 |
Current mood:  sleepy Category: Music
Happy New Year!
Here we go again; we always start off each new year with a refreshing sense of hope and optimism. It's a chance to hit the "reset" button...to figure out what the hell went wrong and/or right over the last year, and tweak our goals. Sometimes we get so caught up in the grind of it all, we loose sight of where we're at, and more tragically, we've forgotten where the hell we're going.
I used to think that if I couldn't be famous and make millions doing what I love to, there just wasn't any point to life. After all, I've sacrificed 10 solid years to music. Time that I could have spent getting my master's degree, making big money climbing the corporate ladder. But I can't imagine life without music; it's part of my soul.
I've had numerous young aspiring artists contact me asking how to get into the music industry, how to be a better writer, etc. I admit, I don't know 1/2 the answers, but I've experienced a few things during my journey that I can pass along to you all here in my blogs.
Over the past couple years, the music industry has been in major transition. The day of the download is here, and consumers no longer have to buy an album full of crap, while producers reap profits even when the albums flopped. The bad news is, established artist don't sell records anymore, and talented aspiring artists may never see the light of day...we live in the day and age where people feel like the only way they can get a profitable record deal is through American Idol...so sad. The record labels have suffered major losses over the last 2 years, and sadly, equate good music with MySpace and you tube hits. They want the artists to do all the marketing and branding; A&Rs live in fear of being fired, and record labels are afraid to take risks. Essentially, the record labels are no more than banks who want you to do all the work, while they take a huge cut. Thank God that the record labels did not historically take this approach; we may have never been privileged to listen to a Stevie Wonder album, etc.
Here's the good news; you and I have all the resources needed to make money and be successful in the music industry. There has never been a day when music is accessible as it is now. Personal recording studios are inexpensive; the internet gives you instant access to nearly everyone in the world. If you invest time and money in yourself, you can reap a profit. This accessibility to technology is also the greatest hurdle in the music industry; everybody and their momma thinks they can rap, sing and/or produce. The internet is saturated with amateurs. In a way, this is a good thing. If you can shine as an artist above the ambient roar, then you have been "on your grind" and you offer the consumer something appealing and fresh.
Here's the biggest lesson of it all: Do music because you love music. Your love for music should be your only motivation to be in this industry; it's so much more satisfying.
Well, I'll try not to be a blog stranger this year. Most of my album has been recorded, so I'll have more time to chat and network online.
Peace,
Joe
6:55 AM
Powered by  | | English | | Albanian | | Arabic | | Bulgarian | | Catalan | | Chinese | | Croatian | | Czech | | Danish | | Dutch | | Estonian | | Filipino | | Finnish | | French | | Galician | | German | | Greek | | Hebrew | | Hindi | | Hungarian | | Indonesian | | Italian | | Japanese | | Korean | | Latvian | | Lithuanian | | Maltese | | Norwegian | | Polish | | Portuguese | | Romanian | | Russian | | Serbian | | Slovak | | Slovenian | | Spanish | | Swedish | | Thai | | Turkish | | Ukrainian | | Vietnamese |
|