Everybody talks about goals. People are already thinking about next years goals, and in three months they will begin to set New Year's resolutions. Some people dread thinking about goals, and will scoff at the notation of forming them. No matter what, you need goals. Having a destination in mind is the only way traveling there becomes feasible. How are you going to get where you want to be if you haven't figured out where that is?
The music industry is no different. If anything, this is an industry where goals are more important than others. The fast-paced, constantly evolving, and sometimes unforgiving nature of the music industry won't wait for you or hand you success on a silver platter. Being a recent college grad, I've really begun to augment goals more than I ever have as the drive to get somewhere has pushed me to really bring my focus in. As a musician, writer, and gear-head, I have to stay up with what the current trends, constantly critique my craft, and stay sharp without losing my head. It's a long road ahead, though and I don't think I'd get there without a plan.
Some of my goals for 2016 were:
1. Start and foster some local success with a new band
2. Find a new outlet where I could write about a variety of music topics
3. Go on my first tour
4. Generate some income using my musical background, and what I've learned
5. Release a record
This list of goals has kept me on track all year to figure out what I could be doing to get myself ahead. These goals are broad, though. The best way to create these is to set a few large, broad goals that have lots of smaller goals built in between. I didn't just wake up with all of these things on my plate one day (one of them did but that's another story). Accomplishing big achievements requires a bunch of small victories. I'll give you an example.
1. Start and foster some local success with a new band
This was broken down into a million tiny little steps. The hardest, most fragile stage for new up and coming acts is the beginning. Here are some of the steps:
Locate musicians -> Establish a band -> Find a reliable practice space -> Write some music -> Professionally record the music -> Establish a social media presence -> Release the music -> Generate contacts for gigs -> Start performing at our best
Your mileage will vary if you're a musician reading this, but this is generally how it was done. All these little pieces of the puzzle helped me achieve that goal, and without any guidance, I don't think I would be as far as I am. You can listen to that band, American Runaways, here. (Shameless plug, I know.)
On to the next step, setting some goals. But how Mike, how am I going to figure this out. Don't worry, it's really easy when you lay some ground work.
The first method is looking for any natural areas where you may be able to work towards something. For example, if you're a writer and you have a readership of around 500 viewers per article, and you want to get to 1,000, there's room for a goal here. The overarching goal of reaching 1,000 readers could look something like:
Locate where the market of potential readers exists -> Establish how to bring these eyes to your writing ->Tailor content, social media strategy, and promotion to the wider market.
Obviously this is a bit more general and a more experienced writer could flesh this out more, but this is just an example of how to get from Point A to Point B. In my example the steps that exist are there because the writer here already has an established following and they are looking to grow said following. This is not for a new writer, or a writer freshly blossoming. This goal exists in a natural area because it is built off of the foundation of something you already have in place.
The second method is by creating something from the ground up. In my example with my new band, I showed the step by step process of how I created something from nothing. Albeit not easy, this is another area of your life you must search for in order to set some goals. The music industry is always flooded with trends, the "next big thing", and new innovative ideas. These ideas all started somewhere, and they may have even started in the same fashion my example did. Every piece of press, music, interview, content, and image has a purpose in this business and they all require starting from nothing and creating something tangible to work with.
Some of these goals are even established using both methods. For example, I didn't mention that I had previous experience playing in a band, writing music, and performing live. But knowing this and having this experience made it easier to start something from the ground up. Knowing how both new goals and currently existing goals connect is one of the key components in figuring out where to improve your life.
So, I realized I couldn't end this article without discussing my 2016 goals, and then shedding some light on my goals for 2017. In 2016, I've accomplished
1. Start and foster some local success with a new band (Band linked above).
2. Find a new outlet where I could write about a variety of music topics (I just recently joined the team as a contributing editor for Odyssey!)
4. Generate some income using my musical background, and what I've learned (Currently work for an instrument retailer, teach lessons, and progress my band)
5. Release a record (You can listen to this record here.)
The only thing I couldn't accomplish this year was going on tour. I am completely bummed, and one tour almost happened but completely fell through. It requires a lot of planning and doesn't always work out the way you expect it to. I'll see you in 2017, tour.
So on that note, my goals for 2017 are:
1. Increase the fanbase of my current band (percentage to be determined)
2. Release 2 improved, polished, and professional records.
3. Go on 3 tours, one of which being 2+ weeks in duration.
4. Assemble my first guitar from the ground up.
5. Play 50 shows.
What are your musical goals?
