Becoming An Artist
Jan 22, 2009
In many ways, music is like any career: There’s a lot of hard work and a long road to the top. During the tough times (and there will be plenty), you may begin to second guess your decision to pursue a career in this business. It’s hard to feel too excited when you played for an audience of 12 people last night and made $50. Then, after the show, your bassist quit. All the while, your parents keep telling you to get a “real job.”
Right about now, you might be asking yourself, “Why am I doing this? Why didn’t I go to law school like my parents told me?” First, you didn’t go to law school because you don’t want to be a lawyer. And the world certainly doesn’t need any more lawyers. Sure, it’s not always fun or easy to be a musical artist. Usually, there’s too much work; not enough pay. Like I said, it’s like most other careers.
But as the saying goes, “Do what you love, and the money will follow.” I have found this to be true. If you don’t have passion for your work, you won’t do it well and you’ll be unhappy. Whatever your life’s calling may be, you’ll be most happy if you follow it. So if you’re an artist, accept it and be the best artist you can be.
Maybe you’ve been struggling a long time without a lot of success. You’re tired of small audiences and corner-store burritos. Well, life as an artist is not a race. Yes, the music business tends to desire young and attractive artists as pop stars. Artists and repertoire (A&R) people at major labels seem to believe that you’re over the hill when you turn twenty-six. Just as most people are beginning their careers, the music industry is saying an artist’s career is over.
What can you do about that? Most important, you can try to develop your craft early. It takes five to ten years to develop as a recording artist. If you show exceptional talent at a young age, you may have opportunities with major labels that other artists do not. But if you take longer to develop, your career definitely is not over. It’s just following a different path from the careers of some other artists.
Most young artists (sixteen or seventeen years old) gaining attention in the music scene today started down this path at a very early age. Most probably started playing music and performing when they were seven or eight. But if you get started later in life, it’s okay. There’s no reason to go through life frustrated by the fact that you did not start your musical career in kindergarten. How many people do you know who started preparing for their careers at that age?
Whether 5 or 15 or 25 or 55, you’re an artist. You can’t turn back time; you can only move forward. You may not have chosen your starting point, but you can have a big influence over where you finish. And isn’t that the most important issue? Once you accept this, you can expend your energy on becoming a successful artist.
Some artists develop more quickly and appear on TV more frequently than others. They get paid more than $39 and two beers for their gigs. They’re on major labels. Maybe they have more opportunities, resources, and connections than the rest of us. You can’t control that. Other artists are on independent labels. They drive a van from show to show for $200 each night. No roadies, no fancy dressing rooms, no televi¬sion crews. And hey, some artists are not on any label at all. None of these artists is more successful than another (unless you measure success merely by the size of the paycheck and number of television appearances). It just means they are different. They all could be equally happy and consider themselves successful.
What about you? Maybe you perform once a week at the local coffee-house for $20 a night. Here’s a news flash: You are no less an artist than the people you see on TV. Do what you love, and I promise your time will come. It may not be tomorrow. It may not be next year. But if you hang in there, your time will come. I’m not promising limos, shrieking groupies, and stadium tours. But you will have success. Be an artist first, and the success will follow.