6 dos, don’ts for being a successful independent artist
Here, Disctopia offers an insider view of the challenges and struggles independent artists face climbing the ladder to success, and offers some guidance on how to succeed in an industry that has shifted its focus from distribution to streaming.
Guest post from Disctopia
Look around you, you’ll find thousands of independent artists churning out good music daily. All of these talented individuals are all aiming to become successful independent artists. However, you need not be bothered as the indie music scene has experienced tremendous change in the last decade.
The entire music industry has moved from distribution to streaming, and there’s a lot of noise out there. You need to prove your mettle to establish yourself as one of the successful independent artists. At Disctopia, we have an insider view of the struggles of indie artists, and we want to help guide as many as possible through the over-saturated industry.
In this piece, we’ll be providing helpful advice that will help you stay on the lane of success;
- Don’t Stress Yourself Up On Getting a Million Dollar Studio
Your ability to make good music isn’t about where it is recorded. It’s not a studio that makes music; it’s the artist. It won’t matter if you are a mediocre artist and you record your music at Capitol Studios.
Don’t ever think that the reason why you are yet to go viral is due to the lack of a million-dollar studio. Instead, it would help if you focused on finding your own best sounds. Then a studio can complement your skills.
- Do Your Own Thing
While there are numerous rules and guides out there on horning your skill, let it come naturally. Of course, there is a lot of sense in Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule. You will be excellent at anything you spend 10,000 hours on.
However, what if you struck gold at the 378th hour, or even lesser? Don’t live your life by such rules as an indie artist. Just allow your music to grow as you go along. As you grow, let your fans grow along with you also.
- Don’t Think Hiring a Manager Will Kickstart Your Career
Yes, there’s a lot a skilled music manager can do for your music career. However, don’t bank on it too much. Instead, if you aspire to be a successful independent artist, you should create a personal relationship with your fans and people you’ll be working with.
You should also be aware that music managers that possess the acumen, network, and skills to shoot your career into the stars will likely not touch your music. These managers are only interested in successful artists.
- Do Not Get Into a Beef Or Fight on Social Media
If you are indeed serious about being a successful independent artist, then you should follow this rule to the last letter. Regardless of how angry or rude anyone might be on social media, never get into a fight.
Rather, take the fight offline and put a call across and thrash things out logically. Remember that the internet never forgets. Please don’t write your career off even before it kicks off by taking your beef to the internet.
- Don’t Rely Solely on Social Media Music Promotion.
While the potency of social media music promotion is never in doubt, you should know that relying on it as your only source of promotion will not augur well for your career. You will need to take your music promotion offline.
Make it a habit to attend networking events, concerts and other shows where you will meet people and talk about your music. You can wear a T-shirt with your Twitter handle on it. It will help people to reach out afterwards.
- Don’t Operate Without Setting Goals.
Without goal setting, you’ll likely not be aware of your successes. With your eyes on the trophy to become a successful independent artist, you need to have a yardstick to measure your growth.
It’s a matter of what you want to achieve with your music. If you intend to go far with your music, you have to answer the question. Don’t ever operate in a vacuum as someone who wants to be a successful independent artist.
