We typically prefer to avoid discussions of this nature, but given the mass state of confusion amongst artists, we believe it may be the right time to offer our perspective. The voice of most recording artists regarding their experience of pursuing their dreams is often eerie. We believe that a mix of misguided understanding and the overwhelming wave of "professional insight" from the industry's "leading voices" have dramatically affected how artists move to see daily results in their careers. Today we will further explain why we believe artists continue to struggle while providing the best ways to unpack those thoughts and start driving results to your music right now, trust when we say it works!
Poor Music
This is the easiest way to deter people from your music entirely. We won't say "potential fans" because if your music doesn't have what listeners want to hear (even if it's a new sound) it isn't likely to succeed. We recommend honing your craft to a credible level before releasing any music as this will show you take yourself seriously, naturally commanding respect from others through obvious hard work. Good music isn't just having a dope sound, listeners often gravitate to a combination of good flow or cadence, simple but impactful lyrics, vocal control and dynamic range (especially singers), charisma/style/swag, and a message or topic that is relatable. Mastering this takes time, discipline, and hard work. If you're not up to this, maybe you don't want to make music your career.
Poor Or No Business Model
We found that many artists want to succeed, but haven't taken the time to create a strategy designed to help them achieve their goals (if they have any). As a result, many artists say they do it "for the love of music" because they haven't figured out how to turn their music into profit. We do believe artists exist that solely create music for enjoyment, but the fact remains that most dream of sold-out arenas, legendary press runs, award shows, red-carpet appearances, and more. We recommend removing those thoughts from your mind unless you've just signed a multi-million dollar deal that guarantees it as it won't be that simple without one. Artists starting at the bottom of the food chain must have a concrete model/strategy structured to drive immediate results that get people talking about, engaging with, sharing, subscribing to, and paying to hear your music. Playlisting is not the only way (or even the best way) to make this happen.
Improperly Securing & Registering Assets
We often speak with artists that don't contractually own their music. NO ARTIST should be releasing music they do not own and have not properly registered ever! Doing the opposite will likely lead to legal issues if the song does find success, especially if you sampled someone else's music to do so. We recommend always copyrighting your music yourself, registering your own ISRC and UPCs, and registering with the designated PROs and exchanges to ensure your foundation is stable. NEVER rely on anyone else to take care of your creations. If you record at a studio, we recommend contract and split sheet negotiations before the recording session starts.
Poor Marketing Strategies
Suppose you do meet all the above standards and are ready to release and promote your music. The majority of artists we see do not have effective marketing strategies, this is largely due to artists taking on the task of marketing themselves. While many artists can effectively market themselves, others are draining their bank accounts on ineffective strategies, or worse, looking for the 5-finger discount on their success. If music promotion is a pain point for you, we recommend outsourcing to professionals with a track record in advertising music, like us! Click here to learn more
AhunnitK Shares His Experience Working With Us (Music Promotion)
We could go on detailing each minuscule cause and effect. Still, we believe if artists focused more on genuinely meeting and exceeding the standards above they will see an immediate change in their regressive state, especially regarding marketing and promotion. Trending topics, doing "something different", and all of the noise you hear in industry news are distractions from the main things artists need to focus on to produce results in real-time in their careers. Every music media source, DIY influencer, and other online presence showing artists "the game" or "the culture" has the very same goal, to build their business off of their viewers (you).
We hope this post clarifies a bit and helps many artists get back on the right track and focus on themselves. Good luck!
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