there is no reason to copy others when you trust your work.

For full experience we highly recommend going to your music provider and play “Freudian | Daniel Caesar” (link to Spotify!) as you are reading this, promise it’s worth it. Ok back to the topic now!

If you’re reading this, it’s safe to assume you’re a creative and that you care about your craft, so the feeling of being copied shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Copying has existed for a long time, and it can be explained as a human trait or psychological behavior. Of course, some might even say we learn by observing others, so imitation is part of the human experience, almost instinctive even, but art isn’t a matter of life or death, so all these arguments fall short.

Every era has had imitators; from painters and musicians to the Elvis Presley performers on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. Still, some call it influence. People have debated this for ages, and for a reason: influence can shape a creative style, but imitation replaces the originality that audiences expect from an artist.

PRESSURE.

Both external and internal pressure play a big role in shaping a creative’s confidence. When a creative feels stuck, the first thought often is, “I can’t do this” or “I don’t have enough time to make it happen.” The easiest solution becomes looking at what others are doing, which leads down two possible roads:

A) Revisit past work with enough confidence to reinvent it, using it as inspiration.

B) Lose confidence (almost) entirely under pressure, to the point where even reinvention feels impossible, leaving imitation as the only apparent option.

At the same time, social validation acts as another force. It can overshadow personal creative expression, especially when confidence isn’t strong enough to protect the work or push the creator past that barrier.

If you think it ends with just imitating and moving on to the next project, you’ve missed the point.

When a creative imitates, they start losing their own voice. Every time imitation happens, the borders blur, leaving the creator without a distinct style or design ethos. That lack of identity becomes a problem when it’s time to execute a project. Think of a singer without a signature sound, or a designer playing it safe instead of exploring. This can happen in any field, to anyone.

Over time, skills suffer. Audiences notice, and suddenly both sides; the creator and the audience, lose confidence in the work. The creative cycle breaks, and you’re back at square one.

By now, it should be clear: trusting your own work makes copying irrelevant, both internally and externally. When you fully trust yourself and your craft, copying doesn’t even feel like an option. You can’t conceive it happening, and you stop caring about those who copy you because you’re playing a completely different game.