Why Musicians Give Up & Quit On Their Music Careers – And How To Ensure You Don’t
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Unfortunate statistic:
Most musicians (at least 98%) looking to build a music career and become professional musicians are going to give up on their dreams and quit on themselves.
This...
... is unfortunate.
Because despite what you may hear about the “risks” of working in the music industry…
It’s not that hard to become a professional musician.
Succeeding in the music industry comes down to:
- Knowing the right things to do
- Understanding how to do them, and then…
- Doing them consistently and in the right order.
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By submitting your info, you agree to send it to Tom Hess Music Corporation who will process and use it according to their privacy policy.
Sadly...
98% of musicians fail at one or more of those 3. And that is why so many musicians give up and quit on their music careers.
But this music industry article will help ensure you don’t become one of them.
To begin, here are the top reasons why musicians give up and quit on their music careers:
Reason #1 Musicians Give Up And Quit On Their Music Careers: Giving In To Doubters And Naysayers.
Ever have friends and family speak critically of your dream become a professional musician and build a music career?
They may ask questions like:
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Do you have a back-up plan?”
“Why don’t you get a real job?”
“Why are you wasting time chasing this dream?”
My advice:
Don’t take advice about your music career from anyone who hasn’t achieved the success you want (even if those people mean well and want the best for you).
Reason #2 Musicians Give Up And Quit On Their Music Careers: Being Too Impatient And Wanting Everything “Yesterday”.
If building a music career was quick and easy – a lot more people would become successful pros in the music business. It takes time to develop the skills, reputation and experience you need to reach ambitious goals in the music industry.
This is especially true of your reputation.
Fact is, when you’re looking to convince record companies, bands, promoters and booking agents of your music career value...
They want to see a track record of actions you’ve taken to work your way up from a nobody to someone who has a track record of:
- Going above and beyond on every music career project you’ve been involved in
- Finding ways to add value by doing things you’re not explicitly being paid to do (so that any music career project you are involved in becomes more profitable).
- Doing the previous 2 points consistently enough to build credibility for yourself in the music business.
Here is what this might look like:
Reason #3 Musicians Give Up And Quit On Their Music Careers: Focusing Too Much On The Music Side Of Your Music Career.
The business side of the music industry (marketing, promotion, finances and hustling) are just as (if not more) important for your success... and most musicians neglect them.
Here are just some of the non-musical skills that go into building a successful music career as a professional musician:
Reason #4 Musicians Give Up And Quit On Their Music Careers: Not Having The Time, Money And Freedom To Grow Your Music Career.
This can happen when you either don’t have a day job, or your job doesn't generate enough free time and money to invest into growing your music career.
This music industry article gives you more insights into making money as a professional musician in the music business.
Reason #5 Musicians Give Up And Quit On Their Music Careers: Not Knowing How To Build A Following Of Fans (Or What To Do With Them Once You Have Them).
The more you know about building a fanbase, the sooner you can build the music career you want.
And here are 2 key things to know about building a fan base in our music career:
1. A loyal local fan base is much more important than the total number fans you have “worldwide” ... even if the former is much smaller.
The reason?
It’s much harder to build a local fan base than it is to acquire lots of fans all over the world. And everyone in the music industry (who has the power to help you build a music career) knows this.
Plus, when a record company sees you dominating your local area (by having a local fan base who comes to see you play gigs and buys your records and merch)...
They know you can likley replicate your success in another area. This makes the company much more likely to offer you a record deal and put its resources behind you (and your band) – helping you build a successful career in the music business.
2. You want your fans to join your email mailing list (instead of only existing on your social media pages).
Why?
2 reasons:
- you have much more control over your email list of fans than you do over any of your social media accounts (which can be shut down at any moment).
- it’s much easier to reach out to ALL your fans by sending a simple email than it is to have your post be seen by all your fans. This makes it much easier to build a real relationship with your fans, let them know about your upcoming music career projects and make it more likely that your fans will spend more money with you.
Reason #6 Musicians Give Up And Quit On Their Music Careers: Not Having A Music Business Mentor.
As much as many musicians are impatient about how long it takes to see traction in the music industry...
Most (ironically) insist on building their music careers on slow & hard mode: on their own and without a mentor.
This leads to them using a lot of costly trial and error and doing the wrong things in the wrong order.
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Question: “Tom Hess, what does it mean to “do things in the wrong order” in the music industry?
Answer: A common example is: contacting record companies and asking for a record deal too early. (i.e. The moment you’ve written some songs.)
Fact is: just because you wrote some songs (or even recorded them) doesn't mean any record company will care.
They can find musicians with cool songs pretty much anywhere.
What they want to see first is some sign that your music will sell if they sign you to a deal.
Show them how that’s going to happen with you and you’ll have their attention.
How to do this?
The most failsafe way is to show them proof of specific things you’ve done (and continue to do) to build your career without their help.
Show them you have a fan base (even if it’s very small).
Show them you consistently play shows (even if the shows are small).
Show them you’ve sold some of your albums and merch on your own (even if on a small scale at first).
All this proves that you are someone they should take seriously (and are likely to offer a record deal to).
Reason #7 Musicians Give Up And Quit On Their Music Careers: Not Having A Success Mindset And A Group Of Success-Minded People Who Are On The Same Path As You.
Instead, most would-be professional musicians hang out around people who haven’t achieved much in their lives (at best)...
... or, who actively tear them down (those doubters and haters I mentioned earlier) at worst.
And when you’re around such people, they invariably pull you down to their level of mediocrity and settling for a lesser life than you deserve.
Here is a little anecdote to illustrate the point:
If you put a bunch of crabs into a bucket and watch them for a while, a curious pattern will emerge.
One crab will try to escape the bucket and reach freedom...
... but right when it reaches the top, others will pull it right back down with them.
This is a perfect metaphor for what happens to people in all aspects of their lives. And it’s an example of how many musicians give up and quit on their music careers, “thanks” to their peer group.
That’s why it’s so important to surround yourself with other musicians who are pursuing their own goals in the music industry and are dead-set on becoming successful.
This is yet another benefit to having a good music career mentor guide you (because, when you work with a mentor, you typically will be around other driven musicians who inspire you and push you to go after your goals).
That is one of the benefits I provide to musicians I mentor in the Music Careers Mentoring Program.
Now that you know why musicians give up and quit on their music careers and how to not become one of them, let me show you how to stand out in the music industry and (quickly) build a name for yourself, even if nobody knows who you are. I show you how in my free eGuide: How To (Easily) Stand Out From All The Other Musicians And Create Music Career Opportunities For Yourself. Download it today and discover the music career secrets most musicians will never know.
Learn how to get more music gigs and grow your music career by working with me in my music careers mentoring program.
