OK, here's my problem (major), any advice/solutions?

Hey, I have a band too, and our stuff is great but we aren't getting anywhere either. What I think is, you should focus on making quality music and realize that even if you affect the life of just one individual, you could be the world to them.

Our band has a few fans that listen to our stuff all the time. These days, mainstream music isn't worth listening to, anyway - so you might as well not bother. I would recommend working on the local scene, becoming popular at local venues, building a fan base and enjoying the comrades and fans you make along the way. Probably much more fulfilling.

Also, I think it is important to be self-sufficient - we record our own songs, mix our own songs, have a cheap hook-up for mastering, set up our own shows, distribute digitally online and produce our own music videos. Try to work in this direction, if you can.

If you want any tips on recording, mixing, playing shows, distributing your album yourself, etc. feel free to U2U me.

These are tips I have learned to help me survive emotionally in the music industry. I hope they help. By the way, I've been working at this for 10 years and am just now about to emerge as a major player on the local scene.

Still, I don't see anything wrong with wanting to achieve something with your life at all. I think it is an important driving force for societal advancement. But remember - the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. So just think about the seeds you are planting now, and how they might come to fruition in the future.

Oh, and listen to Calstorm. She knows what she's talking about.

reply to post by Idonthaveabeard


Dude, I have gone through exactly what you are going through and let me tell you first hand, It gets soo much better!

I have been infatuated with music since I was a little kid, and when I first started going to shows I felt the same, I just wanted to be the one up on stage. Since then I have played in several different bands of many different genres and played several different instruments and still haven't found what I want to do in music.

I have played metal, rock, blues, jazz, folk and anything else you can think of, but what really stood out to me was folk music. I have played acoustic guitar for 12 years now and never even considered writing a folk song until I heard cat stevens. This man changed music for me for good. He is such a brilliant singer/songwriter and has the best message about him. He decided to leave music when the record labels decided to start directing his career around money. After so many years he found himself and became muslim and decided to pursue music again and you can see the difference. Near the end of his first career he playing music because he had to, since he has come back, you can see in his eyes he plays music because he loves to!

never ever ever let your music get you down, always play for yourself and others will love it because of that reason. I used to write music for others to try and make a "hit" song, but it never panned out. Ever since I started writing from my heart about what interests me, people started to notice my songs having more structure, feeling, emotion and I started to get more gigs! Just always make sure you are having fun doing it or it is not the hobby or career for you!

Check out my music page if you feel like it!
(my new album is almost entirely based on conspiracy ideas)
www.facebook.com...
Thanks, and stick with it !

Tyler

reply to post by Idonthaveabeard


With music, more often than not, it seems to be a scenario of you either have it or you don't. The brain of a musically inclined individual will actually be constructed differently than, say a mathematician. See, what bugs me about modern society is that it seems like everyone is writing a script to their own personal little movies these days. Fame and fortune are not the means, they are the end of a long and dangerous road. If I may be quite frank with you, you do not get famous unless you are allowed to do so. In order for that to come about, you must show that you are willing to "play ball" and manipulate your fellow man (just as Eminem and all other "superstars" do). It's all part of the growing commodification of people. If you really love music, as I do (I'm a guitarist), I would advise that you just keep it local and spread the word through Youtube. If you truly wish to keep your soul, just do it for the music, not the fame. Fame is the farthest thing from good at this point. They just basically want people up there in the limelight for young people to be influenced by, and it works.

There is an old middle eastern curse that states: "May you get all you wish for."
There are benefits to being another face in the crowd...as opposed to fame. One who is famous is shackled to his or her persona. There is no privacy, because that has been sold to the public. There is no dignity, because in today's day and age, that is considered out of touch. If you must, MUST be in the public eye... then start a new trend. Be honorable, and noted for it. Do good acts without thought of receiving recognition for them. Be classy, not brassy. You can be a force to be contended with without being an ass. If you can pull these things off, kid, then you deserve your fame. Good luck.

reply to post by Idonthaveabeard


i think i see your issue here, and i also think it's easy for me to see because i like you am a musician as well. the more i speak, the less likely i would say anything of true powerful value, so i will bluntly say what i can about your dilemma.

nobody is a "somebody." we're all people, some just accumulate more of what they're after. if you focus on being a somebody, that's automatically focus taken away from composing and creating. trying to be a somebody will always land you in a pool of despair, because you already are someone. the more you think that you have to be like somebody or something else, there's already a monkey wrench in your system.

play what you feel, and don't be afraid to make the most god awful songs in the world. if they sound great to you, then they sound great to you. you gotta have some fun - in fact, it ALL has to be fun. considering it a struggle, makes it a struggle.

it also seems to me that you have to pick one - either focus on what you want to be all the time, or just keep making music all the time. to me, and from my personal ongoing experience, you really can't have both at the same time. doing so would cause considerable stress to the mind.

Only advice I could give ya is to grow a beard...

Your mistake is thinking that the only form of success is being heard on the radio and havign adoring fans.

You need to redefine your definition of success that doesn't require adoring fans.

That is why people think you only want Hollywood Fame.

I would be happy to have a song played on a college radio station.

If you are not going to settle for anything less than adoring fans, than your problem is narcissism.

reply to post by cry93


Eminem had a hit just a few years ago with Rhianna.

He isn't putting out music because he is spending his energy getting young artists started and giving them a chance just like he was given.

Basically he went into production.

why do you measure your success by the approval of others?

Is their love what you want or their money....?

If its money....be a scum bag....please no...but that is an easy way.....lie cheat and steal...you wont be happy but you´ll have.....stuff..

If its their love....then do good. thats about it.

Allot of people want to be rock stars and movie stars....they have been programmed to think that is success.
I would refer you to George Carlin on the subject.

Learn to be happy....when you're that, the rest seems to just either take away or compliment that happiness.

You want power....then you will have to sacrifice something. Nothing is free.

I think an artist does his best work when it is for the joy of creating. If you are creating for money or power or peoples fake love,.....it is going to suck as much as those things.....

create like a mother creates... love it.

reply to post by Idonthaveabeard


I'm 56 yrs old, and my entire life has been just a longer version of what you've already experienced. Only the seriously driven achieve greatness, and there's no shortcut that exists. The truth is that it is that drive that transforms the person into someone who can be great.

I spent 30 years in the original rock/blues industry, and had a few successes, while never feeling as if I ever achieved anything. What's always gotten me by is that people like us are a brotherhood of artists who have this life of struggling to find and express what it is that we just know - without any evidence for the most part - that we have something special to share with the world.

You're part of our family, and I hope that this gives you a small instant of community strength as you continue to try to be better than average as whatever kind of person you become over your life. We're struggling right next to you, whether you can see us or not. You're not alone.

Shirley Bassey said it took her ten years to become an over night sucsess.Later on Johny Depp either stole her quote or repeated it ver batim...............

reply to post by nixie_nox


Exactly my point, though. OP is attempting to achieve a certain kind of fame when there are other avenues opened to him, even within the music genre. I only used Em because OP used him first.

Let me explain it like this. OP wants what Em had. Em isn't even that Em anymore. Why? Because he realized his true talents AND evolved.

You make my point for me.

Originally posted by Idonthaveabeard
If you read it all then thanks! Any thoughts appreciated!

3 things:

1) I know where you're coming from - I was tired & endless-loop-of-nothingnessed as well - it happens when everything you do regularly & consistently comes to nought, then one fine day you just don't want to move anymore, coz you think 'what's the f***ing point'. So, I understand.

2) Next time you think about writing a song, but 40 mins later you are still mindlessly surfing but not writing, here's what you do - you start writing the song, not for yourself, but someone else. You are the songwriter for some other artist, real, or made-up, or even another member of your band. Point is, you can see them on stage (e.g. a celeb performer), you know they will perform what you are writing. Just thinking this will ERASE all CHEESINESS from your writing, which is no doubt plagueing your work, when you write for YOURSELF. Just imagining your fave big-artists giving you a sneering / 'seriously, dude?' look for this or that move/riff/intro/outro whatever. What you write with them in mind will be of higher quality that what you wrote for yourself OK? Just do write something for this 'SOMEONE ELSE' and forget about 'yourself'.

3) In the Bhagawad Gita, there are many wise thoughts about human life, one of them is along these lines - whatever outcome you have decided in your head, do the work towards that outcome without being attached to that outcome. In other words, if you keep focusing on the end result, your focus/attention is NOT on the steps to be performed towards that goal - so it's guaranteed you're doing a mediocre job & will fail to some degree. Put all your love & attention on the task at hand, on the HERE & NOW only. If you are washing dishes or writing a song, focus only on that, not how it's gonna lead to a grammy or mtv award, or how 10,000 fans will pump their fists for you, but is the spelling correct and how is my line shaping up. Do you understand?

If you have any further questions please do ask. I think you can turn this around but only by following the above.

Thanks some really awesome advice coming out!

Im going to tell people why I want to make big songs to clear up this confusion that I just want fame and money or whatever. Wether its big events ive been at or seen on tv or even just nights out at smaller night clubs, when certain songs come on people just lose their reality and become powered by the song, its just awesome the positive impact a song can have on someone. And everytime I experience it I just want to make material that can have that affect. As for money and fame, if your good at what you do then money comes anyway so its more about concentrating on being good than getting money. And I want fame, but not in the way most people think, I want fame in the way that my songs will be heard all over the world, not some z-list celebrity type fame.

I probably have lost sight of why I started and concentrated to much on making a 'hit' and subconsciously trying to replicate others instead of making what I want. Im going to folow some of the advice and we will see where it gets me. And for all those who seem to be in a similar position to me, lets hope we can all achieve our dreams!