Let me ask you a question: why do music producers and musicians fail? What about performers? Why do they also have a tendency to fail? Technically, the chances are stacked against you.
90.7 percent of all music producers and musicians are undiscovered, 6.8% are developing, 1.4 percent are mid-sized, 0.9 percent are mainstream, and just 0.2 percent are megastars, according to Next Big Sound.
While such figures are unsettling, there is much to be said about pursuing a creative activity. Regardless matter how widespread music creation is in 2019, there may be no purer pursuit.
On that topic, I can understand how producers might easily slide into poor habits. Unfortunately, these practices can stifle creativity and lead to frustration or even failure as a music producers and musicians over time.
The three most typical causes I’ve noticed for producers failing in electronic music creation are listed below.
1. You’ve failed because you’ve given up!
Albert Einstein was a brilliant man. That is something I believe we are all aware of. “You never fail until you stop trying,” Einstein declared in one of his most motivating statements.
This isn’t supposed to develop into a mushy, motivational piece. But it could be inescapable since the only way to genuinely fail is to give up.
Keep this story in mind the next time you’re upset by slow progress or a lack of results…
I saw a documentary on a band named Anvil a while back. This Canadian heavy metal band released a seminal album in 1982 that influenced bands like Anthrax and Metallica, only to fade away and languish for decades in obscurity.
Consider a group of 50-year-old males with long hair who are still attempting to’make it’ in heavy metal.
But here’s the thing: there’s a catch. They never slowed down. They’ve gained a cult following as a result of that documentary. The band is still creating records and performing today, and they are enjoying a lot of the success they had hoped for. It’s a remarkable tale of perseverance and patience.
The failure of music producers and musicians is due to their willingness to give up. You can’t officially fail if you never quit.
Think about this if that isn’t enough for you:
- Kaskade had to wait 15 years for one of his songs to chart on Billboard.
- Skrillex was in a screamo band in 2002. He didn’t debut as an EDM producer until 2010, and his first full-length album wasn’t released until 2014.
- Claude VonStroke, the proprietor of the Dirtybird tech house label, is now in his late 40s. In 2006, he released his debut album. After more than a decade, Dirtybird is larger than ever, and he still headlining EDM events.
- Diplo is currently in his forties. Since 2003, he’s been releasing singles, EPs, and full-length albums.
The only way to fail is to give up. As a result, make sure to set up a long-term method for yourself that prevents you from quitting.
2. You Fail Because You Don’t Have a Plan!
Combining several interests and building out a niche for yourself gives you a sense of direction.
Everyone, in my opinion, has something unique and wonderful about them. However, simply being a producer is no longer sufficient.
Don’t make the mistake of believing your music will speak for itself. Combine your abilities and talents to build a personality extension that the rest of the world can’t ignore.
Again, there are a slew of reasons why music producers and musicians fail, but don’t let your failure to properly understand yourself be one of them.
3. You Fail Due to Incorrect Information!
That environment has resulted in an excess of both accurate and incorrect information, leaving it up to the end user (nice people like you and me) to sort it out.
- So, how can we know what’s right and what’s wrong?
- What’s worthwhile to pursue against what’s not?
- Especially when everyone in the music industry tells you that “rules don’t apply”?
There are regulations, I’ll tell you right now. And while you can break them, you must first learn them in order to have any hope of knowing what you’re doing.
This is why in 2019, producers will fail.
- We become entangled in a web of lies.
- Too much information causes us to get disoriented.
- We never leave the tutorial/forum/feedback world after that.
What you truly need is a tried-and-true system from one reliable source that has been shown to function.
How Can You Stay Away From Failure?
The truth is straightforward. If you stay in love with your creative endeavor, failure is far more difficult to come by.
So do whatever you can to keep yourself from falling out of love with music producing. Take some time away from your computer. Make sure you get enough of rest. Always remember to look after your relationships. Maybe you should retain that day job you’ve been considering leaving.
Make every effort to maintain your passion for music-making. Because, once again, the only way to genuinely fail is to give up.
