Building a successful career as a musician or a guitarist is
hard work (understatement!), and something that most definitely takes its toll
on you! As you pass through the various stages of becoming a musician, you will
need to know many things in order to be successful in the industry. Trust me on
this, there is a LOT of competition, and its cut-throat out there. If you
really want to make it to the big time, here is a list of potential pitfalls
you need to avoid on your way to success:
Mistake 1: Not having an image that captivates the
attention, and goes with the music you play is a big mistake, and something a
lot of musicians seem to be making. Yes the ‘music’ industry is about music,
but the way a musician comes across during the process is part of the package. Having
a confident stage persona, a captivating stage presence – especially one that
is consistent with the kind of music that you make or the sort of artist that
you are – is vital. Imagine how awkward it would be if you were to see someone
dressed as a rock artist but singing jazz instead! It’s all about the image!
Mistake 2: Not getting the word out. Most abundantly
talented and extremely gifted musicians, including guitar players, fail to make
it to the big time. Why? Because they are not good at marketing themselves (or
maybe aren’t ambitious enough to do so). Unless you are able to get the word
out about what you do, you might be wasting your talent. Which is a shame to be
honest, especially with the advent of ‘Web 2.0’. Use social mediums like
Youtube, SoundCloud, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus to get the
word out. Record yourself playing the guitar using your laptop’s webcam and put
it up. If you’re good enough, if you have the talent, you just might even go
viral and end up making a living out of it!
Mistake 3: Focusing on getting the word out but not on
making actual fans. You might be getting the word out, but converting people
who hear and see you perform into actual fans is the key to being a successful
musician. Having returning customers, as opposed to people who ‘liked your
music when you performed that one time’ is what defines success for me. What do
the likes of Taylor Swift, John Mayer and The Beatles have in abundance? A
large number of die-hard fans and followers!
Mistake 4: Point 3 above brings us to another problem:
focusing too much on the quantity of of your fans rather than fans who will
contribute more to the success of your music. Like it or not, some of the biggest
singers, songwriters and guitarists out there are doing this to great effect.
Justin Bieber is one example - your personal likes and dislikes for the guy
aside, he sells a ton of records and merchandise, and his name is now one of the biggest buzzwords in the world (proof here, and here!). Granted, he makes pop music, and as a
guitarist it might be much harder to reach that sort of level. Still, the likes
to Satriani, Petrucci and Slash have done it, right?
Mistake 5: Not focusing on building a music ‘career’. While
it is understandable that most guitarists and musicians would spend a bulk of
their time practicing and making music, they however fail to put effort into
other vital elements needed to make it in the music business. Like Point 2
above, it is important that if you’re even the slightest bit of a talented
musician, you should invest at least half your time into starting and advancing
your music career and building a future in music.
Mistake 6: Having too narrow a musical horizon. I am a firm
believer of this: A good artist or a musician soaks up every bit of information
which will improve his skills and improve him as an artist. This means that you
should never restrict yourself to certain genres of music or listen to only a
few elect artists. Go out there and explore genres and artists that you’re not
familiar with and force yourself to step out of your comfort zone. When I was
young, the only thing I would listen to was rock, refusing to associate myself
with any other genre. With the passage of time, I was exposed to some great
music from the jazz, country, soul and rock n’ roll genres, especially when I
started off as a guitarist. Being enrolled in a great guitar-learning course like GuitarTricks certainly helped with this. But the point is that this exposure was immense, as it helped me grow as
a musician and actually improved my guitar-playing skills. Listening to a
diverse array of music has also provided me with a lot if inspiration!
Mistake 7: Not surrounding yourself with the right kind of
people. As harsh as this may sound, rid yourself and your surroundings of
people who are mediocre, unambitious, lazy or negative. If of of course, you
are serious about you music career!
Mistake 8: Not understanding what record labels expect from
musicians. While a lot can be said about this, in short and if I’m being really
honest, record companies are businesses, and like any business out there, they
will only work with someone who is ‘valuable enough’, would get them the
highest profit and the largest amount of return. For this purpose, ask yourself
if you were to make a deal right now, how much value you bring to it, how much
are you worth, how risky an investment would you be and from the label’s
perspective, would it be a good decision to bring you in, especially in terms
of your value/risk ratio? What makes you a good prospect for the label, which brings
us to the final point…
Mistake 9: Not having a USP, aka. a Unique Selling Point. The
industry is just so competitive now, that without a gimmick, or perhaps an
attribute or a quality that is unique to you and that can be marketed, you
cannot go very far. A USP is something that will then set you apart from the
millions that are doing the same thing. It could be the way you dress up (e.g.
Deadmau5) or your attire (Lady Gaga), a special ability that you have with the
guitar (like Igor Presnyakov), or maybe you are just an extremely gifted
guitarist (like Slash). Try identifying your USP and marketing it. Trust me,
there are some pretty average musicians and guitarists out there who seem to be
doing well, if you have a special talent or an ability, there’s no reason why
you wouldn’t too!
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