“4 Things That Jeopardize Your Chances of Success in a Music Career.”

What do you believe to be the main reason why musicians jeopardize their chances of succeeding in the music industry? Is it not practicing their instrument enough? About not making enough good connections in the music industry? To live in a city without a music scene? The answer to all of this is NO – none of these things. There can be countless reasons why a musician would fail to break into the music industry, but the above are just symptoms of a deeper cause. In fact, the most common reason musicians never succeed in this industry is because they have a FEAR-based mentality.

The majority of musicians let their fears ruin their chances of succeeding in music. Some of these fears are consciously understood, while others are only identifiable by someone looking for them. Unfortunately, whether you realize it or not, your fears can be very devastating to your music career. As a mentor to musicians on how to build a successful music career, I have observed this time and time again.

Here are some of the common fears that destroy musicians’ chances of success and how to overcome them to quickly advance your music career:

Musician Fear #1: Fear of Not Making Money

Whenever you’ve told your friends or family that you want to become a professional musician, what have they said? Probably something like this:

• “You need to find a secure job first to have a solid backup plan for your music career.”
• “Musicians can’t make a good living.”
• “All musicians must play in the streets to earn a living.”

In most cases, you are told these things with the best of intentions… However, these ideas are very misguided. The truth is, it’s not as hard as you might think to make a good living in the music industry if you know exactly what to do to make money as a professional musician (and you actually DO it ). With this in mind, it is precisely because the above false beliefs about the music industry are so prevalent that they cause many musicians to fear that they will not be able to make money. They then do things that lead to the OPPOSITE of what is necessary to make a good living.

Here’s how “not” facing financial difficulties in the music industry prevents you from making a good living as a musician:

• You never make the effort to earn much more money in your music career. The worst thing you can do is expect to struggle to make money as a musician. It is certain that when you do this, you begin to live in the world that you have created in your mind.
• You are taking your music career in the WRONG direction. Expecting failure in terms of making money, many musicians think they would be better off going to college to get a degree in a non-music field, working in a “secure” job. and then pursue their music career dreams in their free time. In the end, they almost always fail with this approach.
• You eat the goose that lays golden eggs. Note: What is written below might appear to be “self-promotion”, as I mention how I train musicians as an illustration of a crucial point. Of course, there is a very important lesson to be learned here, and my words are true whether I sell anything or not. The lesson here shows you how simply BEING AFRAID about becoming broke dooms you to staying forever broke as a musician, until you make a meaningful change.

Sometimes I receive messages from musicians who are initially hesitant to join my music career training program or attend my music career money making event (where I show musicians how to easily earn a lot money) because they feel like they “can’t afford it.” Even after I convince them with overwhelming evidence of how my programs have delivered HUGE results for the musicians I have worked with, they still remain skeptical and fearful. This skepticism comes from the same erroneous narratives described above – that all musicians will inevitably end up broke and struggling, so there is no sense in pursuing a music career. Ironically, by trying to “save” a few dollars at a time and passing up the training (which is PROVEN to work) on how to develop a lucrative music career, you are ensuring that you will never make a big income from music. This is called “eating the goose that lays golden eggs” because you decide to eat the goose now rather than waiting for golden eggs to appear later. Rather than learning how to make money in your music career and moving forward into the future, you give in to your fear… ensuring that you will never make progress in taking your career to the next level.

How to Avoid This Fear From Derailing Your Musical Career:

1. Please know that the belief that all musicians struggle to make money is not true and it certainly should not be your reality. This awareness alone will keep you from letting fear steer your music career away from the things you really want.
2. Instead of worrying about how difficult it will be to make money in music, take action to learn more about how to BECOME financially successful as a musician. There is a clear (and rudimentary) difference between these two mentalities and the outcomes of each lead to complete opposites.

Musician Fear #2: Fear of Not Succeeding in Your Musical Career

Too many musicians waste their musical careers worrying that:

• They are not young enough to have a musical career
• They don’t have enough talent to succeed in music
• They don’t live in a big enough music town
• They do not have a university degree in a musical field
• Their musical style is not well known where they live
• There aren’t enough serious musicians where they live that they can work with
• If they fail, they will look stupid in front of everyone they have told about their musical dreams (friends, family, etc.)

In addition to the many reasons why these fears are irrational, know the following:

1. What you believe becomes your reality. If you think you have a good excuse for not being able to become a successful musician (like any of the things above), you will rationalize it and use it as a way to avoid advancing your music career. When you do this, you are GUARANTEED to fail to break into the music industry. The other side of the coin is also true: if you believe that you will definitely succeed, and that you are the master of your destiny, you will find a way to do what it takes to achieve your goals. It is clear that the second mindset has a massively higher success rate (both in the music industry and in everyday life).
2. If you don’t even try to develop a successful music career, you have failed. Even worse than this 100% guarantee of failure is that you’ll regret not taking steps to do what you dreamed of with music when you look back on all the opportunities you missed.

Musician Fear #3: Fear of Succeeding in Your Musical Career

Does it seem ridiculous to be afraid of succeeding? This is not the case. While the fear of “failing” is a common occurrence for musicians new to the music industry, the fear of “succeeding” is common for more experienced musicians who are on the verge of a major breakthrough in their music career. .

These musicians can easily self-destruct by worrying about how their lives will be different when they become successful, how others will perceive them, how difficult it will be to continue their success, or deeply thinking that they don’t really “deserve” to succeed. This causes many musicians to deliberately sabotage themselves by NOT doing things they know are in their own best interest (like joining bands, going on tour, or getting the training they know they need to grow their career).

How Not to Let Fear of Failure (or Success) Derail Your Music Career:

1. Understand that all the things you tell yourself about why you can’t have a music career in your specific scenario are just stories you make up. You have MASSIVE POTENTIAL to succeed as a musician (much more than you realize), no matter your age, current musical experience, or where you live.
2. Think like highly successful musicians think. As I explained previously, there is a fundamental difference between “playing to WIN” (in your music career) and playing “not to lose”. Successful musicians play to win and don’t focus on “avoiding fear” – they focus on “achieving success”… and that’s what you should do too.
3. Stack the cards in your favor. You’ll dramatically increase your chances of success in the music industry (and beat your fear of failure), once you start navigating the music industry without a blindfold. Instead, progress quickly by getting trained by a music career success mentor who has already helped many musicians succeed in their music careers.

Musician Fear #4: Fear of Being Treated Unfairly by Record Companies, Promoters and Other Industry Executives

The music industry is full of endless stories of (failed) musicians claiming that someone in the music industry set them up to fail by forcing them to sign an unfavorable contract, refusing to pay them enough money or by having “ripped off” them in another way. Stories like these make many musicians afraid of making business deals in the music industry and sometimes prevent them from even attempting to pursue a music career.

Here’s a big music industry secret that no one will tell you that will turn that fear into potential for success:

These are the BUSINESSES that should be afraid of being exploited by the MUSICIANS they work with. In reality, most record labels are NOT trying to deceive the musicians they collaborate with. On the contrary, they really have a GREAT thirst for new talent, “win-win” partnerships and ways to best use their resources (with the help of the musicians they hire) to help everyone prosper.

At the same time, these companies are also afraid of spending HUGE amounts of money on musicians who:

*Are emotionally or mentally unstable

*Are “entitled” to receive company money and resources simply because they are good musicians

*Are lazy and unreliable

*Do not contribute to making the company money in a mutually beneficial way

…and a long list of other factors.

The truth is that music companies invest a huge amount of time, money, and other resources into the musicians they work with. They have a lot more at stake than most of the musicians they collaborate with, so they have to be very careful in their dealings with the right musicians. They tend to refuse to act against their own self-interest by working with musicians who seem risky (as investments) or who ask for more money than they earned.

How Not to Let This Fear Derail Your Music Career:

Please know that what you have just learned is huge inside advice on how the music industry really works and will make the difference between success and failure. Rather than being afraid that music companies are out to cheat musicians, understand that you have a great opportunity to position yourself light years ahead of the competition in the music industry. Here’s what you need to do:

*Know EXACTLY what people in the music industry are looking for in you (this goes way beyond your musical skills).

*Collect the valuable assets needed to position yourself as the best choice for the greatest music career opportunities.

*Clearly display your value to the companies you want to work with by developing an unwavering reputation as a risk-free musician who adds value for others.

By doing this, music companies will actively seek you out to offer you opportunities that other musicians have never dreamed of.

Now that you have a good understanding of the fears that hold so many musicians back from developing their music careers, take note of your thoughts and beliefs around working in the music industry. Once you become aware of the fears that are holding YOU back, take action to transform your mindset (using the resources and tools mentioned throughout this article). When you do this, you will find that your fears dissipate and your music career quickly begins to move in the right direction.

To quickly start building a successful music career, find a career success mentor.
About the Author:
Tom Hess is an online electric guitar teacher and music career mentor. Tom also trains musicians on how to succeed in the music business. On his professional musician website, tomhess.net, you can read many more articles about making a living from a music career.