Music Success Tips, what about them. I’m the best!

I just got an email from a reader asking me if I could lay out what I think it takes to be a successful online musician these days. First off let me explain my definition of success which is to build a profitable and reliable income and fan base around your music, that can sustain you without a 9 to 5 job.

If that sounds like something you would like to achieve you need to acquire the skills below as soon as possible.

Musical talent alone is not enough these days; to run your own career you need to build a set of skills that will see you through the tough times. Some of these will take work and are very hard to achieve which is why a lot of people just give up and go back to a job that they hate, because at least they can feel like they are winning at something.

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1. Uncommonly Fantastic Musical Talent, AKA the “Genius Illusion”

This should go without saying but your music is the No1 factor in your success and you should work on it for at least an hour 6 days a week, and then post out the results to the world on YouTube and Twitter. I think it’s important to start taking the next step to publishing your music on these sites and get some feedback.

Even the harshest YouTube troll will give you valuable tips on where you might need to make things a little bit better.

It’s my personal belief that genius is just an illusion that is created when you mix a small amount of natural ability with 10,000 hours of practice.

So with that in mind GET TO WORK!

“The Genius Illusion” will get you more fans, more YouTube views, more album sales and more cash than anything else.

So just take 10 minutes everyday to look at how you can make what you are doing more amazing and more share-worthy.

You want people to say something like “Wow, that’s fuc@%ing AMAZING!” in your YouTube comments, then you will know you are on the right track.

Think about what the greats do: Madonna, Dr. Dre, Lady Gaga, Elvis, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, John Lennon and Ricky Martin.

He he…obviously Ricky Martin should not be on that list;-)

But you see what I mean right? Take a few moments each day to think about how you can be like one of those super human musicians, because even if you hate their music there is no denying that those artists have transcended their songs, and seem to have some sort of mystical ability.

2. Cultivate The “I’ll Give Up When I’M Dead” Attitude

Even the slightest chink in your armor of determination will crumble your career when the doors are shut in your face. There is a sickness among musicians meaning that they will work on their career, give up for a while, then start again a few months later.

This is going to get you nowhere fast because you will never build any momentum. So stop thinking about instant results because they are rare. If you never give up you will be a pro musician one day, even if you do everything wrong and it takes ten years.

If I said that you could put in 10 minutes work a day for ten years and then you could give up your job and do music full time, would you do it?

Of course right!

That is why even the smallest amount of effort each and every day is important.

It could take a couple of rough years before you start to see real results and a replacement income from music, so you need to brush off disappointment and be strong.

Play the long game…

At first you will have no gigs, you will have no people on your mailing list and your website will not even rank in Google. All these things will reach a tipping point one day and will start to grow by themselves, and you need to make sure that you are still around to see it happen.

3. Be Tough As Old Boots

Don’t let people walk over you and always stand up for your rights as a musician.
The rules…

Rule 1: Never pay to play a gig, get radio play or give money to people who say that they can get you a million fans with no work.

Rule 2: You deserve to get paid for your time, your music career is going to become your job so don’t be a charity.

Basically look out for people who are trying to exploit you and throw rotten eggs at them!

4. Networking Skills

You will need to be able to communicate with people that will help move your career to the next level. Even if it’s just good communication with your fans through Facebook and Twitter.

Practice communication all the time and be friendly to lots of different people from venue managers, fans, journalists, agents and label people.

If you have a bad attitude and your contacts think you are a total peanut you won’t get anywhere.
Just remember that people always want to help someone they think is cool.

5. Become A Little Bit Technical

You don’t have to learn how to be a hacker or anything, but if you want to have your own little music business you need to be able to set up websites, install an email list, make videos and record your own albums.

The key is to just make a start with learning. Your skill will be horrible at first but after a while you will surprise yourself with how easy it can be and you will be very happy that you don’t have to pay some dude $500 to tie your twitter shoe laces.

If you want to make any money with this stuff you need products. The great thing is that this can be digital download which cost you nothing, plus your T-shirts and DVDs will be “print on demand” so again their will be no financial risk for you.

Here are the bare minimum technical skills you need…

1. Installing websites with WordPress.

2. Setting up a mailing list with AWeber.

3. Using a piece of recording software like Garage Band or Pro Tools to make your recordings.

4. Creating your album artwork and T-shirts using free image software like Gimp.

5. Creating music videos using a program like iMovie or Jay Cut which is a free online tool.

There is a lot to learn there so just start small.

6. Never Ever, Ever…EVER Be a Spammer!

Always ask yourself how you would feel if you were the recipient of any marketing push that you are creating. If something feels at all like spamming then forget it. Not only are you wasting your time but doing simple old school music marketing will be more successful than any tricks.

If you are ever tempted to use a spam trick just pick up your guitar or keyboard and record a simple cover version and upload it to YouTube.

This will have much more benefit in the long run.

It’s Your Turn

So there are my thoughts on the skills you need to make it as a DIY musician, but can you think of anything you would add to the list? Let me know.

Talk soon,

– Chris, http://razrmusic.com/