MUSIC BUSINESS IS BUSINESS

Many professional creative people, whom I have known in music, have ignored, or had an aversion to business. I have seen some fabulous talents, who should have "made it big" but did not. I've seen headliners in Las Vegas shows, world class level musicians, and fabulously talented amateur singers who never made it past the little last step to achieve greatness in the music business. Bob Proctor calls this difference "the razor's edge". Now, what does that mean? He meant that the difference between success and failure can be as thin as the sharp blade of a razor. It has always been a huge disappointment to me to see people who had so much to offer fall short of their potential. There are multi-factorial reasons for the failures I have witnessed: Some did not want it. Some lacked in imagination regarding their art. Some avoided getting help from others with vocal or musical technique. Some had little or no work ethic. Some had no sense of personal ethics. Some had no balance in life, to the extent that they lost focus or couldn't maintain focus. Some had problems with personal relationships. Some had problems with communication with others. Some had bad business sense. Some refused to learn what was needed to succeed. The good news is that all of these things are rectifiable. Where are you lacking? It is easy to compromise and lie to yourself and say that you don't have what it takes. It is harder to do a little introspective look and use the list above to discover your strengths and weaknesses. Then you have to decide, do I strengthen my strengths or work on my weaknesses. You also may need to find people who love doing the things which you are not good at, and delegate that work to them. I have had CPAs for over 20 years. I have access to many professional musicians, who play instruments that I do not. I am talking about world class musicians. Can I play drums, guitar, piano, bass, violin, trombone, trumpet, banjo, and various percussion instruments, including a vibraphone? Sure I can, but I know my strengths and weaknesses in those and would hire others to do most of those jobs. The three main reasons for failure among talented musicians are: 1) Ignorance of which they are unaware 2) Bad work ethic and 3) Little or no business acumen. You cannot be great at everything. You can be great at many things. Make a list and maybe you will give yourself a better chance. If you think you have nothing unique to offer the world, you are probably lying to yourself. If "friends" and family are telling you that you are wasting your time, while at the same time professionals are telling you about your virtues and potential, wake up to reality and make a decision. Are you worthy of success in the music business? Are you living to please others to the exclusion of yourself? It is your job as a creative person to create. It is your job to hone your "craft". It is your job to realize your potential. Let business people handle business and let managers manage. Let the musicians, writers, arrangers do their jobs. Focus on your art and if you are so fortunate as to find someone who truly believes in you, you have a shot at it. Or you have the option to pretend you are not good enough or unique enough or that the world doesn't need your voice. You can always go teach your language in a third world country instead of doing music. However, you will never escape knowing that something else could have been BUT you, yes you, let it slip away.