Low Entropy's Producer Diary: How do you get rich and famous as an artist? Or should you, even?

I've been around for a while now, as you know. Now and then I get mails or messages like "Hey, Low, I'm a new producer and like your music. You are well-known now, but no-one knows my own music yet. How can I share my music, how do I get known, too?"

Well, first, this is quite flattering. As I don't think I am really famous - maybe "semi-famous", or, like I like to say, liminal fame.
Either way, what advice could I give in such cases? To young or new artists?

Well, "back in the day", when I started doing music, in the 1990s, there was not really much worry about fame or making money with music. In fact, it was the opposite. There were underground cultures, scenes, subcultures. And in most of these, people detested musicians that aimed at fame or money.
What did they aim at, instead? Ideals and highly set goals, like rebellion, revolution, societal change, cultural critique... freedom, wisdom, enlightenment, brotherhood, sisterhood, things like that.
This does not mean the cultures always fit that ideal, to the contrary. But the people aimed for it.

So, for example, anti-commercialism was one of such threads that connected cultures. And those that broke the thread, by going for the money thing, got kicked out. Probably not always nice, not always fair. But it happened.

Then there were those who had a more nihilistic or dis-illusioned view of things. They were in it for partying, meeting chicks and / or guys, hanging out, wasting one's youth and / or life, having a good time... trying to have a good time during often very bad times.

and on the third level, and maybe that was the strongest glue / thread, people were in it for the art, the music, the style itself. People who were into rave breaks. or hardcore beats.
or the joy of distorted guitars... well, I guess you get the point by now.

So. There were plenty of motivations to join a scene or a culture. And those who did often became artists themselves. It really went like that.
You know there were people hiding in the bunker or basement club at fridays, having gabber and speedcore parties, you get intrigued by that, you went there, too, you became friends with them, you become friends with the producers, too, you got into gear yourself, you exchanged music, you became interested to play at these parties, you ended up playing at these parties, you got your first records out, and so on.

this was the "path" of the DJs and producers in genres like gabber or acidcore or whatever... in the 90s. A lot of them are really famous now, or "underground famous", and a lot of them never planned it that way.

being an artist or musician was not really a "career path" or something that required a lot of planning and pre-emptive thoughts.

when it came to my own music, after i passed some point, i was really "dragged" into fame.
people knew my music, and asked me to play at their parties too, or release on their label, or people insisted to introduce me to label guys, journalists, promoters... and often tried to resist it, because it felt "too much".

so maybe i worked backwards to becoming "known"...

But, at the end of it, I don't think this has changed. It might seem changed, but it hasnt. Subcultures, music cultures, still work like this, at the root. It's hidden beneath a facade of fake marketing and all that crap.

So, this is my advice to other artists: Follow your ideals. Follow your creativity. Have fun! Follow your passion. And if you are good at that, then it will almost automatically appeal to others, and they will listen to you, and invite them to a party or release your music...

Forgot all the plans about business-style "promotion" or career workflows or all that nonsense.

And this way, you can have it all. You can do something that you like, that you are passionate about, and also share it with lots and lots of people who are into the same thing!