Making a living in the music business is a challenging task. A lot of people would argue that it’s impossible to make money doing music. But make no mistake, it is definitely possible to turn your passion into a legitimate long-term career. The music industry is one of the largest economies on the planet, bringing in billions of dollars in revenue worldwide. Truly, anyone can get a piece of such a large pie.

However, in a game where there are so many people aspiring to establish a name for themselves the key to making it comes down to you being able to effectively distinguish yourself from the rest. If you’ve been consistently making music for many years and still haven’t made it to where you want to be, it’s probably because you’re doing something wrong. This article will lay out the likely reasons your career hasn’t progressed where you want it to.

Lack Of Consistency

Not only is it important to put out music that the masses will enjoy, but you have to do this consistently. I’ve seen many people build a notable buzz after putting out a single or two that catches, but their notoriety fizzles out over time because they fail to follow up with more music. Time is of the essence when it comes to this industry. You need to have new music ready to be put out consistently. Ideally, new music should be released every month, especially during special times of the year (e.g. New Year’s Eve, summer break, etc) If it takes you a long time to put together new music, release a few teasers of what you’re in the process of working on so your audience knows to expect new material. If you’re taking a long time to turn around music because your arrangements are complex, try putting together a few simpler pieces of music that can be done more easily. It may not be your most profound work, but it’s better than having a gap in your resume. Never let your viewers get the impression that you’re on a hiatus or have dropped out of the game. Your fans need to know that that you can be relied on to put out fresh music regularly.

Your Music Isn’t Good

If you’ve been working hard putting out music consistently for many years and you haven’t really progressed anywhere in your career the reason is most likely because your material isn’t desirable to those you’re marketing to. People will support you and want to listen to your music if they like what you’re putting out. If they don’t, you will be able to tell because your career will be pretty stagnant. Don’t expect your popularity to grow miraculously if it hasn’t been the case for you all these years.

If you’ve been making music for less than 10 years, perhaps you just haven’t fully developed yet. Try taking a break from being in the public eye and focus on improving your craft for a few years, then come back when you feel like you have made enough improvement. On the other hand, if you’ve been consistently putting out music for 10+ years and the people still aren’t biting, chances are they never will. However, that doesn’t mean you have to give up your dreams of having a career in music—maybe there’s another job you’re better suited to do. Don’t be afraid to try your hand at a different role in the music business.

Bad Attitude

The quality and consistency of your work are among the most important factors in your success as an artist. But an ugly personality can easily detract from all your hard work and talent. I’ve seen and met plenty of musicians that are very talented and had the potential to make it far in their careers, only to ruin their chances by burning bridges with peers and treating their audience badly. People are not likely to support a musician they hate no matter how good their work is. If you want to make it in this industry you must show genuine love and respect towards your fans and peers.

Poor Quality

The quality of your productions doesn’t matter so much if you are a low-level hobbyist musician, but once you begin to compete with acts at the higher levels quality becomes a huge factor. If your instrumentals aren’t well-produced, your music will sound cheap to people and they will brush off your work as amateur. If your recordings are full of distortion people will not be able to hear your lyrics well and will equate your music to noise. Don’t try to pass off poor quality work as “lo-fi”. A low-quality production tells your audience that you aren’t a professional and they will be less likely to take you seriously for it. If you want to be successful you have to be able to produce music that can stand up to the production quality of the other pros you are contending with.

Poor Promotion

I see a lot of aspiring musicians put their music out on social media calling for people to have a listen, but this is as far as they go. This is definitely not enough promotion. The chances of you going viral on social media are not likely. It actually takes a lot of work (and luck) to get your online popularity to translate into real-world business. Therefore, do not focus all of your promotional efforts into social media. Despite its decreasing popularity, one of the best ways to get discovered still remains to be getting your music on the radio. So be sure to work towards getting your music put into rotation on a radio station. Look to smaller stations at first as they are more likely to give you a placement over more popular stations. The live music scene is also where many people are able to get discovered and form strong industry connections. An artist needs to perform at shows regularly in order to build up a notable presence within their local music scene. Being active in your local community is key to building a solid base of fans who will support your career and help spread the word about the work you’re doing. Finally, if you have been trying to promote your music independently with little success, maybe it’s time to seek out a marketing agency or a record label that can use their resources to help promote your music more effectively.

For more advice on social media management, read our post “4 Social Media Mistakes To Avoid”

Unrealistic Goals

It’s exciting to think about the lavish lifestyle that fame can bring; the possibility of working out of million dollar studios, working with the very people who inspired you to make music, having your records place on the charts, bringing in a host of accolades from around the globe in recognition of your work. But remember that dreams have to begin somewhere and they have to begin small. First, focus on getting the attention of the community around you. Build up support from friends and family and the people well connected in your neighborhood. Collaborate with local artists that you think are talented even if they aren’t well known.  Building a local support base is key to building a solid foundation for your career.

Acts Of Desperation

As an artist, you must be willing to show a real side of yourself to your audience—the side that suffers through the struggles of everyday life. You have to be a personality that people can relate to. People are less likely to relate to someone who seems like they have it all in life. However, do not take the humble persona to the point of seeming desperate. Do not beg for opportunities to come your way. Do not concoct a gimmick to trick people into thinking that you’re more accomplished than you really are (e.g. dropping names of famous people your “affiliated” with, portraying a lavish lifestyle you can’t actually afford, etc.) Do not constantly tag your favorite artists in your latest social media post in the hopes that they will listen to you. Don’t sacrifice your profits to give away free material to “famous” people you really want to work with. Don’t charge money for every piece of music you put out just because you really want to make money. Especially, do not alienate popular figures when you get a chance to be in their company. Do not rush over to them in praise asking for an autograph. Do not give them your demo tape and ask them to get you signed. Be friendly with them, but not too friendly. Treat them just like you would treat anybody else. That way they will have more respect for you.