If you want to get a record deal, get people to your shows, or sell music like crazy, the answer isn't some kind of "magic pill" website that you post your music on, blindly sending out a bunch of demos, or anything to do with having good music...although good music certainly helps -- the answer is to develop a "mindset" that naturally attracts people to what you're doing as well as an understanding of how the music business game is played.

As you develop as a person, your music career will develop with you.  Sounds crazy, but it's true...and I've seen it time and time again, with thousands of acts that I've worked with, from garage bands, to the guys selling out arenas.  Check out these ten common music business mistakes:

Click here to read the full post at Music Think Tank Open.

Don't Dream It, Do It!

DEFINE THE DREAM
What is it you are actually trying to do? Be the world's best writer? Become a megastar performer? Lead the church choir? Own a record label that records other acts?

You would not believe how many writer/artists come to me, saying they just want to do "something" in the Music Industry. Sorry, you have to specialize a bit more than that!

Sit down with paper and pen. Define EXACTLY what it is in your heart that you dream of. (Hint, the bigger the dream, the harder to achieve...but as long as you are prepared to give what it takes, you'll find a place in the scheme of things.)

By the way, I have to do this, because I get sidetracked by wanting to do too many things. I constantly have to reassess projects and schedules...just part of business in a busy, busy world.

RESEARCH THE DREAM
Let's say you decided that you want to be a great writer, who is successfully cut on the charts, and makes a lot of money. Do you know what the real charts are? Who's on them currently? What labels are consistently charted? The styles of the top ten successes in the last two years?

Do you know what the actual elements of a great standard song are? Can you name the top sellers of all time in your genre? The top sellers of the current year? And do you know why they attained success? Do you hone your skills and knowledge whenever you have a chance?

Can you make the presentation of your art a commercial reality? Not just WILL you, CAN you?

PRACTICE THE DREAM
Go do 150 sit ups without practice. Go write a great song without practice. You have to practice (i.e., actually write) everyday, just like you would with any improvement program. If the newest song you are showing is old, you are not competing as a writer.

REWRITE THE DREAM
If something doesn't go the exact direction you thought it should have, rewrite the situation. If it's the song that has flaws, rewrite it until they are gone. If it's the voice, get some training.

If it's the gig, create one that works for you. (When I was playing gigs in KCMO, I went to the Plaza, to nice places that DIDN'T have entertainment. I'd offer the owner a free evening of music, if he liked it, I'd work X amount of weekends for X amount per night. I almost always got the gig, partly because I was prepared, partly because few can resist something for nothing and not sense some obligatory return. (Most wanted entertainment, but had no idea they could afford it. For me, it was a way to go.)

If you find that you thought you wanted the big dream, but then you realize that your dream didn't include all the nonsense that goes along with one of those in exchange for your "other dream(s)," (perhaps your family or job?), it is TOTALLY all right to adapt your dreams to accommodate each other. Unfortunately, some dreams require 24 hour dedication to maintain. (Ask any professional who is a megastar in their field.)

PURSUE THE DREAM
Don't give up. That's the first thing ANYONE successful who is giving advice says, so it MUST be true. (OK, it's pretty logical that if you DO give up, your odds will go way down...) What I'm really saying is leave no stone unturned. Take advantage of all opportunities, work, work, work at it.

LIVE THE DREAM
Remember that each time you sing, play, write, perform, discuss, pitch, etc., you are creating a reality that supports your dream. Don't forget to applaud the little steps, as well as the big. You write a birthday song for your sister-in-law, and it makes her cry with your kindness. Your song is used in a campaign for adoption, and though it didn't earn a dime, it was perfect, and said so much to so many. A peer complimented your writing at a recent song pitch. You were the hit of the community musical. GOOD FOR YOU! It all matters.

All these things make us more professional, and give us the reasons for doing the work. They are as important as the royalties, and enrich our life of music. Don't overlook them.

APPRECIATE YOUR DREAM
Did you know that most of your little steps are someone else's big dream? Some people would give a great deal to have the opportunity to perform ONE karaoke song in front of an audience...or have anyone use a song for any reason....or play a great guitar lick...or own a computer...or you name it. Appreciate the skills and opportunities God has blessed you with that you might even have a dream.

Just my opinion.

Janet Fisher

(C) all rights reserved, reprints with written permission. Janet Fisher is a longtime professional songwriter and publisher for Film and TV, author of the pop book, MUSIC HORROR STORIES, and owner of Goodnight Kiss Music (BMI). She also supervises music for film, consults about the music business, and teaches songwriting.

From TheMusicSnob.com:

We recently interviewed Rachael Sage, a talented singer, songwriter, poetess and all-around musician. She’s living the dream: making music, playing gigs, and supporting herself 100% through her music. Her experience will inspire you to work harder, write better music, and take more risks. So pay attention!

Click here to read the entire interview with Rachael Sage.

From Sivers.org:

Should you go digital-only, and skip the CD?

The real question is: How much of your potential audience are you willing to exclude?

We’re in transitional times. A lot of people have iPods. But most still don’t. A lot of people get all their music online. But most still don’t.

So the answer for 2008 is : if you’re serious about being a professional musician, you need to do both. 

Click here to read Derek's entire post.

Here is a list of 5 things corporate America needs to pay attention to succeed. While reading the article I got these from I realize that musicians need to pay attention to these too. I will add my own thoughts to each one but there are so many different answers possible I would love to hear some of your own ideas.

1. Outsourcing Partnerships:

Even though most street teams haven't evolved the way I think they should. Outsourcing is the wave of the future as artists though your fans make a great resource to outsource to. This is the start of a new style street team which I have seen in a few places.

Staying in touch with street team leaders in other countries or even regions of your own country is easier and quicker. This means more work for you or your management team. But the benefits once time gets organized is huge.

5. The Dominance of Search:

This is an excellent piece from CD Baby Founder Derek Sivers and a must read for anyone aspiring to a career in the music business. It's a 71 page PDF chalked full of great advice and useable tips.

Quoting Derek: 

"This is my best advice for my fellow musicians, about how to call attention to your music. My advice here is a combination of my advice from my own experience, and my advice from watching the experiences of other successful musicians. I never intended to sell my advice. I just want musicians to succeed."

Click here to read the entire PDF.

If I had a record label, would you be signed to it?

I never liked the idea of having a record label, because you’re too deeply invested into something you don’t control.

So if I were to have a label, my decision on who to sign wouldn’t be decided just by the quality of the music. There are plenty of people with great music but destructive work-habits or an unsustainable approach to their career.

To confidently invest in an artist (as a label), I’d want to see the following:

Click here to read Derek's entire blog. 

From Bruce Warila's Unsprung Wisdom Blog: 

The day the band (company) was formed, band members voted to split ownership evenly; now you find yourself doing much more work or creating far more value than your bandmates.  Perhaps you started out as a band, but the band has also become a business.  You don’t want to appear greedy and it’s not your style to change the rules once the game has started.  However, it doesn’t seem fair that everyone benefits evenly when you’re doing more work than everyone else.

This is one of the most common problems in small businesses - ownership and reward is divided evenly, but the work and/or the value creating capability are not.  Here are eleven easy steps to fix the problem.

Click here to read Bruce's full blog post. 

An excellent article in Wired Magazine by David Byrne of Talking Heads fame on the music business and the various business models now available to artists.

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne  

Whenever I talk to a band who are about to sign with a major label, I always end up thinking of them in a particular context. I imagine a trench, about four feet wide and five feet deep, maybe sixty yards long, filled with runny, decaying shit.

http://negativland.com/albini.html