How to Become a Successful Independent Artist or Songwriter

By far the most important skill to have if you wish to become successful with anything, is ATTITUDE.  An old Chinese proverb once said, "90% of the journey towards success is over once you have stepped outside your front door."  The reason many people fail, is because they'd rather stay in and watch the TV.

Of course, that first step outside is a philosophical one.  As a musician or songwriter, you spend the vast majority of your time being creative. If you think that writing a great song, or playing an instrument well, is the hardest part of being a successful artist, you are wrong.

Despite all the skills you need to know and perfect in order to make your music shine, these pale into insignificance compared with the hard work and other skills you will need to learn in order to record, market and sell your art successfully.

Fortunately, most creative people also seem to excel at other things.  The term "Jack of all trades" could quite easily apply to most musicians or artists.  After all, the first thing most artists have to learn, is how to find time for their art whilst running a home AND holding down a Day Job in order to pay the bills!  It is therefore not unusual to find musicians who are also Physicists, Engineers, IT Professionals or Teachers, to name but a few.

Most of these people are quite content to keep music as a hobby, at least whilst bringing up a family. However, we all get to a stage in our lives (usually once the kids have grown up and left home), where we want to cease working for a "Living", and instead, work for our own "Satisfaction".

There are few things in life more satisfying than being admired for something we created.  If our creations also manage to influence others, then it is even more rewarding.

This "first step outside your front door" is taken when you decide to pause from the creative aspect (the ideas), and take a positive step towards learning new skills, or employing others who can do those things for you.

There has never been a better time in the history of mankind, to take those steps, either by yourself, or with others who would help you.

--Where you used to have to pay for tutoring, or buy books, in order to learn the techniques of songwriting, or playing an instrument, you can now find scores of articles on the Internet (like this one!) that will help you for free.

--Where you used to have to save up a considerable amount of money to pay studio costs and hire session musicians to make a decent demo recording, you can now find all the necessary tools, and even the musicians, on the Internet who would help you for little or no cost at all.

--Where you needed to sign a record deal in order to be able to afford a producer and a master quality studio, you can now buy your own PC and some music software, and collaborate with a producer online, who will give you the capability to make radio-ready recordings.

--Where you needed a record company with a huge advertising budget to market and sell your recordings, you can now (with some hard work), market and sell your CDs to the Whole World for next to nothing.

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The Music Industry doesn't like the changes that the Internet has brought to the business.  Digital media can be freely copied by anyone with a PC, anywhere in the World. No longer do the record companies just have to worry about the CD pirates who manufacture illegal copies to sell on the black market; they also have to now worry about every PC-literate man, woman and child, making their own copies too! This has led the music industry into a perpetual fight against filesharers (making enemies of many consumers in the process), instead of embracing the business advantages that the Internet brings to us.

The Music Industry still believes that 8-16 year-olds buy most of the records, so they are still catering primarily for that market. Recent industry figures are telling a different story, and the secret is the "Baby Boomers".

Yes ... The same people who created the above market perception in the 70's by buying the largest proportion of records ever, whilst they were teenagers, have now grown up!  The largest age group to buy CDs TODAY, at 26% of the population, are over 45.  Not only that, but they still like the same kinds of music as they did then.  So there is no need to change your art to fit today's teenybopper market if you aren't that way inclined.

Now that we know the secret, we also know that the next big thing in music, isn't going to be another form of Hip-hop, Techno, or R'n'B; but a return to real music, such as was made during the 60's and 70's.  However, we'll be creating it with modern tools on a Home computer DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) system, instead of in a multimillion pound studio complex!

So, whilst the Music Industry is still hesitating by trying to shun the new digital era in favour of antiquated business models, hardware in the form of CDs, and markets that still only cover limited territories; we can now jump ahead of them onto a more level playing field, find our own markets, and sell to the Whole World with only a simple website!

<b>Sounds easy, doesn't it? ...</b> Well, that is the first hurdle you will face.  So many musicians think it is easy, that there are millions already doing it!  So to be successful you will need, like any other business, a proper business plan.

<b>CONCLUSION</b>

<B>The road to being a successful independent musician, begins with ATTITUDE.</b>

You need to find enough time in your schedule to drop the guitar & scoresheet and use your creative energies towards developing a proper BUSINESS PLAN.  This means taking a step back and listening to your music through Joe Public's ears.  You need to think up a business name, logo, and short slogan that encompasses what you are, and what your music is trying to say to people.

<b>Register your business "name" by buying a domain name that suits you as soon as possible.</b>

Pages on free MP3 sites and Free domains do not give you a professional image. You MUST have your own site, or at least something that offers you a unique look and features of your own.  If you want people to find your music unique & special, then you also need an image that is unique and special.  That goes for your email address too.  Genuine business people don't use their Hotmail, AOL, or Yahoo addresses for formal communications.

<b>Make sure all your paperwork is in order.</b>

If you are planning on making an eventual living from your art, you will need to be registered as a business or as a self-employed sole trader.  You need to make sure your tax and income are all accounted for, so you may have to buy yourself an accounting package, or learn to use Excel Spreadsheets, or employ an accountant.  There is also a lot to learn about how copyright systems work and whether you feel you need to form your own publishing company, record company, or register your copyrights with an agency.  Much of this will depend on the laws of your home country.  Alternatively, you can sign a non-exclusive deal with a small independent label or publisher to handle all the music-related paperwork for you.

<b>You need to either take the time to develop some basic web design skills, buy ready-made templates, or employ someone to design a site for you.</b>

Make sure your logo and colour scheme is fluent throughout your site, your stationery, your CD artwork, and any other communications device, such as email.  Make sure your site includes some way of gathering a mailing list, such as a response form or a "double opt-in" form of registration.

<b>Plan a marketing strategy.</b>

Marketing is all about finding the right market for your product.  This may involve a certain amount of consumer research.  This can be expensive, so use the Internet as much as possible to find groups of people who like similar music to yours.  Try to find out other things about these people so that you can get a clearer picture of who would be interested in your music.

<b>Plan a promotional strategy.</b>

Gather contact lists of magazines, local newspapers, TV and radio stations.  Plan an 8-week promotional strategy leading up to the release of your CD.  Use any press, or airplay you get as a news item on your website.  If you have some money to invest, plan a set of concert dates in local venues for dates close to any publication dates.  Plan a poster or postcard campaign.  Contact local charities, hospitals, schools and shops, in fact anyone who might be prepared to play your CD in a public place.  If you want local record stores to stock your CD, you will also need barcodes and counter display boxes. Use the mailing list you have been gathering from your site to promote any news to your fans with a regular newsletter.  Offer free tickets to gigs, or run competitions for free CDs.  Use your fans as extra leverage to increase the momentum of your promotional campaigns.

<b>Don't under-sell yourself.</b>

Make sure that any music you decide to give away as a promotional MP3 is different in some way to the music you are selling.  E.G. It will either be an early un-mastered mix (demo), or a different mix, or a song you are never going to release for sale.  Otherwise, make sure all samples you make of your records, are either short clips, or low-fi mono samples.  The price you set for your releases should never be too far below that of major record company releases.  Your price tells your customer what "stage" you are at in the business.  Price yourself too cheap and you are more likely to lose customers because they will automatically assume you are an "amateur".

<b>Make yourself and your CD easily accessible to your fans.</b>

Always answer any emails promptly.  Check your emails at least once a day and reply to any new enquiries immediately.  The average time expected by most people for a response by email is 12-24 hours.  Do not SPAM.  Make sure you only send bulk emails to people who have opted into your mailing list, and if anyone wants to opt out, make sure you delete them straight away (not several weeks and 10 disgruntled emails later!).  To contact businesses, you will need to write individually and personally to each of them.  Always use a business "signature" with your artistic or business name, slogan, web site address, and possibly your telephone number, on every email you send.  If you have released a CD, make sure you add the link to that too!  If you have had your CDs duplicated professionally and are barcoded, you can also expand from selling them in internet stores such as iTunes, Amazon, and CDbaby, to high street stores.  You must also sell them from your own site or at least provide links to the stores where they are available.

<b>Never stop "Networking"</b>

Carry your business cards with you at all times.  At every conversational opportunity, if someone happens to mention music, or gigs, make sure you advertise yourself as an independent artist.  If you have a modern mobile phone or MP3 player, make sure your latest CD is on it!  You never know who you'll bump into in the supermarket.  The first thing someone will ask when you mention you are a recording artist is "What kind of music do you play?"  If you have your MP3 player with you, you won't even have to answer! (This is always a difficult question for an artist).  You can just play it to them!  Also make sure you frequent all the music-related newsgroups, forums, bulletin boards, MP3 sites, chat rooms etc. at every opportunity.

<b>Finally, my "Promotional Tip of the Week"</b>

Familiarise yourself with all the P2P filesharing systems that the music business hates so much.  You can use them to your advantage.  Make ads or lo-fi samples of your music or CD and label them like this...<br>
<i>John_Mckeon_Friends_SoundsLike_Simon_&_Garfunkel.mp3</i><br>
Make copies labelled with every well-known artist you think you sound like, and keep all the files in your shared folder.  Then, whenever you are logged onto the service and someone searches for music by these well-known artists, your music will be on their list of results!

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Greatness

When I was a nineteen-year-old high school student and budding poet – two years after my diving accident – many factors adversely affected my creativity. My trips in a special bus to school and back home, my courses, and my assignments, though I was spared a lot of writing and was mostly tested orally, all this was time-consuming. More often than not, my obligation to study took priority over my desire to compose poetry. To tell the truth, I had plenty of free time. That I spent much of it uncreatively showed evidence of frivolousness, laziness, and cowardliness. I usually preferred to take my mind off things, or to daydream, rather than to express myself through poems. The satisfaction I could derive from achieving this expression seldom induced me to try. The deterring elements were the difficulty of trying and the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of my efforts. A poem – assuming one is concerned about writing beautifully – is indeed no cinch. It requires a poet who is talented, skilled, and determined. My poetic ability was fickle; my grammar and style were faulty; my will was faint. I lacked the courage of my creative desire. This lack was not absolute. Now and then, when I felt compellingly inspired, I resisted my temptation to trifle – which amounted to taking the easy way out – and endeavored to compose a poem. I had to repeat this endeavor, over and over, to grow more capable and confident, less discouraged by the challenge at hand. I am afraid young individuals similar to the young man I was then are not a rarity. The prospect of success turns them on; effort and the risk of failure turn them off. The contradiction is apparent, and the result predictable: Since effort and the risk of failure are essential for success, the avoidance of them precludes this success. Of course everyone knows this. The trouble is that many refuse largely to accept it. This is proof that knowledge is powerless in itself; it needs a strong will to be effective. Young individuals, who know the rules of success, can be failures inasmuch as they fail to accept these rules. Wisdom includes this acceptance (the exclusion of which is thus foolish). It must be distinguished from knowledge. Wise people are also brave people who put their knowledge into practice and become successful for that reason. The obvious holds good in every way: Life without courage is like a bird without wings; it cannot take off. Why is it hard to want both the end and the means? Precisely because the means are hard, not to mention the fact that they are hazardous, you might answer. If you are right, then why do some actually thrive on this hardness and hazardousness? The key to this mystery is their attitude: They regard these opposing elements not only as obstacles but also as opportunities for merit and excitement. Just as they were young once, spoon-fed and sheltered from the evils of the world, they eventually outgrew their attachment to easiness and developed a taste for challenge. In conclusion, what characterizes them is their maturity, by contrast with the infantilism of others. Between these two extremes there is a mediocre compromise, partly mature, partly infantile. It consists in taking charge of one’s life while taking the easy way out. Small principles, small realizations, far below one’s potential for greatness, they are poor excuses for wisdom and success. Potential, that is the operative word. There can be greatness in apparent smallness and smallness in apparent greatness; the truth resides in the great or small actualization of one’s potential, whatever it is. How does one discover what it is? By making the effort to actualize it in the ever-renewed and multifaceted act of living. This entails that one push oneself hard, at the risk of going too far. Measure is an empty abstraction for anyone who has never exceeded it. Limits should be experienced, not invented. This experience demands a serious and courageous commitment to greatness. Steer clear of frivolousness, laziness, and cowardliness; do not fall prey to them as I did so many times. They are strong temptations that can assume the form of a cunning philosophy that is unique to losers. Beware of this snare. Life is a demanding character test; come death, you will have ample time to rest! Nostalgic for the old days at the rehabilitation facility when I wrote anyhow about anything, I once conveniently believed in spontaneous writing as a guarantee of genuineness. Fortunately I was foolish yet not a complete fool. After some denial, which involved some nonsense in justification of my foolishness, I admitted sullenly that my sacrosanct pursuit of genuineness was in fact a vile indulgence in idiocy. There is nothing spontaneous about the intelligent conception and intelligible expression of one’s true self, which is everything but simple. It is a tissue of desires, feelings, ideas, and memories, caught in a whirl of interactions between the mind and the world. Either one goes to great lengths to elucidate and formulate the truth about oneself, and one hits the bull’s-eye, or one talks bullshit – please forgive my language. Some people shine at off-the-cuff speeches, as though they were so brilliant they could avoid saying idiocies when forced to be spontaneous. Make no mistake; their brilliance is merely one side of the equation. They have spent years polishing their manner of thinking and speaking, while their knowledge waxed through learning. Their spontaneity is studied. It is a product of numerous rehearsals, like the performance of an actor. Nothing great ever comes easily to anyone, including those who are the most gifted among us. Superior luck is not human greatness, only a steppingstone toward it. The stone is given; the stepping is done by the sweat of one’s brow and is made of a million steps, uphill. To work one’s way up to greatness is comparable to conquering Mount Everest, the highest peak of the Himalayas. It is an outstanding achievement with a sense of pride to match.