1) You Don’t Believe You Can Be Successful
Anything is achievable to the person that is committed enough. 99.99% are not willing to do what they need to do to become successful because they don’t believe in themselves. You need to have an unwavering conviction that you will confront, figure out, and go through any obstacles. Rejection is around every corner as a music artist, so you will need to have stamina, be patient, and resilient. Have a vision of what your sound, persona, and your success looks like. You will make mistakes. Learn from them quickly and move on.
2) You’re Not Practicing And Writing Enough
A casual approach to developing your talent is simply not good enough. It takes daily dedication and learning. You should work on your craft several hours a day if you are pursuing a career as a music artist. That goes for being a singer, songwriter, musician … .even if your aspiration is to simply be a TikTok or YouTube star, you will need to work on it every day. Obsession is the only way.
3) You Think Someone Should Be Paying For You To Become Successful
Ahhhh, this tired old myth. So many people treat the financial aspect of their career as though it is someone else’s job to take all of the risk. They waste years of their career waiting in fantasyland, instead of learning how to make it happen. No matter what your background or circumstances, you need to learn about money; how to make it, and where to spend it. Learn how to sell things. No one is coming to save you. Ever. Figure it out.
4) You’re Not Making Music That Has The Potential To Make Money
Music is one of the most competitive and most saturated industries on earth. Everybody would love to indulge their creativity all day by making music and then get paid for it. But it’s not a product people generally “need”; it’s a product people generally “want”. Know the difference. You can make mediocre demos or twenty five minute ambient jazz experimental concept records in your bedroom all day long. But if you are trying to have a career, then you’re going to have to make great songs that connect with a wide audience, that are recorded and mixed at an industry standard level. Otherwise, you might as well kiss your dream goodbye. As I tell my artists, if you’re not making money at it, then you still just have an expensive hobby.
5) You Think You Can Do Everything Yourself
In the age of TikTok and iPhones, and especially if you’re under 25, you’ve been sold the message that “you can do everything yourself”. Yes, there are a tiny tiny fraction of people who find some level of success without any help after blowing up by going viral. That’s the exception though, and not the rule. The media, who are owned by the same banks and corporations that own the tech companies, love to roll those people out as a shining example of how you should do things- because you’ll need smart phones, laptops, and computers to do it- all of which they will happily sell you. But the truth is that 99% of successful artists have mentors, teachers, producers, engineers, managers, family and supportive people in their lives all working together to make it look like your favorite artist is just some super genius that walked out of the womb and got famous. Don’t fall for it. Build your team.
