“I have discovered, as an independent artist, that much of your time is spent hustlingfor gigs, updating social media, promoting yourself and the band. That doesn’t leave a lot
of time for practice and it can get very frustrating. Don’t give up. You have got to learn to
balance your life and use your time wisely.
Treat your body well. You can’t keep up with the pace if you are overly tired, hun-
gover, etc. Despite what people may believe, you cannot do your best work under the in-
fluence of anything. Stay focused...turn your body into a music machine!
You won’t become the most popular band in town over night but the hard work is
worth it in the end.
I am on the mailing list for D.I.Y. Musician. They have a lot of good information for
independent artistst such as what makes a good webpage; how now to spam your fans;
how to blog; importance of social media; etc...just everything. I would recommend sub-
scribing to this list. Great stuff.
Some of the best advice I have gotten. Work on your local following, create buzz,
etc., and then work on your regional reputation. Keep building from there. It works! I be-
gan last year, creating a local following and it has grown so much in a year. You are as
good as the public thinks you are.
We all have a lot more growing to do as musicians, however, if your audience thinks
you’re great, then other people will too, even if they have never heard you. I get gigs
from people who have heard of our reputation but have never actually heard us or seen
us. (Of course, once you get the gig, you’d better be able to prove you’re worthy) but
marketing is very important. Don’t ignore that part.