With the advent of social media, musicians have the opportunity to become popular and successful without a label. It means that you no longer need to sit under the door of a major label with your demo tape and beg for an audition. Now, the musician can fully control their image, communication with the audience, the amount and frequency of new material release. But along with these benefits comes a new responsibility: now the musician is not just a creator – they should be a businessman, and a marketer, and a manager. And not everyone can do it. How to be?
Basic Steps On Becoming A Musician
Before you decide to become a musician, you need to make some very important decisions for yourself. Namely:
The modern listener requires a constant stream of content: songs, videos, photos, etc. Uploading an album every three years will no longer work. Now, everyone expects quality content every day. And for this you need a team of people to work with you:
- graphic designer: you can learn the basics yourself, if there is no suitable person to help, or find someone for a specific task;
- sound engineer: master the recording and production programs to the maximum – now there are a lot of tutorials on YouTube, make friends with the sound engineer for the final touches;
- videographer: learn to edit at a basic level, regularly post content in accordance with your brand;
- photographer: take many different types of photos and update them regularly;
- marketing specialist: this specialist is more important than the manager and anyone else.
If you have enough money to create the team of your dreams, it is great. But many aspiring musicians try to cope on their own or turn to organizations that can help financially. For example, you can find out what options, programs and companies exist on the market, as well as find out information about various financial organizations (for example, Zmarta Företagslån or Foretagslan Finance).
Then, you should decide what kind of music you would like to play. What bands or singers do you like to listen to? Maybe rock music, or pop music, or electronic, or folk? Depending on this, you should choose those musical instruments which you will play.
For example, if your choice falls on classical music, then pay attention to playing piano, violin, etc. If you are fond of rock music or pop music more, then all types of guitars and drums can become an excellent solution.
You can also try playing electronic instruments.Technical process made it possible to play instruments on the laptop or PC! All you need is your creativity and buttons to press on.
It does not matter what musical instruments you choose and what kind of music you decide to play, the most important thing is that it should come from your heart. Only in this case, you will be able to make not only high-quality sound, but also make music with a soul, and listeners will always feel this.
Before you start creating a new album, you need to understand who your listener is. It’s not enough just to make good music, you have to take the time and write out 20 points describing your current or future listeners. For example:
- Male or female audience;
- The age of the audience;
- Their interests and hobbies;
- Their favorite bands/singers;
- Their favorite places to hang out.
Such a characteristic will allow you to more accurately understand what kind of music you can create and the image that is better for marketing and promotions.
Don’t forget about your story – it can be updated for every album, but it should be the one that sets you apart from the rest. Analyze the methods of other successful performers in terms of image, charisma, their history, press release. Think about how to effectively work in your niche – hang out and play in places where your target audience spends time, involve new listeners, meet new people and collaborate with interesting personalities.