How Do You Know If You Are a Successful Musician?
How many times have you asked yourself if your talent is real? How often do you question your skills or purpose as a musician? Do you really wonder if you are a good one?
The music industry is a tough place and there is complicated competition out there that makes many individuals question themselves on a daily basis. There’s always the debate on how you measure success and there are multiple answers to it.
These are 7 signs that will tell you you’re going in the right direction:
#1 You are networking a lot
This is the first and most important thing you should be doing or you’re already doing. Take it or leave it, but without having the proper contacts you’re less likely to make it in the music industry. Make networking in such a way that you have music collaborations with other artists, you spread out to conquer, important producers listen to your music and many more!
#2 Your audience is increasing rapidly
If you start seeing more and more unfamiliar faces at your musical gigs, that’s a great sign! People are starting to notice your music outside of your usual circles and the word is spreading out. Your fan base will have a huge toll on where you get your gigs. Other metrics that prove your audience is growing are comments, likes, reshares, and mentions.
#3 You are not losing money
Money plays an inevitable part in becoming successful. Money is spent on millions of things: recording, marketing, touring, rehearsing, video clip making, etc. They just pile up and before you know it, you’re deep in debt. So when you start summing up to $0 and stop seeing red balance sheets, that’s a huge break in your career!
#4 Your schedule is actually full
What can be better than being fully scheduled? A full calendar for a musician is what you’re aiming for. You’ve got lots of gigs, scheduled tours, radio talks, album promotions, and so on, which means you’re moving and getting yourself out there for people to see and listen.
#5 You are getting noticed by fans and people from the industry
Without exposure and fans, there’s no success in the music industry. You need to be recognized to get more people to listen to your music. As you get more recognized, you'll notice more requests, collaborations, fan interactions after a concert/gig or on social media. Spread some love and be in touch with everybody!
That’s when you start seeing that things are getting serious.
#6 You have other people working for you
At some point in your career, you’ll need more team members with a specific skill set and knowledge base to help you with your success. It can be a PR manager, a musical director, or a marketing specialist. You’re not doing everything yourself anymore, and it comes in hand with getting results. This person has knowledge and connections that will advance your career. They will get you to record deals, higher-profile music stages, organize tours, and many other things that help you focus on your craft rather than dealing with extra-musical stuff.
#7 You can really focus on the music
This one is the most difficult to achieve. Seriously, there are so many things an artist does at the beginning that they can be so drained when you finally get to the musical part. Just have a look at the things you do until someone along and does it for you:
Outreach
Coordinate
Marketing
So you see there’s a bunch to do outside of practicing, composing, arranging, and having rehearsals with your band. It’s tough but when the time comes that you look around and you have a small team that manages the extra-musical stuff, then you truly are a successful musician.