How do personal goals and values align with professional ambitions? Writing problems off as just business is usually an easy excuse to ignore issues for self gain. The entertainment world is designed to be a stage on which its players perform on, bringing people together through space and time over a shared experience as a microcosm of society. What does that stage mean? It is easy to get caught up in the moment, as well as lose track of how certain situations can result in harmful consequences. The influencers who create popular music are wildly famous and can make an impact from their art. It can be a different story for the freelancer trying to build a tunnel through the underground. There are few artists or professionals in the music business with the cultural and commercial leverage to make decisions simply based on their abilities. The majority is just hoping to make money and be heard.
There comes a point where decisions have to be made. For better or worse, supporting any given career path funds resources to certain causes. While someone may be agreeing to get involved with an event for a reason, they may not realize or care whether the business they are associating with is owned by a major contributor to certain political initiatives. In the struggle of accessing more art, industry workers and lovers trying to get by tend to end up as a collective crowdsource for corruption. People generally do not research the background of the people putting on the show. Is putting differences aside in the spirit of collaboration cooperative or passive acceptance of the advantages taken by those with the upper hand? The biggest players can be the most charming, but least transparent. Clarity on terms, policies, and allocations of resources in the music business gives accessibility to event impacts along with history. While people may not have much influence in the grand scheme of the universe, people can take more direct control over the immediate situation for both themselves and others when they make informed choices.
Who does the casting or writes the scripts if the world is but a stage? Is it better to play a part by sticking to the lines, or to take control through improvisation? Tackle problems by addressing them first hand. Bringing together a like minded group gives people an outlet to make life better. Even though working with others can be challenging, it is not possible to be successful alone. Character is not simply what an individual does, but how and why a person does it. The value of actions are determined by who are affected from each consequence. Every step of the way artists walk the line between entertainment and expression, awareness and learning, emotions and logic. It is possible to take care of each other and oneself. The will to change is a renewable resource. Creativity and possibilities arise when people change the way they think about the consequences of their actions. Problem solving can begin when it is someone’s choice to make the world a better place versus acting careless.
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