by Joseph Vanburen

Created on: April 14, 2011

In order to determine why many indie artist fail in the pursuit of their dreams, we must first define what success is, because goals can differ among different artists. Some are looking for a major label record deal, some want an independent deal, and some just want to be able to play on the weekends as a hobby. For the sake of this discussion, let’s say that success in the music business means making a living through one’s art; not necessarily being famous, but making enough money through music to pay the bills. Even with this liberal definition of success, it is true that the vast majority of indie artists will fall short for various reasons. Let’s examine at a few typical examples.

The first and possibly most important reason why an indie artist may fail is that they may have no sense of the business that they are in, or even that they are in business at all. Every band or solo artist is its own small business, whether they realize it or not. If you’re making music with the intent to make money off of it, then you are a company providing a product and/or service to your customers (your fans). There are legal implications that go along with this, and certain standards expected from the people you will be dealing with, such as promoters, distributors, venue owners, agents, etc. So it pays not only to learn about business in general, but specifically about the music business, and to acquire a manager and/or business team when the time is right. These are things that many indie artist fail to recognize, which is sad because most of the information can be obtained for free on the internet. It just takes a little motivation to search for it.

A lack of perspective is another part of many musicians’ downfall. Some indie artists try to copy the sound or style of major label artists, even trying to imitate their marketing techniques. And while there’s certainly nothing wrong with being inspired by those who have had success, a sense of perspective is a must. You can’t do what an artist backed by a major label can do. You can put your video on Youtube, but don’t expect people to be randomly searching for it. When they find it and realize that you sound completely like another artist, do expect them to post negative comments. Know your potential fan base and how big it is; target them exclusively. Don’t ever think you’re bigger than you are. You’re trying to create positive buzz about your music,

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>