So, you might be thinking, "What's wrong with the first one? Everyone needs an opportunity to be heard."

This is true. Every artist does need an opportunity to be heard to succeed; however, the part that's extremely wrong with this statement is the 'sit and wait' aspect of it. A lot of artists think they need an A&R or manager to notice them, and that person will propel them to success. I'll explain what's wrong with this in a story.

Awhile back I used to fall in this category. I was a 'sit and wait' person. I used to tell myself, "My time will come, I'm just waiting on the right person to come my way." Just like all the other aspiring producers and artists out there. My music sounded professional, but it seemed like no matter what I did, there was no way to reach the higher ups in the music industry to hear my music.

I ended up getting a 9-5 after college, which I dreaded, (loved the people, hated the job) to help pay bills in the meantime because I just knew that it would be temporary. I kept thinking, "All I need is 5 minutes for someone to hear my music, and I know I'll be set to get out this job."

Little did I know my mindset was the biggest thing holding me back. Let me explain.

The 'sit and wait' artist is worried about what someone else can do for their career instead of the action they can take to achieve want they want. These artists often procrastinate and make excuses for why they aren't being discovered, instead of finding other ways that they can achieve their results.

Deep down, I knew my time wasn't going to come if I didn't start making things happen for myself. I could think of success all I wanted, but if I didn't take any action for it, it wasn't happening.

But the biggest problem I had was how? How was I going to do it? I'll get to that in a second.

First, I want to tell you what's wrong with the second statement.

So I explained the first one, and you may be thinking, "Ok, but what's wrong with me wanting to get signed and show the world my music?"

One of the biggest things holding back independent artists is that they have the mindset of the major labels. Let me explain.

Labels try to reach their audience by shoving the music in front of as many people as they can. They use extremely expensive methods of advertising like radio and TV because they have the money, and that's how they get in front of their listeners.

Independent artists have tried to do the same thing with resources presented to them. Take social media, touring, etc., artists try to get in front of as many listeners as they can in hopes that the listener will like it, and then they'll tell a friend, who will tell another friend and so on until they can get a buzz going.

The major flaw with this is that independent artists don't have the capital and resources major labels do, so they can't expect the same results.

Also, what makes an artist think just because they get signed to a label, they won't be dropped and have to go looking for another day job eventually? You need to have some say in your music career, and it needs to be more than hopes of getting signed.

You don't need a record label to be able to EFFECTIVELY reach your target audience, and you don't need to be seeking the world. In fact that might be a distraction for your success.

Any successful entrepreneur will tell you they have a very targeted audience they're going after, and as a music artist, you're an entrepreneur too! You may not think of it like that, but you are.

So, let me tell you what's wrong with the third statement.

What's wrong with the third statement? Don't you need exposure to get in front of people?

Yes, you do need to reach your target audience, but if independent artists don't have a proper system in place that is specifically designed to connect with fans and sell music, our albums would be dead before the release even happens.

Building a fan base and selling your music needs to be more than simply telling people about your music and hoping they'll buy it.

You need to have a structure in place that will allow you to systematically connect with fans and sell your music so you can get busy doing what you love instead of working some 9-5.

Without a properly structured system to connect with fans and sell your music, you're going in blind to the music industry. (Which is certainly not the industry to do that in.) 

The system must be more than having a bunch of followers on social media and an email list, and I get requests from artists through the blog all the time to teach them a method that will get their career going.

Don't become yet another artist who looks back on their life and wonders why they never made it with their music career. Get the program!

The Advanced Artist Academy is a full membership program where independent music artists learn step-by-step directions on how to build a successful full time music career.

If you’re tired of being ‘stuck’ in trying to make progress with your music, The Advanced Artists Academy can help. All you have to do is watch over my shoulder as I set up an entire intelligent music marketing system. This is the same marketing structure I use to run my music site full-time!