10 Truths From 10 Established Artists On Making It In Music [Free eBook]

"10 Truths About Making It In Music" is a free 50+ page ebook by Dotted Music's Ben Brown featuring quotes from OK-Go, Puddle Of Mudd and Dire Straits and others. Though these are all rock musicians, Brown's take on things is relevant to anyone navigating the current terrain in hopes of building a career in music. I've seen a lot of material featuring tips for growing a career in the music industry, and found this ebook a particularly solid read.

Ben Brown's 10 Truths About Making It In Music is organized into ten short chapters each inspired by a quote from a musician that came from interviews on Dotted Music.

Brown builds on each quote, including additional material from the artist where relevant, to make some very clear points about the reality of today's music industry.

It's definitely for DIY artists who should consider, according to Brown, that "five thing are assured":

1. There’s more music than ever before and it’s mostly being discovered and consumed online.
2. The next generation of music listeners won’t expect to have to pay for downloads.
3. People will always watch live music.
4. Your fan base will always be your most important asset.
5. But they will expect more content, at their convenience, with your interaction.

But Brown also emphasizes that at the heart of all this marketing activity and career building, one should really care about making music or one won't have a real foundation on which to build.

The 10 Truths About Making It In Music:

1. Puddle Of Mudd's Paul Phillips:
   "Success is not in the charts anymore."
2. Reader's Wives' Niall James:
   "No point in being good at music, and no good at business."
3. 30 Second To Mars' Jared Leto:
   "We're taking full advantage of the digital age here."
4. Dire Straits' John Illsley:
   "How you get music out there is irrelevant, as long as people can hear it."
5. Gama Bomb's Philly Byrne:
   "Music should be free."
6. Anthrax' Scott Ian:
   "You better show up with a good sense of who you are as an artist."
7. OK-Go's Damian Kulash:
   "YouTube is the main medium for videos now, not MTV."
8. Whitechapel's Alex Wade:
   "So the only way we can really make any money and be able to do it as a career is to tour."
9. Sevendust guitarist on music marketing:
   "Plant the seed and it's going to grow."
10. Biffy Clyro's Simon Neil:
    "Just believe in yourself."

Don't let the numbered lists lead you to believe this is just another superficial take on things. If you're building a career in the music industry, even as something other than a musician, 10 Truths About Making It In Music is worth checking out.

Closing quote from Ben Brown:

"More than anything, do it because you love it.
It's the only way it'll work."

Hypebot Features Writer Clyde Smith maintains his freelance writing hub at Flux Research and music industry resources at Music Biz Blogs. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.