This essay was written by Shreya Delaya originally for the purpose of promoting a music collaborative group she is involved in. I found the advice right on point in my own experiences.
I am VERY PROUD to have the opportunity to collaborate with some absolutely AMAZING talent in SL. Royal Shippe, Diiar Vader Shippe, BabyPea VonPhoenix, Webb Sass and so many others who are so willing to share their own experience in order to raise the bar of the dance community in general.
In your journey, ALWAYS beware of people who try to tell you that the only way to be ‘real’ is to do everything entirely on their own. Aside from being dead wrong, they are usually speaking from bitter jealousy and envy and who needs that crap in their lives?
Why Collaboration Is The Way to Grow As An Artist
Let’s face it. It’s not easy to become known and popular as an artist even if you are great with your skills.
In the times when we are competing to get noticed by people who have limited attention spans and are receiving information from a dozen of sources already, it can become a draining process to make them understand your art, to make them connect with it and appreciate it.
And if you start focusing too much on building your following, you might end up having limited time, energy and motivation left to do what you really love and set out do — making art.
So what if there was a way to build your following and your network while doing what you love?
Collaborating with fellow artists to create exceptional works of art is one of the best ways to do it and here are the reasons why collaborating is one of the best ways to grow.
Collaboration is the best way to get in front of the audience that is most likely to connect with you.
Performing with an artist who shares similar styles and connects on similar themes is an experience that will make you grow as well grow your audience.
No two artists are alike but if you are able to come up with a beautiful track together to perform or to circulate in their network, there are huge chances that a part of artist’s network will develop an interest in you as well.
Every time you hear about a name or a brand, the name keeps getting registered in your head repeatedly until you build enough curiosity to find out about it.
Collaboration will ensure that people hear about you enough number of times.
If you are creating beautiful works of art, and no one knows about you yet, you will have a difficult time in monetising your skills. But if you are doing live shows with fellow artists in various locations every month, the chances of you and your art getting discovered increases significantly.
When artists work together, they promote each other on their respective organic as well as digital channels which helps them both grow their reach.
Perform with bands and artists that support the causes you relate with. Perform together at fundraisers, perform at events related to social causes that you relate with.
Create art together on themes that are in sync with your personality and your style. This will let people get an idea about your interests and next time there is a similar opportunity, they might end up contacting you for it.
While art is usually an extremely personal process, some of the best works were created when two or more creative talents came together to contribute their skills and create something unprecedented.
Collaborations have been a way to create larger impact, through involving more people and hence pooling in the best of ideas, thoughts and skills.
Contrary to what artists are normally bred to believe — artists aren’t necessarily in competition with one another. Each artist has their strengths and weaknesses. The best people know how to perfect their strengths and look for help in developing those weaknesses. This is where the power of collaboration comes in.
Collaboration is also a great way to stay connected with some of the best people in your industry and grow together with them.
