Written By How To Become Successful As An Upcoming Artist. 

Have you recently decided that you want to pursue your passion for music, but have no idea where to start? If you’ve been doing music as a hobby for a while now and you want to get more serious, you’re in the right place.

In this blog, I cover all the major pieces and beginning steps you will need to think about when setting the foundation for your music career as an independent artist. Although this guide caters more towards performing artists, singer-songwriters, bands and rappers, I feel a lot of this can still apply to producers and instrumentalists as well.

Even if your end goal is to sign with a major music label, I think you still need to apply these steps. Just know that in the current climate of the music industry, thanks to the internet, you are no longer dependent on music labels to make a career in music, especially the majors. You have the freedom to do it yourself.

Signing to a label definitely has its benefits as they can provide resources, connections and expertise that allow you to focus more on the creative aspects. However, it may come at a cost that I don’t think many artists want to pay, like them having ownership of your music. This topic could be for another blog, but just know the approach that I advocate for is a fully independent one where you’re in control of every aspect of your career and creative output.

The downside of pursuing music as an independent is that it’s not easy, and it takes a lot of work. Not only are you responsible for the creative, but you also need to run the business side while being in charge of your own artist development. It can be overwhelming, but I hope this blog will be a good starting point for you and serve as a road map for laying the foundation of your path towards a career in music.


1. Make sure you have a way to make a living (day job)

In popular culture, we romanticize the idea of leaving everything behind and head to the big city to pursue our passion. Unfortunately, more often than not, it’s more fantasy than reality.

It’s probably not smart to drop everything and try to make a living off music right off the bat. If you’re financially well off or have built up a strong following through another industry then maybe this doesn’t apply. But for the rest of you, your priority should be to do something that pays the bills to keep you afloat while you do music on the side.

Some might like the idea of going all-in without a backup plan because they feel the pressure to survive will help motivate them to make it to do music full-time. Hey, it’s your life, but not what I would personally advocate.

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