THE AGILE ARTIST// has the elegance of a poet, the precision of a mathematician, the vision of a mystic, and the drive of a soldier.

How will the successful artists of the future think, act and adjust?

The graph below helps to illustrate how an artist works and whether this helps or holds back their success.

The purpose of everything that we discuss and DO in Hacking Music community is to help music artists find their way to and live within this fourth quadrant and better understand the successful mindset and thought process of the artist of the future.

AGILITY represents flexibility and how quickly an artist integrates change and develops new thinking and action.

CONSISTENCY represents the artist’s ability to focus and do the work when it needs to be done and describes their reliability.

These artists are finishers. Artists dealing with low consistency often find it hard to get started; if they do get rolling, they are easily distracted and find themselves pulled off task and chasing another rabbit ... having never finished anything. In contrast, artists track- ing high in consistency are extremely productive in planning, decision-making, and execution; they catch the rabbit ... and then move on to the next one.

QUADRANT 1 - UNRELIABLE (LOW AGILITY, LOW CONSISTENCY)

We call this the Quadrant of Death. Do everything you can to avoid being in it. Artists in this quadrant are resistant to change and want everything done the way they remember it being done in the past, their minds aren’t easily changed and when it is changed they will slowly move to the next project.

QUADRANT 2 - UNFOCUSED (HIGH AGILITY, LOW CONSISTENCY)

Artists showing up in this quadrant have a tendency to be one-dimensional artists focusing on only their art. They get involved in a lot of projects but have a difficult time completing what they started, which can create chaos for those working with them. These artists usually have natural talent that has carried their careers to a certain point but many of them struggle at building a functioning team structure to support their art.

QUADRANT 3 - RIGID (LOW AGILITY, HIGH CONSISTENCY)

Artists appearing here do complete projects and other things that they set out to do but they are mostly very resistant to change, a trait that can be deadly in the constantly evolving music business environ- ment. You can spot these artists when you hear them say they “just want to do their thing” or when they complain about how the current music business isn’t like it was in some past decade. Many of the artists in this quadrant have a short shelf life because they are so insistent on doing music or business in an archaic manner that they have failed to expand or grow along with a transforming industry.

QUADRANT 4 - STRATEGIC (HIGH AGILITY, HIGH CONSISTENCY)

This is where you want to be! Artists in this quadrant bring to the table a rare combination of steadiness and adaptability that allows them to respond to changes in business while still completing projects and getting the work done. These individuals typically have higher standards and are willing to aban- don old ways of thinking that no longer work for them while exploring newer and more useful meth- ods. They combine fast learning with tactical decision-making and execution.

The purpose of all the things that we discuss in Hacking Music is to help music artists find their way to and live within this fourth quadrant and better understand the successful mindset and thought process of the artist of the future.

Recently a discussion took place on the online Q-and-A resource site Quora, during which participants attempted to describe an entrepreneur. One of the descriptions the community came up with was:

An entrepreneur has the elegance of a poet, the precision of a mathematician, the vision of a mystic, and the drive of a soldier.

When your ready, you can join the conversation with about 12000+ other artist entrepreneurs taking action everyday here>>

We get to spend every day working in partnership with investors, artists and technologists. History and experience have taught us that artists are entrepreneurs.

It takes a special level of dedication to become an artist who understands the models, the metrics, and monetization within the changing landscape of the music business. This is what ultimately allows the artist’s career to be pointed in a growth direction so that they may thrive.

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WHO AM I? If we haven’t yet before - Hey 👋 I’m John, a guitar player turned entrepreneur and I’ve somehow built a holding co that builds media businesses. Publish advisory materials for training artists. Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast Hacking Music and writing, I share evidence-based strategies and tools to help you build a career you actually want.

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Tune in to Hacking Music for more. Hacking Music is an execution platform for action takers, moment makers and record breakers. Our mission is to serve the world by strengthening the next generation of artists and help you connect with the people that care the most [ your fans ] https://www.hacking-music.com 

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Special thanks to our sponsors, ArtistWerx and The Sync Center, for their support. Their contributions towards the music industry provide valuable opportunities for artists to thrive.

ArtistWerx is an execution company. We partner with managers to provide infrastructure, marketing, execution and monetization in the rapidly changing media industry. We create products and experiences to engage your customers, drive revenue, build careers and surpass your competitors. https://www.artistwerx.com 

The Sync Center - Trusted by Fortune 50 companies, Filmmakers, Ad Executives, Networks, and Major Film Studios. The Sync Center is a full-service music supervision and licensing company that has managed projects for hundreds of clients including national and global brands, agencies and cultural events. https://thesynccenter.com