Even musicians who have had some significant success with their music are still hesitant to claim that success as an independent artist is possible. Tor Hyams (www.tor.net), a well-respected singer/songwriter in Los Angeles, has successfully written music for motion pictures and network television and still has grave doubts about making it as an independent artist.
“It is almost impossible to achieve success anyplace as an independent artist. What I truly think about the Indy scene is that it is important and crucial to the evolution of music. Though I become less jaded every day, I must be a realist and insist there is truly no future at this point for independent artists except for the rare occasion when all the stars align and luck is a lady tonight.
“Even if you just look at raw figures (Sound Scan numbers, ad dollars spent each year on records, etc), you would literally have to be a millionaire to make it right now. It is simply impossible to have anyone know who you are without mega-bucks. You are competing against the major labels and Indies with a lot of money.”
And this is someone who has relied heavily on the internet for establishing his business. He even has a cyber claim-to-fame:
“I was the first indy artist to acquire financing for a record online… Billboard wrote an article about me and the event and so did many other internet and print pubs. There was a lot of hype. I got 35K to make a record, spent 6 weeks at one of the hippest studios in the country making it (Fantasy Studios in Berkeley) and then it all went South.
They (industry managers/producers) said they were going to make big things happen, that I should let go of control and they would act as my managers, etc. Zippo. They dropped the ball. I had another business contact who was supposed to get commercial radio to play the record. Again, ball dropped. The label that got me my deal went bankrupt. Nothing happened and the investors never got their money back.”
But even though he had some pretty strong words for his own record deal experience and the state of the industry today, he has still found a way to carve a niche in the music world and make a good living out of it.
“Am I bitter? Not really. I actually got to live the dream; 6 weeks in a major recording studio with a real legit producer doing my songs. Not bad. What I realized later on was that I was actually pretty satisfied with just that part of the dream.
“I suddenly didn’t need to be rocking out at Madison Square Garden. I realized that I was a good songwriter, but that my particular brand of performing was just not being accepted. People wanted Justin Timberlake, not a 30 something pop rock singer.”
And sometimes it just takes staying true to the brand and sitting it out long enough so the trends shift back in your favor.
“Ironically, my ‘brand’ is actually coming back to be trendy. People have actually started buying my record again and playing it on the radio without me having to do anything at all. At the same time, I am finally writing and producing commercial records as a living. Life is good and the path I took here (including this whole Indy thing) was correct because now I am here and I like it here. I feel like I have gained a lot of knowledge in a very short time and that is certainly a privilege.”
So is there a simple recipe for success as an independent artist? Definitely not.
But there are just some words to live by: stay true to the product, search out a niche to exploit, and get a damn Business / Marketing degree!
Article Appeared @ http://www.get-it-all.net/indie18-How_You_Achieve_Success_as_an_Independent_Artist.htm