The problem with chasing success in the creative industries is that they are so massively over-subscribed. And they get more so year on year. For every opportunity there are millions of candidates. They can be virtually anybody from anywhere. And talent is not much of a prerequisite. In music, professionalism and experience seem to count for little. A track record is nothing like a guarantee of future success. These days a hit can just as easily come from a kid in his bedroom with a computer as any full-flight producer or crafty songwriter.

There’s no doubt that prospects are improved with connections. Knowing people helps a bit. A sheer opportunistic attitude goes some way too. Neither of the latter two are my strong suits as it happens. Nor is being loud-mouthed and over-endowed with plucky confidence both of which seem to score high. With these inadequacies I am somewhere in the bedroom with the snot-nosed kid. At forty-seven years old that’s not such a good place to be. Chances for success and me to be hanging out are not high. The future is bleak.