At some point in our life many of us envision being famous. We see ourselves as a famous athlete, a famous musician, and so on. There’s someone we look up to and say, “I want to be like him or her.”
When I graduated college I opened a recording studio. At first it was a means of producing my own songs. As word got out musicians wanted me to record their material.
The most common question I got was how do I become successful in music? I still get the same question even today.
At that time I was young and wet behind my ears. I didn’t have an answer. The music industry is in a constant state of change thanks to technology and the Internet. We used an age-old formula: record an album, play many shows, build a fan base, and maybe, just maybe we can reach stardom.
That formula hasn’t changed much. One thing that has changed is independent artists are now thriving like never before. It is a term known as DIY or “Do It Yourself.” I've even heard the term "musicpreneur," a blended word for musician and entrepreneur.
For years a musician’s goal was to be signed by a record label therefore elevating them into the national, or international, spotlight. Now days with the DIY movement, independent musicians do not rely on being signed to a record label. We record full albums in home studios, we book our shows, we promote, we sell merchandise. Basically we do the leg work. Best of all we then reap the rewards for all the hard work.
Now that independent musicians can do all of the work themselves, we no longer need a record label. In fact I highly discourage people from signing record deals. Sure it might make you a star short term, but there’s a heavy price to pay. Record labels rake in most of the money, especially if the artist is not the songwriter.
Independent musicians now thrive, no longer in need of a record label.
Which begs the question, how does an independent musician thrive?
I’ve searched for that golden egg for many years, and I’ve reached a conclusion. We thrive in music in what is known as the funnel method.
The funnel method simply put is, the more you put in, the more you get out. The more songs you release via streaming and so forth, the more potential royalties you earn. The more you diversify yourself the more you thrive. When I say diversify I don’t mean you have to change your sound or image. Just the opposite. Solidify yourself but at the same time don’t be afraid to take on side projects that can help your career.
I tell musicians often, do not put all your eggs in one basket. Don’t expect to publish one album, let alone one single, and expect to make six figures. It’s probably not going to happen. Some people focus only on Spotify while others rely on playing shows. Instead of relying on one method, diversify and look to any and all possible outlets you can get your music to. It's not an either-or, it's a both-and. Use all resources to get your music out there.
The more songs you write, the more albums you can release, the more shows you play, all funnels down into reaching more people not to mention more royalties. In fact now days you can earn a comfortable living on music streaming, but that means constantly putting new material out there.
The goal for any musician is to be able to share their music to as many people as possible. I’m still learning. Heck, the music industry is constantly changing, but one thing is for sure. It’s going to take hard work. Use the funnel method. Look to every music outlet you can reach and pour your music talents into it, side projects included. The rule of thumb is to release a new album every year or so.
The funnel method provides musicians with a great opportunity to share their music to everyone across the world.