The dark side of music production and artists

When you have a passion and train so much you often reach burnout issues, this is when the dark side is present, as you keep always asking for more and more, taking yourself beyond the limits of your possibilities (mental and physical). I'm not here to judge any behavior, not at all, just to point out a few things that you have to know and keep in mind so that you're fully aware of the things you might not be ready to see if you manage to enter the music industry: every single town is gonna be only about hotels and airports. You'll have to be under constant pressure and stress, even during the little time you could have as vacations. And most of all, there is no possibility to make a step back.

That was only an overview of what you might not be prepared to see. Avicii wasn't for example, like many other musicians who committed suicide before they reached 30. I could speak about Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious, even if they were more prone to have chosen that type of exit door even before anything happened. Though I always had a fascination for those artists who decided to live their life to the full without expecting anything in return, letting themselves be driven by the wind. Many things could be said about that situation. It's a recurring one in the music industry, but it's built like that; people need to reach their limits and go beyond them to manage being fully recognized cause it's only with that kind of behavior you end up reaching quality and excellence.

You can blame perfectionists, but it's the best way if you want to reach your real dreams. Have you even thought about it ? Your real dream is what you have to chase, it's linked with making your passion the thing you're the best at so that you end up living off it. As simple as that. That "dark side" has a bad connotation, it shouldn't. It's the best recipe to get to your goals or dreams fast. And devil represents for me the sacrifices you make on your way to reach it, meaning the sacrifices on your own "human needs". If someone manages to properly channel, like control, the "dark side" which will make him or her elevate towards that dream, then it's perfect for me. Basically, if the "dark side" had a voice, this would be its main speech, its main mentality:

"Never stop believing in yourself, work as much as you can towards your dream and goal,
And even when you reach it, keep on improving until you find perfection itself,
Never doubt, and be ready to do anything and endure any kind of "pain" to reach what you want,
Because it will only make you stronger, hence you'll benefit from it".

The problem for me is not the "dark side" in itself, it's how you apply it to yourself; if you can control it, then it will only have positive effects on you. If you don't control it, then beware of the worst possibilities...

To bring this to a conclusion, here is an interesting article that was the starting point of my reflexion. I want to share it with you.

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/in-depth-features/the-devil-has-all-the-best-tunes/?fbclid=IwAR1X2D3NDM8zDwL0ztXULjWCVSLSWSIr_aqPNJB0ySdMmBVhMhQ3xTblrFE