What they tell you should do…

They tell you to write a hit song, something catchy , something that people will remember. Make it a love song, a happy song, a party song. They tell you to record the song in the best studio in town, or not to. Maybe buy recording equipment and record it yourself. Sure anyone can do it these days. They tell you to make a “viral” video for the song. Once you get 500000 views over night, everything else will take care of it self. They tell you to book a show in the best venue in town and people will come. They tell you to rock the social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Thumblr… But forget about Myspace… They tell you to have a great plan, they tell you to get on TV, it can be done easily.

What they don’t tell you is that your first song is never going to be your best. It is going to take years to become a great songwriter. It’s a skill you learn by writing a lot. What they don’t tell you is that you need to make mistakes, you need to learn from them. They don’t tell you that you need to play in every dive bar you can find a hundred times before you become a great performer. What they don’t tell you is that the best studio in the world will not make you sound good if your song is not great, your playing skills are not up to much or the sound engineer is not good. What they don’t tell you is not to waste your money on Pro Tools, when there are other better value softwares out there that do the same job. What they don’t tell you is that no matter how much you spend on recording equipment, you still will sound crap if you don’t know how to use it all. What they don’t tell you is that it takes years to become a great sound engineer. What they don’t tell you is that nothing goes “viral” by it self. They don’t tell you that the best venue in town charge €600 rental (thats $820 for my friends in the states). What they don’t tell you is how hard it is to fill those seats. What they don’t tell you is that your boardroom like social media plan will never work, as people want to hear from the real you, not the imaginary artist you want to be. If you want to be on TV so badly, go crash and burn in the “Voice” or other pop idol shows, where you are competing against other badly informed artists that record labels sent in to build their profile.

What they did not tell you was not to rush for the stars, but to build a sustainable business and a career that lasts for years.

J.P.

The author J.P. Kallio is a singer songwriter
To get two of his free songs go HERE and click Download