Invest in yourself

This blog will be short and sweet. I pray that it doesn't hurt your pride, but rather makes you look at things differently. Let's get the painful part out of the way. *Clears throat*

It's expensive to be in the music industry. 

See, that wasn't too bad, was it? Ok, let me get one more out. 

Nobody is coming to save you or hand you a career. 

The days of record labels and management companies investing in artists that have "potential" are almost totally gone. Labels want a finished product... or in other words, they want someone who already has 1,000,000+ views on Youtube or has a single that's buzzing. You'll already need to be actively branding yourself, have an image and notoriety. And you should have a firm knowledge of how the industry works on the business side, or you'll be taken advantage of. 

Yikes. So what if you're starting from nothing? How do you get all of those views, radio spins, networking opportunities, etc. How Sway??? How? 

YOU 
HAVE 
TO 
INVEST
IN 
YOURSELF. 

It costs money to promote yourself. But it's necessary. Running ads cost money. But It will help you get new fans everyday. Radio campaigns cost money. But your favorite artist that you hear on the radio everyday has a radio budget. It's not free for them either. Do not be afraid to invest in yourself. After all, if you don't believe in yourself enough to invest in your craft... then why should anyone else? At one time in my life, I believed that everybody in the industry that asked me about a budget was trying to cheat me (truthfully a lot of them were). However, a budget is necessary. 

Now, I am not saying recklessly throw your money to everyone who asks for it. Research first. Make sure people are who they say they are. Fact check. Honestly, most promotional companies scam artists. This is why I encourage artists to learn how to do things independently themselves. But even when you are doing things yourself... it'll still cost some money. 

Remember this in closing: Great songs are not just recorded. They are marketed. Marketing & advertising requires a budget. Does this sound familiar?
A rapper goes to the studio and records a ton of songs, thinking each one of them will be "THE ONE" that helps them blow up. They finally drop a Youtube video for their new song and.... and.... and... it gets 100 views. Why? Because going to the studio and recording 100 songs is not marketing.

​What if you only recorded one song, but continually invested money into it and developed a campaign for it? The answer? The one song would be more powerful than the other 100 songs that weren't getting traction. 

Kayo Out