There’s something rather intangible that we look for in musicians, that thing that gives them their “star quality.” Sometimes we call it the “X-Factor” (which is the name of Simon Cowell’s new talent show); I sometimes refer to it as the “oomph” (which is what I’ve named my other blog). But whether or not you think you possess this intangible quality, there are things you can do to stand out from the throng of mediocrity. For lack of a better term, I’m calling this the “WOW” Factor.
A lot of what is said in the category of “artist development” these days (especially in diy music circles) really boils down to classifying music as a product, and looking for creative ways to market that product. It’s unfortunate, but it is a reality of the world we live in, and something we all have to deal with. But today, I’d like to veer away from that discussion a little bit and talk about you as an artist, and your music as an art form–and about becoming yourself as a musical artist.
If you’ve been a reader of this blog for any length of time, you have probably come across a post where I encourage musicians to think outside of the box to find success. Despite all the seemingly bad news about the music business out there, all the talk about low record sales, all the stories of hard-working indie artists struggling to make it, and well-established label artists having to drop their ticket prices just to get people to come to the shows–the fact is that there are some bright spots out there.
Here’s something for you to think about:
Musicians who keep their options open, have more options.
One thing I’ve noticed in musicians and artists who are just getting started is that they tend to be a bit narrow-minded about what it is they think they want to do. I recognize this trait, because as a young musician I was the worst. I had a mindset about who I thought I was, and what I wanted to be, and anything that didn’t easily fit into that narrow stream of thought was immediately filtered out. As a result, I robbed myself of a lot of musical opportunities and experiences that might have been very beneficial to me.
Do I have your attention? Ahem.
With the current state of the music business in so much upheaval, and with the advent of digital technology and social networking enabling the number of DIY and indie musicians to mushroom in recent years, the path to musical success has seemingly become a bit clouded. There are lots of people giving advice, lots of blogs like this one discussing the issues, even an increasing number of colleges offering courses on the music biz–all trying to clear the pathway, so to speak. Lots of voices out there spitting out information, but nobody really seems to know for sure where this is going, or what to do about it.
Okay, musican/artist friends, it’s discussion time. I’ve said before that one of the reasons this blog exists is to help muscians toward their success. But it also occurs to me that “success” has a lot of different meanings for people.
So…the question on the table is: what does “success” mean to you?
How do you measure it, or what is the benchmark for it in your mind? Is it when you land the record deal, or when you sell a bajillion records? Is it when you are working steady? Is it when you’re making a living doing what you love?
