Focus On Your Art

Focus On Your Art
September 30, 2014

I recently read a post by a musician talking about generating buzz for your band.

I thought the advice given was good, except there was one BIG problem. There was no mention, whatsoever, about the importance of creating great music. Here's an excerpt:

"You need to commit to doing the daily grunt work of promoting, booking, selling, designing posters and merchandise and hopefully still have time for writing and recording your music. And then put this on repeat."

This is the problem with the music industry. People are so busy trying to get famous, the art is an afterthought. "And hopefully still have time for writing and recording your music"??? Are you kidding me?!

Don't get me wrong. Promoting and booking and selling is an important piece to a successful career in music. But, what about the product you are selling? Great marketing of a poor product only makes the product fail faster.

I think what we forget sometimes is that if the product (music) is good enough it will sell itself. If you really want to cut through the noise and get people to notice you, create something that demands attention. Put in the work to make your recordings amazing. Put in hours and hours (try 10,000 maybe?) crafting your songs. 

Do I promote myself? Absolutely. Is marketing a necessity? Yes. And marketing and promotion BEGINS with writing and recording something undeniably spectacular.