Whenever I get a request from new Artists to work on an album, I like to ask them “Why do you want to make this record?” Last week a young lady I work told me she was working on an album. So I asked her that very question. Her first response was that she has always loved to sing. Now that’s ok, but what I really wanted to know was “what did she plan to gain by making an album”? She thought about it a few seconds then said “that she hoped to be as big as Beyonce or Fergie. She went on to tell me how she thought she sang just as good as any of them and how she wanted to become a successful Artists.
Now I’ve never seen her perform live, but I’ve heard her singing around the office and she does have a good voice as well as two other features that could help to make her dreams a reality. Youth & good looks. However, the one important thing she greatly lacks is a grasp of the realities of the music industry. For example; the Beyonce’s, Fergie’s and Britney Spears count for less than 1% of the successful Artists in today’s music market. There are a lot more successful Artists out there who are not in the mainstream spotlight. Artists like Ani DiFranco, and Melissa Ferrick have been very successful by establishing a solid fan base, placing their music in various other media like film & TV and most importantly; performing constantly all over the world.
Unfortunately too many young Artists think that if they get an album out there they will get on the radio and success would only be a short distance away. But the reality is that as more & more people rely less on mainstream media to dictate what they hear, the less likely you’re going to reach the level of success of the top 1%.
Now I don’t mean to post a negative or dream crashing blog, but I think that new Artists like my co-worker need to really evaluate what types of success they’re willing to accept. Is being the top 1% the only reason why you want to make an album? If so, I’m afraid you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
It’s never my intent to shatter these new Artist’s dreams, but to teach them what I know. For example; I explain to them that how much time & energy they dedicate to the making and promotion of this album will determine how high up the latter they’ll reach. I tell them how making the album is only their first step into “REALLY” getting into a busy life of promoting and performing. And speaking of performing; this is where you can separate those that are just simply dreaming of success and those that really hunger for it.
Most new & unknown Artists will tell you that they can’t wait to start performing live; however they may not realize that performing 1 or 2 weekends a month is not going to get you very far. So I ask them, “Are you able and willing to hit the road for weeks at a time for little to no money at all to promote yourself and this record?” This is the question that changes their whole perspective on making an album and they either wake up to reality or simply drop the whole idea.
The fact is that unless you’re out performing anywhere, any place at anytime, you are not contributing enough to establishing a solid fan base which can help you achieve your goals. Of course there are other things that you need to do, like be a very visible presence on the web, and network with other musicians, but performing does two major things for you. (1) It will improve your chops (2) Get people talking about you.
For many inspiring Artists, a heavy touring and promoting schedule is simply not practical. They may have certain responsibilities (family, mortgage, etc) which don’t allow them to throw caution to the wind and drop everything. Others may not have the maturity (either in age or mentally) to go out on their own for weeks on end. The few who can, need to have very good work ethics, because at the end of the night, after the house lights have come up and the audience has gone home, this is a business and although you can have a lot of fun doing it, you have to dedicate as much time & effort to the business side of it as you do the artistic side. Especially when you’re starting out.
