Mark C. Samples

Mark C. Samples | Writer, Musician, Musicologist

 

Learn how to build a lasting creative career in 7 minutes a week.

Many creatives—writers, musicians, artists, filmmakers—face huge struggles in their creative and business lives. Every week, I send out an email with one example or timeless piece of advice to help creators make their best work and thrive.

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How to Live a Fulfilling Life: CWU Music Graduate Commencement Speech, 2025
How to Live a Fulfilling Life: CWU Music Graduate Commencement Speech, 2025

It's graduation season, and in my day job, I teach in the Music Department at Central Washington University. Last night we had a ceremony for the music graduates, and I gave a talk on how to live a fulfilling life. Maybe you need to hear something from this talk as well. Here it is:

How to Live a Fulfilling Life: CWU Music Graduate Commencement Speech, 2025

Dr. Mark Samples

June 9, 2025, 7 p.m.

Welcome to this special evening—to my fellow faculty members, music staff, parents, family, friends, and most of all, the distinguished music graduates of 2025.

It is June 9th, in the year 2025, in the State of Washington, in the city of Ellensburg. On the campus of Central Washington University, in the Jerylin S. McIntyre Music Building, and joined by the virtual presence of all who are with us viewing online, we are gathered in the recital hall to honor and celebrate you, the graduates.

I know what some of you are thinking. You’re looking around at your friends, your loved ones, your professors, and thinking—I should probably be practicing right now.

What Every Indie Artist Can Learn from Taylor Swift’s Masterstroke
What Every Indie Artist Can Learn from Taylor Swift’s Masterstroke

Whatever you think of her music, you have to respect Taylor Swift as a creative professional.

Last week she pulled off something no one thought was possible.

Back in 2005, Swift signed a six-album deal with Big Machine Records when she was just 15. The deal gave the label ownership of the master recordings for all six albums.

When her contract ended in 2018, she walked—signing with Universal instead. And that’s when things got messy.

She wasn’t even given the chance to bid on her own recordings. Big Machine’s founder Scott Borchetta sold the masters to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. Braun then sold them to Shamrock Capital for a reported $300–$405 million.

That’s when Taylor did something no one saw coming.

Instead of rolling over, she got to work.

Be the Most Curious Person in the Room
Be the Most Curious Person in the Room

In the early 1990s, Johnny Cash was a living legend that no one wanted to hear.

The industry had moved on. Nashville had shelved him. Columbia Records had dropped him. Radio wouldn’t play his new music.

To those in the industry, he seemed like a relic.

But Rick Rubin got curious.

Rubin wasn’t a country producer. He had built his reputation on hip-hop and hard rock.

But something in Cash’s voice—a weathered truth—caught his ear. While everyone else asked, “Why bother?” Rubin asked a different question:

Why isn’t anyone listening to Johnny Cash anymore?

 

Hi, I'm Mark.

I'm a writer, a musician, and a professional musicologist.

A lot of creatives struggle to consistently tap into their creative flow. I share ideas that help them get clarity and make a plan, so that they can summon and harness their creative energies. 

I'm on a mission to help artists (writers, musicians, filmmakers, illustrators, graphic designers) gain access to time-tested creative principles and processes to help them make great art, consistently.