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By entering my details, I agree I will be added to a mailing list where I will receive regular emails to help me finish more music from Make Music Your Life. Privacy Policy
By November 2022, my music was in the TOILET.
That daily grind called "LIFE" was riding roughshod over my hopes and dreams for my music.
I could go on, but I'll bet you're in a similar boat.
No matter how much you WANT to make progress on your music...
No matter how often you carve out the time for your music...
No matter how many times you attempt to focus on your musical ambitions...
If you're anything like me, the number of times you've been knocked off has made you wonder if this music thing is just a dream that's best consigned to the dustbin.
Wouldn't putting it aside and forgetting about it be much simpler?
Maybe it would!
But before you make a decision like that, doesn't it make sense to do everything in your power to find out?
Because here's the thing:
A host of not-so-hidden forces are stacked against you reaching your music goals.
Take the tasks in your life that involve other people, e.g.
What will happen if you don't do them? Maybe...
An immediate nightmare?
An unpleasant conversation?
A soon-to-be crisis?
Now focus on what will happen immediately if you don't progress your music:
Not much?
If you don't complete this song - the short-term pain is minimal...
A shrug of the shoulders.
A jolt of frustration (again).
A little sleep lost here and there.
But here's what I know from bitter experience...
The long-term pain will be UTTER AGONY.
It doesn't seem crucial because no one else expects or asks you for it. But there is someone way more important than anyone else to consider:
Suppose you don't move forward with your personal goals and dreams. The frustration, disappointment and annoyance build into a raging inferno of self-hatred.
If you're anything like me, you'll act this out in misdirected anger, envy and criticism.
(If you think I'm overhyping this - maybe this hasn't happened to you yet. Or maybe you don't want to be an artist; this is a pleasant hobby. Which is great - no problem there!)
But if in the depths of your soul, you know you HAVE to get somewhere with your music, then know this:
At any given moment, it might seem your music isn't essential.
This is "life" giving you all the wrong messages...
There's no deadline...
Little immediate downside today...
BUT crushing pain tomorrow.
And if I'd not discovered what I'm about to share with you, I'm sure I'd be feeling the weight building and building.
But I'm not...because I finally found the solution:
Now, I'm making more progress on my music than when I was a full-time artist!
And to be honest, I discovered the solution accidentally.
In November 2022, I decided to make an album because when I looked at my music career so far, I'd always made much faster progress through making albums.
Then, because I was sharing my progress on a podcast, I noticed quite a few others decided to make albums in 2023.
So I decided to help them while making my own album...and the Make an Album With Mike program was born!
I didn't know I'd accidentally put together all the pieces you need to make the kind of music you CAN'T WAIT to share with everyone...
How? SIX simple steps...
Uncertainty is a FEATURE (not a bug) of the creative process.
But your brain can't stand uncertainty!
This is one of the reasons we avoid making music in our stressful lives.
If you're uncertain about what you're doing, you'll look for anything to reduce that uncertainty.
But the clarity of "10 tracks" (the length of all my albums) creates certainty.
As you get closer to completing your specific number, your motivation goes through the roof!
In 2006, my Playtime label and club night partner told me to make an album.
It was my first ever called "Smorgasbord".
He also booked a mastering studio and a launch party at the Ministry of Sound on the same day.
This day was also...
WAY TOO EARLY FOR ME TO FINISH IT!
But somehow (with a few sleepless nights) I got "Smorgasbord" done.
I mastered the album and played the launch party with zero sleep. It did well, got good press, and I got a bunch of gigs for over a year off it.
Contrast this to 2007, when I signed to Om Records in San Francisco to make my 2nd album, "Songs Without Words".
This time, no deadline.
What took under 8 weeks for Smorgasbord took over 8 months for Songs Without Words.
And the product was WORSE for it.
No matter how long you give yourself, you will run out of time!
Set a challenging deadline. That way, you'll run out of time sooner rather than later.
(And the music will likely be better for it.)
But I did have weekly milestones.
By 2010, I was experimenting with alternative releasing methods.
So, I made one track every week for 10 weeks and put it up on Bandcamp. I also wrote a blog post each week about making every track.
It was imaginatively called "10 Tracks 10 weeks".
No label.
No external "boss".
No one telling me what to do.
When I make albums now, I set a milestone each month. I challenge myself to complete a separate stage of the creative process...
For my next (8th) album - these are the dates:
Dec 12 - Jan 9: Preparation
Jan 10 - Feb 6: Idea Generation
Feb 7 - Mar 6: Execution
Mar 7 - Apr 4: Presentation
These short-term challenges are easy for you to focus on and help you stay on course in a long-term project.
You can't be sure of external results.
You can't control what other people think or how your music is received.
But you could find compelling reasons you can control.
In 2018, I returned to making music after an 8-year break. I made my fourth album, "The Begin," to demonstrate the Music Machine system.
This was a compelling reason I could control.
In the albums I'm making this year, I have three compelling reasons:
Of course, I might not do these in one album.
But all are compelling and depend on what I do - not what someone else thinks or does.
In other words, all are within my control.
I don't know about you, but I've consistently failed to meet my internal personal deadlines.
But I coach A-list artists, and I noticed the only consistent difference between them and most aspiring artists I help is this:
Other people are involved in them hitting their project deadlines.
Human beings (who aren't their Mum) expect them to finish their single, E.P. or album on time.
Making music for clients creates this condition.
Making music for a label also creates this condition.
But if you don't have either, you MUST enlist other people.
You can't just mention it to close family and friends.
(That doesn't work. I tried it.)
What does work is enlisting people who AREN'T your nearest and dearest. For example...
I've enlisted "other people who aren't my mum" (i.e. you) to replace a label, a client or a boss.
The music-making system I've developed through a 30-year career making music and 12 years of coaching has always been a game-changer.
It simplifies the creative process into clear stages anyone can follow. It works no matter what genre you make or the gear you use...
But the Music Machine comes into its own when finishing albums (which can be an overwhelming task).
It transforms the album creation process from an impossible mountain to climb to a fun and fascinating journey of discovery.
This is how to complete a quality album you're proud to release in 3 months without getting stuck, overwhelmed or putting your entire life on hold:
But instead of telling you how it works...why don't I go ahead and show you in:
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Through finishing 7 albums and helping a bunch of artists finish theirs, here's what I've found:
Milestones are crucial.
Deadlines are essential.
A group makes hitting both possible!
So I'm working closely with a small group of musicians and producers to complete our albums over the next 3 months.
Whether you're making a release-ready album or a collection of 10-12 individual songs/tracks...
This "Make an Album With Mike" (MAWM) group is your chance to get my help and support to complete a load high-quality music.
Here are the 4 phases of making an album:
On Dec 12 (13th for Aus/NZ) we will meet for our "Preparation Session". Here I'll show you precisely how to get ready over the festive season without overwhelm!
This phase is light on commitment and time.
You'll experiment to gain clarity on your musical direction.
And I'll help you organise and arrange your life outside the studio.
This will set you up so that even with work, family, friends and life - you can laser-focus on making the best possible album.
Extreme quantity is the best method to create high-quality songs that work together.
So we'll turbocharge your idea generation to discover what your album could become.
(I can't wait to see your "amazed" face when this happens!) 🤓
First, you'll say "no" to most of the ideas you've made so you can focus on those which resonate.
You'll still work on more than ends up on the final album, so you won't have to force ANYTHING.
By focusing on the best, building draft arrangements that "just work" is a breeze.
By now, some songs will be "musts".
Others will be "possibles".
Starting with the "musts", we'll go deep into solving the problems in your album tracks.
Together we'll iron out the issues between you and that album you can be proud of!
"Make Music Your Life does not disappoint! Keeps me in my highest creative vibe and flow, that magical place where the best ideas come from, while grounding me in the practical, detailed, daily activity that moves me to releasing music."
"I can wholeheartedly say that it has been the best thing that has ever happened to my music making. Like many people, I struggle to finish tracks and noodle around with the same few tracks for years. Since starting the MAWM course 3 months ago, I finished 16 tracks (with loads more in the pipeline), the quality of my tracks has gone up massively and I developed a unique style to my music. I signed straight back up for MAWM again and I recommend any aspiring music maker to do the same."
“I have been working with Mike and his team for some years now and can honestly say that he is alway's striving to improve his programs. Bravo, have learned so much but more than that I have discovered and grown as a person while having more fun than ever making music!”
Every Thursday (Friday if you're Aus/NZ), we will meet for 2 hours. We'll alternate between:
a. Thoughtnado Sessions (bi-weekly from Jan 9 - or 10 for Aus/NZ)
"Thoughtnados" are my thinking tools designed to deliver deep insight into your music. Thinking like this increases the quality of your music AND removes wasted hours of frustration.
b. Studio Hours (bi-weekly from Jan 16 - or 17 for Aus/NZ)
I will help you solve your inevitable problems in making your album.
Bring music for feedback.
Or a problem you're stuck on.
Together we'll find a breakthrough.
NOTE: to keep it simple, ALL SESSIONS start at the same time - 2pm EST (New York)*
PLUS: All sessions are recorded. So if you can't make it, you won't miss a thing.
Either attend the "Make Music With Mike" sessions live on Zoom - or join the recorded replays.
During the sessions, you'll make your music with others making theirs.
This is "Solo Collaboration" - a weekly lightning bolt of motivation and clarity.
2.5 hours of focused music-making feels like 2.5 minutes!
I'll give you step-by-step music games to unlock your creativity. I will design them bespoke for the needs/wants of the album team at every phase.
These sessions start at 2pm on Jan 12th - Jan 13th for Aus/NZ, then weekly until Mar 30th - or 31st for Aus/NZ.
Plus - after the MAWM program is finishes on April 4th, you’ll get lifetime access to the ongoing "Make Music With Mike" sessions.
This means that even if "LIFE" hits you hard over the next 3 months and you get behind - you can still finish your album on YOUR amended deadline!
(NOTE: All sessions are recorded if this doesn't work with your schedule. So you can do them when you want.)
You'll also join a private MAWM-only area of the Make Music Your Life Tribe.
Between sessions, you can ask questions, support others, and share your progress with your community and coaches.
Making music is a SKILL.
The more you practice, the better you get at making music.
We know that intuitively.
But if you spend MOST of your time in the studio, struggling to finish ideas, spending all of your time polishing, editing and tweaking...
Guess what you get good at?
Polishing, editing and tweaking!
First and foremost, great music comes from great musical ideas.
By putting the PROCESS first (practising your ability to make great musical ideas), you'll get the RESULTS (finishing more quality music).
You can't do that if you spend all your time trying to "finish" every idea you've latched onto.
98% of musicians I've coached don't make nearly as much music as they could or the quality they could.
Here's why:
They're trying to finish tracks that aren't worthy of finishing!
If you spend hours, days, weeks or months on ONE particular idea, you get emotionally invested in it - no matter how good or bad it is!
This creates the perfect conditions where it's almost impossible to finish anything.
Not only is the musical idea not strong enough... but because you're so attached to it (and you don't want to ruin/lose it)... what the piece of music "already is" has been "set" in your mind.
You can't finish it because you're too attached to what it ALREADY IS.
And because you can't finish it, you can't finish anything else either. In the worst cases, you don't even start anything else!
The Idea Explosion Challenge allows you to BREAK this cycle.
You'll create an abundance of ideas to choose from. You don't get overly attached to any track.
And because you know you can always create MORE, ever-better ideas, you're less worried about "ruining" any of them.
Taking this carefree approach, you can choose the best ideas to take forward... and you'll finish much better music in a lot less time.
Click the arrow or swipe right to view more
MAWM is focused on making the album, so you'll have it done by April 4th.
But in this final session on April 4th, after celebrating our success, we'll focus on releasing and promoting your album to maximise exposure.
Making music is a SKILL.
The more you practice, the better you get at making music.
We know that intuitively.
But if you spend MOST of your time in the studio, struggling to finish ideas, spending all of your time polishing, editing and tweaking...
Guess what you get good at?
Polishing, editing and tweaking!
First and foremost, great music comes from great musical ideas.
By putting the PROCESS first (practising your ability to make great musical ideas), you'll get the RESULTS (finishing more quality music).
You can't do that if you spend all your time trying to "finish" every idea you've latched onto.
98% of musicians I've coached don't make nearly as much music as they could or the quality they could.
Here's why:
They're trying to finish tracks that aren't worthy of finishing!
If you spend hours, days, weeks or months on ONE particular idea, you get emotionally invested in it - no matter how good or bad it is!
This creates the perfect conditions where it's almost impossible to finish anything.
Not only is the musical idea not strong enough... but because you're so attached to it (and you don't want to ruin/lose it)... what the piece of music "already is" has been "set" in your mind.
You can't finish it because you're too attached to what it ALREADY IS.
And because you can't finish it, you can't finish anything else either. In the worst cases, you don't even start anything else!
The Idea Explosion Challenge allows you to BREAK this cycle.
You'll create an abundance of ideas to choose from. You don't get overly attached to any track.
And because you know you can always create MORE, ever-better ideas, you're less worried about "ruining" any of them.
Taking this carefree approach, you can choose the best ideas to take forward... and you'll finish much better music in a lot less time.
Click the arrow or swipe right to view more
"There is a very effective practical and from experience approach to coaching music makers. You can tell Mike has traversed all the pitfalls that arise for music makers. The solutions make so much sense and are so simple you almost wonder how you never thought of it.
MMYL has gotten me to look at my songs and the whole process in a way I never would have without them. New perspectives that get me unstuck and in action on my goals. Definitely a game changer."
"Amazingly valuable creative training. Mike Monday’s coaching has hugely increased my productivity and enjoyment of being a composer. In particular, bringing more awareness to the importance of mind state/psychology in the creative process has unlocked many doors that technical training and hard work couldn’t open alone. This has made making music a more free flowing and fun experience. I would highly recommend!"
"Truly helpful, insightful coaching that empowers you to discover your OWN personal directions and answers within music - makes making music FUN again!!!! I’m on the Make An Album With Mike course - very well structured and both Mike and the coaches are generous with their time. Feels good to make music in a team when it comes to motivation, organisation and inspiration, even though your musical direction is entirely yours. Highly recommend to anyone interested in making music"
Making music is a SKILL.
The more you practice, the better you get at making music.
We know that intuitively.
But if you spend MOST of your time in the studio, struggling to finish ideas, spending all of your time polishing, editing and tweaking...
Guess what you get good at?
Polishing, editing and tweaking!
First and foremost, great music comes from great musical ideas.
By putting the PROCESS first (practising your ability to make great musical ideas), you'll get the RESULTS (finishing more quality music).
You can't do that if you spend all your time trying to "finish" every idea you've latched onto.
98% of musicians I've coached don't make nearly as much music as they could or the quality they could.
Here's why:
They're trying to finish tracks that aren't worthy of finishing!
If you spend hours, days, weeks or months on ONE particular idea, you get emotionally invested in it - no matter how good or bad it is!
This creates the perfect conditions where it's almost impossible to finish anything.
Not only is the musical idea not strong enough... but because you're so attached to it (and you don't want to ruin/lose it)... what the piece of music "already is" has been "set" in your mind.
You can't finish it because you're too attached to what it ALREADY IS.
And because you can't finish it, you can't finish anything else either. In the worst cases, you don't even start anything else!
The Idea Explosion Challenge allows you to BREAK this cycle.
You'll create an abundance of ideas to choose from. You don't get overly attached to any track.
And because you know you can always create MORE, ever-better ideas, you're less worried about "ruining" any of them.
Taking this carefree approach, you can choose the best ideas to take forward... and you'll finish much better music in a lot less time.
Click the arrow or swipe right to view more
I've run MAWM a total of seven times now and learnt from all the groups. So I can't wait to share my improved methods to make an album with you.
When you add the ongoing motivation of making our albums together as a team?
I KNOW this will be an extraordinary experience.
My aim in 2025 is to make 3 albums and run 3 MAWM groups. But as this is dependent on me making albums - I don’t know if I’ll be done for a while after this one.
If you've take any of my past programs - Start Now Finish Fast, The Leap, Mastery, Magic Music Machine etc. - you'll know I DO take programs off the market.
Not running a program again for a while (or possibly ever) is nothing new. I love to do new stuff! 🤓
So to be 100% transparent, I can’t guarantee there will be another Make an Album With Mike after this one.
This means I might not run this program again for a while (or possibly ever), so this could be your last opportunity to make your album with my help.
Click the arrow or swipe right to view more
Making music is a SKILL.
The more you practice, the better you get at making music.
We know that intuitively.
But if you spend MOST of your time in the studio, struggling to finish ideas, spending all of your time polishing, editing and tweaking...
Guess what you get good at?
Polishing, editing and tweaking!
First and foremost, great music comes from great musical ideas.
By putting the PROCESS first (practising your ability to make great musical ideas), you'll get the RESULTS (finishing more quality music).
You can't do that if you spend all your time trying to "finish" every idea you've latched onto.
98% of musicians I've coached don't make nearly as much music as they could or the quality they could.
Here's why:
They're trying to finish tracks that aren't worthy of finishing!
If you spend hours, days, weeks or months on ONE particular idea, you get emotionally invested in it - no matter how good or bad it is!
This creates the perfect conditions where it's almost impossible to finish anything.
Not only is the musical idea not strong enough... but because you're so attached to it (and you don't want to ruin/lose it)... what the piece of music "already is" has been "set" in your mind.
You can't finish it because you're too attached to what it ALREADY IS.
And because you can't finish it, you can't finish anything else either. In the worst cases, you don't even start anything else!
The Idea Explosion Challenge allows you to BREAK this cycle.
You'll create an abundance of ideas to choose from. You don't get overly attached to any track.
And because you know you can always create MORE, ever-better ideas, you're less worried about "ruining" any of them.
Taking this carefree approach, you can choose the best ideas to take forward... and you'll finish much better music in a lot less time.
Click the arrow or swipe right to view more
A real game changer! As a music producer and DJ, signing up to Mike Mondays programs has by far been the best move I could have made for my career. His programs are inspirational, motivational and help you to see things in ways you probably haven't previously. The main point is you GET RESULTS! Thanks to Make Music Your Life, I have now started making music that sounds great and releasing it.
With utmost love and respect: "Mike Monday is a MADMAN!!" That's how it felt when I dropped in to the first session. After six months, my stance on making music has changed fundamentally. This is no music making course. I learned about the creative process, about myself, and slowly but surely cleared roadblocks that have been between me and my music since forever. The first "Make an album with Mike" was a blast.
Many spend a ton of time thinking about how they could/should make music or write an album. Mike created a framework to help you get your music done and get an album done. They masterfully teach and coach a set of methods that help you through the creative process and the blocks that will come up. You'll get more stuff done than you probably have ever before. In the Make an Album with Mike group, I created a 9 song Album in 3 months. If you have that desire to express yourself thought music and get it into the world, Do this!
I've just completed the album course... 3 months.. the tracks on the album are probably the best tracks I have made and sound like "me". You WILL improve how you make music/gain new insights and new ways to approach your process that will help you make better music in less time. Mike seems to have a superpower to ask you questions you've never thought about before, resulting in new perspectives/growth/problem resolution. Highly recommended.. especially if you feel like you need a kick... you won't regret it.
The Music Machine cured my creative block of seven years. Mister Monday and his team of dedicated coaches are there to help you when you feel you have fallen off the wagon. I cannot mention enough the amazing work the coaches do, with their different personalities and perspectives. You really get a whole team to help you, if you let them.
Bucket list item 78 complete. My experience in Make an album with Mike has been transformative and in just 3 short months I have a 10 track album. Being a mum of two young kids, working and a wife I didn’t think that I could remotely make music a priority let alone write an album in 3 months. Do yourself a favour if you’ve ever wanted to make music, go for it and you’ll be thinking about going into album number two before you know it.
Please send any questions you have by using the help button on the bottom right to start a conversation with me (and the MMYL team).
We're always happy to help!
