The most devastating thing artists can do to their career is get in their own way, and way too many people do. It’s not the labels, the industry, the fans, the cities, the economy, the social media, the marketing, the promoting, the “right time,” the music, or whatever other excuse you can come up with that determines whether you succeed or you fail. It is you—no one else.

Keep the momentum while you are moving to guarantee additional motion and momentum.

If you are saying the same thing as everyone else, then why would and why should anyone think you are different from everyone else?

Choose those you give your trust to carefully. Be caring; be loving; be creative. But also be careful.

Marketing and promoting doesn’t come down to the likes, the pins, the plus ones, the followers, the fans, the friends, the views, or the plays online. Marketing and promoting comes down to the conversions.

The average artist has a naïve, unrealistic, and disconnected view of what the music industry is, how it works, what is involved in “making it”, and what actually is happening behind the scenes. Too many artists take at face value what they see on some TV documentary or read in a fan magazine. Whether you are working with others in a band, looking to connect with a manager, an agent, a label, or an investor, or you just want to work in the industry, it is more crucial than ever to know what you are working for and toward.