Myth No. 1 of the musical career: you cannot attend if you are over a certain age.
Reality: Successful companies and bands don’t focus on age. There are tons of professional musicians aged 30 and over in all aspects of the business. Your age only matters if you make it matter.
The music industry works just like any other business. You can be successful at any age as long as you have a strong work ethic, dedication, and lots of value to offer.
Learn what the music industry looks for in musicians and start strengthening these skills (more on this in a moment). This is what attracts people to the industry.
Music career myth 2: fans don’t buy music anymore.
Reality: Fans buy music these days, but the old business models for selling it just don’t work. To sell music to your fans (and make a lot of money), you must:
1. Know how the industry works right now (instead of how it worked decades ago).
2. Think outside the box. This will help you find new ways to sell your music to fans.
Myth of the musical career n. 3: Before you can build a career, you must become an excellent musician.
Fact: Becoming a great professional musician involves much more than just having “great musical skills.” Many musicians in the music industry are not guitarists, singers, etc. High-level and many highly talented musicians never build successful music careers.
What you need to learn here: Work on both your music skills and other aspects of your music career at the same time.
Note: Becoming a professional musician does not require going to college. Going to college to study music only helps you develop your musical skills. Doing this will not help you develop a career in music. There are tons of people who earn music degrees and never make a lot of money from music.
You can also find many other effective ways to become a better musician besides going to college. Taking lessons with a virtuoso guitar teacher will help you master the instrument much faster.
Question: “But Tom Hess, what if I get a degree in the music business?”
Answer: Professors who teach music business are often not successful in the music industry. They are simply educators. They teach you about the music industry, but not about how to develop a career in the music industry. For example, in classes for the music business, you can learn how contracts are made, how tours are promoted, and how royalties work. It is good to know this information, but it will not help you:
* Really obtain own record deal.
* Take a tour that earns money.
* Get offers for publishing your music.
* Join the band you want to be in.
* Earn big income through music.
* Maintain success in your music career for a long time.
You achieve these kinds of results by working alongside a music career mentor who has already achieved massive success.
Myth 4 of the musical career. You need to live in a “music city” to be successful.
Reality: This is a very old-fashioned myth that is not true. It is not the city that matters, it is YOU.
You can work together with music companies that live far away from you. Learn the beginning may they develop successful music careers and live up to them in their own career. This leads you to success regardless of your location.
Myth # 5 of the music career. You need good connections to be successful.
Reality: Connections they often do not lead the way to success in a musical career. If I were to introduce you to the lead singer of your favorite band, would this do a lot for you? Not likely … unless:
1. You have a lot of value to offer above most other musicians.
2. You have developed a reputation in the music business for being loyal, hard-working and trustworthy, while also having a solid mindset for business. People in the music industry will inspect your reputation before beginning to work with you in any capacity.