Success In the Music Industry Business as Musician, Band or Artist

So you want as career as a music artist? You want success with your band?

You’ve finished recording your medium and it’s the “best” - it deserves to be heard by the concern and you’re deserving of the adulation afforded to the creation of such a masterpiece! Of course, you know in your own mind that it won’t be easy to embellish a star. After all, everyone says that the music business is difficult’. But hey, you’ve got what it takes, you’ve got talent, and this rattling is a great medium - all your friends and family agree - so what can possibly stop you? What indeed…?

Few people outside of the Music Business hit any intent just how difficult it is to survive, let alone succeed, in the ever-changing and unforgiving concern of entertainment. Being a performer is much, much more than only writing, recording and performing.

And few people hit any intent of what is involved in the recording of a good sounding CD, of the time and effort involved to intend that polished sound that every artist who ever produced a demo aspires to create.

Don’t be fooled by inane rubbish like Pop Idol or X-factor. Not only do these sort of programs give a totally false impression of the reality of the music industry, but they totally undermine the integrity of it! And just for the record, I don’t dispute the obvious talent of some of the participants, but the ends do not justify the means! It is indicative of just how low we hit sunk as a gild that we are happy to watch and laugh at ‘hopefuls’ who clearly hit no talent at all, make embarrassing fools of themselves because they rattling think they do hit the talent.

Then, when the competition proper rattling gets going, we crapper watch the music business do what it does best, that is, chew up and spit out varying degrees of talent live on our screens in the name of TV entertainment!

The programs are designed to maximize TV ratings and to manufacture a “Pop Star” who’ll be long forgotten in 10 years time. Of course, they’ll say that isn’t so, but then, they would, wouldn’t they!?

We live in an “Instant Fame” society. Celebs and their lifestyles are thrust in our faces 24/7 and far too many people, particularly but not exclusively the young, think fame crapper be achieved. They are fed the belief that it’s possible to give up the day job and embellish a star. In reality, it’s virtually impossible. For a greater insight into the realities of the Pop world, check out the Simon Cowel book “I don’t mean to be rude”.

Being a musician, an artist, is a vocation. It’s a way of chronicle in which everything and everyone else, absolutely everything and everyone else, take second place. Musicians are selfish - they hit to be by definition, and I know because I am one.

It’s about “The Journey” (much like life) - the journey of self discovery that starts when you realize that being a performer is what you poverty to do, continues and evolves as you make music and friends along the road, experiencing the highs and the lows and culminates in the realization that the journey doesn’t hit an end because you’re always seeking to do something new, always forging new ideas - seeking to write ‘The perfect song’ or ‘The perfect album’. But a word of warning, if you’re fortunate enough to find success, the pressures and the demands will embellish greater, they’ll not intend less!

You can’t do it on a “part time” basis and expect to follow beyond a bit of fun at amateur level (not that there’s anything at all wrong with that). So, if you rattling poverty to ‘succeed’, the rattling thing that you hit to accept is… that you probably wont’! And that isn’t as crazy as it sounds!

You see, the most essential thing in music is only that you love doing it. It’s a way of chronicle that’s in your blood, in your soul, and it takes precedence over everything else. And as mentioned earlier, it’s about the journey.

Now, I can hear you saying things like; “That’s all correct for you to say, you’re in the music business”.
Or maybe you’re thinking; “Well I hit all these attributes, but how do I pay the bills and still make my way as a musician?”

Yes, I am fortunate enough to be involved in music, enjoying moderate success and recognition in a specific music genre. But what I hit learned is, that success is relative.

My chronicle and everything in my chronicle revolves around music. But over the years, and particularly in the early days, my private chronicle and finances paid a rattling heavy price.

Being involved in music is about being in it for the long haul, not the short constituent - you don’t even consider the short term. Ask most musicians and they’ll tell you the impact is a painful one. When I hear young musicians say they’ve ‘given up everything to be in music’, my state is, that they hit no intent what “everything” is!

Being a performer requires many things, many attributes. Selfishness we’ve already mentioned. Stubbornness is a key factor to - you just hit to keep going, then there’s dedication, passion and belief. An acceptance that there will be a lot of hard times. You must be prepared to give everything and more, and even then, even with all those things, if you’re not ‘in the correct place at the correct time’, success crapper still pass you by.

And thru all this, you keep smiling. You don’t question why you’re doing what you’re doing or the cost of it in broken relationships and heavy debt. You just keep going because music is such a big part of you!

The digit remaining prerequisite for a performer is an understanding and supportive partner - without whom you’ve no chance at all. Reminds me of the old joke: What do you call a performer without a significant and supportive partner? Homeless!

So, finally, what’s the difference between a performer and someone who wants to be a musician? It’s simple. A performer is someone who gets on with it. They step outside of the box of conventional 9-5 and all that goes with it and live the chronicle and all it entails. They probably won’t make it big, but they define their own success and whatever happens, they’ll never retrograde sight of why they’re doing what they’re doing.

And someone who wants to be a musician, a star? Well, they’re unable to do the above!

January 12th, 2009 in old music marketing article | tags: , , , ,

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