Over the years, I have heard many excuses from aspiring artists as to why they are not successful in the music business. I have compiled a list of “Top 10 Excuses NOT to Succeed in the Music Business”. The difference between winners and losers is that winners act and losers make excuses not to act.
Here is my list of excuses:
1. I am too young
2. I am too old
3. I don’t have enough money
4. I don’t have enough contacts
5. I don’t know what to do
6. I just don’t have the looks
7. Other people are holding me back
8. I don’t live in the right city
9. I have many other obligations (children, marriage, work, etc.)
10. I don’t expose myself enough
Let me attack these excuses one by one.
1. I am too young
There have been many young people who have succeeded in the music business. In fact, most people start when they are young. Currently, there are young people who top the music charts like Justin Bieber. Michael Jackson started when he was 5 years old. Destiny’s Child found success when they were teenagers and look at its members now. Who hasn’t heard of Beyonce? If you are young, I say that you probably have a better chance of being successful than someone in their 70s. We will also dispel the excuse of “old age” in n. 2.
2. I am too old
I remember one of my friends telling me that if I was not successful in my 30s in the music business, I would quit altogether. Well the music business is very strange and instead of focusing on making great music and being a great entertainer, my friend focused on his age. Al Jarreau was in his 30s when he succeeded. More recently, Susan Boyle has become an international success, not because of her age and looks, but because she is talented.
3. I don’t have enough money
I’m sure I’m glad I got over this excuse early. If you don’t have money, then you need to find someone to invest in your music career or learn to advance your career without spending too much money. There are all kinds of guerilla marketing techniques that aspiring artists can use to further their careers. Go to the library and get a book on guerilla marketing and you will see what I mean. Better yet, Google it!
4. I don’t have enough contacts
Once again, let’s remove this excuse for good. We are in the informacion era. There are networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and many others online that will allow you to make all the contacts you need. In the offline world, you can attend music industry conventions to learn about the music business and build lasting relationships. I can’t even remember all the contacts that I have built over the years, but I will never say that I don’t have enough contacts.
5. I don’t know what to do
This is another tired excuse. There are many books in the public library on everything from how to do a show to how to book your own shows and earn money. If you really don’t know what to do, find a mentor and be on your way. Even if you don’t know them personally, success leaves clues. Find out what they did and duplicate it.
6. I just don’t have the looks
Of course there are many great artists in the entertainment industry, but if you don’t think you have “the look,” you should probably quit anyway. I’m serious. There have been some really box office hits that weren’t “bystanders.” Also, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which means that different people are attracted to different things. This is more of a self esteem issue and you should probably work on increasing your self esteem first if you plan to be in the music business. Sometimes people can be mean and if you have thin skin or are easily offended this business is NOT for you.
7. Other people are holding me back
Seriously? Unless you’re in jail or someone is holding you against your will, no one can really stop you from achieving your musical goals. You need to look at the “man in the mirror” and figure out what you need to do to go ahead with your plan.
You have a plan, right?
There may be negative people in your life, but if that’s the case, if you are an adult, you can walk away from their negativity. Many artists hear the words, “I don’t think you can make it in the music industry.” If someone is telling you that, you should stay away from them as much as possible because you will start to doubt yourself and your talent.
8. I don’t live in the right city
Thirty years ago, this might have been true, but once again the Internet shoots this excuse to the heart. There was a time when you had to live in New York City, Los Angeles, or Nashville to succeed in the music business. The internet has leveled the playing field so that no matter where you live, you can earn money and be discovered if that’s your goal.
9. I have many other obligations (children, marriage, work, etc.)
In fact, I struggled with this one for a while. I put my musical dreams on hold to take care of my family and that was a very noble and responsible thing to do. However, I never stopped writing and pursuing my goals. I learned to make rhythms and I learned to market myself on the Internet as I have already told you so many times in this article.
I didn’t make excuses for what I was doing. I just need to find a different way to achieve my goals and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach. Even if you have to spend 30 minutes a day doing something to make your musical dreams come true, that’s better than doing nothing at all.
10. I don’t expose myself enough
I can group this excuse with some of the others above, but here is a different point of view on the exhibition. Internet, Internet, Internet! All you need is some basic equipment and you are on your way to massive exposure. You must first take a guerilla marketing course so that you can learn to promote yourself with little to no money.
I would also suggest getting a digital camera and / or a camera that records video. You can post photos and videos on the internet for your fans to see. Do you need to do a live show? Have someone record your presentation live and post it online on sites like YouTube. However, posting on a site is not enough. You need to learn how to drive traffic to your posts and that is why I highly recommend learning internet marketing.
People are gaining ground on the internet and it doesn’t take millions of people or millions of sales for you to be successful.
I’m sure there are more excuses than I’ve listed here, but I think these are the ones I’ve heard the most. If you are using any of these excuses above, I suggest you take a good look at yourself and find out if this business is for you.
Finally, I would like to leave you a budget. I’m not sure who the author is, but when you start making excuses, always remember this:
Excuses are the tools of incompetence. Those who use them build monuments out of nowhere that will come to nothing. Therefore there are no excuses