So you are trying to make it in music? I have a question or two for you: How much time are you spending on it? The average dead-end job that you hate runs 20-40 hours a week. The average full time career that you vied for takes up 40-60 hours a week and the typical entrepreneur will spend 80-150 (!) hours per week building their career. So, I'll ask again; How many hours are you putting in to build your career in music.By the way, practicing in your bedroom doesn't really count, you are expected to be good at what you do. So besides practicing your chops in your bedroom and the occasional show; What are you doing?
The Internet has narrowed the distance between you and your fans but more importantly it has narrowed the distance between you and potential fans. Now you can be from Southern California and have some avid fans in a place you have never been on the other side of the planet. Welcome to the worldwide local scene. This is great for music but can be really bad for musicians. Instead of trying to rise above the few bands in your zip code, you now have to find a way to stand out in a crowd of billions of bands and musicians world-wide! Do you still think all you need to do is practice and play shows? Do you still think all you need is a kick ass CD? Do you still think stonewashed jeans are socially acceptable? (By the way, your answer here should be NO to all of the above)
Breathe. I know that this is starting to seem overwhelming but think about it for a second. First off, do you want to make a living making music or are you fine keeping it as an extra curricular activity? This is the choose your own adventure part of the story: If you would like to make a career in music please read on. If you are happy keeping music as a hobby please click here.
All right, you are reading on so I can deduce that you want to build a career in music. I am going to give you the key to building a career in music in the current version of the music industry.
Fans.
You need fans
You need to get new fans
You need to keep current fans
They all need to spend money on you
This is a constant, it has always been and it will always be. So, what are you doing to grow and maintain your fan base?
As the perception of music becomes increasingly devalued by the digital generation; What, besides music, are you offering your fans?
Being that fans are not consuming music the way they used to; Are you exploring other ways to make money with your music?
No one can answer these questions for you and the only truly wrong answer to any of them is "I'm not doing anything." But, you need to be careful not to be delusional that what you are doing is enough. The artists that will be successful will not only have a large list of things that they are doing for each question, they will also have a list of things that they are adding to their routine. The artists that are going to make it in the new music industry are the ones that ask themselves these questions on a daily basis and manage each time to answer with something new.
So, what are you doing? Let me know.
Need help? Send me an email jc@artisanslabel.com
"Whether You Believe You Can, Or You Can't, You Are Right"-Henry Ford
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3 comments:
John C,
This is very well written, but I feel there is an undercurrent of, "if you aren't taking music seriously, then don't even bother." I know that sending folks to the failblog is just a joke, but there is something to be said for people who enjoy music as a hobby, or are at least realistic enough to acknowledge the fact they probably won't be the next Coldplay.
My brothers and I used to always use the following analogy when people would ask us why we weren't making phat cash playing any random gig:
"Does every kid who puts basketball shows on get paid for it? No. Do they think they will ever make huge money doing it? Probably not. They do it because they love to do it."
Now, at this point, I sound like a frustrated "musician," when in fact, I'm not. I've played in several decent bands for many years, and still do because I want to be involved in the music creating and performing process -- I enjoy it. I love playing live, but I also acknowledge the fact that real life is always there to greet me at the end of the gig.
If I was 18 years old, my attitude may be different, but at 18, my attitude was the same as it is now (which I regret -- I should of at least tried to join a touring band for a while).
All this being said, I feel it is possible to maintain a regular job and at least try, albeit not 80 hours a week, to create cool music and promote it. But yes, it is a very tough balance, and one has to have their priorities straight.
Throughout all of this, I feel an artist, musician, band, whatever, needs to take stock in themselves and answer honestly whether or not they would be a fan of themselves; if they weren't themselves. There are plenty of people who want to be huge, but just suck. I can substantiate this claim by citing the first several weeks of any season of American Idol.
I have a few more comments about this, but this is super long as is -- sorry.
-Dex
Dex,
Thanks for the comments! I agree with what the basketball analogy all the way.
It is perfectly good to make music for the fun of it (that's why we all get started right?) but I try to go to extremes to make my points.
There is a large group of musicians out there that think because they enjoy creating and performing music and money can be made while doing it, music is their career simply because they make music, regardless of how much money they make doing it.
This post was designed to make a musician think about their approach and help them decide what side of the fence they fall.
I definitely don't want to discourage kids from having fun. I am just hoping to help remove any delusions a young musician might have and save them some of the troubles I went through while I was hoping for success instead of planning for it.
Thanks again for the comment!
Keep them coming!
-jc
Got it, your subsequent comment clarified your intention of the original post.
I see what you mean -- at some point, an individual would have to think, "what is it I want to do with my life?" What I fear is the 16 year old buying a Fender Squier guitar at Guitar Center and deciding he is going to be a career musician.
Going back to the basketball analogy, the aforementioned scenario would be the equivalent of a 16 year old who puts up a basketball hoop in his driveway saying he is going to be in the NBA. Same deal -- no experience, but for some reason, the guitar scenario is acceptable to some, whereas the basketball example is laughable to many.
Either way, maybe both examples are weak. There are plenty of incredibly talented folks who, through their determination, make a living through music.
Either way, it is super fun. Those who intend to play must do it first because they love it. If it is viewed as a job from the get-go, it won't seem sincere to the fans.
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