Tips on how to succeed in the music industry?

A lot of good points in this thread.

I'd add - be yourself, and some advice from Willie Nelson: be persistent! :)
 
It's also important to remember that it's possible to make a way better than average living from music without becoming a household name.
 
I would say most artists who are signed and have support were just lucky (as mentioned before). It also depends on who you know.

In an age where gear and recording is cheap, it is overwhelming how hard it is to expand a fan base due to the sheer fact that everyone and their dog has a band you are almost "competing" against for fans. I watched a funk band in 2007/2008 grow from a small high school group of guys playing in their school's parking lot into a massive groove machine that plays weekly with big name funk artists and have a huge fan base to boot.

They have a lot going for them:
1) Talent. These guys are tried-and-true musicians to the core. They know a great deal of theory and concepts between the eight (yes, EIGHT) of them...which leads me to my next point.
2) Numbers. They have a big band, so recruiting people to come out to gigs is easy for them.
3) Drive. These guys have a strong drive and all put forth the most effort possible to ensure a new song, their next gig, or whatever is going to be huge.

They've got a lot going for them. I think when you get to the point where people are asking YOU for gigs, you're doing better than most other bands out there.

The one thing they do NOT have right now is who they know. They don't really know anyone in the industry who can get their CD to someone who matters.

The rest is luck. It was lucky that John Mayer was playing in a coffeeshop in Atlanta (?) and someone picked him up, recorded him for free, and an A&R rep from whoever came and signed him. And Lady Gaga wouldn't be where she is today if she didn't hook up with RedOne and his buddies to become one of the biggest pop sensations since Madonna.
 
I was just wandering through this thread and then I went back and read the whole thing. This is a very influential and even "historical" thread. I say historical because what is being discussed directly relates to our culture. No matter what anyone says (yes I am making that bold of a statement) MUSIC is a language that trans-ponds space and time. It is the language of our hearts, our souls, and, ultimately, our desires.

That is the reason for this site. That is the reason for this thread. We do what we do to touch people (and again not in a sexual way). It is an expression that will never die. In my opinion, (which often is taken out of context) MUSIC is the last real form of communication and, that being so, the outrage of real musicians is because even that is being perverted.

Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, Talkbox, Autotune, and about 75% of what's being played right now is a manipulation of an ancient language. The comment of everything having to be perfect is so true. Culture, world wide, has become de-sensitized to the language that so many of us are trying to preserve. Digital or Analog? "In the Box or out?"

I have not done any major recordings. I have worked with a small number of people who have. My overall thought is this: Keep fighting!! Keep pushing forward!!! Not to sound to poetic but: Let not this ancient language die with us.
 
I've been a "pro" musician since the 70's. That's all I've ever really done. You wouldn't know it from this last year or so because we are in a strange time when lots of people can't get good work. The music business is a-changin'.

But all things considered, I've never regretted going this way. I've done alright. I have friends who have done better.

But to think it's not worth trying... tell that to me or some of my friends... that's bullshit from my perspective. If I thought that I'd be back in the small town I grew up in.

One thing I have noticed with all the successful musicians I know is that they are all doing it mostly for themselves, and people "happen " to like it.

I would say:

learn everything you can
play with musicians better than you are (or try to)
use the best gear on the planet
always realize there's always someone who can play better and faster
be honest with yourself
put in 18 hour days, 7 days a week
play every day - never miss days
be humble - we're all really really small
 
I just recently (like 5 min ago and years of listening to the greats: Zapp & Roger) did some research on Talkbox. A real good friend of mine is into synth and everything that goes along with that. We were talking about (no pun intended) Talkbox.

I realized something. Talkbox, in it's original form, takes an immense amount of talent. There is a level of playability that is neccesary.
 
I just recently (like 5 min ago and years of listening to the greats: Zapp & Roger) did some research on Talkbox. A real good friend of mine is into synth and everything that goes along with that. We were talking about (no pun intended) Talkbox.

I realized something. Talkbox, in it's original form, takes an immense amount of talent. There is a level of playability that is neccesary.

The song that really brought it to the public was Peter Frampton's "Show me the Way". Right when that song hit (1977 or so), the guitar player in my band bought a Heil talk box and we did that song. People loved it. He was able to get it going pretty much the day he got it. It wasn't really that hard, but he was a decent guitar player already.

I tried it and the vibration on your teeth was something else. I wouldn't want to do it very much.
 
Just watched a video of him playing live in '75. In my opinion not as impressive as some other people using Talkbox but he definitely was the pioneer. Which makes me think that we should be not only show respect for the originals but, also compound on what they have done. Because after doing some more in depth research on Talkbox, it was directly correlated to a musical instrument.

Maybe thats why music is seemingly dying; no one is trying new things with musical instruments they are only trying new things with computers. Again, this is all a matter of opinion because it can be argued that a computer is an instrument. :(
Or even a musical instrument. . . .
 
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