At Promolta we give advice on things like musician-to-musician relationships, promotion, marketing, business transactions, and how to create hype for songs and shows. While all of this is indeed important, the music itself will always be what drives our client’s success. Check out these 5 must-do’s from successful musicians on how to perfect your act early so marketing and promotional success come easier later.
1) Love the music – Andrew W.K.: “To be a successful musician, all you have to do is really, really love playing music. . . Worship it and adore it and turn yourself over to it.”
Just like with any profession, passion for music and constant refinement of the act are what yield memorable artists. When musicians are devoted to making music they love, everything else flows.
2) Plan out your goals and dreams – Lorde: “You have to go into it with an idea of who you are and what you want to do, and you have to have an idea of the things that you won’t do, and the things that you want to aspire to.”
Mapping out what you want to be and want to achieve results in direction and focus so you can spend days productively working to achieve your goals instead of wondering what has to happen to achieve success.
3) Play live – Dave Grohl: “I really believe that going out playing good songs live as a great live band will make you successful. . . It doesn’t matter if you’re at the shithole down the street or you’re on the side stage at Bonaroo or you’re headlining Lollapalooza. If you’re a great band with great songs people will notice it.”
Playing live is the end-all be-all. It drives fan discovery, merchandise sales, and it’s been the musician’s main responsibility for ages. Once you love your music, turning heads at live shows will be effortless and rewarding.
4) Play for yourself and fans, not critics – Ed Sheeran: “It’s always wrong to view your career as what the tabloids put it at. The real people that buy my record are Jenny in Stoke or Jasmine in Glasgow.”
Never give too much weight to critic opinions. Stay connected to your fans. The bond between you and them is what matters most, so listen to your followers and make sure they’re happy, not old dudes sitting around hating on what’s new.
5) Learn from your mistakes – Kanye West: “If you read books – which I don’t, none at all – about how to become a billionaire, they always say, ‘You learn more from your mistakes.’ So if you learn from your mistakes, then I’m a fucking genius.”
Rules were made to be broken and mistakes were meant to be made. If you make one, don’t dwell on it, just learn from it and don’t do it again. If you always learn from mistakes eventually you’ll never mess up again!
Learn more ways to create success at www.promolta.com
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