---
title: "Pacing for Sustained Making"

description: "Making music in the age of streaming, AI, and the content treadmill is harder and easier than ever. But that's not the point at all, is it? Making a record, something you truly give your all to, is timeless and precious, but it's easy to lose yourself in it or break your momentum within it. Music is like the tide: it comes in with force, retreats to develop, then returns again. The key is catching the wave and riding it as far as it goes."

status: complete

date: 2026-07-14

kind: solo

guestSlugs: []

listenUrl: "https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lovemusicmore/episodes/Pacing-for-Sustained-Making-e3m0cam"
spotifyUrl: "https://open.spotify.com/episode/0jdG4oHTveoJH2ANTsRTbf"
appleUrl: "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pacing-for-sustained-making/id1567355195?i=1000776722545&uo=4"

topicsDiscussed:
  - "Songwriting"
  - "The music business"
  - "Failure"
  - "Creativity"
  - "Genre"
  - "Album-shaped vs single-shaped ideas"
  - "Not releasing a record mid-process"
  - "Pacing a long catalog"

hostNote: |
  Making music in the streaming/AI treadmill is easier in some ways and harder in others, and that is not the point. I have put out **382 commercially released songs**, and the lesson I keep relearning is pacing: music has a **tide**. It comes in with force, retreats so you can fill the cup, then returns. Miss which phase you are in and you burn the record before it exists.
  
  I lost excitement on the last LP by putting it out as I was making it. Singles 1–6 spent the intensity that belonged to 7. When in doubt, make something, but some art is supposed to be slow. See the whole idea through, then let people accept or deny it.

selectedMoments:
  - label: "Introductory Thoughts on Creativity"
    startSec: 58
    note: "I mention how creativity can fluctuate between fast-paced production and slow development."
  - label: "The Tide of Music"
    startSec: 96
    note: "Discussing the nature of music resembling a tide that requires knowledge of when to create and when to internalize."
  - label: "Struggles with Momentum"
    startSec: 181
    note: "Sharing personal feelings about maintaining excitement and momentum during the music-making process."
  - label: "Releasing Music Midway"
    startSec: 270
    note: "Explaining how releasing singles during the album-making process can potentially harm overall momentum."
  - label: "Lessons on Speed versus Deliberation"
    startSec: 318
    note: "Reflecting on my struggles with timely completion and the need to capture inspiration quickly."
  - label: "Value of Full Ideas"
    startSec: 454
    note: "Advocating for the importance of completing bigger musical ideas before slicing them into parts for release."
  - label: "Artistic Inadequacy and Its Challenges"
    startSec: 632
    note: "Discussing the toxic nature of feeling artistically inadequate amidst commercial pressures."

excerptQuotes:
  - text: "Creativity is so strange because there will be times where things will happen very quickly, times that things will happen very slowly and they both have to coexist."
    startSec: 59
    reviewed: true
  - text: "I think that there is a tide to music. It comes out, it goes in, and in order to really be in it and have a long-term career, you have to know when it's time to fill up your cup."
    startSec: 97
    reviewed: true
  - text: "When in doubt, make something. However, that's not the way that everything goes, and also some art is supposed to be slow, some art is supposed to be fast."
    startSec: 136
    reviewed: true
  - text: "The trick is knowing which is which and when to do which because it's very easy to do the opposite."
    startSec: 146
    reviewed: true
  - text: "I lost excitement on my last record because I was putting it out as I was making it and not enough people liked it."
    startSec: 226
    reviewed: true
  - text: "If you burn out all of your intensity on public reception of one through six before you even made seven, you may never make it."
    startSec: 271
    reviewed: true
  - text: "If I was faster, I would have finished it and I would have captured that moment because I wasn't fast enough. I let that moment go by."
    startSec: 321
    reviewed: true
  - text: "I think the best thing is to see that idea through because then it comes out whole and then people can accept or deny it."
    startSec: 455
    reviewed: true

faq:
  - question: "What are the challenges of making music in the streaming era?"
    answer: "The challenges include managing the pace of creativity, dealing with public reception, and sustaining excitement throughout the music-making process."
  - question: "How do I balance my inspiration and output in music?"
    answer: "It involves recognizing when to draw in inspiration and when to actively create, knowing that both elements are essential for a long-term music career."
  - question: "What should I consider before releasing singles?"
    answer: "It's important to ensure that you don't compromise the overall vision of your project by releasing too many singles before the full work is finished."

transcriptPublished: false

draft: false
---