Showing posts with label Plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plan. Show all posts

How To Find Your Musical Goals

There was a comment recently about tips for trying to figure out your goals. This seems to be a tough thing for most people, especially musicians. There are tons of articles out there about how to get things done and succeed. They start off with you making a list of your goals and then move on from there. Unfortunately, figuring out your goals is usually difficult and timing consuming. Some people go through their entire life not knowing what they're goals are. Yet you're supposed to figure this out in a short time and then move on from there. Figuring out what your goals are like asking you what your favorite color is. It's all personal and one person's answers are going to be different than another. The key to figuring out what your goals are is all about asking questions; tons of them. Once you start asking yourself the right questions it will become easier figuring out what direction you should take.


Quality Control

Quality Control album cover

Whenever the labels were going to release a new album, there was a procedure that they followed. It was all about timing and making sure that the proper channels were set up. That way, when the album was released, there would be enough momentum and they were assured a certain amount of press and air time. Things now are different. Now most artists do a lot of their marketing online. There is also the ability to get new material to all of their fans simply through their website and online aggregators. Because of the availability of tons of music at their fingertips, most fans can pick and choose what they want. There is no limited shelf space or even limited air space. As an artist you can pretty much now release whatever you want, whenever you want. Question is (just to be even more confusing), is this something you want to do?

Death of the Album

Before the advent of the internet, the album was it. Ever since the Beatles released albums like ‘Sgt. Peppers’, the album has remained the preferred choice for fans and labels alike. I’m still a fan and its how I usually choose to listen to the music and artists that I enjoy. I usually found that the tracks that I loved best from the artist were never the ones that made the top ten. But because of the internet, it’s now possible to get almost any song you desire. The concept of the album hasn’t completely died but it has now taken a far less important role. Like it or not, the single has once again taken the dominant role. The problem that arises for the artist is to consider even creating an album in the first place. There are many industry people that say creating an album is a waste of time since it’s probably not going to be ‘consumed’ that way anyway. They have a point but there is way more to consider here. You have to ask yourself some questions about what it is you want to do. If the idea is to create some tracks and then go out on tour then putting together a CD is critical. It’s also another way to sell your tracks online and gives fans another alternative. Like Trent Reznor has shown the world, it’s all about giving the fans choices. Some fans will want all of your tunes and putting together a complete CD package is the best way to do that. Albums also give fans a snapshot of were you happen to be at a certain time. I know that for my favorite artists, there are albums that I love more than others. In most cases, even if you do most of your sales online, it’s a good idea to put together an album since it creates another stream of income from your music.

Release It Now

There is one more item that should be looked at when releasing new material. This is what most industry insiders usually refer to when they say that releasing an album isn’t a good idea but they don’t explain it properly. It’s the idea of releasing material immediately. Since the distribution chain is almost immediate, you can release material the day it’s completed. This gives fans immediate access to new material and also gives them a reason to come back to your website. The advent of the big CD release should be reserved for special occasions when there is a market and gives you a great reason tour, to connect with more fans, and to send out press releases. Otherwise it’s a good idea to release material on a regular basis giving fans a reason to come back again and again. Some artists not only release new material on a regular basis but add other items such as videos and separate tracks for the fans to remix. In other words, break down any walls between you and your fans. Always give them a reason to come back. Releasing your new material is a great way to do this. Some artists have even released demos and asked their fans for feedback. There are other sites that allow fans to invest money into their favorite bands to help with recording and tour costs.

The Package

One thing that seems to get lost in this equation though is keeping your focus together. Sometimes it’s easy to just start writing anything and then sending it out there for fans to consume. There is a fine line between keeping fans back and simply filling up you website, just to fill it up. The point is that even though there is the ability to release whatever you want and get it out to people, do you want to release everything that you do? There still needs to be some filter to decide if the material is up to your own standards and musical vision. Even if the song is in demos form, is it a good representation of the band. Remember that once it’s out there, it’s out of your control. This is different from sending your stuff out for remixing. Once there have been new material ready, give it a day to review it and see if it something that you really want to get out there. There is a danger now that you can contact people anytime, to make sure that when you do connect, it’s for a good reason. Trust is the issue we’re talking about here. Fans know that if they go to your site that there’s going to be a certain level of quality there. Even if it’s a demo, they know that it will be of a certain quality when it comes to the content. There are a million ways to connect with you fans but there is only so much time in the day that they will be available. This means that when you do try and connect, have something worthwhile to give. There are artists online that constantly push their own stuff without giving much value in return. There is no room for that anymore. There needs to be content but it has to keep the fans attention. It’s not good enough to just have stuff there, it needs to mean something. Putting together CD releases is a great way to have quality content. Putting your newest tracks online for the fans to comment is also a great way to get traffic. Constantly bombarding people with your ‘go to my site’ isn’t. Releasing constant material without making sure it’s of the highest quality isn’t. People now have the choice to listen to anything that they want.

Quality Control

There are no surprises anymore. You can have the greatest marketing and websites in the world but without great content, you’re going to lose. That’s it’s important to always have new material but you have to make sure that it stands up to your standards. Releasing something just because you can isn’t a good reason. If you do this often enough you will betray people’s trust and they won’t come back. It’s been said a million times before and it still stands. It’s all about the connection with people. Release anything, whenever you want. Try to connect with as many people as you can. This takes a while and doesn’t happen in a day. The auto-replies and friends adders don’t work anymore. There needs to be a connection and a reason for people to come back. Give them as many reasons as you can to do this. Make sure though, that it’s something that you feel represents you and your music. Because after all; people and music, that’s what it’s all about.

How to Be Lucky In Your Music Career

The Illustrated Sutra of Cause and Effect: 8th...Image via Wikipedia

There is a basic idea in the music industry that a lot of your success relies on luck. Sometimes when you look at the career at some of the superstars out there, it may seem that they had a lot of luck to get where they are. This is true in some respects; success in this industry does have a lot to do with luck. But, it may not have as much influence as you may think. I looked at some of the careers of some successful musicians and found something very interesting. A lot of what I had dismissed as luck actually was as a direct result of what the musician was doing. It was a direct result of effort more than anything sort of help from some outside force.

Bad Luck

Since we're on the topic of luck, let's talk a bit about bad luck. We've all had those days where nothing seemed to go right. If something could go wrong, it would. There is no doubt that sometimes things just aren't working in your favor. Bad luck, like good luck, has a lot to do with what you do and don't do. It also has a lot to do with cause and effect. For example, if you've bought a used car and that car breaks down on you, it's not so much a situation of bad luck as it is probability. Most often when you buy something that's used, odds are that it has some defects. In fact, if you get something used and it doesn't have any major defects, you may consider yourself lucky.

An Ounce of Prevention

We've all heard the saying: 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'? Well this is true of bad luck too. How much is something bad happening as a result of prevention as it is just an accident. A lot of times, without prevention, an accident is just waiting to happen. If you have a vehicle that you don't upkeep, then it's just a matter of time before something breaks down. It has nothing to do with bad luck. Have you ever noticed some people's lives seem to be in perpetual turmoil? Things seem to break down and go wrong on a regular basis. On closer inspection you find that a lot of times they're just unorganized or simply failed to take care of something when the time was right. For example, I don't know how many times something went wrong in my life and I immediately chalked it up to bad luck. More often than not though, looking back over the sequence of events I usually find something that I could have done to have prevented the problem in the first place. There are also examples where the odds may be stacked against you and you deny the fact that they are there. If buy a house in the Midwest and you have your house destroyed from a tornado, it's not as much bad luck as it is bad planning.

The basic point of this is that a lot of bad luck may be the simple result of not taking the necessary actions to prevent the problem in the first place. And, in the same way, you may experience 'good luck' as a result of taking positive action. If you extend this type of thinking to other area of your life, you start to see some patterns.

The Plan

Then there are the conclusions people draw when things don't go their way or not according to plans. Sometimes when things go slightly off, people make it worse by abandoning their efforts or rebelling against the process. For example, you may miss your bus on your way to a really important meeting, dismiss it as bad luck and abandon the opportunity all together. I know that I've done this. I attempt to achieve something only to give up at the last moment because of some unforeseen circumstances or unplanned interruptions. I'll get frustrated at my 'bad luck' and drop the whole affair. Things getting in the way and not going according to plan are simply a part of life. The army, who is famous for taking on monumental tasks has a saying that says 'a plan is simply a guideline to getting started'. Meaning once you get started on a project or toward an objective, things will go 'wrong' and not according to plan. Having the plan there is simply a guideline to make sure that everybody keeps the objective in mind. Things are always going to go wrong. It's not bad luck; it's simply the way of the universe.

So when things go wrong you're simply going to have to fix the error or find another way. In keeping with the ounce of prevention theme, there are things that will go wrong no matter what precautions you've taken. This can be back luck or it can be something that was going to happen and you just didn't see the signs. Sometimes things will happen as a result of things that are beyond your control. If you've worked in the forest industry and then the bottom falls out of the industry is this bad luck? Or is it just a natural part of our changing economy?

People People

Have you ever met somebody who has no problem meeting people? They seem to attract people wherever they go and always seem to know somebody. I've known a few people like this and not only are they popular; they also seem to be very lucky. I knew a guy who seemed to be really lucky at getting things done, getting jobs and getting help from other people. I always chalked this up to good luck until I noticed how good he was with people. He was outgoing, genuine and people never had any misgivings about going out of their way for him. The funny thing is that most of the time, the people helping never asked for anything in return. In short, he had charisma. Is this guy really lucky or is it as result of a developed skill? Some people are born with great people skills but this also one area that can be improved with practice. Nowhere is this skill more important than the music industry. You'll be surprised at how many opportunities arise simply from knowing somebody. Actually it goes beyond knowing somebody; it's a result of good relationships. These like most things, need to be cultivated.

Having the ability to get to know people and develop good relationships is one of the most important skills to have as a musician. For some well known musicians, this is the secret to their success; they were simply great at meeting the right people and getting those people to help them out with their career. It's amazing how much luck you draw when you are surrounded with great people.

Hard Workers

Then there are the 'lucky' people who just seem to get a lot done. You know the type, they don't seem to do a lot yet seem to get a lot done. They seem to be lucky and have success even though they seem to have limited skills. Here the luck comes from simply playing the odds and focusing on the one thing that matters. Some people in the music industry seem to be really lucky at their career while they seem to be a mess in other areas of their life. The fact of the matter is that they make sure that they get the essentials done. There is the 80/20 rule in business where 80% of your success comes from 20% of your effort. In other words, there a couple of things that you do that accounts for 80% of your success. These people seem to have found that 80% and get that done. It's amazing how much success you can have by doing this. It may seem to other people that you don't work hard or that it comes easy for you. The fact of the matter is that once you take care of the essentials, most of the other 80% will either take care of itself or won't matter half as much as you may think.

The Right Attitude

Sometimes having good luck is simply a matter of having the right attitude. If you do consider yourself lucky, you may be more willing to do things that other people won't. You may be open to new ideas or just try things without preconceived notions. Or you may simply try again where most people would give up. Some people in the music industry got lucky simply because they 'got out there'. You may try things that others would consider too risky or daring. You may walk into situations and ask for what you want where most people would consider it too pushy. In short, you are expecting the best from situations. If you have a good attitude and are willing to try things, not take things too seriously and just get out there, you may end up with more luck than other people.

Being Open

There is an element of simply being open to being lucky. If you're open to trying things, to meeting new people and learning new skills, you may find yourself getting more opportunities than most people. There is the attitude of simply trying things and getting it out there. According to Derek Sivers, some of the most successful artists on CDBaby were the ones that simply tried many things. They got things done and tried many avenues of promotion without worrying about making 'the right moves'. If you're out there, getting things done and making things happen, you may end up getting really lucky.


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