Should You Quit Music?

I've quit music five times. And I'm so glad I did.

Each time I walked away, I came back stronger with a better plan. Each time I thought I was giving up, I was actually just pivoting toward something that served me better.

So if you're reading this while staring at the ceiling at 2am wondering if you should finally throw in the towel, let me tell you something important:

Quitting isn't failure. It's evolution.

The question isn't "should I give up on music?" The real question is: "Is THIS path serving me, or do I need to find a different way?"

Because here's what nobody tells you about the music industry: survival and happiness rarely coexist peacefully. And sometimes the bravest thing you can do is admit that what you're doing isn't working—and change course.

The Two Struggles Nobody Talks About

There are two major concerns when it comes to pursuing music, and I've risked both:

1. Survival
2. Happiness

In the beginning, I hit rock bottom pursuing music. I was broke. Desperate. The competitive, snake-filled nature of the industry chewed me up and spit me out.

I had to exit the world of writing for major artists as a Sony songwriter. It was hell, and I made no money doing it.

But then I found ways to make money with my voice—demo singing, session work, licensing. And as someone who had been struggling to feed herself, that glimpse of earning with music was VERY shiny.

I went so hard at it. I was relentless. Like I'd found my golden ticket.

I thought I was on my way to being happy as well.

But after a while, working for other people all the time, singing what they told me to sing, I started feeling the passion get sucked out of me.

It was draining. Wearing.

Now I had money, but it felt like I'd fallen into a different kind of trap.

"Do what you love," they say. But when your survival depends on the thing that was your passion, passion takes the backseat to survival and you take any job you can get.

My 5 Quits (And What Each One Taught Me)

Let me walk you through each time I quit music, why I did it, and what happened next.

QUIT #1: Performing on Stage

I had stage fright. Bad stage fright.

I'd forget my own lyrics. I danced awkwardly. If I sang even slightly pitchy, I'd be mortified. The adrenaline was too intense.

Everyone told me I just needed to be braver. That "real" singers perform. That if I loved music, I should love the stage.

But I didn't. I hated it.

For a long time, I thought that meant something was wrong with me. That I wasn't brave enough. That I didn't love music as much as I thought I did.

Then one day I asked myself: "Are you telling me this is supposed to make you happy?"

No. Absolutely not. It was time to pivot.

What I learned: Singing made me happy. The stage did not. So the question became: "If singing makes you happy but the stage does not, how can you achieve your goals without the stage?"

The idea floodgates opened.

Today I have over 20 revenue streams—all from the comfort and privacy of my home studio. No stage required.

The pivot wasn't an admission of failure. It was a business move.

QUIT #2: The Sony Publishing Deal

Getting signed to Sony ATV as a songwriter felt like I'd made it.

Finally, validation. Finally, the dream.

Except it became a nightmare.

I was writing for huge artists—Rihanna, Beyoncé—and making zero dollars. The advance ran out fast. I was broke again.

The management company was toxic. My career was going nowhere.

And the worst part? Having all my publishing owned by this mega company meant I couldn't work with sync licensing agencies. I couldn't explore other revenue streams. I was locked in.

I read my contract a hundred times. Then I walked into a meeting and negotiated myself out of my deal.

What I learned: The "dream" scenario isn't always the right scenario. Getting signed isn't the end goal—building a sustainable, fulfilling career is.

That new freedom was perfectly timed with my lightbulb moment: a friend hired me to record vocals for $250. After 9 years of making music and making nothing, that one transaction changed everything.

I finally saw a clear path to making money practically and sustainably.

QUIT #3: The Hustle (When Passion Became a Job)

Once I discovered I could make money singing, I went ALL IN.

Demo singing. Session work. Custom songwriting. Acapellas. Sample packs. I was a machine.

I made six figures. I quit my waitressing job. I bought a house.

But somewhere along the way, I stopped writing and recording as a form of expression. It became only about revenue.

One day I found myself saying, "I don't feel like singing today."

Actually, worse: "Do I even feel like singing anymore?"

I couldn't even say it with conviction because I knew I'd never stop singing. But the truth was, after recording 2-4 songs a day for years for clients telling me what to sing, I started to feel like this was just the utilization of a skill and my passion was growing thin.

When you tell someone your big goal is "freedom with your time," there are sub-reasons:

• So I can get back to my passion
• So I can spend time with family and friends
• So I can experience the world
• So I can handle difficult things life brings

I realized my solution was residual income. Passive income. Income that didn't require me to sing on command every single day.

What I learned: Making money with music is amazing. But if the way you're making money is killing your love for music, you need to pivot.

I set boundaries around my creativity. I made sure I took time to write music for ME. I looked for sneaky ways to feel creatively expressed through the work I was getting paid for.

Sometimes clients would hire me for songwriting in a genre I liked, wouldn't tell me what to write about, and I'd get to have fun. But mostly, it was songs I didn't feel connected to.

QUIT #4: Teaching (When I Needed a Break from Music)

At some point, I really lost all the luster. I genuinely didn't feel like singing anymore.

So I pivoted. I started teaching Pro Tools classes to give my songwriter brain a rest from working for other people.

I made social media content for a living, and slowly the music started creeping back in—because I got to make whatever music I wanted for the content.

What I learned: Sometimes you don't quit music forever. You just need a break to remember why you loved it in the first place.

The music found its way back to the forefront of my mind. But now the goal had evolved: Figure out how to make as much money as possible so I can stop answering to people, buy my time back, and make music for fun again.

QUIT #5: Music as My Primary Focus (The Plugin Pivot)

This is where I am now.

I've found my parallel. A way to surround myself with music while not letting the survival aspect suck the life out of the passion.

I'm launching KIMERA AUDIO—a plugin company.

Technically, it's not even music. It's software development. But it's in the same sphere.

I get to make money doing something I genuinely enjoy (building tools, solving problems, creating products), while reserving my passion for myself.

What I learned: You don't have to do music DIRECTLY to have a fulfilling career in the music world. Sometimes the best move is finding an adjacent path that feeds your soul without draining it.

The Framework: How to Know If You Should Quit

Okay, so you're sitting here wondering: "Is it time for me to quit?"

Here's how to actually think through this decision.

Ask yourself these three questions:

1. Is this making me miserable, or is it just hard?

There's a difference.

Hard is: "I'm struggling to book gigs, but I love performing and I'm going to keep improving."

Miserable is: "I hate performing. It makes me anxious. I dread every show. But I feel like I HAVE to do it to be a 'real' musician."

Hard is temporary. Miserable is a signal.

For me, performing on stage was miserable. Demo singing was hard at first, but I loved it.

2. Is there a different path to the same goal?

I wanted a music career. I thought that meant performing on stage.

Turns out, there are 20+ ways to have a music career without ever stepping on a stage.

If your GOAL is "make a living with music" but your CURRENT PATH is "become a touring artist" and you hate touring... there are other paths.

Don't give up on the goal. Pivot the path.

3. What would pivoting actually look like?

Get specific.

"I hate performing live" → "What if I focused on session singing, sync licensing, and building an online presence instead?"

"I'm burnt out on demo work" → "What if I taught vocal production or built tools for other singers?"

"I'm broke pursuing original artistry" → "What if I made money with commercial work and used that to fund my passion projects?"

The pivot doesn't have to be dramatic. It just has to move you toward sustainability and happiness.

When Quitting Is the WRONG Call

Here's the thing though: not every hard moment is a signal to quit.

I've counted how many times I quit music. There are 5 significant low points I remember.

But obviously, I learned—some of us are just not allowed to quit music. It always comes back in some way.

Maybe you're still on hiatus. Maybe you're still in an "I quit" phase. But the shift will come.

Maybe you feel it coming now. Some song is going to play, or someone is going to say the thing you need to hear, or some synchronicity is going to happen and it'll jolt you back.

For me, it was discovering "Synesthesia P. III" by Jack Garratt.

The Universe put this song in my path. One day I'm just driving down Coldwater Canyon, and that drop was so powerful it brought instant tears.

All it was, was the feeling of: "Oh my god, this is so good. I love music. I can love music again."

You can't quit something you love.

So how do you know if you should actually quit or if you're just in a rough patch?

Here's the difference:

If the thought of NEVER making music again makes you feel:

• Relieved → You might need a real break or pivot
• Devastated → You're just burnt out on your current path, not music itself

If you're quitting because:

• You're scared of failure → Don't quit, pivot
• You're comparing yourself to others → Don't quit, refocus
• Someone told you you're not good enough → DEFINITELY don't quit
• You genuinely don't love it anymore → Pivot or take a break

The bottom line: If you still love music but you hate your current path, that's not a reason to quit music. That's a reason to find a better path.

Permission to Pivot (And Encouragement to Keep Going)

If you're reading this and you feel like you're failing because you're considering quitting, let me give you permission right now:

The pivot is a business move. Not an admission of failure.

I quit performing on stage. Best decision I ever made.

I quit my Sony deal. Opened up every door I needed.

I quit the relentless demo grind when it was draining my passion. Found better balance.

I quit teaching to get back into music. Then quit music as my PRIMARY focus to build plugins.

Each quit was strategic. Each quit made my life better.

If something is making you truly unhappy—not just challenging, but genuinely miserable—changing course isn't weakness. It's wisdom.

You're allowed to:

• Quit performing and focus on recording
• Quit chasing a record deal and build an independent career
• Quit original artistry for a while and make commercial music that pays
• Quit music temporarily to recharge and come back later
• Quit your current path and find an adjacent one that serves you better

What you're NOT allowed to do: Quit something you love just because it's hard or because someone told you you're not good enough.

My Honest Take: This Is Just My Story

Maybe your story is different. Maybe you don't relate to any of this.

But maybe you do. Maybe you're in that place right now where survival and happiness feel impossible to balance.

Maybe you're making money but losing your passion.

Maybe you're following your passion but broke and desperate.

Maybe you're trying to do what you "should" do (perform, tour, chase the deal) when what you actually want is something entirely different.

Here's what I want you to know:

There's no one right path. There's only YOUR path.

And your path is allowed to change. To evolve. To pivot.

I'm honestly so happy to be launching KIMERA AUDIO because technically it's not even music—it's software development. But it's in the same sphere.

I get to make money doing something I enjoy, while reserving my passion for myself.

That's my solution. Yours might look completely different.

But if this helps you think things through, if this gives you permission to consider a pivot, if this makes you feel less alone in the struggle—then I'm glad I shared it.

So, Should You Quit Music?

Maybe.

But probably not music itself. Probably just the path you're on right now.

Ask yourself:

• Is this making me miserable or just hard?
• Is there a different way to reach my goal?
• What would a pivot actually look like?

And remember: You can't quit something you love. It always finds its way back.

The question is: what version of a music career will make you happy AND sustainable?

Go find that. Build that.

And if you need to quit 5 times along the way to figure it out? That's okay.

I did.