10 Mistakes Musicians Make Trying To Make It In The Music Business
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Think of music as a spectrum; there’s the art side of it, and then there’s business side. To make it big, you need to be successful in both. While most musicians understand the art aspect, the business side remains a mystery to many. While there’s a lot you can do to turn your world around and make things start working for you, be sure to check the following pattern of mistakes musician make all the time in their desperate bid to make it BIG in the music business.
1 - Not Building a Brand
You've probably heard about 'artist image’ or top musicians referring themselves as brands. For centuries, musicians have been described by their personal attributes and genres. Beethoven, for example, was often described as moody and so was his music.
Since then, the popular music of the time has changed dramatically but the basics remain the same. You don’t have to confine your brand to just one style of music but be sure to at least put a label on it. You can do this by making your genre explicit and by weaving in your personality and attitude.
2 - Worrying Too Much About Getting Heard
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get your name heard but that shouldn't be your first priority. Instead, focus on making both your image and music compelling. Those lucky enough to have heard your music should end up becoming actual fans. If not, find a way to integrate this one very important promotional tool into the music you release.
3 - Targeting Everyone or No One in Particular
No matter how good your music is, it will never please everyone. The best thing to do is to throw away that idea completely. Even within the same genre, your music will only appeal to a certain segment of fans who listen to that style. With that said, it’s important that you find your audience and laser-focus on them instead of directing your effort on a disinterested group. This will save you a great deal from wasting your time, effort and resources.
Test your music on different people. Start with your family and friends. Let them listen to your music and give their honest feedback. You can thereafter use the feedback you get to calibrate your brand and make it appeal to your target audience.
4 – Not Having a Plan
Winging it in music is the beginning of failure. Fail to plan and you’ll be making one terrible mistake many upcoming musicians make all the time. The marketing plan you create should include your goals, strategies, objectives, market analysis, tactics, metrics, project timeline and projections.
5 - Failing to Network
While talent plays an extremely important role in making it big in music, it’s not the only factor at play. It also has to do with who you know. Whether it’s a certain club owner who later introduces you to his buddy that works at a label or a fellow musician who knows a great up and coming producer, networking will become crucial in the long run. Don’t forget to leverage social media. You can do this by promoting other musicians you know, and ask them to do the same for you. Whatever you do, if you’re planning to make music your full-time career, never let a day pass without adding a new contact into your network.
second part coming soon...
