How To Become A Professional Musician In The Music Industry
Want to become a professional musician and get more music career opportunities other musicians only dream about?
Tired of working just as hard as other musicians do, yet you watch them living ‘your dream’? … Yeah, that used to piss me off too! :)
So, are you going to sit there feeling sorry for yourself, or are you finally going to do something about it?
Do what Olympic athletes do and your ability to finally grow a successful music career in the music industry and live your dreams will shoot through the roof.
How does learning to grow a successful music career and getting music career industry compare to the Olympics?
If you have ever watched the Olympics, you’ve noticed that in many events, there is a small difference in skill between someone who receives a gold medal and someone who misses the podium entirely.
For example, in any of the events that involve competing for “the best time”, the difference between 1st place and 2nd can often come down to 1/100th of a second.
For the medal winners: they will gain incredible status amongst the fans in their country, extensive media coverage and (as a result) many potential opportunities for lucrative endorsement deals…
As for the people who place 4th or lower? Those who do not earn a medal will often go unknown to the media and fans unless someone is willing to spend the time to look them up.
Although they certainly will have gained a unique and incredible life experience, they will get nowhere near the fame and fortune of the winners. Overall, this can leave them feeling totally deflated.
Similar to the Olympians, you have dedicated many hours into seeking ways to build a successful music career and become a professional musician.
In addition, like these athletes, you do not want to invest years of hard work, time and money into trying to build a successful music career only to hand over the opportunity of a lifetime to someone else because you did not train yourself to be ready for it.
In order to become a professional musician & get big music career opportunities such as signing a record contract, doing world tours, getting endorsement deals etc., you will need to set yourself apart from other musicians and rise to the top.
Here is what I mean by “setting yourself apart:
No one will come to your front door to offer you great music career opportunities unless you have proven that you are the very best choice.
So, what is it that helps you build a successful music career when many thousands of musicians compete against you each year to get their foot in the front door of that major music company or big-time rock band’s audition?
Here is a great example of ‘non-musical’ business skills (and mindset) that can help you become a professional musician and thrive in the music industry.
It comes from an old magazine article I once read about Steve Vai.
Vai set himself up for a $4.5 million nest egg, by doing the exact opposite of what almost every musician thinks you ought to do.
He self-released his first record on his own dime, but
Didn’t Pursue A Record Deal Until Years Later!
I don’t know if he was just thinking that far ahead or because he simply couldn’t get a record deal back then.
Either way, when he finally DID approach labels for a record deal, he was WAY more likely to get signed, because:
He had proof of his skill, ambition, and work ethic (his product) – unlike most wannabe musicians who only spout emotional rhetoric of “how much music means to them”.
Since he had product (his early records), he had more power to negotiate and more options to get better terms for his deal.
And that meant, he could either:
- sign away the rights to his early records for a greater percentage of profits (since the record company wouldn’t have to sink any of its money to make the records Vai already released).
or
- keep the rights to himself and piggy back on his growing reputation and keep ALL the profits from the early albums for himself.
Both are awesome positions to be in.
I don’t remember what path Vai ultimately went down.
But the article said, he earned a cool $4.5 million from just his early albums he originally fronted his own cash for.
(That story had such an impact on me, I took the same path with my 2 instrumental records for my HESS band.)
Now, you may think that this approach worked for Steve Vai, because, well – he is Steve Vai.
But, news flash:
You don’t need to be the most talented person in the room to become a professional musician.
Instead, the one thing that will help you build a successful music career in the music industry is an in-depth understanding of how to become valuable and how to reduce the risks that you are ask others to take.
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It’s important for you to understand that everyone who wants to become a professional musician and receive music career opportunities brings some level of risk to the people who you need to help you.
This includes record companies, managers, promoters, booking agents, band mates, etc.
Most musicians’ big problem is – they are not even aware of what music career risks they are bringing with them to the music industry.
But back to the point:
You are also likely not fully aware of what could make you more valuable or even what exactly ‘valuable’ means to the people you want to be working with in your music career.
This goes way beyond, your music, your band, your talents, how many fans you might have, etc.
It’s normal that you don’t yet know these things.
Why?
Because first there are almost zero music career resources on this highly specific subject and more importantly, there isn’t some big ‘list’ of music industry value and risks’ that you can just look up on the internet or in a book.
You need to discover what your music career value and risk can be in a given situation. This is why it makes no sense for me to simply publish a list of risks and value. Remember, it’s all custom to you, your music industry dreams and the things you want to pursue as you seek to become a professional musician.
With this situation in mind, you can learn yet another music industry lesson from those who compete in the Olympics.
As mentioned above, the level of competition in the Olympics is incredibly intense. And the difference in skill from one athlete to the next is very small. Even the tiniest missed detail in one athlete’s mindset, training or preparation can make the difference between becoming a gold medalist and going home empty-handed.
To reach their fullest potential, the athletes hire a coach to train them, help them to maintain a winning mindset and keep them from making crucial mistakes.
With the help of an experienced coach, the athlete corrects the smaller details that hold him/her back from becoming their best. Not only does the athlete avoid making the mistakes they would make without the guidance of the coach, but they are also able to correct any errors in their approach much faster than if they were to attempt to figure them out on their own.
Here's how this applies when you want to grow a successful music career in the music industry:
Successful musicians in the music industry use coaches to build a successful music career too! Just like athletes, you may not be able to see the right path for reaching your goals.
Many musicians are just a step away from starting to build a successful music career, but can’t see the one fundamental thing that stands in their way due to a small flaw in their approach or understanding of the music industry.
It is the musicians who find a music career coach and mentor who are able to correct all of their ‘small’ mistakes and misunderstandings in order to rise to the very top. These are the musicians who build a successful music career and achieve their dreams.
So, when it comes learning how to build a successful music career for yourself, don’t blend in with the majority of other musicians by trying to do everything on your own in your music career and failing to attain your highest musical goals because you unknowingly took the wrong approach.
Instead, find a great music career mentor who knows how to help you reach your full potential in the music industry.
When you want to build a successful music career, don’t settle for merely ‘participating’, go for the gold!
Take this free music industry assessment to determine how a mentor will be able to help you achieve your full potential and become a successful professional musician in the music business so that you can finally achieve the goals, aspirations and dreams you have had for so long.
Build a successful music career by working together with your own music career mentor.
