Oh! How’s it going? Feeling like your contemporaries in music are watching you and copying your style eh? It happens. And believe me I know how perturbing it can feel.
Well you’re at the right place at the right time because that’s what we’re going to talk about today. Not only that! We’re going to go over why it happens and what you can do about it.
On a more important side note; Thanks a million for being here at The Daydream Sound B(L)og. Your presence is much appreciated!
Where It All Began
So back to the topic at hand. If you have a spark of originality to your being. There will come a time when you’ll be noticed by those (who we’ll categorize as) “others”. It mostly likely occurred the moment you decided to display your music/art or simply your unique personality to the world.
Others noticed how different you were. How easily you were able to seemingly “think outside of the box”. You were just being you! And that’s not to say that others weren’t being themselves. It’s just that you had a huge dose of creativity on your side to go with your already amazing personality. And that was easy to spot by all. Especially the others.
The others, by nature spend a lot of their time looking for a way to get what they think they don’t have. They do this in an effort to be on par with the things that they want. And in most cases, it’s artistic parity with the going rate of greatness.
Where Is This All Going I Gotta Know?
What all that means is that others will copy you. But not only you. Those like you as well. They won’t think anything is wrong with this because they haven’t (and probably never) figured out that we’re all different. We have different gifts and advantages in life. And instead of nurturing the advantages that they have. They’ve chosen to focus on their disadvantages.
Continuing on. As you age and go further into your craft. You’ll get to the point when you’ll inevitably notice that the things you do are being copied verbatim. Your musical style is being plagiarized. And to make things worse. Others will then present the styles and concepts that you’ve fashioned as if it’s something that they’ve created themselves. They’ll never give credit to you or even acknowledge your existence. And if you haven’t guessed by now; All of it is deliberate. That’s enough to get you a little annoyed. Believe me I know. And Ghostface does too!
You’re just there working away. Minding your own affairs. And one day you look up and see that others are biting your style. At first you may feel a bit flattered. But soon after you realize that their goal is to take your place. As if that’s even possible. And what about their place? Haven’t they thought about that? What is their place? Do they even know where that is?
The answer is no! They don’t. That’s not what they’re focused on.
So how do you deal with this? Do you pay them a special visit?
Absolutely not!
The way you deal with it is to gain an understanding of what it all means and why you feel the way you do about it all.
What Can I Do?
Whenever people copy you. That’s your warning signal that you need to level up. That’s right. You’ve become comfortable replicating what has worked in the past for you. And while you were enjoying the comforts of your own abode, the others came right up to your doorstep with their knifes and forks ready for a feast.
So stay sharp! Keep yourself far ahead of the pack. It’s too busy and boring back there anyway.
While it's possible that two people can have the same idea at the same time. It's very unlikely that the outcome of that idea will be identical.
You’re Not Off The Hook Just Yet!
There’s more! You didn’t think that you don’t have any faults of your own that would get addressed, here did you?
Yeah you did! You thought I was gonna fire off on everyone else while painting you as the innocent perfect artist with no flaws.
Well you were wrong about that.
Dropping “E”
If you were able to notice that others were biting you. You’ve probably noticed the actions of your contemporaries as well. You know the ones that are doing great! The ones that you wonder how they seem to get further along than you. We’ll refer to them as “the ones”.
Anything they do goes well. Anything they try works! Any thing they create is a success! And as much as you try to be congratulatory towards their achievements. You can’t help but feel a tinge of the “e” word.
What’s the “e” word you ask?
Oh stop it! You know it well.
Envy.
You can’t help it sometimes. I know. It gets the best of us when we least expect it. Here’s the thing. There’s a very good reason for why you’re feeling the way you do. If you get lost in comparing yourself to another artist. You can leave yourself open to envy.
You literally want what they have for yourself.
Followed by wanting to be like them instead of yourself.
Well you simply can’t be like anyone else.
And furthermore. You really shouldn’t spend your time coveting someone’s achievements.
You do know that right?
Of course you do; but it’s hard to accept that when envy is dancing around in your head.
Help Me Out With This One Please!
I’m already on it. So, here’s the solution. When you envy what other people are doing; It’s your personal celestial sign that you should be putting more steam on the things that you want. Better yet you should really stop and think about what it is that you truly want. Often, it’s the very thing that you envy in others.
This is a great response to the feeling of envy. It’s practical and logical. And it feels great to evaluate yourself in this way. When you’re able to resolve your feelings of envy; You’ll be left with an amazing roadmap to guide you to the next level of your artistic journey.
Knowing how to change seemingly negative thoughts into a useful course of action is art in itself.
Truthfully, these thoughts aren’t negative at all. They’re there to help you!
You can do it!
Much appreciated!
TDS
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