Three minute reads for artists and producers
who want to make better records

By Thomas Dulin

Hey Reader, here's this week's Take Three email.

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TAKE ONE: QUICK LINKS

• Drew Small (instagram profile) is a phenomenal follow for artists trying to figure out how to do social media authentically and successfully.
• ​STL Tones have released "Tracer" which allows you to model your own hardware and plugin chains. I tried it. It works.
• Book a one-on-one coaching call with me here. It's fun!

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TAKE TWO: A QUESTION

What is your biggest struggle right now with your career as an artist or a producer?

Fill in the blank: "I could get to where I want to be if only _______"

I'm actually curious. Would you hit reply and let me know?

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TAKE THREE: SOCIAL MEDIA IS AWESOME

Up until about 3 months ago, there was a conversation that took place in my studio at least once a month.

It was about social media.

And it always played out the same way. It was something like this:

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Artist: *hesitantly takes out phone to take a picture* “I guess I should probably post something about this.”

Me: “Ugh, yeah, I’m sorry you have to do that. I hate having to post stuff so I just never do.”

Artist: “I probably don’t post enough either. I always feel sales-y and annoying.”

Me: “Let’s stop making music for a second so we can discuss all the negative things about social media, how bad it is for us as a society, and also how unfortunate it is that our jobs sort of rely on it. That’s a great use of our time.”

Artist: “That sounds so fun, let’s get started.”

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I’m not kidding, I have probably had this conversation a dozen times over the last 2-3 years with various artists and musicians.

From June 2022 to March 2023, over a span of 9 months, I posted a total of 6 times.

But I did something crazy toward the end of March of this year. I just decided to change my mind about it and start posting regularly.

I’m not totally sure what caused me to jump into posting educational thoughts and videos. I think it was almost an experiment at the time. I had the attitude of “this will either A) go really well or B) I’ll learn something.”

But it went even better than I could have imagined.

Since March, I've met so many wonderful people in real life that I wouldn't have otherwise, and I've been asked to work for more clients that I can accept.

The main takeaway I’ve learned is that social media is not for self-promotion.

It’s for telling stories, helping others, and connecting with people. It has the side-effect of promoting your work, but it’s not great for that if that’s all you’re trying to do with it.

Here are some other fun things I’ve learned so far:

• Social media can be fun.
• There are ways to be present on social media without selling anything.
• In fact, there are ways of doing it that make the world a better place.
• Making videos and taking photos is art. It can be a creative outlet.
• Not everything has to be so serious all the time.
• When you’re promoting something, people want to see you win. Help them root for you.
• Teach something, or tell a story, or share something unique. “Pre-save my single” is not a story.
• Pretending to be authentic is not authentic.

I’ve learned firsthand that posting consistently on Instagram can open up your connections to other people in real life.

If you’re an artist, it can bring joy to people and build real community among your fans. For producers, it can establish credibility and help you connect with potential clients you don’t even know.

Take a risk; you will either succeed or learn.

Until next week, happy music making, Reader.

Thomas Dulin Producer / Engineer / Mixer