on your project, making sure every line was right, that every beat was tight.

But now that you've dropped your mix tape, it's gotten a lot of buzz on the internet. People all over the world are eagerly awaiting the sequel to your highly lauded rookie album. Now there's pressure to put out more and more music quicker than you'd like to. No longer are you afforded the opportunities you had when you were unknown. People recognize you on the street, at the mall, at your favorite burger joint. They pressure you ask you when you're "dropping your new shit." And you hate it. You don't enjoy being pressured to make music; you know from looking at some of your favorite artists that being forced into making music results in forced, ineffective music. You enjoy being recognized and being a bit of a celebrity, but you don't like the fact that you can't enjoy a meal at your favorite burger joint or taking a piss in a public bathroom without being pestered for a picture or an autograph.

You don't want to disappoint your fans, so you try your hardest to make music, but what do you write about? Your first album was based on year's worth of love lost, love gained, partying with friends, and your dreams. But now that you've gained celebrity, you're only afforded so much time before you become irrelevant. And what new material do you have to write about? It's only been a few months since you released your debut album. Do you write about how your life has changed since you've become famous? No one wants to hear about that. Do you write about your love life? Too bad, you haven't had much time to have a real personal life, with all the fame and concerts and work to be done. There's no time to breathe because the buzz behind your first project has fans demanding performances all over the country.

And then you make it to Coachella. This is the biggest stage of music; hands down the biggest show you've done in your short-lived career. This performance has the potential to expand your fan base exponentially. It can also construe you as a fraud who is only a studio artist. Coachella is truly a make or break event for you.

Each step of this process is terrifying to me. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to handle all of it and I'd end up going through some kind of mental breakdown before it was all over