Hey Upstage family! This week we are discussing the difference between your “story” vs. your original music. What is your story?
Your story makes you unique. “Who are you?”
But a more important question to ask as you develop and discover your story is, “why should people care about you?”
This is an important question to ask ourselves. We listen to artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Chappel Roan, or Sabrina Carpenter… and why? They are “talented female artists in their twenties, who write break up and love songs” right? You may even argue that they are popular because they have amazing voices, genius lyrics, or even had a jumpstart to their career from being child actors.These things are true and do likely contribute to their success.
However, it’s not the entire picture. It is not the whole reason we listen to their music, and definitely not why we care about these artists. We care because of how we can connect to them. How we see ourselves in them, and let their story and experiences infuse into ours through their art. Olivia Rodrigo debuted her most successful song with a story of heartbreak and betrayal. We see the singer as a lovesick and revengeful girl...(most young girls have been there before.) In similar fashion, and because of Olivia, Sabrina Carpenter built a narrative around being a woman with a big heart that often gets her in trouble. (That’s all of us, isn’t it? *Sigh.) On the other hand, Chappell Roan has built her story around owning her identity in an unapologetically bold fashion, after growing up in a small, conservative, midwest town. ( A confident spirit we all could use a boost of.)
As fans, we appreciate learning their stories because we can then relate, admire, or support our favorite artists. Stories connect fans to musicians, and therefore connect fans to their music.
Which is more important?
Neither your music or your story are more important than the other. It is important to take time to develop your story, and why people should care about you. Just like it is important to take time to develop your musicianship. Neither should be neglected.
As a final note: Don’t assume your music is all you need to “make it big” or be successful! Yes, your music needs to be good. Yes, you should be investing time into improving your musicianship. But that’s the minimum. On top of that, you will also need to take time developing your story and what makes you unique.
Let the world get to know you and your story!
In other news,
you've been polled!
Here are the results from the question we asked this week:
Comments