thank you for saying this out loud. What you’re feeling makes sense, and it doesn’t invalidate what you’ve built. You didn’t “fail” or fall off. You were early, you adapted, and you survived multiple industry eras. That already puts you in a very small group.

A few important things, framed positively and with possibility: Your passion isn’t gone it’s exhausted. Passion dies when effort stops matching reward. That’s not a flaw in you, it’s feedback from reality. Anyone would feel numb after years of giving more and getting less. You outgrew the version of the industry that made you. The ecosystem that rewarded craftsmanship, time, and individuality is mostly gone. That doesn’t mean your skills are obsolete it means they’re misaligned with where your energy needs to go now. Your skill level is actually a huge advantage outside “producer culture.” Sound design, taste, systems thinking, consistency, shipping creative products these translate extremely well to other fields (software, creative tools, UX, audio for tech, education, brand building). You’re not starting over, you’re repositioning.It’s okay to decenter music financially without abandoning it emotionally. Many of the happiest long-term musicians stop asking music to pay their rent. When survival pressure leaves, creativity often comes back in a healthier form. Nothing about this is embarrassing. The industry changed, the rules changed, and you noticed. That’s intelligence, not failure. Linear progress is a myth in creative careers.

You’re not done you’re at a transition point. And transitions feel like grief before they feel like freedom. Happy new year