5 Golden Rules For Aspiring Recording Artists

It's easy to get into the music industry with high hopes, only to figure out things probably won't progress as fast as you thought they would. While sometimes this can be because it naturally takes a while to build up momentum, it can also be because musicians pick up bad habits and start doing the wrong things along they way.

Thankfully, we're here to put you back on the right track! Today I've got 5 golden rules that you should stick to if you want to try and make a success out of your music career. While there are no ‘magic bullets', the below five things will increase your chances of success. So follow these rules and share if they're helpful.

Note: The below article is written by Fivestar Beats..

But first, if it's your aim to do music professionally, you'll want to check out our free ebook while it's still available:

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Golden Rule 1 For Musicians: Be Realistic

If you want to go far in music, prepare yourself for a lot of hard work and patience. Just because Justin Bieber managed to conquer the world with a YouTube video, doesn't mean it will happen for everyone. In fact, this rarely happens. You will make it easier on yourself to accept that a lot of touring and marketing will be involved in making yourself a success.

You will also need the money to help you get started; this is why a job is important. Keep in mind that there are many recording artists out there with the same dream, so the odds of breaking through are slim.

This section of advice isn't meant to create negativity. It's important to dream big, but building on hope alone won't get the job done. What this section should do is prepare you for what lies ahead.

Golden Rule 2 For Recording Artists: Always Record A Professional Album

If you want to play a show at a local club or restaurant, then a good quality home recorded demo will be more than sufficient. However, if you want to start selling albums or submit demos to record labels then they need to be flawless.

This is a where you need to invest in yourself, because if you don't then nobody is going to take you seriously. So find a nice studio and an engineer that will suit your budget.

Keep in mind that you don't have to record the whole album at once. If you only have money for one track then get one track done and save up for the next. Remember that people requiring demos will typically ask for between 1 and 3 songs, so focus on getting your best 3 together and polish them off perfectly.

Rule 3 For Those In The Music Industry: Get Sponsorships And Build A Following

You will hear the words “publisher” and “manager” a lot in the music business, but utilizing them is harder than it sounds. Finding a manager shouldn't be too difficult, but publishers only really pay attention if you have a record label. In turn, record labels only really listen to demos sent by publishers.

In other words, you need to ‘make’ them pay attention. The best advice is to get the fans behind you. This means playing as many gigs as possible, even if it's only for a crowd of 5 people; at least initially while you're building up confidence anyway. Word of mouth has never failed and it will not fail you here.

Get people talking about your sound and start sending those professional recordings to local radio stations. Once you have established a reputation, go to music shops and offer to advertise their merchandise in return for funds. If you can manage to spread the word wide enough, publishers and managers will come to you.

Rule 4 For Recording Artists: Utilize The Disadvantages

I know it sounds rather contradictory, but thanks to social media and the internet, it's very difficult to stand out from the crowd. But this doesn't mean you shouldn't use them. Use every big website you can find to promote yourself and ask your friends to help spread the word. It might be difficult to stand out, but it's definitely possible if you utilize every section of the web.

Another ‘disadvantage' you can use is something unique about you which isn't considered the norm. For example, Ed Sheeran is known for his ginger hair, a trait which isn't always promoted as being a positive (although there's clearly nothing wrong with any hair color). And outside the music industry, Cindy Crawford gained a lot of attention she probably otherwise wouldn't have received without her mole.

So use any disadvantage that can make you stand out… within reason of course. 🙂

Rule 5: Don't Keep Doing The Wrong Things!

This is one I've seen a lot. Look, if you try a type of marketing of your music and it's not getting very good results a few months later, stop doing it! As they say, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Similarly, if you keep contacting other people in the music industry for collaborations or for them to showcase your music but people generally don't get back to you, it's probably either because you're approaching them wrong or your product's not good enough. In these cases, something has to change.

You should constantly be looking at what does and doesn't work in your music career and changing things up. Adapting is the best way to survive in general, and it also works well in the music industry.

Conclusion

There are five golden rules you should be following as a musician. If you have the talent and you are willing to sustain a hardworking attitude, then a career as a recording artist can be very fulfilling. But it takes work.

There will be a lot of rejections and disappointments, but if you can get past these then the rewards can be even greater.

Ok, so this article was produced by Fivestar Beats – an Online Music Production Company.