The 3 Most Common Mistakes Made by Independent Musicians

By
July 16, 2012{ 21 Comments }

shutterstock 105655442 The 3 Most Common Mistakes Made by Independent Musicians[This guest post was written by Shaun from Music Industry How To and Independent Music Advice.]

I love the idea of the independent musician. You don’t have to rely on anyone else to get your music career moving and you’re able to let as much of your creative side show as you want. But being a successful independent musicians is hard work. Signed artists usually have a team of people who know the business helping out. As an indie, you have to keep an eye on everything yourself and do much of the heavy lifting.

While there are courses that can teach you the business side of things, many musicians start their music career by just trying things out and seeing how they go. This method of trial and error can be very hit and miss. Considering the fact that many musicians learn from others (who are also in this trial and error stage), this can lead to a lot of bad information being shared.

Today, I’m going to look at three of the most common mistakes I see independent musicians making. If it’s new and helpful information to you, I’m glad. If you’ve already learned these lessons, I hope it acts as a good refresher for you.

So, let’s get into it.

1. Not Monetizing Live Shows

Many young artists are afraid to appear like they’re taking themselves too seriously. When you’re an up-and-coming talent, it’s easy to slip into casual mode– always playing for free, and not setting up your merch display or charging for CDs.

While you should aim to get paid directly from live shows, this isn’t always possible when you’re a fresh act. Having said that, there is still money to be made from your performances.

If you’ve piqued the crowd’s interest, a few people will want to buy merch. Make sure to mention from stage that you’ll be going around after your set to sell CDs. Don’t lose sales because you weren’t prepared!

A second way to make money from your shows is via royalties collection. While this won’t be huge amounts per show– it can add up. Many musicians don’t claim their performance royalties and essentially leave money on the table.

For more information on collecting royalties for public performances, check out BMI Live in the US or PRS in the UK.

2. Focusing too much on getting signed

This point is pretty self explanatory. Yes, I know the thought of getting signed is alluring, but it shouldn’t be your main aim. You want to make the best music you can, and you want to build up as big a loyal fanbase as you can on your own. Whatever other goals you have (to get signed or stay indie) will flow from there.

There are two main problems you’ll face when aiming to sign a record deal:

1. You’ll target the wrong people. Instead of focusing on interacting with fans, Djs, and people that can broadcast your music on a wider scale than you can do yourself, you’ll be focusing on getting onto a label’s radar. In reality, the best way to get on a record label’s radar is to ALREADY be successful on your own. If you’ve created your own buzz, they’ll come to YOU.

2. You’ll lose motivation if it doesn’t come. If you’ve got your heart set on a record deal but you don’t get signed, this will only cause discouragement and make you lose the love for the music. I’ve seen this happen with many talented musicians, and it’s not a pretty site.

Focus on building up your brand, making your own fans, and earning your own money. If you go on to get a good record deal, that’s great. If not, you’ll still be making money and gaining new fans. And as you put more work in, you’re bound to get more rewards out.

3. Not treating your music as a business

Yes, music should be a fun venture, but you should still treat it like a business (even if you’re not making a full-time living from it at this very minute)!

If you want to make it past the ‘bedroom’ musician stage, you need to recognize that this is your career (or one of several careers– until you can ditch the day-gig). You need to keep relationships professional, network to set schedules, keep paperwork of what’s been happening, push yourself even when you don’t want to, and strategically invest time and money with the aim of making more back in the long run.

Your level of success won’t just rely on how talented you are. Record labels make hits with artists because they realize hitting big requires a lot of hard work. They do all of the things mentioned above, and a lot more. If you want even a slice of this success, you need to do the same.

Conclusion

So there you have it, three tips I feel could help a lot of indie musicians. It’s the small things that can mean the difference between success and failure.

If you want to learn more ways to push your music career forward, check out the IMA Music Business Academy. This is an online music business course that has already helped over 100 independent musician take things into their own hands and get their music careers moving faster then ever before. After all, why not save years in trial and error and get things right the first time around?

Sell your music on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Facebook, and more!

Email Signup 2 The 3 Most Common Mistakes Made by Independent Musicians

 

[Oops! picture from Shutterstock.]

Kevin Breuner's Author Bio

  • Kennethmorrow73

    I agree with these three!! I find it getting harder to get paid gigs though because the bars are simply going to open mic nights ALL the time! I do however feel that i have my own original music, and it will pay off in the long run to avoid these open mics! NOT all of them! But i feel that as an artist you have to promote yourself as a specialty act! ..Just my opinion! :)

  • Bushbullit

    Great words of advice. Our band Bushbullit is out there every weekend playing everywhere, getting people dancing and singing along while a roadie is selling CDs and T-Shirts. Promoting the band anyway you can. Get a beer company to sponsor the band to provide posters and paint up your trailer.

  • http://www.musicindustryhowto.com/ Shaun MIHT

    Hi Kenneth. I agree there are a lot of open mic nights popping up, but there are still gigs out there to be got. Open mic nights are always good for practicing your craft and to gain confidence, so I wouldn’t quite say they’re useless just yet. They’re also good for networking and even getting some potential fans into your sales funnel.

    Getting gigs there is more money to be made, although it is still possible at open mike nights (CD sales being the easiest way to do this).

    Good luck with your gigs. :)

  • Mark Pinkus

    yes, I have sold out concert this saturday and the merch is all ready to go and also I’ll be selling some other products that friends have created to help promote them as well at the show. thanks for knocking on the indie’s door.. let’s keep it all moving and sell as much product as possible. peace, Mark PInkus http://www.markpinkus.com

  • Bryce Kain

    I agree. I spent many years worried about getting signed to a label and not enough time focusing on the love of music and building a fan base. Since I started A Fallen Mind, we’ve focused more on fans, music placement, sales, merch, playing, and everything EXCEPT getting signed. And it’s payed off so much more. We still wouldn’t mind getting signed to a label, but it isn’t our top priority, nor will it break our hearts if it never happens. We’re doing just fine on our own and having fun doing it.

  • David

    We run a showcase event called “Performing Writer.” We don’t pay our performers directly, but we encourage merchandise sales on the artist’s behalf.We host much of the top original performers and hit writers in the Nashville area and we’re booked far in advance. What we do for the performer can be more valuable that a paid gig in the long-run through our marketing, photography, and video exposure. That being said, I wouldn’t put playing unpaid gigs at the top of this list, and probably wouldn’t list it at all.

    • Craig Einhorn

      Dear David, With a little success a musician gets asked regularly to play for free. It definitely should be on the list of this article that artists should avoid playing for free. I agree there are some venues where its worth the exposure but they are few and far between. A young artist needs to say no to most unpaid gigs. Cudos to you for being one of the good venues. Sincerely, Craig Einhorn, Classical Guitarist (www.unicornguitar.com)

  • http://www.showcaseyourmusic.com/marimbas Snailsdad

    With “the marimba belles” CD, the release was to get people aware of alternative ways of creating popular[ in all its forms] music. To that extent, it has worked remarkably well. However, I feel people download favourite tracks and not the whole CD even though the variation in tastes and styles is enormous. We as teachers knew we would never be signed although we admit our CD is more listenable than many orchestral percussion ensembles as it is fresh, naive in a way and played by children around 11years of age. Please try and catch us and order a CD which has been remastered C/w with digital version. “Mamma Mia, It’s the Marimba belles” is the name of the album.

  • www.gingerspace.com

    Sorry, but this is bullshit!
    Life is not all about money guys… Wake up!

    • Randal Boyd

      No money= no equipment, no gas = no more shows, no career.

  • Steelcox

    I am a French singer and songwriter living in France. I am surprised about the first point “Not Monetizing live shows”. I think you are right but in France to be allowed to do so musicians must have their own company or organization ! Is it the same in America ? And more, here musicians or singers are not allowed to organize their own shows without working with a show producer who is allowed to ! But the most difficult thing is to find the show producer who wants to work with you !

    • http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/author-chris-robley Christopher Robley

      Sounds like it is a lot easier to put on a show in the United States. Generally, you work directly with a booker/venue owner, arrange the details of payment between those two parties, and… play the show!

    • Highview

      That’s what we are trying to prevent from happening over here–to many regulations and rules. It’s not too far off if things keep going as they are.

    • dave

      france is full of rules – i lived in paris for nearly a year in 2010 – try thinking of money as informal income (l’argent noir). je ne veux pas que vous soyez en difficulté avec la loi – ha ha ha, but some aspects of life are ‘formal’, others are ‘incidental’ or ‘seemingly co-incidental’.

  • http://www.facebook.com/rightup7 Cleveland Rightup

    blessed

  • Mathesonk

    ALWAYS push your CDS! I CANNOT agree with this more. As a writer/reviewer, it always bothers me that I have to ask a band or singer/songwrter who just finished performing if they have an album to promote. No one should have to ask!! If you are someone who always forgets about promoting your merchandise (CDs, Shirts, whatever..) because of just finishing up your concert, GET SOMEONE TO DO IT FOR YOU!

  • dave

    although this article is right on the money – it’s not the doctor’s diagnosis that cures – it’s the prescription. it’s a lot easier to point out what’s wrong than it is to fix it. i suggest a commitment to this end – a move towards the positive – the “try this” rather than “you’re not doing this”.

    it’s also deceptively easy to go for the general – it feels like a way of reaching everybody, all DIY musicians. but often it’s better to pitch the specific … real life anecdotes and examples, so rather than “this is your career, spend money strategically”, i say: “i spent $1800 on CD manufacture – a thousand units. my strategy for giveaways is ‘money comes through other people’ – give those people a CD. my strategy for sales is ‘sell to those who want to buy’ … my last CD i sold 500 at $12, which covered all costs, and gave away 500, of which about half got me gigs”

    just saying.

  • Craig Einhorn

    Regarding number 3, only two types of artists refer to what they do as playing, actors and musicians. If we’re not having fun then the audience doesn’t have any fun. That’s not to say its not work because of course it is. We have to create the illusion that it comes easy to us and that we are just “playing”. For this reason we can be taken advantage of and treated as if we should not be paid. People in a position to pay us may get the impression there’s no work involved. Just ask any actor or musician who has performed while having the flu how much fun it was to appear as if they were having fun. I’ve done it.

  • Darius

    I used to think it was infra-dig to sell CDs at my shows, but I come from the generation for whom being signed was THE major difference between being somebody or a wannabe. Now that there is practically no ‘record-business’ out there, I must say I prefer making 100% of something to 7.5% of nothing and the former means investing in and selling my onw CDs at gigs. Some get sold on-line too, but the main volume is right after shows.

  • Smith2keith3

    people will not copy right the songs

  • Michael W

    This is great advice. A word of caution about services like BMI live: I have to think this kind of program is a way for these agencies to see where live music is being played so they can send them a bill. It makes sense to use these services in a place where they’re already paying performance royalties, but if you play for an infrequent event at your uncle’s burger joint, you might not want to report it, to avoid a hassle.