The music industry is thriving and is growing much faster than other industries. The reasons for this are the wide availability and access to the internet and the growth of the music streaming industry. Artists need to know how to leverage these trends and how to release good music.
Modus Flow Hit Lab is Pensacola’s source for professional music production. We are a Pensacola Recording Studio and we believe that the best music results from an artist having the best music producers, engineers, mixers, and mastering engineers. We are here to help you make the best music possible that you’re proud to release!
With over 15 years of professional experience in the music business working with both superstar major label artists and rookie indie artists, I’ve gained a massive pool of knowledge to draw from to help artists thrive.
Our mission is simple: Help Artists Create and Release Dope Music.
Are you a new artist or veteran that needs some inspiration to release your next hit?
In this article, we’ll explore 3 personally curated tips that I’ve experienced and observed from working with successful artists that new artists can do to help them venture into the rewarding world of the recording arts.
Tip 1: Have a Vision (aka set a goal)
“Cat: Where are you going?
Alice: Which way should I go?
Cat: That depends on where you are going.
Alice: I don’t know.
Cat: Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
“What is your number 1 goal?”
This is one of the few questions I ask every artist during our first initial consultation. Btw, we offer free 30 minute studio consultations to visualize and create and plan to make your project a reality. Visit our contact page to book one for yourself!
Set a goal. This is major key. Every single successfully artist I’ve worked with or known had a very clear goal and vision of what success looks like to them. Again, major key. Don’t skip this!
Whether it’s fame, fortune, recognition, or anything else in this business, you need to know where you are going.
This helps both you and us create a game-plan on how to hit your goal. Having a plan to reach your goal is important to stay on track, keep your focus, and to be able to work towards completing your mission successfully.
Do you want to make money with your music? Great! How much? By when?After answering these questions you’ll have a clear vision and focus. And just like magic, everything in the universe will start to fall in place for you.
If it’s money you want to make, we can show you what you need to do to make it. But you need a goal FIRST.
Need $10K? Great! Let’s make a plan on what it takes to get it.
This could look several different ways based on your skills, passion, and work ethic. Maybe you want to sell merch or sell physical cds, or perform shows at dope venues.
It’s all possible, you just have to know what you want.
Sell 1,000 cds. Sell 10,000 single downloads. Sell 400 shirts. That’s $10k!
Make dope music that people like. Then sell it. Book shows, get fans, sell them stuff. That’s how the Pros do it. And you can do this too if you want to.
Just set a damn goal and do what the pro’s do. Become a pro. Do the work. Simple right?
No need to re-invent the wheel here. This is the business part of the music business. You can’t just make music, you have to do the business part too!
You’ve heard it before and you’re hearing it now. Set a goal.
Write that shit down.
Really. Write that shit down.
You need to see it on paper, feel it, and get it out of your head and into the real world. The Law of Attraction dictates that whatever can be imagined and held in the mind’s eye is achievable if you take action on a plan to get to where you want.
I know this sounds hokey pokey, but it’s real.
Have a vision. Now go set a damn goal already.
Tip 2: Get Good
Really good.
I mean it.
Let’s be real. Shitty music is shitty music. You have to start somewhere tho, so keep making shitty music until your shit is golden.
There are no shortcuts around this. The only way to get good is time and practice. Being an artist, in a professional sense, is a job. Your job is to make good music that people want to experience. Whether that’s people streaming your music on their way to work, playing throwback vinyls at home, or watching you perform at shows.
People love music for several reasons. I don’t have to explain those reasons because if you’re an artist reading this, you know exactly why.
My first job in the music business was for a major label hit making, grammy winning artist. I worked in his studio as an unpaid intern, then promoted to paid runner, then assistant engineer.
When it came to album time, he worked his ass off. It was 24/7 studio sessions. We had 3 shifts. Morning, mid, and night. Engineers, musicians, producers, and writers were working around the clock to help him make records.
In addition to his album production we also cut songs for other artists. A shit load of music was being made. More than you could imagine. And alot of it was just that. Shit.
But out of those few hundreds of songs we cut, 10 or 12 were good enough to make it on the album.
At this point and time in his career he probably cut tens of thousands of songs to get just a handful of bangers that made his career and the majority of his fortune. Pareto’s Principle aka the 80/20 rule states that 80 percent of your results comes from 20 percent of your efforts.
My point is you have to get good to make good songs. Period. Shitty artists making shitty music get nowhere.
During a conversation we had producing an album, this artist mentioned how nobody used to care about his music when he started. But he knew he had to get good. And for years he just practiced, performed his songs on the streets for free, and basically got nowhere.
But after so much experience of singing, performing, writing, and recording shitty music, he got GOOD. Really good. And his career took off! He became an expert in his craft. He became a professional artist.
So put in your 10,000 hours, cut your 10,000 records, and I guarantee you will be successful. Not just in music, but in anything you do in life.
This is how The Beatles became one of the greatest artists in recording history. They were a shitty band that played cover songs every night for years and for shit pay at crappy clubs. They put in their 10,000 hours.
In Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, one of my favorite all time reads, Gladwell claims that greatness requires enormous time, using the source of the Beatles’ musical talents and Gates’ computer savvy as examples. The Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964, amassing more than 10,000 hours of playing time, therefore meeting the 10,000-Hour Rule.
This experience practicing and playing music while entertaining an audience payed off HUGE. They became experts in being artists. They got good at their instruments. They got good a songwriting. They got good at recording and performing. And people loved them.
Through this time in your “practice” you will get GOOD. And you will make GOOD music that people will love.
They will follow you, buy your merch, go to your shows, and all of your dreams will come true. It only takes 1,000 true fans to make this a sustainable career. Get those 1,000 fans by doing the work, getting good, and making good music.
Go get good.
Tip 3: Create a Team
You need a team.
This is important.
Every great artist or successful person I’ve worked with or know has a team.
They have a manager that books shows and makes sure they get paid their rate.
They have an engineer that makes them sound dope af.
They have a lawyer to make sure their deals are solid.
There are alot of moving parts in this game. To win you need a team. There’s just too much work to do on you own. So get a team.
Find the right producer. Find the right manager. Find the right visual creator. Find the right engineers.
Build a team that can support you, watch your back, and help you do what you do best…make music. You could do this solo, but trust me when I say this, you’re better off as a team working towards one mission.
When you have people that lift you higher, sky’s the limit. And you can do great things in life when you are elevated by your team.
Team work makes the dream work.
Some tips for finding the right team:
- Make sure yall vibe together. You have to like them and vice versa. This will be a happier, solid, and more productive foundation to build on.
- When it comes to engineers and producers, find people that make the type of music you want to do. There are producers that can make all genres, but for your team, find someone that does you’re genre. Now this isn’t written in stone because I recently produced and recorded vocals for a metal band. I don’t listen to metal or have any experience making metal music. But the results we got were amazing and they said I was the best engineer they’ve worked with! This comes from my “get good rule”. My 10,000 hours of experience producing and recording vocals transcends through all genres. If you’re making rap or rnb music which is heavily programmed and produced with virtual instruments “in the box”, you don’t want to team up with an engineer that makes symphony orchestra music. They’re not gonna know how the 808 needs to hit or how the vocals should have grit and attitude in most cases. When you’re starting a new team, stick to engineers and producers in the genre you’re doing. This will be the path of least resistance.
- Your team should compliment you and fill in gaps where you lack. If you’re a good creative but suck at sales and marketing, find a good manager that can do the business part for you.
- Trust is key. Use your gut on this. Make sure the people you team up with have the right mindset, ethics, and vision as you. You want to make sure your team won’t drop the ball or screw you over. Find people you can trust that have experience, passion, and the right energy that makes you want to work together. I’ve experienced personally and witnessed what a bad team mate can do. It wastes your precious time, energy, and resources. Do it right in the beginning and work with trusty, honorable, and ethical people.
Every legendary artist has a whole team of people behind them (Yes… even Beyonce) working together for the same purpose, and each member has a valuable role.
Coordinate with your creative team and make sure everyone is on the same page and visualizing the same goal. Teamwork makes the dream work!
Build your team.
Modus Flow is Pensacola’s source for professional music production. At our Recording Studio in Pensacola, we believe that the best music results from an artist having the best music producers, engineers, mixers, and mastering engineers. We are here to help you make high quality music and a career as a recording artist possible.
Whether you just have a few songs you want recorded, or you’re looking to release a full-length album, Modus Flow can help you.
Connect with us to learn more on how we can help you release your music to world.