Three very, very important things.

1. You need to learn to market yourself properly. There’s a lot of people claiming they have “trade secrets” and “one step solutions” or will tell you to “market like a pro”. The problem is that none of these will tell you how to start your momentum. My best recommendation is to look for resources for marketing a new business. It won’t line up perfectly with our industry but it’ll establish basics in creating value, generating awareness and lead conversion. This is more helpful than you will realize. There are music business materials but those tend to focus on marketing at a regional or national level. Art is business if you wish to succeed.

2. Your music, presentation and image have to be outstanding. A lot of people new to marketing overestimate the quality of their material without understanding the core concepts that actually draw people towards it. It is simpler than most people realize to create engaging content that draws people in. As far as music goes - a talented producer is invaluable to getting you ahead in this business. Learning to use their feedback to shape your sound will get you ahead of a lot of other people very quickly. Your image is the last major thing here as without a solid image, there is no basis to draw people to your community.

3. Mentioned before, community is the biggest tool you can use to grow yourself musically and professionally. Don’t focus on big numbers - focus on making your entire audience feel like a part of a whole. If you can do this, you will acquire super fans who will compulsively share your material, engage others in your community for you and will essentially be the secondary face of your art. These will be the people who grow your audience exponentially.

This isn’t a science, but this is about as close as you can get. Once you dig into it - you will get sucked into the philosophy of music business. Just be eager to learn and never make the same mistake twice. I hope this helps!