May 7, 2015 7 Points to Artistic Longevity in the New Music Business
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written by: Les Dion CEO of EMG Music Group
For my fellow Independent Recording Artist, I want to share with you what I believe to be 7 great fundamental steps for a successful, long-term career. As an ANCIENT Artist..lol, the process I presently use applied to a young Artist, would most likely guarantee a long and strong career:
1- 1st understand that no matter what your style, skill level, or age is, there’s a tribe of humans out there among the billions that will love what you do, and gladly pay for it. Your challenge is to find them, move them, and continue to feed them. BTW I’ll start by saying ‘That’s the part that seems at times impossible but it’s not!!! SUPER hard and SUPER expensive, but not impossible!
2- That leads me to my 2nd point…..YOU ARE YOUR OWN INVESTOR!!! Forget the old notion that ‘If I’m good enough, the big boys will come knocking’! THERE’S NO ONE COMING!!!! Can’t say that loud enough. Go ask the last 7 winners of The VOICE if the big boys are knocking….point #3
3- YOU ARE YOUR OWN RECORD COMPANY!!!!! Can’t say that one loud enough either…lol. Seriously guys….it will be totally up to you to CONSISTENTLY, find a way to fund this complex process the way Record Companies did with Artist for decades. It’s a new model, done a new way, with new rules. Just because the Gondola (labels) that took Artist to the mountaintop is out of service, doesn’t mean Artist can’t get to the mountaintop. It only means the way will be tougher, MUCH longer, and YOU WILL HAVE TO FOOT THE COST! There are some great tools out there to find funding, but when it’s all said and done, YOU MUST HAVE A FUNDING MACHINE IN PLACE!!! Sad to say guys but that can’t always be mom and dad, that can’t always be friends or fans. Nothing wrong with a little help from your family and friends, but this is your Art, your career, your vision, and ultimately your responsibility to finance its success. If you can finance it into orbit independently, then maybe, just maybe, a Major Label will take you to Mars.
4- YOU MUST CREATE ART FOR THE RIGHT REASONS!! If you’re creating art for fame, fortune, or prestige, this may come as a shock, but you really should STOP right now!!! Clearly we all would want those things if we’re honest, but the foundation of why you create Art can’t be build on that stuff. seriously man you have got to be creating a body of work because your soul is requiring it!! Because you hopefully have something important to say,your inner being should be screaming..”I have to build this no matter what, no matter how long it takes, no matter how high I have to climb, no matter how many times I slip and fall, no matter how many obstacles get in my way, and no matter what anyone thinks!!!!!! If you CAN’T bring that kind of passion and resolve to the table, then maybe this new age of the independent Artist/Entrepreneur isn’t for you.
5- YOUR AGE IS NO LONGER A DEAL BREAKER! Why? Because there
essentially are no deals any more except the ones you make directly with
your fans, and your age has nothing to do with creating great Art that will
draw fans. 30 was always the cutoff point for labels and still is with
American Idol, but Labels aren’t the avenue by which Artist are creating, and distributing music in this new model. The internet, streaming, and social media have given content creators brand new Avenues that have more traffic than the I-10 in LA. It’s crowded and hard to get noticed on these new Highways, but at least they’re not blocked off anymore.
6- YOUR ART MUST BE MAGNIFICENT!!! Every Artist can publish now! Even 6 year olds….lol. It is so cool that the barriers to publication are now GONE FOREVER! Unfortunately it’s like the Walmart doors on a black Friday… boy when they open, everyone is barging through. If you followed all of the other previous steps but cut corners here, then you’re waisting your time!! There is no gauge I know of that’s capable of determining when your Art becomes MAGNIFICENT. One things is certain though. Masterpieces are only created by masters, and masters are masters because of the deep dedication they have to perfecting their craft. We have to try with all of our might to rise to the highest level of our Artistic potential, if we’re going to have success in building a tribe of followers. Becoming a master may not be doable, but striving to become one is!!!
7- TRY TO LET YOUR ART REFLECT YOU, BUT NOT BE ABOUT YOU!
And lastly, if it’s going to be about you, then let it be something inspiring ok!
Artist development will always be important to us at EMG Music Group. Reach back with any questions, and keep your ears tuned for all the music we’re releasing from the UNCOVERED project starting with “Happy Feelings”, a Maze tribute, on Tues 3/17/15. Take a listen to ‘Natural High’ a beautiful tribute to Bloodstone like only Les could do it. Visit us at http://lesdion.comfor more insight on the great things happening! #GODSTRONGALWAYS#BEINIT2WINIT
Reader Comments (8)
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Great article and I can vouch for everything you said because its the same thing I tell ll my clients that I do graphics and branding for. If any artist need help with graphics our branding feel free to check us out www.MixtapeCoverKing.com
In other words, poor people are pretty much excluded. Which is part of the reason we aren't seeing the great songs about this subject that we used to, and there is so much boring, shallow stuff out there.
Beautiful words of wisdom! I'm totally on board with everything you wrote here, especially #4. Thanks for posting this!
"YOU MUST CREATE ART FOR THE RIGHT REASONS!! If you’re creating art for fame, fortune, or prestige, this may come as a shock, but you really should STOP right now!!! "
This is essential, and the point must be made often.
All the poseurs and fakes should get out of music. They are only misusing the medium.
This article is so funny to me, because I wrote pretty much EXACTLY the same thing like 2 years ago on my tumblr. It was refreshing to hear someone mirror my sentiments. Also refreshing to hear someone say that 30 isn't the cutoff point. I went through a major depression and probably am not all the way out of it at 29 because of this reason. Unfortunately, at 28, I started giving up subconsciously and trying to find other "more realistic" careers. I used to play guitar for 8-12 hours a day every day out of passion. Now it's a shock if I pick it up once or twice a year. :(
this is an excellent article, and thank you so much for this! it's an eye opener in a few ways and i appreciate the insight. makes me feel like i can continue doing this music thing!
Stay in the game guys. This is the greatest transitional phase the music industry has ever seen. No one knows where exactly where things are headed, or what the industry will look like when the dust settles. It's a bit scary to pursue a career in an industry that delivers a product that can no longer sell. Music has become so devalued that consumers don't even care to steal it any longer. It's truly survival of the fittest so stay fit & operate in survival mode if you must, but stay in the game if you know you're meant to do this!!!