Why Some Make It and Some Don't in the Music Industry

1676 Words4 Pages

The basis of success in the music industry goes beyond the ability to make great music. Most people don’t wake up one day and say, “I think I’m going to be a successful musician today”. Those who have this seemingly random awakening experience still spend years getting to a stage of musical understanding and talent prior to launching their musical career. Even with years of formal or informal training and/or practice, talent is still not enough to be successful in the music industry. In fact, non-musicians have the potential for music industry success with increasing technological advances in the industry.

If musical talent isn’t enough, what makes a musician attain and maintain a successful career? Being successful in the music industry requires the right attitude for success, understanding of “popular” thoughts towards music creation, connecting with the right people, having the right team, re-directing industry disadvantages, artists treating themselves like a business, and last but not least, understanding how to make money in the music industry. Musical artists who embrace these requirements can save themselves the disappointments of being exploited or taken advantage of by others in the industry or from stagnant musical careers. Instead they can embrace that with knowledge in these areas of business comes growth to their musical career.

"There are more letters in the word 'business' than there are in the word 'music'." Anonymous1

Introduction

Understanding music without having a proper understanding of the basic principles of business equates to not understanding the music industry. For years, “getting signed” to a record label was the best option for an artist to experience success. However, millions of copies be...

... middle of paper ...

...essed 2/28/14, http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/how-did-birdman-and-cash-money-records-become-so-rich-and-so-powerful/

24. Peter M. Thall. What They'll Never Tell You About the Music Business: the Myths, the Secrets, the Lies (& a Few Truths), revised and updated, Watson-Guptill Publications, 2006.

25. Timothy Ferriss, The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, Ebury Publishing, Aug 31, 2011

26. Percy Miller, Guaranteed Success: When you never give up. Urban Books< LLC, Aug 26, 2008

27. "Berry Gordy Jr.." 2014. The Biography.com website. Assessed Apr 18 2014 http://www.biography.com/people/berry-gordy-jr-9316017

28. Robert Fink, "Goal-Directed Soul? Analyzing Rhythmic Teleology in African American Popular Music" Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Spring 2011), pp. 179-238

Open Document