Music is your passion, and you believe it can be a career. Yet, your chances of making it in the music industry are becoming increasingly difficult as artists compete for fewer gigs, recording contracts become shorter, and the Internet becomes more dominant. Whether you play an instrument, sing, compose, DJ, or any combination of these, we hope this music business guide will help you on your journey to becoming a successful musician.
In the music industry, record labels are rewarded for signing new talent, giving artists a record deal, and providing them with all the resources they need to make a career out of their music. On the other hand, there seem to be many other talented musicians who are still not signed to a record label. Managing their gigs and expenses would be a challenge. But these days, there are many apps similar to Mike that can help such artists to have a better track of their workload (events), progress, and overall expenditure.
However, reaping the benefits of a successful musical career doesn’t happen overnight. Many things are working against you, including the fact that most musicians are inexperienced when it comes to business. This means that many artists don’t know the pitfalls to avoid when starting a career in music. Here are the six most common mistakes musicians make that can hurt their ability to earn big in the music industry.
A lot of musicians today seem to be doing everything they can to shy away from social media. Terrible images, fake profiles, and horrible content are everywhere online, and musicians can get lost in the shuffle.
Without social media, there would be no music careers. As a musician, you rely heavily on social media to market yourself. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube are all incredibly popular among music fans, and most artists will use a lot of these sites to promote themselves. But is social media really necessary?
Having no social media in your music career is a mistake you should avoid so that you’ll have an opportunity to focus solely on your music rather than on other things. So, why should that be? Because people only associate with you through social media, so don’t get distracted by anything else.
Lack of proper setup
As a budding musician, you need to prove your talent in the industry by producing noteworthy music. For that, you will require a proper music setup and recording studio. It should consist of a soundproof recording area consisting of a professional mic, headphones, musical instruments, a notes sheet stand, a tuner and amplifier, and a few more gadgets. Along with all these, you may also have to invest in sturdy tables and chairs to set up the whole thing.
Necessary furniture for the music studio could be bought online from office monster. As for the instruments and other musical accessories, you can look for a local shop in your neighborhood or explore options online. To be at the top of the game in the music industry, you need the best production setup to compete with the existing stars. While the music industry can be fun and rewarding, you still have to put all your efforts into creating content that would appeal to the audience and capture their hearts.
Not making connections
Building a successful music career is a lot like building a house. Sure, you can build a house by yourself, but that doesn’t guarantee that it will stand firm forever. No, it takes the help of experts, and a general contractor and the same goes with building your musical career.
Not making connections in your music career is a mistake you should avoid, and it won’t take long before your career is decimated. Making connections in the music industry is essential because you never know who you might meet.
Having negative people around you
Music is one of those rare careers that can offer you all kinds of opportunities. You can be a songwriter, a performer, and a producer. It can even open up doors in your life, such as being a photographer or an actor.
The music industry tends to attract people with similar goals. Everyone wants to be successful, they want to make money, and they want to travel. However, what you often get is a bunch of people who all think they have the answers to what’s working, who try to push their ideas on you. And these negative people can be detrimental to your career.
Not having enough cash.
Many aspiring musicians write music, record it, and post it online, hoping someone will notice. More often than not, this doesn’t happen. Many musicians don’t know that being a musician is not a money-making enterprise.
Even though music careers aren’t exactly cash cows, you still need to have enough cash to support yourself and your family. According to the Daily Dot, if you make a little over $75,000 a year, you need $1,000 per month to cover your expenses. So, let’s say that you’re a touring musician. Some years, you’ll make enough to pay your bills, and in other years, you won’t. But it’s important to remember that just because you’re struggling to make ends meet doesn’t mean you’re a failure.