Part Four 

This the fourth of ten tips and chips I plan to impart for any interested listeners, starting out on his/her journey to work in the music industry. There are a lot of people providing access to joints that help to build your skills, and most do a great job. My goal there is not to try and compete them. I will stay in my lane. From time to time, I might suggest and recommend others, these tips and chips are aimed at your mindset, and behaviors that will either make you or break you. Whether you aspire to be a songwriter, an artist, a musician, and or producer, these tips and chips apply:

Some Chips To Dip Into:

1. You got to put in the time.
2. You can only do two or three things very well, so focus.
3. Once you are focused, decide on what value you offer to others.
4. Determine how you fit in. (See Below)
5. Determine how you can market what you offer.
6. Develop a marketing strategy.
7. Provide quality service or products.
8. Follow up and communicate with your customers.
9. Always try to anticipate what your customers, followers, or clients need.
10. Keep trying, you can always do it better.

DETERMINE HOW YOU FIT IN

It seems as if the music industry changes a little everyday. The world is a very complex place, but there are things that remain the same, and are constant. In this complex world, we knowingly and maybe even unknowingly are looking for the same things out of life. Some of us are looking for a better life for ourselves, or a better life for our family. Unfortunately, although the American Dream may be achievable in various ways, population growth impacts how many pieces of the pie can be divvied up, almost like the maximum number of bitcoins that can be mined.

During your path to enlightenment, you will face many obstacles which you may only have limited control over. My advice is to stay the course, identify your career and career goals, and build and practice the skills necessary and consistent with where you think you may fit in. To me, this is one of the hardest tasks/goals to achieve, but again it depends on your career path, and other factors. This assessment requires a birds-eye view. If you have accomplished the first three tips, you are well on your way to fulfilling tip 4. The first three tips discussed were using your time wisely, limiting your focus on a few things and knowing what value you offer. For Tip 4, there are always caveats. All three of the first tips are important ideas and must be taken into consideration for determining how and where you may fit in.

For any life endeavor, the concept of time, whether used effectively or efficiently is very, very important. And of course, there are a plethora of roles one can perform, and careers that may be pursued. Identify what you are best at, and try to match it to a career or role that is consistent with your skills and abilities. Then go for it. Investigate how others in the role you have identified, have achieved success. Are your skills and abilities good enough to fulfill that role? Or do you still need a little honing of your skills and abilities to be a good fit for that role? I would wager that the probability is about 50/50 for most of us. So keep learning and building up your skills and abilities to match the role or goal you want to achieve. Adapt a strategy of achievement that promotes Life-long Learning.” Always strive to be the best you can be, and strive to have a plan to get better and better. Once achieved, you will not have to ask the question, “ How do I fit in?”

Ok. You have determined how you fit in. What is next? In Tip/Chip 5, we will delve a little further into how a singer/songwriter, lyricist, or musicians can market what they create. Let’s say you are at the top of your game, have produced a very marketable repertoire of intellectual property, be it songs or lyrics or other entities you have developed. What do you do now? The next Tip/Chip 5, I want you to digest is 5: Determine how you can market what you offer. So stay tuned, and we will explore ways your intellectual property may be marketed, exploit their value, and figure out who needs and are looking for them.