“Picking the right partners, both your musical partners and your business partners, will be one of the most important decisions you make.”
– shadesofsolveig.com
If you’re an indie musician, you are probably familiar with the word DIY. And sometimes it can feel like “musician” is the last role you play on your never-ending lists of “to-dos.” You’re the booker, the social media planner, the manager, the accountant, and the investor. So, what time in the day can you fit in inspiration, mental clarity, and actual music?
If you can relate to the paragraph above, you may be DYI’ing a little bit too much. Here are 3 signs you should step back and find the right team.
1.) You can’t get everything done
Months (or years) have gone by and you still can’t seem to reach or surpass your career goals.
“It’s through focus you can do world-class things, no matter how capable you are.” – Bill Gates
Make a list of the things you have to work on in order to grow your career. Some of these may be:
- Live Performance
- Booking Shows
- Planning Content/Promo
- Networking
- Writing
- Day-to-day deadlines/emails
Now put these tasks in order from most important to least.
Consider this: are there a couple things you can let go of your control over? Ask your social media savvy drummer if she can take over the instagram while you work on writing future album material. Or consider pursuing a manager if you are unable to keep up to your finances.
2.) You’re Left Uninspired
Business and creativity are a magical balance but it is truly a difficult dance. When you’re really stressed out from the hard work and planning, it is easy to fall into writer’s block or feel uninspired to play music.
Remember this: without great music, all of the hard work behind the scenes means nothing.
Your creativity and music skills should be at the top of your list. If you find music itself has become the last thing on your list, you may have to reconsider your schedule.
3.) You think you have to do it all yourself
There is nothing wrong with asking for a little help! These days there are so many outlets and ways indie artists can have support, without signing a 360 deal to a major label.
A few examples are:
- Project managers: managers who will offer management services before and during an artists release
- Manager consultants: some experienced managers in the music business offer consultations. In these sessions they listen to your music, look at your business model, and suggest ways you can improve the way you are operating your career.
- Publicists, radio trackers, talent bookers: What do all of these people have in common? They offer services that labels have without the contract. All you need is good music, a little bit of buzz, and the $ to pay for their services. By slowly building your team you and getting more involved in the industry, you will look more professional to those around you and will see significant growth as opposed to doing all of these on your own.
For daily music biz advice and inspiration, follow The Women’s Internationals Music Network on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_wimn/?hl=en