Tips To Get In The Music Game

Observe, Be Excellent and Master Your Craft

Whether singing, song writing, playing an instrument, or producing music, all musicians need to spend a considerable amount of time perfecting their talent.

Hire a talent coach, perform to build up experience with live shows, study those that came before you, experiment, get professional feedback and tons of practice.

This applies to everything you do! It all starts with the music you listen to. Sometimes, society can train us to lower our expectations by convincing us mediocrity is acceptable.

It is not. Excellence is at your fingertips; it simply needs to be understood and observed.

Study carefully from those who are successful in music and what they have done. Listen to everything, no matter what the genre, and try to see the beauty in everything that is music, despite your personal preferences.

The foundation you lay now with your acceptance and understanding of these basic essentials will define who you will be in your own music career.

Decide Your Message – “Give a voice to those who don’t perform”.

Having talent is great, but every musician needs to focus on their message and what they want to express to the world.

Making music is not just about skill, but also about feeling and freedom of expression. In order to build a fanbase and a following, your songs should connect to a specific audience and give a voice to those who don’t perform.

Talent will make you a good singer, but talent with a message will make you a great artist.

All musicians need to record their music and begin creating full songs. You don’t have to be a songwriter find the best producers to help and develop your sound or work with songwriters to create captivating songs.

Songs can make or break your career so deliver your best material to fully represent your vision and talent. In contrast; Good songs come from bad ones so keep writing…

Market and Promote Yourself

After making great songs, musicians must be involved with the marketing and promotion of their content. Technology has made it easier to create and distribute music. However, this also has created an oversaturation of music projects.

To combat that, it’s extremely important for you to be creative in how you promote yourself. You must be savvy in building your social media presence, take amazing photos that highlight your brand, interact with your followers, and so on.

While creating and performing your music, you also need to network to build a team.

Watch online networking events, music conferences, and go anywhere else where you can be creative and make business connections.

Network with music producers, find fellow musicians to collaborate with, and connect with a business manager. Music is a relationship business you’ve got to cease every opportunity if it is presented to you.

Believe In Yourself – Trust me, this will be tested!

Branding requires that your image and likeness your logos, who you are and what you represent are clear and aligned with similar products that aggrandize your musical mission.

Always remember why you want to be an artist and stay motivated. It can be a very rough business, but what’s worse is not pursuing your passion and giving up your dreams because of fear.

Be Optimistic at every turn. It’s the only true survival tool you have that you can control. If you start with undying optimism you will be more resistant against the neglect you may feel when first starting out.

Be Careful Who You Take Advice From

People often tend to seek advice from those who have been remarkably successful. It’s a natural human tendency to do so. But remember, the best advice always comes from those who have failed and are painfully aware of their mistakes.

Family and friends are great but they are often too biased to give proper guidance and advice when it comes to your music. Music professionals tend to give more constructive guidance and can set more realistic goals and expectations.

Israel SEBENZO® is a Singer, Songwriter and Artist & Repertoire (A&R) Executive