BROKE to FULL TIME Music Producer in 3 Years

Great of you to share the details of your journey….fellow Canadian 😁

¡Hi Stevie! I don't know if you will read this but I got to know you with the song "I need you" and I just can't express how that AMAZING song makes me feel. It's a feeling I never had before and I just wanted to thank you for such amazing tunes!

I wanted to search more info about you because I felt like you deserved a lot of recognition and exposure, found out you've worked in a lot of big projects, I'm glad to hear that. I was worried because a lot of artists that create music for audio libraries like Epidemic Sound have a lot of incredible songs but you can't find more info about them, like if they didn't exist.

Once again thank you and congrats! I'm working hard to be a big content creator one day, and mixing that with my filmmaking and artistic abilities I want to use songs like yours to record and edit a nice cinematic music video that transmits those feelings I have every time I hear them

Thank you for sharing! Never stop looking for improvement :)

Дякую, за те що ділишся своїм досвідом. Звісно, я самоучка і не вмію грати на музичних інструментах окрім практики на моїй міді-клавіатурі 😀Але все ж стараюся також заробляти на життя лише музичним виробництвом. Щойно вперше зайшов на твою сторінку в Spotify. Я був приємно вражений рівнем якості твоєї музики, вона справді чудова і дуже сподобалась мені. Успіхів тобі 🙋🏻‍♂

Thank you. Your video inspired me

Pro string player and composer/arranger here. Do you know of any music libraries who focus on acoustic music, particularly bowed strings (violin / viola / cello)?

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

You got me all teary eyed! Great video Stevie! It's amazing to see your success after all your hard work!

This might sound like a stupid question and maybe it is. But in reality, I only want to make music as a hobby. However, I hotta make a living. Is it so that you need to grind 24/7 forever trying to do this? My main ambition is to have more free time and the liberty to work a little less.. Is that possible doing these things?

Stevie... at forty it's important for you to understand JUST HOW YOUNG you are! You're at the cusp of true adulthood, as the maturing process has been arrested for most of us over the past 40 or 50 years. I'm now at the threshold of 67, and I can tell you without question that the next 25 years will go by in the blink of an eye. It sounds like you've found your place in life. I admire that you did what was necessary to get to where you are now... including working in a coffee shop. Hopefully it taught you some valuable people skills during your time there. I did a stint at Walmart in my early 60s that brought me a bit out of my 'gotta go it alone' attitude. Learning what a team was all about was incredibly valuable for me as well.

My original career was working in the studio as an audio technical engineer... something that I really loved and had a gift for. However, with hard disk recording, the majority of studios no longer felt the need for techs on staff, so I had a very difficult time of reinventing myself. Now I'm an author, ghostwriter, editor, and do layout for print... helping those who need help tell their stories. It's something that I'm also gifted at, but miss music, which is why I'm here... as well as other places (ThinkSpace Education, etc.) getting some music chops again.

Thanks for your great videos as well as sharing your story with us. Cheers!

Great video!

Thank You for sharing your knowlege. I am 16 years old and I strongly believe that one day Ill become a music producer/composer and be able to provide life for my family. This video gave me hope and more motivation to work harder. Thanks Much <3

I'm particularly interested in that part where you spoke about eventually getting over the inner resistence / fear. I feel like i'm on the cusp of getting over that myself. What was the catalyst for you moving past that? Was there a particular event? Or a particular realization? What gave you the push?

One more question. How many songs do you think you've created per month in the past 3 years? Was there a year that had more output than others?

Thanks!!

to quote Eric: "so you're saying there's a chance!"

Pretty awesome journey. I am looking to apply to Artist soon, already in an Exclusive Library but want to diversify. Any advice?

Great insight, the point that especially rings true for me is letting go of the fear/voice inside your head. And yes, you gotta be comfortable with the idea of not being good now, so that you can learn from those experiences and become greater ✌

Fair one dude, did not think you were forty 😎 solid advice, thanks man!

A timely video for me personally. Thank you so much Steve for your efforts to help other people including me. 🙏

Made my first $5 from Spotify this month 🤑 Not enough to quit the day job just yet... but it's a start!

I’d also like to add that we gotta stop beating ourselves up for not being where we wanna be. Even a few seconds of negative thoughts can affect you tremendously.

How can we see your demo reel so we can hear the projects you've scored.

Man, you are such an inspiring, talented and hard working person, amazing 🙌

Btw dude you DO NOT LOOK 40 great tips on taking care of ourselves ❤️

Solid Stevie. Thanks for the authenticity. I was gigging full time precovid as well. I took a day job for the benefits. I live in the states. I thought I would work towards production music. I have much to learn and not as much time to learn it as I did when I was performing FT.

In addition to mixing, I’m still learning to take rejection.

I appreciate what you’re bringing to us each week. Thanks much.

Great vid. These are my favorites types, because it's a reminder that on this journey, times won't always be great, but the goal is there, waiting on us to arrive to it, its just a matter of us persisting, no matter what, to get there. Very encouraging.

As always, thank you for everything. I always love your insight and I always feel it very inspirational. You always come at the right time, with the right words :D You can also be proud of yourself ! Congrats again. Also your path is a great reminder to me that I still have lot of years in front of me. I forget it too much !

In about three years and making about $80 dollars a month from royalty free sites. I have 100 cues (including cut downs) in a exclusive sync library that’s beings in $15 a quarter if I’m lucky. It’s tough, and feeling like I’m just unlucky or really not understanding what I’m doing wrong.

Brilliant video. I so needed to hear this. Very inspirational. Thank You!

you don't miss lol thanks for this! it sucks being broke and making music, plus being rejected but STILL going! Thanks again man

Did you have a savings before you left the coffee shop? Like maybe a few months of living or a years worth of living expenses worth?

Hey now let's not talk about the hair, like ever again lol ;) :) good video :)

I have literally hit cross roads in my career rnow there are two ways for me to go 1. corporate job 2. music it is a very very tough decision tbh but this video really helped to gather the courage.

Thank you for making this video Steve, it is indeed really inspiring! Thanks to the Production Music Academy I've been learning a lot about music licensing and taking this more seriously! I've got a couple rejections on the way but I'm not sopping

I love your approach to the music industry and is a great example for myself who is just starting out, I quit my job at the supermarket and I'm making music from my bedroom as a freelancer and I want to get into sync too, Thanks for the videos they're a tremendous resource

Thanks for sharing your journey. I really needed to hear this today!

Nice video! I sit on my bed and my laptop is there on a folding table, that's how I am set up.
I am really looking up to do music full-time

And yeah, I can reinforce that joining a community really helps!

Thank you for sharing your experience! I'd say the most difficult part at the early stage of music career is waking up, working whole day on music and seeing no or very less results and lots of rejections. And also misunderstanding that comes from friends/relatives, who keep on asking what are you doing with your life...