Why is it so many talented artists don’t see the light? Why do so many artists release so much music without thought or learning more of what is required outside of the music.
As mentioned in various music tips on Music Talks I still fail to see so many artists not taking up opportunities to learn. Instead, they are releasing one single, EP or Album after another in the hope it sticks.
Firstly, lets eliminate the word ‘Hope’. ‘Hope’ won’t get you anywhere.
Music is just the beginning in this business. Key word; ‘Business’.
Before any artist plans to release anything, are they thinking about what happens after?
Let just say that an artist knows exactly which direction they’re heading; i.e. Rap with a twist of country. Sounds weird, sure, but this first point I’m making is how will your music separate you from the rest.
What’s your plan of attack, who is your audience and how will they learn about you?
Any plan of any musical release should encompass the strategy of how you are going to find new fans and expand. This should be sort through social media interaction well and truly before you release. (daily videos of you or your band, vlogging your journey etc.)
A marketing strategy should also be well and truly sort.
In fact, the average amount of time to put in place the whole package, (plan & strategy) and to work on it towards the release of your brand-new EP or Album could/should take anywhere from 3-6 months. Some may even take longer depending of the intention to tour.
Keeping in mind, some of the larger radio stations are eight weeks ahead of programming music into their playlists.
So why are artists just pumping out music as if they are feeding a flock of chickens?
Sure, the internet is a fast-paced environment, but you can’t allow that to dictate the quality of your music which becomes detrimental to how you are seen as a credible artist.
As mentioned above, there are very few artists who seem to take the time out to learn. To slow it down a notch and get their heads around things they don’t understand. I often hear artists say, ‘Oh, I don’t know how to do that’...well, learn.
Read and get as many ideas as you can. Think outside the box. There are no hard and fast rules as to how to market yourself, so think up something original and test it out on Instagram. Do all the testing before you release, but please, do not try and get attention to your music via social media to blogs and radio. So many are just too busy getting through the emails of the artists who have actually taken the time and effort out to email. So of course, we notice those who say they are serious and those who don’t take an extra step to make more effort than a social media shout out or pm.
Make mistakes, make a lot of mistakes and don’t worry about some old school hard-head believing making mistakes in public is a big fat ‘No No’.
Just do it! (my favourite saying btw) Stop thinking and procrastinating and do it!
If there are FREE eBooks on offer, grab them and learn. They’re not full of BS, and even if there are things in there that don’t quite gel, take what does, and keep moving to learn and try.
Listen!
Listen to podcasts from experienced artists and business people who have succeeded and how they did it.. Listen to people who are doing it day in and day out. The people who are receiving hundreds of emails from PR, managers, labels and other artists about their music. What we see on a daily basis, what stands out, what doesn’t and what we see artists doing every single day.
Why listen to us? Because some of us pay very close attention to our stats, analytics and what the audiences are listening to, what they respond to well and what gets them excited.
After all, don’t you want to get an audience excited and to spread the word about your music?
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