90% are not ready and 9% don’t have what it takes to make it. What does that leave us with? The 1%. Yes, even in the music business, there’s probably even less than 1% of all musicians you ever heard, met, spoken to, that can afford a comfortable life just off their music’s earnings. So how do YOU know when and if it’s time to make the big step to a 24/7 commitment to your career? Read below the 7 signs you’re about to be part of the 1%, or in other words, it’s time to quit your day job and go all-in for your music career.
7. You actually get paid to perform.
Or you get paid to write music for others if you’re a producer. Or to write lyrics for a record label if you’re a lyricist. Or to play your instrument by the hour in diverse recording studios. Etc. The point is, you actually get cash in your hands, or bank account, for your music-related talent. That is a huge step that many independent artists never get to. If you did, you’re halfway in the door.
6. You are very much supported by peers and family members.
Times are tough and lockdowns happen. However, success is predictable and leaves clear traces. And people can and do FEEL when someone they know is about to reach incredible levels of success, and EVERYONE wants to be on the right side of history. If you’re seriously admired and supported by both family and friends in pursuing your music career, chances are if sh*t hits the fan, you will actually have people willing to donate to your Fundme page or Kickstarter campaign. You don’t want to wake up in the midst of a new pandemic with no one caring about your music or wellbeing as a musician.
5. You find networking very easy and no one is above you.
If you’re an introvert, you better make damn sure you get a minimum of 6 months of living costs saved up in your bank account or under your mattress. Because if you’re not the social type, in times of need, your personality will IMPEDE you from asking for financial help from fans and sponsors. Only a smooth talker and a good networker can afford diving into pursuing music full-time without having saved much in advance. As for the 2nd part, “no one is above you”, it means you would have no issue whatsoever crossing the street right now, seeing Bill Gates and try to sell him your latest CD. You can’t afford letting people impress you too much or lose your composure. When you’re starting out, you will encounter many many individuals placed much higher than you, and yet, they have to feel like your equals if you need their help. You want to be the artist everyone is betting on, not the starving talent that needs charity.
4. You’re not scared of being potentially homeless because your mind is thoroughly convinced you will make it.
This is such a rare thing to find in real life. Quite impossible as a matter of fact, especially if the artist tends to be a highly intelligent and a rational person, the thought of being homeless will scare the crap out of him/her and make him question how badly he wants this. To give you a better idea, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, and Ed Sheeran, and many more were sleeping on friends’ couches or on studio mattresses for quite a while before making it. Because every single penny that came in went back into music. And weirdly enough, it’s also a thing of complete and utter faith that you shall make it. Some say they got it but then you see them worrying about bills and financial problems and that does NOT coincide with what they’re saying. When you KNOW you’re going to make it, nothing worries you. You feel as if you’re already on top of the world and you’re unshakeable in your faith in success. So how badly do you want it?
3. You don’t mind taking on whatever job in order to make extra cash.
Scrubbing floors, delivering pizza, washing dishes, carrying luggage, boxing things, etc, entry-level jobs that are the most accessible to an artist and flexible in their schedule. You have to understand you might be in a position of having the right person, at the right time, but you not having the right package. And you will HAVE TO quickly make extra cash to create the right package. Actually, that happens quite often. You manage to network your way to a record label rep but then you realize you’re not at your best. The only thing you could possibly do is pay a good sound engineer, a good producer, a good photographer, and get a 4-song EP ready in like under a week and put it up on social media and all streaming platforms and go knocking that contact’s door. Preferably, you always put out content consistently at the highest level you can afford and are never discovered unprepared. But if you do, GO FOR IT!
2. You love music and the creative process.
If your end goal is fame and paparazzi photos, you’re better off trying to marry into the Royal Family. Yes, it is absolutely easier to become rich and famous doing other things than trying to achieve that through music. Only take this path if you can’t live without it and feel your whole body jolting with joy when performing, writing, recording, visualizing, etc.
1. You have more or less a plan for how you’re going to spend your time.
So what is the first thing on your list when you’re quitting your day job? Writing songs? NO. That is part of your daily to-do already if you’re a true musician. Hanging out with fans? NO. That won’t give you any return on your invested time if you’re not at least 300k followers type of famous. What you should have, is a list of places to go to, people to talk to, preferably put together a local tour with the help of local sponsors, shoot music videos, invest in social media ad placement, and go at it full force. What you may wanna have as well, is a plan B. Not a complete diverse plan B, but rather a prolongation of plan A. If plan A doesn’t pan out in the expected time frame, how do you approach it? Go back to your job, go work for the family business, and try again in 6 months? every single artist is in a very unique position and disposes of vast resources, even if those may be invisible to some. Have a plan so that in a year of having quit your day job, you can look back and be like: “hell yeah, I did so many things, I’ve achieved so much, and I am finally closer than ever to my dream life. This would have never happened had I stayed in the 9-to-5.”
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