Not every musician, artist, and band is going to make it successfully. That’s a fact that we all have to accept. However, there are some who are fighting an uphill battle from the very moment they start. Here are the hurdles that might be working against you and what your options are when it comes to clearing them out of the way.
You’re not working to brand it well enough
Your band is more than just the music you produce. Unless you’re able to build your band’s brand, then you’re not going to get the recognition that will lead to support. Finding a message for the band, an image to represent it, and being active on what platforms you can, including both social media and streaming platforms, is essential to get heard nowadays. Sure, some bands can survive on the most independent of scenes, but they’re never going to get much bigger than that and be able to sustain their own music financially unless they’re willing to push their brand out into the world.
You don’t have a local music scene
This can be more than detrimental, this can be outright disastrous for your band. Yes, the internet has made it easier for people to discover music from all over the place. However, for many, the path to success is in finding listeners by performing live, and that’s only really possible in places that have an active music scene. If your town or city has no music scene to speak of, it might be time to find moving companies near you and to make the move with your band mates. Look for cities near you that have a much more active scene that you could get involved with.
You don’t have time to work on it
You might have some excellent songwriting abilities, and you might have a master musician or two in your band to bring it all to life. However, without the space and time to practice, you are going to have trouble pulling it off when it matters. Book in practice ahead of time, plan what you want to accomplish with your sessions and ensure that the band is consistent with it. If some can’t commit the time necessary to practice, then their views about where the band is going and how to reach that next step might be different from yours.
Keep pushing your demo out
If you don’t have a music demo published and in a format you can easily give out to others, now is the time to create it. Hand your demo out to anyone that will take it, pursue press coverage for your music and try to get people to review it. Stay in contact with local and online press, and keep on plugging.
If you’re serious about making it in the music industry, then you need to think of your music as a business, not just a creative exercise. Find the opportunities to get heard, to perform, and to be recognized.
