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Let’s dive into today’s topic:
How far ahead should artists plan?
More than a year is a dream with deadlines.
Why it matters
Time is an important variable in strategy. Planning too long means scheduling a career that doesn’t exist yet.
I’ve reviewed strategies from artists who planned their careers for the next five years. That’s too far ahead. So much can happen in five years, especially in a gatekept industry where breaking through without a gatekeeper’s approval is almost impossible.
So, how far ahead should debuting and emerging artists plan?
How it works
This is how I advise artists to plan ahead:
One week: To-dos. Structure your projects and what needs to be done this week. Start the week with a to-do list and finish it with a review. With every week, the to-do list becomes more realistic.
One month: OMTM. Pick One Metric That Matters to improve over the next month, such as newsletter subscribers. Strategise how to grow it, then spread the to-dos across the month.
One quarter: Projects. Three months is long enough to finish one bigger project, such as a release campaign, a run of shows, or a collab.
One year: North Star Metric. Where do you see yourself in one year? Pick a goal that’s realistic, yet ambitious. For debuting artists, that could be an opening slot at a festival, a support slot, or 1,000 email subscribers. But feel free to think big.
Yes, but..
One year is a short time in a sustainable career. Still, I believe debuting and emerging artists shouldn’t plan beyond a year. Longer plans distract from what you can achieve in twelve months. They’re ambitions and dreams, not plans.
On the other hand, a year is long. I work with one-year goals because I find it important to have a bigger picture to work towards.
Take action now
Artists can map their next twelve months on one page. Write down one North Star goal for the year, one project per quarter, and this month’s OMTM. Then write this week’s to-do list underneath.
Your thoughts
Further reading
How artists can find the one metric that matters (The Fanbase Builder)
Artists should focus on only two metrics (The Fanbase Builder)
Focus on input, not output (The Fanbase Builder)
Why artists should focus on what they can control (The Fanbase Builder)
Why artists shouldn’t skip steps (The Fanbase Builder)
I like the 3 year horizon as a bucket: everything aspirational that doesn’t fit the next year’s priorities gets pushed to 3 years from now, as a kind of mood board that always changes.
This way it can feel less painful to say no to things, and also provides an opportunity to see which type of aspirations actually never end up becoming a priority.
That’s different from a 3-year plan of course, which may be appropriate in some cases, especially when considering big international tours, long-term record deals etc.