Music Industry Successful Songwriter: A Whim of Fate or Round-the-Clock Work?
The music industry is quickly developing nowadays, becoming a powerful force worldwide. Numerous songwriters and singers expose their talents, becoming the leading forces of the independent artist global movement.
Even if every artist’s journey is distinctive, there are specific rules to become a successful songwriter. You can find them below.
Polish Your Mindset
If you think negatively, there is no way you’re going to make it into the music industry. Thus, polishing your mindset becomes a must. The power of thinking is incredibly important. If your thoughts don’t align with your actions, internal contradictions will soon pop up, leaving you confused and disorderly. To maximize your brainpower, take time to ask yourself –
- Why do you want to make it into the music industry?
- What is your primary goal?
- What if you don’t make it?
Write down your answers. Try to be as honest as you can. Develop positive habits each day, so your mind stays clear and your thinking unobstructed. Focus on the good things happening in your life, find humor even in bad situations, learn from your mistakes by transforming failures into life lessons, and don’t forget to seize the day by focusing on the present.
Don’t Change
Diluting your art for the sole purpose of selling is wrong. You should stay original and authentic, no matter how challenging that might be. Don’t compromise yourself or your creativity for money. True fans will stay true no matter what. In The Soul of Man Under Socialism, Oscar Wilde writes,
“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.”
Don’t ever lose your individuality.
Play at Home
Fame comes only to those who wait and take the necessary steps to become well-known. It’s crucial that you play to your home crowd before reaching out to the wide public. Seeking popularity outside your home without selling to the small venues first is not a great idea. Getting feedback from your closed ones will help you make it to the top quicker.
Take Breaks
Don’t force yourself to write every day. If you need time off, take it. Also, don’t keep pushing something if it doesn’t work. Instead of insisting, you could change something. We all know that unique lyrics are not easy to come up with. That’s why forcing yourself to create is not an option.
Find a Mentor
Finding a mentor will help you in many ways. He or she will offer you career guidance and advice, provide motivation, share their personal experience and tips, and help you achieve goals and build a network.
How Do I Find A Mentor in The Music Industry?
- Reach out to as many people as you can; ask around – do they know anyone interested in mentoring a novice?
- Attend conferences and workshops
- Think about ways to draw you mentor’s attention – what could you bring to the table?
- Read various music blogs, such as Music Think Tank or Hypebot
- Network and connect with different musical talents
Don’t forget to ask yourself, what do you want from a mentor? Finding the right person requires not only ambition and perseverance but honesty and certitude.
Embrace Rejection
As Bo Bennett once said,
“A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.”
When you feel ready to accept failure, you have nothing left to lose. That does not mean that you should start thinking negatively – it only means you let go of the fear of losing, so you’re free.
When embracing rejection, you become wiser and new doors open for you. Feel the pain that comes with it, understand that it was not meant to be, challenge your negative interpretation of the situation, and keep your head up to encounter bewildering, future opportunities.
Get Inspired
Your daily life is the best source of inspiration you’ll ever find. Writing about whatever goes through your mind is an excellent way to better your skills and elevate your potential. You can edit, cut out, or polish after. To get inspired, it’d be a good idea to –
- Carry a diary with you and write down whatever strikes your mind
- Use object writing – according to Making Music Mag, this is what Berklee College of Music songwriting teacher Pat Pattison shares in the book Writing Better Lyrics (Writer’s Digest, 2010). In object writing, you choose an object—sand, map, refrigerator, potato, you name it—and write for 10 minutes about any sense memories you associate with it.
- Make interesting word lists and develop lyrics on them
Struggling to write a particular song is neither pleasant nor beneficial. Sometimes, it’s better to stop, rest, breathe, and let everything sink in before starting again.
Set Goals
Setting your songwriting goals is an essential part of climbing the success ladder.
“Give yourself enough time to think about your goals, study songwriting and learn from your competition, collaborate with other songwriters and develop new skills, write on a new instrument if possible and try using songwriting techniques you haven’t used before,” advised us Kayla Hamric, songwriter and freelancer at EssayOnTime.
Find Your Target Audience
Here are some useful ways to make your songs attractive:
- Partner up with someone famous
- Listen to today’s hits – get a clear idea of which audience you want to design your songs for
- Surround yourself with energetic people who’re determined to succeed
- Target a youthful audience
We know famous sounds breathtaking, but don’t let yourself be influenced by people you dislike and ideas you don’t agree with. When writing, stay true to yourself.
Spend Time and Money on Marketing Campaigns
More than 50% of your time should be spent on advertising. Talent is fruitless if you have no methods to promote it. Marketing is a vital part of your experience. Sketch out a budget plan and seek for investors. Reach out to a broad public and send them explicit messages – you want your songs published and a unique target audience.
So, to Draw a Conclusion: Are Successful Songwriters Hard-Workers, Or Do They Owe Their Success to A Whim of Fate?
The answer is – both. To become successful, one must work hard, respect a well-structured schedule, and develop a positive mindset, which has nothing to do with fate. However, he or she should be surrounded by the right, successful people and present in the right places, which could be considered luck by some.
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