By Cari Cole

I once interviewed Diane Birch (one of my beloved students) after the release of her album Bible Belt when she suddenly shot up into the public eye. It was amazing to watch it happen. We started working together during the recording of Bible Belt and when you’re making a record you just don’t know how it’s going to go, no matter how excited you are about it.

All of a sudden she was everywhere. In my studio one day after our vocal class, I asked her if she had one piece of advice for indie artists out there trying to make it, what she would say now. She said “Patience. Have patience.” She laughed at herself — patience was not her strong suit, but she suddenly understood how much easier it would have made things.

That said, I think it’s the hardest thing to have as an artist. Because you have to put in a lot of hours to build your skill level with no certainty of any success. However, heeding Diane’s words, may be the thing that helps you make better decisions and therefore have a more successful career.

How many times have you rushed to get a song out — only to find it just sitting there not doing as much as you thought it might? How many times has rushing something ended in a mistake? Like when you hired that video director against your gut because you had a deadline and ended up scrapping the whole thing and losing thousands of dollars?

Or the time you rushed your record because of a promise to your Kickstarter patrons, only to find it didn’t soar as you expected. Was it just bad luck, or did you sacrifice the quality of your work for a self-imposed deadline that you could have extended? I’ve never heard of a crowdfunding supporter asking for their money back because the record was late – they’re always late lol.

Making great things takes time. And it always takes way more time than you think. I never heard of a record finishing up before the deadline – ever. That’s because most people don’t anticipate the extra time the creative process will need, if you want to make something amazing that is.

When Adele was writing songs for her album 25, she wrote a WHOLE RECORD that didn’t make the cut. Rick Rubin told her straight out that she didn’t have the songs she needed and she headed back to write again. She co-wrote a bunch of songs with some big players, and not all of the songs made the final cut—which pissed more than a few people off. But as she put it, in the end, some didn’t “feel right.” But she held to her integrity and refused to be coerced… no matter how famous the co-author was.

Not only was Adele super picky about what songs she allowed on the record, she went through multiple iterations of it. Talk about PATIENCE. The first version of the record was about motherhood, which Adele completely scrapped because she thought the material was boring.

She spent years writing, co-writing, recording, and especially re-recording until the album was ready. The record was made over 6 years. Again, patience. Allowing the ample time needed to create a masterpiece.

Considering Adele sold over 9 million copies of 25 in the US alone, and well over 20 million copies worldwide, And won best album of the year at the 2017 Grammys which made her the first artist EVER to win best song, record and Record of the Year – twice.

Mama would say that taking your time, finding the right message, knowing the story you’re telling, and only including the RIGHT songs for your record pays off in spades.

So when you’re thinking about making a record, remember, you’re looking for that magic and don’t settle for anything less. Don’t hold on to songs because you spent money recording them. If your songs are stepping stones in your career as you build that’s fine – but when you’re ready to put out an album that will breakthrough – do it right.

Because – you can market your music until you are blue in the face, but if you don’t have the compelling music people really want, the kind they trip over themselves to get to – you’ll hear crickets.

You’ve got this.