Today, everyone with access to the Internet has the exact same resources at their fingertips. So how come only so very few succeed? The answer is obvious. Most don’t try hard enough, or if they do, they do it wrongly by misdirecting their efforts. Others try a little and give up too quickly. Others get overwhelmed by information overload. But they all have the same tools at their disposal. The moral: your success is in your hands!
Some people who have tried promoting online complain that “it’s all for nothing.” “Too difficult, too “rigged”.
I beg to differ. Difficult, yes, if you’re blindfolded and haven’t FIRST taken the time to learn what you need to do. As for “rigged”… You may get that impression, but it’s mostly false – definitely false on the “lower” levels. As for “too difficult,” go back to the beginning of this paragraph: If you didn’t take the time to understand what your mission is, that’s when things appear murky, difficult and… erm, rigged. So don’t complain. DO something about it: Learn! I’ll help you.
[emember_protected for=2-3-4-5]
Once you get the full picture, implement it. Be prepared to make mistakes along the way. Failure is a necessary component of success. Take it in stride. Each misstep is an invaluable lesson. And take comfort in knowing that the tools and techniques I will discuss in this course are easily enough for you to build yourself something that works and will help you become a music business professional!
As you progress, be wary of premature self-satisfaction. This leads to too much comfort and procrastination, and that is one sure way to take your eyes off the ball. Split the entire task into small segments and accomplish each task to the best of your ability, check that all is as planned, then move on. You’ll zoom ahead of 99.9% of your competition in no time just by doing that!
Understand what you’re good at, and what others are better at. As you read through this course, resolve to read it TWICE. First time, quickly, to get the gist of what is involved. Second time slowly, to implement everything carefully. Pick your team and assistants carefully. And play to your strengths.
Your strength begins with the knowledge of who you are and where you’re going.
I’m talking about you as a person, as an artist, as the manager of your own career – you as the CEO of your music business.
Print out these guidelines and follow them:
- What’s the dream? To know where you’re going, you need to know what you want.
- Once you SEE the destination, create a plan to get there, using this book and your own imagination.
Resolve to forge ahead even when things don’t go the way you planned. If you fail, learn to pick yourself up and try again – without complaining.- Resolve to be flexible and to adapt.
- If something keeps not working right, post your questions right here in the comments section!
- Learn to manage your time and human resources. And money. You WILL need to spend “some” to get to where you’re going. Perhaps not “too much”, but that’s part of how well you prepare.
- Pick your people well. Some can be friends, some family, others can be professional outsourcers. You want professionalism, total dedication and support of your mission from them.
- Learn to make decisions quickly. Read Malcolm Gladwell’s “Blink” for some inspiration on that front!
- Don’t act without thinking and research. Thoughtless decisions or decisions based on false assumptions are THE primary reason why people fail.
- Stay focused. Avoid distractions. But don’t be all-work-and-no-play either. Re-energize when you can. Enjoy your inter-personal relationships. Learn about philosophy, relationships and economics from people like Stefan Molyneux at www.freedomainradio.com.
And then there’s something even more fundamental you need to ask yourself: “Do I really love music enough to want to build my life around it?”
If your answer to the above question was an emphatic “YES!”, the next question will make obvious sense to you: “Are you prepared to work as smart and as hard as it takes to achieve your goal?”
You’d be surprised at how many people drop off at this question. They are the ones who feel their talent entitles them to success and “being discovered”. Sure, they are prepared to work hard at their music, but… nothing else. They argue that they’re “not good” at anything else, so why even bother considering it. They fear, perhaps, that focusing on something else might somehow rob them of their creative energies. Others work hard, but not necessarily smart – I was one of those all too many times.
But the way I see it, you either want to succeed or you don’t. You either want to work for it or you don’t.
This course can’t help you if you’re approaching your life with such a sense of misplaced entitlement. If you expect things to just drop into your lap without putting any work in – and I mean not “just” your music – I’m afraid your chances of success will be severely limited.
Your objection at this point may be that you need to play to your strengths.
I agree. This is a critically important factor and one you must always keep in mind, of course. But “playing to your strengths” does NOT mean “to the exclusion of everything else.” Certainly not when you’re an independent artist trying to succeed in a terrifically competitive market.
But there’s just one thing to keep in mind, to give you a little extra energy. The seemingly overwhelming competition you will face comes mostly from unprepared musicians.
It’s probably fair to say that as much as 99% of your “competition” doesn’t know what they’re doing!
So, if your music rocks and if you build your music business the right way – your chances of succeeding (i.e. living off your music) will be hugely improved!
[/emember_protected]
 |
 |
 |
| Book 1 – Chapter 09 Once Again: Indie or Major? |
Course Overview | Book 1 – Chapter 11 What Work? |
Book 1: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, Overview
