Why Taking Time Away From Music Doesn't Have to Mean the End of an Artist's Career

There’s a misconception that being a musician is somehow an easy career path to walk, at least compared with people working normal 9-to-5 jobs. 

The idea is that you’re able to swan around in the day, play a gig in the evening, and maybe spend some time jamming and coming up with new song ideas, or sleeping on the tour bus while someone else does all the legwork.

The reality is, of course, the polar opposite, and musicians at every point on the spectrum from local unsigned bands to global superstars have seriously packed schedules and a lot of hard graft to get done each day. 

Physically and mentally, this can lead to burnout, and also explains why so many stars turn to drink and drugs to dull the intensity of it all and escape the adrenaline that floods their system whenever they step on stage. 

So, when an artist decides to take time away from music, it’s imperative for a few reasons.

Dealing with Demons

We like to think the party lifestyle of some stars is part of what makes them so great, but behind every story of excess is the sad truth of the toll it takes on their bodies and relationships. 

For many performers, taking time away from music is literally a life-and-death choice because of addiction issues that threaten to overwhelm them.

We can learn from artists who’ve faced down addiction and come out the other side. 

And it can destigmatize our own approach to recovery, whether that means looking into this clinic for support with alcohol issues or confronting abuse of other recreational drugs.

Finding Inspiration

Another misconception about music is that you can conjure inspiration out of thin air and beat writer’s block with just a little time and effort. 

Again, artists aren’t robots and need time and space to be inspired and get their creative mojo back after long periods of recording and touring.

A few months, or even years, of downtime give performers a chance to open themselves up to the creative threads that might have gotten misplaced. 

So if you really love someone’s work, then allowing them to take a break means it’s more likely they’ll come back bigger and better, with perhaps their best work.

Building Hype

Last of all, time away from music can be a choice that works well from a marketing perspective. 

Rather than allowing audiences to forget about them, artists who step back for a period may actually be able to amplify the hype around their eventual return, and sell a lot more tickets and merch as a result.

Conversely, an artist who never goes away risks being overexposed, and might find their fanbase dwindling because they’re always putting themselves out there. 

It’s a balancing act, as with many things in life, but acknowledging the major upsides of time off in the music business means we can all be a little kinder to the people who make an impact on our collective culture, even if their career is on pause.

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