Artie Mixx

Relevancy - I would expect a variety of expectations among the universe of members. Some of us are hobbyists so, for this group, relevancy may be a meaningless concept. Hobbyists learn at their own pace, have other priorities whether it is family, an unrelated occupation, fear of failure, etc., and may simply strive to improve their skills and appreciation within the confines of these parameters. Hobby composers are relevant, individually, to themselves and possibly a spouse or some circle of friends. Others among us are conservatory-bound or have graduated and are seeking a seat in a prestigious symphony orchestra or chamber group. For them, music of the past is what those organizations tend to play year in, year out. Some members have ambitions to be music teachers, or consider themselves not only composers but also musicians and arrangers and music editors and score supervisors given the difficult realities of making a living in the field, so being a composer for members in this group is just one in a portfolio of several jobs in the music industry. Some members dream of being Spotify gods with millions of streams, or writing the score for the next Jurassic Park sequel. Others are fully engaged in pushing boundaries to establish the next musical genre. Over time, what was relevant to you today may evolve; you may move from one of these groups to another or to several others. If you are excited about what you compose, then you are relevant. Aside from a relative handful of superstars the names of which you learn in Music 101, the rest of us will be completely irrelevant 200 years from now, if not long before, so enjoy what you compose while you are alive.