Notes from an Independent Record Producer[This article is written by guest contributor and music producer Jamie Hill.]

This is just a quickie. I was thinking today about a conversation that I was having with an artist friend of mine, and I wanted to muse on it for a second.

My friend was frustrated. He’s highly talented, and his songwriting has been getting really strong, and his performances are becoming highly compelling. And yet he feels like nothing’s really clicking for him, like he’s spinning his wheels, like he can’t get traction for his career.

And: I hear this all the time. The basic line of reasoning is “I’m super talented; so when are things going to start happening for me?”

But here’s the thing: in the music marketplace, highly talented is the bare minimum. It’s not the destination point – it’s the departure point. It’s your ticket to entry.

There are millions and millions of highly talented independent artists. What makes one person rise above is all the rest of the non-musical stuff. The grind. The work. The hustle.

So: are you talented? Are you the best person you know at what you’re doing? That’s great. That’s a good starting point. Now get out there and hustle and start creating your success. Because no one is going to do it for you.

[Fore more music production advice, check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this series].

Author Bio: Jamie Hill is an independent record producer, music engineer, and author. He was nominated for Best Producer in the 2014 Independent Music Awards. Hill works across a variety of genres, mostly in the independent and alternative music spaces, with bands such as ArnoCorps, Shannon Curtis, and many more. He has had chart success internationally with Swedish indie-pop favorite Jens Lekman, whose record An Argument With Myself debuted in the Billboard Heatseekers Top 10 in multiple countries.

Originally published at Pyragraph.com.

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