What You Need to do to Start Your Music Career Successfully

Many ambitious people throughout the world desperately want to pursue a career in music as an artist.

13:34 01 February 2019

But they truly don’t have any idea where and how to start. Most people’s end goal in the music industry is to sign a label with major music producers.

Today however, this should not be your only goal, since the world has progressed and
changed very drastically.


Thanks to the internet, today you are no longer dependent on major music labels to
become successful; instead, you can build a huge direct fan-to-artist relationship where
you will be in full control of your music career. A huge plus for startup musicians is
having a website from where your fan base can listen to your masterpieces and learn all
the news that happen to you. Today, you can simply choose the best website builder for
musicians with which you can create your very own unique website where your fans will
listen to your songs, and this way to start your musical journey towards success.
Now, we will give you a couple of ideas and tips to help you jumpstart your career and
make sure that you’re building a foundation for long-term success in the music industry.

Be aware of your goals

Even though this sounds very obvious, you should always know what you’re chasing
and to which extend you are ready to go to achieve it. What goal would satisfy you?
Make sure to set short-term goals first. If you are a beginner musician who has never
played a show before, maybe getting an opening slot at a local show within your first
three months should be your first objective. Or for example, if you would like to start a
label, choosing the name and doing the paperwork required to start the business within
the next six weeks is another good step. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner in the
music industry or not, just make sure that you identify what you want, and then be
aware of the steps required to achieve it. Having multiple small goals is a lot more
productive than having over a million small ideas you’d try out just to see what happens.

Have a day job

If you’re pursuing a career in music, it’s probably not that smart to drop everything off
and try to make a living from music right off the bat. Your priority should be to pay the
bills while you do your music on the side. Many artists work a 9 to 5 job and then work
on their music and perform shows in the evening. While some are fortunate enough to
be able to jump straight into music, everyone’s situation is different.

Act as if your music is a business

Whether you agree or not, being a musician artist is like starting a new business. In a
traditional sense, your art is your product. You should become a brand, and regardless
of what form your art takes, you need to operate as a business entity. What does this
mean? Just look at entrepreneurs and startup businesses, what do they have? You will
need to develop a marketing strategy, identify your target audience, understand and
apply branding, protect your assets, build a team around you, map out a business plan,
hire an accountant to handle your financials, etc. Even though you are an artist and you
might hate the business aspects of it, it is necessary to be highly educated and informed
to make the right business decisions for your career.

Establish a serious online presence

There is a key difference between making music your hobby and making it your
profession. If you come off unprofessional, your audience will subconsciously associate
you with lower quality, and thus someone who’s not worthy of their attention. A big part
of becoming a successful artist is to take yourself seriously. In addition to setting up
your social media accounts and optimizing them, you should also have a clean and
professional website, as we mentioned previously.

Copyright your music

This is one big aspect that can get easily overlooked, and that is protecting your
product. To avoid this, make sure that you properly copyright it. Consult with a local
lawyer and register it with a copyright office that can offer further protection. If you also
make beats and use already existing samples to create your own work, make sure that
what you’re doing is legal and that you’re not breaking the law. If you’re in a band or
group, you will need to figure out how to split ownership over the musical compositions
you create together. Nevertheless, as your career progresses, you will definitely need to
register with a professional and find an experienced music lawyer.