You Are Good at Music and Thinking of Launching Your Music Career? Think Twice!

It is always nice to have a dream, an ambition, else there isn't a lot to strive for in life. If you love music and you know how to play an instrument, or know how to sing, most probably your dream is to become a rock star, a celebrity or form part of a famous band. Well, if you have the talent and you already write good music, how hard can it be to arrive at the top?

It never was easy to be successful, but unfortunately, the more time passes, the more difficult it is becoming to shine as a musician, singer or band. In the music industry there is a fierce competition. Up to the 80's, if a musician had the talent it was easier to reach the top. But nowadays it does not depend on how good the musician is, but mostly on luck and on the looks, or maybe even on how much skin one is ready to expose. Why is it so? Like everything else in the world, unfortunately the music industry is money driven like never before. There are a lot of people to blame for such a situation, and no one at the same time. Obviously, like any other kind of art, music means money.

Unlike in the old school days, where in the music industry there was not the amounts of money and fame of today, and business was much quieter, today the record labels are controlling the scene and not the musicians themselves. It is very hard for a talented musician to beat the monstrous marketing powers music labels have. Commercial music is at it's best, since it is the music which in return produces more money.

I do not have anything against today's bands and musicians, but I strongly believe that much more effort, skill, talent and will power was needed to write songs, or better called anthems like Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) or Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) than to write songs like I got a Feeling (Black Eyed Peas), or Girls (Sugababes). Apart from that, before the musicians themselves used to write their own material in backyards and garages, while nowadays there are a number of labels who are hiring divas and write songs for them, as long as they can sing or dance!

While before musicians and bands literally gave their lives away for music, and battled between themselves to make sure they reach the top, today as long as you are signed with a big label, you're successful. No matter how commercial your music is, how low quality from the technical point of view your music is, as long as the label got the marketing budget, your song is out there being aired on radio stations and in night clubs, therefore rest assured you're a success. Unfortunately the generic public is not choosy about music, but listens only to what is fed to them from music labels. As long as a particular song is played in public places, then the generic public will be brainwashed with such music and will buy the cd, thus making the music label owners richer than ever before and the 'wrong' artist more famous!

The Music Industry and Your First Tour - Living On The Road

Living out of hotels, and traveling by tour bus may sound like a lot of fun, but it's a long hard road, and you never seem to get enough sleep. Worse the party atmosphere takes a toll on your body, and after a while life can be nothing more than a blur. Don't get me wrong, being on the road is a lot of fun, it's exciting, and you get to meet interesting new people. Mostly, you become closer to those on tour with you, as they become your new family.

If you want to promote your music, sometimes you have to get out on the road and do concerts, to reach those fans. Luckily, today with the Internet, and viral marketing, Twitter and YouTube, and people buzzing about you on their Facebook page it makes it all that much easier to sell records, or in this case CDs. Yes the industry has changed in many ways, but in many other ways it hasn't. It has become a little more professional on the road than used to be, and those days of crazy partying are liable to get you busted in the city, and wind up in jail. It's happened to more than a few in their careers.

But for the dedicated musician who truly wants to make a name for themselves and is passionate about their music and performing in front of fans, this is a great time to be alive, and to be on the road. Yes, the costs are greater these days with higher insurance, higher fuel costs, and more lawyer fees. But by that same token the Internet can take a road show and promote it like never before.

This drives down the marketing costs, and helps sell more music. One other issue with being on the road is that people will digitally tape your songs and put them on the Internet for free, but a musician, that is to say lifelong musician, must take the good with the bad, as they take it on the road. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this.