winsnotes.

Back in 2019–2020, I made two videos about getting your music heard: one on how to send the demo email, one on skipping the inbox and building relationships instead. This is the follow-up, after five years of living it: which one worked, and why.

Short version: three layers, three completely different clocks. The email you can do tonight. Judgement takes a couple of years. Reputation takes as long as you're doing this. Number one matters least, and everyone obsesses over it. Number three is why I haven't sent a demo email in five years.

How to Submit a Demo (the definitive edition): https://www.patreon.com/winslowxyz/posts/how-to-submit-163819241?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Part 1 — how to send a demo email: https://youtu.be/Vj4QfmUi4q4

Part 2 — skip the inbox, make a friend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEtFnfXTsi8

If you’ve ever asked, “Is this good enough?”, this episode is for you.

It’s not a skill issue. It’s a perspective issue ✌🏿

Feel free to reach out about production mentorship sessions: https://www.patreon.com/winslowxyz

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Listen to winsnotes (audio): https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/winsnotes/

Everything else (tour dates, music, newsletter, Patreon): https://winslowxyz.com

Too late to start producing? Too late to DJ? Too late to pursue anything creative?

That question shows up constantly, from people at 22, 32, 42, and beyond. And in this episode of winsnotes, I break down why "Is it too late?" is the wrong question entirely.

We get into the deadline mentality, how comparison culture applies one clock to wildly different lives, survivorship bias, and what actually keeps people going versus what makes them quit.

The reframe: stop asking if you're late. Start asking if you're moving.

If nobody could ever know how long it took you, would you still do it?

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Everything else (tour dates, music, newsletter, Patreon): ⁠https://linktr.ee/winslowxyz⁠

A DJ gig disaster story with a twist, and the thought process I use to stay calm when the "Stakes iz High"

Everything else (tour dates, music, newsletter, Patreon): https://linktr.ee/winslowxyz

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Chapters:

00:00 What do you do when everything goes wrong?

01:27 The Worst DJ Gig of My Life...

18:44 The Festival Set that went off perfectly

25:32 "Thick Judge Judy" (Atlanta TV Reference)

26:41 Performance Anxiety Strikes Again

29:31 "Here Goes Nothing"

30:39 Anything can happen in a Live setting

32:06 Preparation + Routine = (Self) Control

37:40 See the Routine in Action

38:70 Everyone Makes Mistakes

40:31 Tools to make Performing Easier

44:48 You're not Alone. Everyone goes through it.

46:12 Let me know your story in the comments

47:29 Subscribe. See you when I see you ✌🏿

Forward thinking isn’t a sound, but a mindset. In this episode, I break down the tension between nostalgia and progress in drum & bass, why forward thinking is always relative to the present, and a simple checklist for making music that pushes the language forward without losing its roots.

Everything else (tour dates, music, newsletter, Patreon): ⁠https://linktr.ee/winslowxyz

winsnotes 2.0 starts here. For the last few years, my channel has been a mix of tutorials, plugins, and production talk. Still, offline, I’ve been trying, and somehow succeeding, to build a real life as a working artist: writing records, playing nights, and taking the music seriously. In this episode, I explain what’s changing, why I can’t do both lanes at once, and how I’m using YouTube going forward: work first, conversation second.

Everything else (tour dates, music, newsletter, Patreon): https://linktr.ee/winslowxyz

People want to hear what you have to say. Don't be afraid to speak up.

Buy/Stream/Share Sofa King Six pt. 1: https://sq.lnk.to/SKS006P1

Support me Directly on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/winslowxyz

Subscribe to The Breaking Newsletter: https://winslowxyz.substack.com/

Socials & Music: https://linktr.ee/winslowxyz

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Chapters:

00:00 Subscribe

00:22 Let's chat about...

01:59 Where I am to where I want to be

02:32 My sound = modern dnb w/ a twist of 90s hip-hop & 00s liquid funk

03:52 Adapting my sound to different pockets of Drum & Bass

07:07 I make the kind of music I want to hear

09:36 Ignore imposter syndrome. Send that Demo.

11:36 What're you working on? Discuss in the comments ✌🏿

12:00 Subscribe & see you when I see you

I make the kind of videos I'd want to watch. That's it ✌🏿Buy/Stream/Share Sofa King Six pt. 1: https://sq.lnk.to/SKS006P1Support me Directly on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/winslowxyzSubscribe to The Breaking Newsletter: https://winslowxyz.substack.com/Socials & Music: https://linktr.ee/winslowxyz-Chapters:00:00 Subscribe00:18 Why am I still here?02:27 My first YouTube video vs now03:28 The purpose of this channel07:02 Making fewer videos with more purpose07:24 Leave your thoughts/observations in the comments :)07:54 You should have your own YT channel08:45 I just want to share ideas about music & creativity10:36 Subscribe/like/Patreon/you know the drill ✌🏿-#DrumandBass #USDNB #Winslowxyz

Support the channel and nab some exclusives: https://www.patreon.com/winslowxyz

Subscribe to The Breaking Newsletter: https://winslowxyz.substack.com/

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You have to walk before you can run. If you master the basics first, you'll fully understand what you need and don't need. People dance to songs, not mixdowns.

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Chapters:

00:00 Subscribe

00:25 We're focused on the wrong thing

01:18 Online meta vs real-world

02:26 Sport analogy: Kobe

03:41 Sound source is king

04:07 People dance to good songs, not mixdowns

04:41 What are these fundamentals?

07:16 Sound design get free reign obviously

07:54 The Break vs Calibre debacle

09:49 Comment your thoughts / Outro

10:32 Subscribe / See you next time ✌🏿

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Socials & Music: https://linktr.ee/winslowxyz

Photo Insta: https://www.instagram.com/wxyznotes/

Patreon Gallery: https://www.patreon.com/collection/644357

Website: https://winslowxyz.myportfolio.com/

Substack: https://winslowxyz.substack.com/

Whenever I pack my bag to go on the road for a show, I bring a camera. I don’t always take photos; I may only take one or two, but I always have one with me. It’s a way to preserve memories and moments in time and document this life that 17-year-old me had no idea was coming.

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Chapters:

00:00 intro/subscribe

00:28 keeping a camera in my DJ bag

02:35 what's in my DJ bag?

03:55 i've always loved photography

05:08 influenced by skateboarding

08:21 documenting the rave

10:03 i might have a photo of you :)

10:23 see all these photos on insta & patreon

11:03 eventually I want to make a photobook

12:02 being a DJ with anxiety

14:40 photography and music scratch the same itch

16:11 what's your thing? (comments sections)

18:00 outro/subscribe