The Annual Review (Artist Edition)

Okay, so… a year as an artist is never just what people see from the outside.

Of course there are releases. Shows. Announcements. All the things you can list when someone asks what you did this year. That part is easy to describe.

But that’s not really the year.

There’s also everything else. The tiredness. The moments where you feel relief instead of excitement and you don’t really know why. The doubts that come and go. The feeling that something shifted, even though nothing clearly went wrong.

This is the part I think artists should really look at once a year.

Not to judge it.

Not to panic.

And definitely not to immediately change everything.

Just to acknowledge it.

For me, the first thing I would always do is look at the positive side. And I really mean that.

What actually worked this year?

What did you manage to do, even if at the time it didn’t feel big?

And who helped you along the way?

We forget this so easily. Artists forget it, agents forget it. We just move on to the next thing. But saying thank you matters. Sending a message matters. Giving someone feedback matters. It changes the whole energy of how you look at the year.

Then I would look at the bigger picture of your setup. Your “business”, even if you don’t like calling it that.

How much of what you’re doing is really in your own hands?

How much is shaped by other people?

Who is involved in your creative direction besides the music?

That can be management, labels, visuals, PR, collaborators, or even expectations you slowly took on without noticing.

The question isn’t if this is good or bad.

The question is: does this still feel aligned with what you actually want to express?

I see so many artists constantly looking ahead. Where will I release next? Where will I get booked next? And yes, that’s part of it. But very often it replaces something else.

Are you still developing creatively?

Or are you mostly just walking a path now?

And if you’re not developing right now, is that really a problem? Or is it something you might consciously choose for a while?

Taking time to think, to experiment, to go deeper into your direction is not failure. It’s part of a long-term artistic life. The problem is when you don’t allow yourself that space because you’re afraid of losing momentum.

Another thing I find very important is calling things out early.

If something didn’t work well this year, name it. But try to start from a constructive place, not from frustration. Look at what was good first, then talk about what was difficult. This applies to collaborators, teams, and also to yourself.

And again, say thank you. Give feedback. Even small messages matter more than we think.

This is also why things like Call an Agent or Rent an Agent exist at quietLoud.

Not to manage your career for you.

And not to tell you what to do.

They exist to give space for exactly these kinds of conversations. To talk things through with someone who understands the industry, but isn’t emotionally inside your process. Sometimes clarity doesn’t come from sitting alone and thinking harder. Sometimes it comes from saying things out loud and having someone reflect them back to you.

This review isn’t about making decisions now.

It’s about understanding where you are, how you feel about your work, and what you might want to carry forward or leave behind before the next year pulls you along again.