- It’s not illegal downloading…
- It’s not the fall of brick and mortar retail stores…
- It’s not the greedy money sucking suits…
- It’s not Reality TV on Much Music and MTV…
- It’s not even shitty radio rock and pop music…
The harsh reality is the number one thing holding you back as a musician, is likely…
You!
You see the motivation it takes to succeed in music is almost unparallel to any other industry. In fact, I can’t really think of any other industries (other then maybe competitive sports) where the person will invest such a vast amount of time, energy and money into their passion often for little or no return. But hundreds of thousands of individuals in this country, and millions world wide, do it constantly. So if the passion is there where does the fault lie?
The truth is having the passion just isn’t enough… the days of “getting signed” equating to “getting rich” are long gone (less for a few bubble gum rockers, and pre-made pop bands but most of them are getting exploited by the big players and will soon be settling to celebrity rehab or some other reality show to pay for their drug habits.) Regardless I’m getting side tracked. Being an independent musician is now more then ever means that you are in control. Say it
“You Are In Control”, “You Are In Control”, “You Are In Control”. In fact don’t just say it, put it into action. You can get your albums recorded and pressed cheaper then ever, you can sell your music on iTunes and other popular digital retails, you can set your album up for online retailers, like CD Baby. You can use Reverbnation, Facebook, Twitter and Myspace to network and promote your band. You can do all of these things and help steer your destiny in the right direction. The real key is to not get lost in the shuffle, not get discouraged easy and make sure you are doing for the right reasons (for the passion and not the cash-in… sorry had to make it rhyme!) Overall I guess this is really just an extension of my previous rant “Get your shit together or get out of the way” because all I want to see is more musicians take the reigns of their career and steer their path.
Here are a few tips that I think all serious musicians should be doing.
-Make Goals!Don’t just say them, write them down. Place it by your desk, in your guitar case or somewhere else you are going to see it every day. Don’t shoot for the stars, set reasonable goals (For example, get X-amount of new fans this week on Reverbnation, Get X-amount of new fans to join your mailing list, or post a link to your music on X-amount of relevant music message boards, etc…) Also it is important to make short term (Weekly/Monthly) goals as well as long term (yearly) goals. Without having goals there is no chance you can achieve them.
-Communicate with your Fans!Start a newsletter (I would recommend using Fanbridge or Reverbnation for this) and communicate with your fans frequently but don’t SPAM! Also make sure that every time you send your fans a message you aren’t selling something. Don’t only send your fans a message like “New CD out”, “Come see us play live”. “Buy a new T-Shirt” etc… these are all perfectly acceptable things to send newsletters about but make sure this isn’t your only communication with your fans… because then you are nothing more then a glorified salesman, and we all know how people feel about that. Instead try and engage your fans and try things like “What songs would you like to hear at our upcoming show?”, “Vote for our next T-Shirt Design” or “Win a free CD when you have a friend sign up for our mailing list”. Also it is more then ok to send an occasional letter just letting your fans know how you are doing and what is new in your personal life… The key is to make a real connection with your fans.
-Get on the Net!Become familiar with Web 2.0 or find someone who is passionate about your music that is more web savvy to help you. There are ample websites and resources for musicians online (as the ones mentioned above) so try and tackle even one or two and begin building your online presence.
So remember
“YOU ARE IN CONTROL”
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