If you’re looking for specific, guaranteed ways of making it big in the music industry, good luck… because they don’t exist. However, understanding the basics will give you a foundation to build your career on.
Step 1: Figure out why you want it.
What is your motivation for pursuing the record industry? Figuring this out early on will save you lots of time and heartache.
This is not to dissuade you from your dreams, but rather to give you a dose of reality. If there’s anything else you have a passion for, that road will probably be easier.
Are you in search of fame?
There are easier ways to achieve it, some with much less effort required of you. Most people who seek fame through music will never find it. If you do attain fame, are you prepared to handle everything that comes with it?.
Fame is a drug with a high more powerful than ecstasy: flashing lights, VIP treatment, red carpet, etc. However, it comes with harsh consequences: loss of privacy, tabloids and paparazzi fabricating stories, and the increased likelihood of betrayal by those whom you consider friends and family.
At the same time, fame does not equal money. What you see in the magazines is a result of lighting, theater makeup and Photoshop. The fancy clothes, jewelry and cars are usually borrowed or leased. Your favorite model could very well be living in a studio apartment with 6 other people.
What you see on television and in magazines and movies is pure fantasy: the world behind it is very different.
Are you an artist in search of riches?
I hate to break it to you but record sales are in the toilet, the market is completely over-saturated, and most record labels are consolidating and signing fewer artists. We won’t even mention how messed up some label contracts can be; I’ll let Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes from TLC explain those.
There is money to be had, but it takes hard work and strategic career moves. There are thousands of people earning a decent living from music that you may or may not ever see in the media. Prime example: Max Martin is a record producer worth several hundred MILLION dollars, and I couldn’t pick him out of a lineup.
Are you in it for the love of the game?
You have a fighting chance, but success isn’t guaranteed. Depending on what career path you choose, it won’t always be about the music. Managers are tasked with building relationships, publishers may deal more with emails and contracts than anything else, and A&R representatives are busy looking for pop hits, which isn’t necessarily the same thing as a good song.
Remember, it is called the music business.
Are you in it to change it for the better?
As someone on a similar path, I commend you. Yet, I must warn you that your path will be a difficult one.
This industry is constantly changing and evolving, and even veterans have no idea what the future holds. It is a life of instability, can be extremely artificial at times, and I personally know people that have abandoned it altogether: one person got so tired, they moved back to the Midwest and became a nurse.
You must be absolutely certain that this is the life you want in order to have any chance in thriving in its chaos.
MORAL OF THE STORY
The music industry is like an advanced game of chess. Be strategic and you can succeed. One misstep and your queen is captured.
Your move.
