Ok. You’ve written a song, a good song. Now what? Well, first things first if you’re about to embark on a proper release of your music. Make sure, absolutely sure, that it’s a hit song. Show as many industry people as you can that aren’t tied to the music in any way. Get totally unbiased opinions about your song. Even before the recording process. You’ve worked hard for your money, and before you spend it on the next step, make sure it’s the best in can possibly be. There are many things that make a song a hit. Do your research, talk to other writers with documented, real success in the industry. Believe me, when you separate yourself from the emotional side of your music and ask for help, it will change your writing for the better.
After you’ve got your hit single written and recorded, things get more involved. Putting your song on Facebook and Spotify and saying it’s released is not the way to release a song. Unless you’re on a major/indie label and are popular enough to just release a single and it goes directly to radio, then the next step is very important. Build yourself one heck of a business plan for the release of your single. Giving yourself a plan to follow and execute will help you more than you could possibly know. Within your business plan is your marketing plan. At the level you’re at, creating hype and mystery for your single WILL set you apart from the masses of independent bands and artists that are doing the exact same thing as you. You need people to listen to your single and the best way to do that is through marketing. Of course you need to get it on as many listening platforms as possible, but that is only the beginning. The hard work comes now. Infiltrating playlists and create real relationships with people who run those playlists. Don’t forget as well, that this needs to happen on every platform you’re on. Want success? It’s a daily grind of hard work and sacrifice. It’s fifty percent talent, fifty percent marking and promotion. If you want the next level, then you need to turn your brand into a business and build it. Everyday.
The step up the ladder to your success is the live show. There is a huge difference between amateur and professional with an artists live show. When someone in the industry takes interest in your hit single that you’ve just released’ the next thing they will want to do is see your live show. This will be the part where you sell yourself. You need to be able to put on a show that is miles above the local scene. Build a show that not only blows them away and shows them that you mean business, but rocks the house and also blows the fans away. The industry will be watching for that as well. If you could go on the road for thirty shows with your favorite signed act, you would see the same show every night. Because they have rehearsed to be perfect and professional, it sets them apart from the level below. Just like you may have practiced the hell out of your instrument to become flawlessly good, the same should apply to your live show. Practice the show at every rehearsal as if you were in front of five hundred people. Everything you do and say while rehearsing your show, build it, work it, and it will easily take you to the next level of playing. How could it not?
The last and final piece is sometimes the hardest of all when everything seems so daunting and the voice in the back of your mind is saying, “Can I really do this?” It all comes down to hard work. Everyday, every spare minute, just do it. Anyone who works hard at what they do, and becomes good at what they do will inevitably rise closer to the top in some way, shape or form. A hit song, an amazing live show mixed with a killer marketing and business plan, and hard work. A recipe for success.