I would argue that it’s both easier and harder to start an indie band, launch a music career, start a business or just plain do anything challenging today. Yeah, I know, it sounds like a cop-out idea that doesn’t take a stand. But it’s true.
On the one hand, it’s so much easier to start an indie music career today. Anybody can call themselves a musician. Get yourself an Internet connection, some Protools and put in a bit of effort and voila! You’re a music artist…in the strictest sense of the word.
On the other hand, it’s very difficult to get attention today. It’s the most valuable asset in the modern economy. It’s tough to get people’s attention because of clutter. People have control over the messages they choose to receive from you.
Just because you have connections with certain people won’t guarantee success. It doesn’t work that way anymore…in any industry, not just music.
Remember Joe The Plumber? He became an overnight mini-celebrity because he questioned then presidential candidate Obama on his tax plan. He could have licked the soles of Obama’s shoes and gotten famous. But where is Joe The Plumber now? His handlers tried to ride his 15 minutes of fame by publishing a book. Almost no one showed up at the book signing.
Joe The Plumber tried to cash in by taking shortcuts. It didn’t work. He thought that because all of a sudden he was talking to party heads like Newt Gingrich, that he had it made. No so. Not anymore.
Joe The Plumber didn’t put in the time to build up true value. That’s the one thing you can’t scrimp on anymore. That’s especially true if you want to have any type of success in today’s music business. There’s so many moving parts. And most of it you have to learn and do yourself. You have to constantly keep on top of moving trends. It takes a lot of time to master all the new tools and even more importantly, to use them effectively.
And then you have to coordinate all of your newfangled online marketing tactics with your offline activities. It takes years to master it all. It takes years before your dreams can support you financially.
That’s how it’s supposed to be. But you need a job in the meantime to pay the bills and put food on the table. There’s a toxic idea floating around that’s been propagated by Web 2.0/Silicon Valley IPO business culture which says that you have to do everything now or you’re going to miss the wave. It says quits your job now and focus on your idea or the opportunity will pass you by.
It’s BS. And I think it’s seeped into many people’s heads. By all means, focus like a laser on your music projects and dreams, but take the time to do everything right. Set up a proper website. Take the time to write good music. And keep you day job until you don’t need it.
One of the seldom considered problems with quitting your job to focus completely on your dreams is that doing so forces you to rush without thinking things through. If you know you only have 6 months worth of saving in your bank account, well, by God, you had better get your music career up and running in 6 months. That forces hasty decision making. And that encourages mistakes. Rushing leads to problems down the road. But if you slow it down a bit and let your career blossom organically, you’ll be far better off in the long run.
Time is your ally.
