A Plea To The Industry: Don't Let Your Hunger For Success In The Music Biz Override Being A Good Person

There’s no litmus test or bar or SAT you must pass to hold an influential job in the music industry that affects the lives of many others. The industry doesn’t require years of schooling or the ‘daunting’ requirements of being psychologically sound and thinking carefully about your decisions. I would even argue that this industry attracts those of us who are slightly delusional, self-centered, under or over medicated, and rebellious. In fact, those exact things could allow you to excel in this industry. That is what makes it a pretty futile environment to work and live in – because being a skeezy asshole could in some cases get you further ahead than being kind and generous.

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5 Ways to Thank the People Behind Your Musical Success

The only people who know and understand how challenging a musician’s career is are the ones who stand directly behind them. These are the people who have supported you all along the way. While at the end of the day you get showered with awards and accolades, their only reward is your success. Therefore, it's extra important to always let them know you appreciate their support. Small gestures go a long way in maintaining these relationships.

1. Goodie Basket

Gift baskets are something everyone loves. Instead of mass ordering gift baskets, choose one depending on what each person likes. There's a basket for everyone, ranging from indulgent toiletry sets to gourmet food selections. Goodie baskets are especially meaningful to those on tour with you as they likely miss the luxuries of home. Baskets can be ordered from a company like FTD wherever you can find a Wi-Fi connection and sent to your next location. Present them to people like your manager and key sound crew with a hand-written note. In your note, mention why they are an essential part of your trip and how their support is essential to you.

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Is Music Stardom Attainable?

Music Stardom is still a great motivator of struggling musicians worldwide. The big names seem to have it all - fame, fortune and the ability to somehow stay in the spotlight.It’s natural to assume that with all this success, life must be pretty amazing. 

Truly successful musicians have diversified income strategies. Their income streams are as diverse as their personalities. They might include record sales, concert tickets, clothing lines, perfumes, product endorsements, book deals and even acting careers.

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FAILURE VS.SUCCESS - Your Music Career

Get used to the word “no”. You’re going to hear it a lot. But all it takes is a “YES” or two and you’ll be on your way. Don’t be afraid to ask for help either. You may find a patron saint out there who would love to be a hero. It happens more than you’d think. You will run into disappointment. That’s a fact. But, don’t let that deter you. Remember, you can only measure your success by comparing it to your failures. Some of the biggest names in music failed miserably before they succeeded.

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Music Business Training: How hard would you say it is to be successful in the music industry?

Multi-platinum music producer, educator, and book author, Sahpreem A. King shares music business advice on how to become successful in the music business.

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Why Learning To Read Music Will Enhance Your Success

Many musicians who have entered the big leagures within the industry have long claimed that they have no knowledge of general music theory; that the creation of their music is contingent upon a emotional context. Consider the eclectic guitarist, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, most known for his work with the progressive-rock group The Mars Volta. He claimed complete ignorance of theory, saying that the work comes within. This is a very ideal and perhaps romanticized way of self-perceiving yourself as an “artist” rather than musician. Fact is, it is rather unwise to go by this, since the yielding results are simply non-dependable. 

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A master plan to get indie music into the UK charts

Bitter Ruin are on a mission to get their music into the UK charts on Sunday 9^th October.

“We all want that so what’s new”, I hear you say.

Well of course it’s not new but what’s different is Bitter Ruin are seeing the results of a very good piece of planning that all indie musicians can learn something from. Plus there’s the fact that they’re unsigned and doing all of this themselves with grace, enthusiasm and a good pinch of strategic thinking.

Bitter Ruin formed in 2007 in Brighton when Ben Richards and Georgia Train met at music school. Although they understood each other musically through their classical training, they had dramatically opposing music tastes. Georgia listened to Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor and The Talking Heads whereas Ben preferred rock and bands like Metallica. The result? ‘Contemporary Expressionism’ with passion and musical intelligence at the heart of what they do. Their songs are about the darker side of life and their innovative performances come alive with theatricality, strong sparing vocals, harmonisation and raw instrumentation.

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Context, Differentiation, and the Human Mind: A Q&A with ReverbNation's Jed Carlson

When you ask a lot of bands “What’s your music like?” they say, “You just have to listen to it.” That’s the low-end of the spectrum for a good band story.  We asked ReverbNation COO Jed Carlson: How helpful is it to a band’s success if they have a good story? This is what he had to say:

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Defining 'success' and 'failure'

A lot of people have a warped and narrow-minded perception of what success and failure are. These terms are far too difficult to quantify and should be used with care.

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The Third Ring: How To Measure Success

So just how good do you have to be to make a career out of your music?

Damn good.

Any advice that I, or anyone else, give out on how to advance your career will only help you do so if the music is amazing.  That’s why it’s important to beware of any books or courses that guarantee success, because without outstanding music, the advice won’t do you much good. You may see minimal success, sure, but it probably won’t last or grow.

So how do you measure outstanding? I was discussing my theory on this topic over the weekend with a talented local songwriter, and I thought I’d share it with the rest of you. I know, ‘theories’ can be boring, but stick with me…

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Music Industry Secret to Success #4 – Have Integrity

I have developed a set of music industry “secrets.” These “secrets” are designed to develop positive behavior, so do not expect a ton of tactical talk. Strategy will be the ultimate takeaway. In each shared “secret,” I am going to give ideas that should help you make the right changes toward a substantial music career. Be sure you check out the previous “secrets” of “Be Yourself”, “Reach Out”, “Listen” and “Have Humility” on FryinginVein.com before reading this.

By definition, there are two ways you can interpret integrity. Regardless of whether we are talking unfettered completeness or moral soundness, having integrity is crucial to succeeding in life - period. In this piece, I will list key actions you can do to increase your level of integrity in your music career.

When you are a person with integrity, you are a person that people can trust. You are someone that can be depended upon to do what you say you are going to do. That is where the “completeness” ties into the definition, so for the first key action:

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Why All Musicians Need To Have The Business Know How

The music industry, as we all know, is constantly changing. That’s a dead issue. Forget about digital downloading and piracy, they can both be overcome with the correct business strategies. So, what I want to talk about instead is a observation I’ve been noticing for a while now; There is a serious lack of business knowledge in the music industry.

When I say this, I’m not really talking about major labels (Although some of their signings do make you wonder), I’m more about the grass route independent musicians. There are many with enough talent to satisfy even the harshest critics, yet they’ll never quite fulfil their potential. It may be that they’re not sure how to effectively promote their music, or it may be that they’re not sure how to manage their budget. Either way, without at least some business knowledge you won’t get very far at all.

The thing is, a lot of musicians don’t realise they have to take the time to learn business side of the music industry. Many just go with the flow and learn as they go along. Now personally, I’ve never been of fan of making mistakes and THEN learning from them. If it happens, so be it. But I’d much rather learning as much as I can in the beginning so I can get things done correctly the first time around. This’ll keep your journey sailing smoothly, and save a lot of time and effort on re-doing things from previous mistakes.

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Luck?

I’ve had a number of people say things to me like, “well that’s all great, but you’ve got to be lucky” and “sadly, it’s all about who you know”. Well, I think those statements are right… except that there’s nothing sad about it. You need to be lucky and you need to know people. The good news is that you create your own luck, and if you are who you need to become and you do the things you need to do, then you’ll meet all the people you need to know.

Have you ever known someone who always seemed to get in trouble and could never seem to get out of their own way? No matter how hard they seemed to try they seemed to be the victim of circumstances conspiring against them? Well…

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Are You a Beggar or a Rockstar?

What I’m going to write about is what I consider to be the biggest fundamental difference between artists who thrive and artists who struggle to survive. It’s a mindset, a paradigm, a way to view the world. Most bands out there are looking for support. They want you to help them out. Vote for them in a contest. Go to their show. Buy their CD. By you contributing to their cause you will get them far enough to get their big break. When they get their big break then they will have made it and other people will be there to give them all the resources they need and they’ll live happily ever after. There’s just one small problem with that model: It’s an illusion that will keep you trapped until long after all of your dreams are gone. It’s a fundamental misinterpretation of the way that money and value work. This strategy will no sooner make you successful then it will a beggar….

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