Every single artist in this world has an unique story behind him/her. Every creator of art transpires different views, ideas, and thoughts in their craft. And too often people who got nothing to do with music, try to put all musicians in a box and attach a pattern to commercial success. ”No older than 22 years old”, ”gotta have that hybrid look these days to relate to both sexes”, ”the songs gotta have Tik Tok appeal”, ”gotta come from a family of musicians”, etc, etc, etc. I’m here to tell you that there are benefits to each and every age, to each background, to each culture. Today we’ll be talking about 10 benefits of starting at a young age in the music industry. There are downsides as well to it, but we’re focusing on the positive in this article.
10. You Have More Connections Than You Think
What is it that a teenager has that an adult has to pay for? Lots of friends, social groups, schoolmates, classmates, etc. That is all FREE organic, real exposure to an audience that already CARES about you. To someone you’re the weird kid from chemistry class, to another you’re the nerd from overseas, the girl that never wears the same shirt twice or whatever it is that stands out about you. When you start doing music, everyone that has come in contact with you so far, WILL LISTEN and WILL WATCH what you’re putting out. Something that adults don’t have and have to pay big money for it. In school, you care. In real life – you couldn’t give 2 damns about what someone is releasing as you got bills to pay and children/parents to take care of.
9. You Have Plenty Of Time
Ever wondered why grown-ups are salty and cranky a lot? They don’t have TIME to do all they really want to. Often they have to sacrifice and compromise one thing for another: a Netflix evening for a family dinner, a concert ticket for a dentist checkup, a club night out for some extra much-needed sleep, a birthday party for a house clean up, and the list goes on and on. As a teenager, you most probably got none of the MANDATORY things to take care of, which leaves you with plenty of time to focus on your music career. If you’re smart, you’ll forego your Xbox time for getting better at writing lyrics or improving your guitar skills.
8. You Can Save A Lot Of Money
Even kids in 3rd world countries get cash for their birthdays and special occasions. Save those coins! Every single penny! Save your allowances, your pocket money, your spend-as-you-please budget from mom and dad. $30 can give you a healthy 6 days of advertising your music video on Facebook and Instagram for $5 a day. And you can reach thousands, if not tens of thousands, through social media ads. You don’t have any bills, any debt, any collector calling you 24/7 to bug you. Take advantage of it and offer to help your family and others around the house for cash. If you’re bold enough, as soon as you turn 16, get a job.
7. You Got Plenty Of Energy
I don’t know about you, but as a kid, I never understood why every single adult was hooked on caffeine in movies: coffee in the morning, coffee at lunch, and coffee at dinner. Oh, and living in Italy, I have actually seen people that drink coffee as they would water: 5 times a day and then some. That is GREAT NEWS TO YOU! As a teenager, your energy levels are through the roof and usually, you don’t need any additional supplements to pump you with vitamins. That translates to long hours of rehearsing in the studio, learning a choreography, studying chords, doing Tik Tok videos, creating Instagram content and so forth and so on. Don’t take your energy for granted and push as much as your body and mind allow for it.
6. You Breathe Pop Culture
One day, in your mid-20s, you too will listen to the radio occasionally while stuck in traffic and think to yourself ”I could never. This is so lame. The 2020s were THE YEARS! This ish is so lame. How do these kids like this BS?” LOL here’s some news for you: we ALL go through that cycle. The generation before Millenials thought that Black Eyed Peas were trash and that Britney Spears was overly-sexualized in her music videos. Millennials now look at Billie Eilish and we’re like WTF. The 50 Cent and Eminem era was THE BOMB! for us that is… 🙂 and that’s okay. For you, the teenager, you intuitively get what’s hot and whatnot. You just have a hunch for what gets people’s attention and what is boring. Adults have a hard time making the difference between the two. We’re out of touch with what POP culture is at the present day and time. Please remember everyone, pop comes from POPULAR. So you have much higher chances for striking a chord with the young audience. Follow your pop instincts you Gen Z and soon Gen Alpha!
5. You Can Make Mistakes With Little To No Consequences
There’s a reason the legal system has different rules for minors than it does for adults. The world has agreed on one idea for once: Young people don’t know better. So when you put out a low-quality music video, people won’t give you a hard time about it as they’ll put the mediocre aspects of your craft on your age and lack of experience. You can even try different genres and suck at all of them and still be fine and turn to creating ambient soundtracks in the end. No one is going to bat an eye. When young, you can afford to make lots of mistakes, lots of trial and error until you get it right. So go ahead and make those mistakes, go ahead and make a fool of yourself, no one will keep it against you down the line. Plus, you learn with every mess up.
4. Everything Is Just So Exciting For You
Vibes that can be felt from miles away. Ever noticed how Nicki Minaj got a poker face in lots of her recent music videos compared to her first music videos? Or Drake? or Eminem? or anyone really that is past their musical peak. That initial hunger is long gone. And people calm down with age. And they become boring. You on the other hand… You’re barely getting to know the world and your curiosity for life can be almost touched in your voice and visuals. And it’s pretty plain and simple: everyone would rather hang out with the ignorant teenager than the older guy who thinks he knows more than anyone just because he’s older. Channel all that drive you got into your music and share your joy for life with the world!
3. You Are Mentally Open And Flexible
Since you’ve had only a couple of years under your belt, you are in awe of success stories, motivational speakers, self-help experts and so on. You are always ready to Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome. That is a golden quality in the music industry as it is always changing. Adults have a hard time accepting new trends or new fashion styles while you’re enjoying every second of it. You think that eventually you will figure out the formula and succeed, while adults have figured out already that there is no formula so they’re tired of adapting and reinventing themselves. And you’re both right: the teenager ready to try experiment musically any and everything, and the adults who prioritize their mental health and got out of the race. Use your young brain to your advantage and push the limits. Every single day. One day you’ll look back and be like ”how was I even doing ALL OF THAT?” but you’ll be proud.
2. You Are At An All Time High Physically
You get a bruise? You heal in 2 days. You break a bone? It grows back in a month. You fell on ice? Whatever. Whatever happens to you physically, more likely than not, you will be completely fine. While an adult… has to follow physical therapy for weeks, if not months, to recover from a stupid simple fall. And it gets worse over time. Ask an old person with a broken bone how long it took them to get back to normal? Sometimes it never happens. Physically you are a lot more enduring and resistant than an adult. So you can do backflips and splits on stage with no issue. Use your body to enhance your performances visually and acoustically. You’ll have plenty of time to slown down and sit on a chair. Dance and go crazy while you can.
1. Creativity Follows You 24/7
There are not many limits you know because of the same thing that doesn’t allow you to drink until 21: your age. Less mental limits = more inspiration = more ideas = more content = better songs = higher chances to succeed = accomplished adult. You see, for you to be a successful grown-up, you need to follow all necessary steps one by one. And you need creativity for that to happen. You need to see on your own skin that you’ll be just fine if you fail. That you can recover and be better than before. You need to understand that creativity can and will save both your music career and your life. Thanks to lots of free time, few responsibilities and a zest for life, your brain is booming with ideas every hour of the day and you find nothing wrong with it. While an adult might get very scared if he/she gets too many ideas ”maybe I am going crazy”. Teenagers and adults DO NOT HAVE THE SAME MENTAL LIMITS. Please, enjoy it while you got it and express yourself artistically to the fullest. Your future adult-self will be forever grateful.
Blue Rhymez Entertainment 