Millions of people suffer with performance anxiety - and this can be such an annoyance, especially when you're talented at what you do, only to end up getting stage fright and messing up at the worst time. So, I decided I wanted to do a little research on this and give a few steps that you can take to try and overcome this.

If you want your performance to go well, with minimal mistakes, then of course the first step would be to practice and practice until you've aced what you're performing. Turning up unprepared will only make you more nervous.

Make sure to eat a decent meal a couple of hours before the performance so that you have enough energy, aren't hungry, and haven't eaten too close to the time of performance, to avoid bloating. Basically, you want to minimise any issues for yourself at the time, to allow for everything to go smoothly.

...And not vice versa. Avoid any negative thoughts, doubting yourself. If you tell yourself it will go wrong, chances are, it absolutely will. Self-belief and confidence really is the key to this. You need to stay positive and visualise it going well. And if you'd rather shift the focus from yourself entirely, then think about what you are providing the audience.

Practice slow, controlled breathing, and perhaps even meditate before you perform to clear your mind and get yourself in the right headspace.

Similar to controlling your breathing, allow yourself whatever you need to shake out those nerves. Whether that's a brisk walk, jumping, shaking out your hands - whatever it is, make sure to get it out before you go on stage.

Acting natural and confident will help you, as your brain will think that you're doing okay. Smile at the audience, make eye-contact and just allow yourself to settle in to the environment.

These are just a few tips towards keeping your performance anxiety in check, but of course it's a work in progress. It will take time, so try to be patient with it, and kind to yourself. Best of luck! 

Releasing music these days is a complete minefield if you're a small, newish musician wanting to get their music out there. The largest and most popular streaming service out there is Spotify, but is it worth releasing your own music on there?

There are many reasons why you may not want to choose Spotify. Starting with perhaps the largest reason first, being that Spotify doesn't pay well. It doesn't pay artists enough money for the quality music that provides Spotify with streams, and it is well-known that the platform is tailored to suit the larger, commercial artists who get huge amounts of streams, leaving the smaller artists pretty stranded. When the smaller artists actually tend to be some of my favourite.

However, I think you should look at it this way. It IS the largest streaming platform, and, as it is not going to be much of a source of revenue, it should be used as a place to build an audience and market your music. Furthermore, Spotify statistics hold a lot of weight in the music industry. If one of your songs reached a large amount of streams, it probably won't pay you much, but will give you invaluable exposure. Yes, Spotify is brimming with new releases, and it feels impossible to get found, however it is possible with hard work. The most important thing you should do is promote your music on any social media you have. Creating a strong social media presence will help drive traffic to your Spotify, and invite fans to share your work, too. More ways for people to find your needle in the haystack include getting yourself on playlists, no matter how small their following, and asking anyone you know of in the industry to share your work as well.

Another issue is that releasing your music on Spotify will reduce album sales, as it will make it free to stream. This is something to seriously consider because as a small artist, you may not want to take this pay cut, but I personally think that it is worth the risk because some people will still buy your album, albeit a smaller percentage of them, but if you manage to build your fanbase on Spotify, that will increase the amount of people buying your album.

Overall, I think that Spotify is where you want to be focusing your energy in terms of distributing your music because this is where everyone is at. No matter if you're not making much money right now, if you want to build a reputation and an audience, try here. It's going to be difficult, it's going to be slow, but I'd say it's worth it. If not for any financial benefit, but just to be able to have your music out there on one of the biggest streaming services! It's satisfying and rewarding, and hopefully with time, and more releases, you'll gain some traffic.