Stop Whining and Start Working

I have a problem with many of the musicians I meet. Simply stated - they tell me that they want to make music their career; but in conversation it is apparent that they are completely unwilling to work to make that career happen. They want someone to do it for them. If I suggest some DIY steps they could take, they tell me that it is too much work. If I suggest resources on the internet (blogs, free books) they tell me they don't read much. They whine and say that if only they could get signed to a label or if only they could get a manager; then they could "concentrate on their career". In other words - what they want to do is play music and live what they think the musician's life is.

Serious reality check - it isn't like that. Particularly for you - the Canadian indie musician. Managers and labels only want to work with artists who are doing all of the things to create success for themselves. They want to work with artists who are committed to their career. But if you aren't willing to do it - they don't want to work with you. And I am at the point where I won't even give a few minutes of my time to the whiners.

This is a prime example of what I am talking about. I was running a FACTOR jury and chatting at a break with another juror about the fabulous opportunities available to musicians today. She shared what one of the artists she works with had done - which was a great idea. I mentioned the artist on Twitter with 800,000 followers who does what she calls 'couch sessions'. Her followers suggest a song she should cover, she learns the song, videos herself singing it, and posts it on YouTube. Another juror (a musician) joined the conversation to say that both of our ideas "sounded like a lot of work". That's not the first time I have heard a musician say that and it probably won't be the last time.

Your career is yours to make. That's the beauty of the industry in its current state. However, you are going to have to WORK at it. If you don't want to - fine. Then music is your hobby.

But if you are serious and want to do things to build your career - I suggest you follow this project - http://blog.artistshousemusic.org/post/137058530/indieartistx
Some music industry professionals/bloggers in the USA have joined forces to:

The goal of the Indie Artist X Project is to develop a basic, actionable music marketing plan designed around simple strategy, prioritization of tactics, tools and a reasonable budget that can be implemented by any indie artist who has the inclination to follow it.

The musician at the centre of the project is an indie artist with the goal of making music his full-time career. Why not use this as a research template for your career? Stop whining and start working. Once you do that - you will realize there are a lot of people who will help you.