There are 5 main things I’ve learned over the last couple of months while traveling and gigging, playing my music live, and pursuing my passion for music:
- Spotify Numbers Aren’t Everything
- Define Your Ultimate Goal
- The Power of Being Helpful and Kind
- Overcoming Social Anxiety
- Embrace Real-Life Connections
These lessons have been instrumental in helping me move closer to my ultimate goals in the music industry, and I believe they can help you too.
So… let’s dive in, my friend! 🙂
1. Spotify Numbers Aren’t Everything
As a musician in the digital age, it’s tempting to focus solely on gaining impressive numbers on platforms like Spotify.
However, I’ve come to realize that while having a significant following can be beneficial in some ways, it just doesn’t guarantee instant opportunities.
Instead of obsessing over these numbers, it’s essential to remember that building a successful music career requires much more than having a flashy amount of streams, views, or followers.
2. Define Your Ultimate Goal
It’s easy to get caught up in the pursuit of streaming numbers and vanity metrics but the most crucial step in your music journey is defining your ultimate goal.
For me, it was about playing live, connecting with people, and traveling while sharing my music with the world.
Once you know what you truly want, you can align your efforts and resources toward achieving that goal.
3. The Power of Being Helpful and Kind
In a competitive industry like music: networking and building real relationships are vital.
Being kind, helpful, and showing up for others can create opportunities that go beyond what numbers on a screen can achieve.
As I’ve experienced firsthand, making friends, supporting fellow artists, and connecting with people in person can lead to exciting opportunities and collaborations.
4. Overcoming Social Anxiety
While I’ve been fortunate to achieve many of my goals, I still struggle with social anxiety.
It’s essential to recognize that fear and self-doubt may hold you back, both in networking and in other aspects of your music career.
Pushing through this anxiety can be challenging but immensely rewarding both personally and in terms of the results you see in your music career.
5. Embrace Real-Life Connections
As I’ve traveled and played gigs in different places, I’ve found that real-life connections have a more profound impact on my career than just online interactions.
Face-to-face conversations and shared experiences have helped me grow as an artist and as a person.
It can be easy and comforting to do everything alone at home behind a computer, but if you really want to see results in your music career you need to embrace real-life connections.
