Starting music production seriously at 24. How would you approach building a sustainable path?
24M from Germany here. I’ve been interested in music since my teens and used to spend months making sample-based songs on GarageBand. Despite always feeling creatively drawn, I ended up studying finance mainly for stability because my traditional family never believed in artistic careers.
Over time I realized I will be extremely unhappy if I don't start believing in myself, so last year I finally started taking music seriously again: got a MIDI keyboard, a DAW, and started learning music theory consistently.
Artists like PinkPantheress also made this path feel more realistic to me because I relate more to the producer-artist side of artistry than the traditional “big vocalist” type. She got me into artist branding and I've been studying how to market yourself and find a niche.
I’ve been exploring what I want my sound, visuals, aesthetics, and overall artistic identity to feel like. A lot of it is inspired by media I was obsessed with growing with a more modern personal twist. I keep genuinely enjoying the creative process of building atmosphere and emotion around the music.
I’m not expecting overnight success, but a few trial TikToks performing better than I expected encouraged me to keep building and improving. I haven’t started posting officially and regularly yet though as I’m still learning all the tools I use.
Right now my focus is mastering my DAW, improving my production skills, and mastering Adobe After Effects to bring my ideas to life to post and build an audience. My long-term goal is to eventually move my artistry beyond social media and into the real world in a sustainable way.
For people who seriously pursued music or artistry later than expected:
How would you approach this stage? What should I focus on early to avoid wasting time or burning out?