The Challenges Of Getting Your Big Break

If you’re trying to make it in the music business, I don’t have to tell you how hard it is. Every generation has countless talented artists, but due to the competitive nature of the business, only a few of them will ever see any real commercial success. Whether you’re striving to get your career off the ground or you’re just interested to know what it takes, here are some of the biggest challenges that artists have to face.

Getting No Response to Your Demo

If you’re working on your demo or about to send one out, the first thing you should know is that all your favorite bands and artists have had their demos rejected at some point. In the large majority of cases, you’re not going to get any kind of response to your demo. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve done anything wrong in terms of the music. However, sometimes it can take a while for the right demo to come across the right desk. While you should certainly be making a point of improving the demo itself, the main thing you should focus on is simply continuing to build your profile, by playing shows, expanding your social media presence, and pursuing press coverage of your gigs.

The Big Review Never Got Out

Thinking that you’ve got a big review of your band or act coming out in a certain newspaper or magazine, and then hearing that it’s been dropped, is one of the most frustrating experiences any artist can have. The first thing to understand is that this is another inconvenient fact of the industry, and nothing much to do with you or the music you’re putting out. Even with the best music PR that money can buy, getting your act in a prestigious publication can be a real challenge. While it’s hardly surprising for a small artist to be dropped from a publication for someone bigger, it can help if you follow up on the pitch. Call up your contact at the publication and ask what happened. See if there’s any chance that they’d be able to run it in the next issue. As a rule going forward, try to avoid making a big deal about any reviews or other publicity before it’s actually released.

No One Came to Your Show

Another hugely disheartening thing is playing to an empty room on a night that was meant to be a big gig. It’s easy enough to point fingers at people and factors, but at the end of the day, you can’t force people to come to your gig! I know it can be tough, but try to turn your negative into a positive. Be gracious to everyone working at the venue so that you’ll be able to play again in the future, and try to be more organized about promoting your show. It’s also a good idea to reach out to as many venues as possible to find the one where you’re best received.

There you have just a handful of the many challenges facing modern-day artists.