Top 20 Ways to Fail at Music
It's a crime the way artists manage their careers.
Everybody makes mistakes, and artists are no exception. I've been at this long enough to make a lot of mistakes, and long enough to have learned from a few of them.
One thing I've gotten better at over the years, is taking a step back and looking at the big picture. This survey is my attempt to get you to do the same thing, in a somewhat entertaining way.
This thing is a lot more fun if you are honest with yourself. One word of advice - you're only guilty if you haven't learned from this mistake yet. Don't hang yourself for how you did things 5 years ago.
Are you ready to stand trial?
#1
Do what everybody else does.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#2
Spend more time on myspace than on your instrument.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#3
Play bars and coffeehouses until someone "discovers you."
We the jury, find the defendant...
#4
Define success with the words "stardom" and/or "platinum."
We the jury, find the defendant...
#5
Put your faith in a record company.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#6
Work part-time at it.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#7
Write your bio yourself.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#8
Embrace new technology
...after everybody else does.
We the jury, find the defendant...
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#9
Play rooms you can't fill, and rooms where people don't pay attention.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#10
Spend more than $2000 on your first CD.
We the jury, find the defendant...
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#11
Spend more than $10,000 on any CD without a serious marketing plan and funding.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#12
Assume that people will buy your record if you just get it out there.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#13
Act like someone you are not.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#14
Write boring, self-absorbed emails to your fans.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#15
Be half-assed about building your email list.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#16
Put un-flattering content of yourself on your website or YouTube - (exception - if it's truly funny)
We the jury, find the defendant...
#17
Neglect to identify your audience. Who are they? If you can't answer that, you'll never find them.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#18
Neglect to identify yourself. Who are you? If you can't put it into words or pictures, your audience will have a hard time finding you.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#19
Neglect to spend considerable time re-writing, co-writing, and evaluating your songs.
We the jury, find the defendant...
#20
Keep doing the things that are clearly not working for you.
We the jury, find the defendant...
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