5 BITS OF ADVICE FOR ASPIRING MUSICIANS
Don't have some Twitter handle that's so obscure, even your mom can't remember it
The internet is a great way to be discovered but, you must make it easy for people. Facebook and Instagram have 3.21 billion active users. If one of these people stumbles upon your music or sees a live performance, you want to make it easy for them to remember your name or handle. It's also important to keep a consistent handle across all your platforms so people can find you on Twitter, or Facebook, or Instagram. It is getting harder and harder to find catchy usernames that are still available on these platforms, but it just takes a little bit of creativity. And remember Social media is a two-way street. Interacting with your follower's comments and posts will keep your audience engaged and excited about your posts.
The only way to get good at live shows is to play live shows
Everything, and especially this piece of advice is made harder with the ongoing pandemic, but there are ways around it. Play to your roommates, family, or neighbors. Start play on a street corner or invite your friends, and the community to hang out in a socially distanced parking lot. Many people will be pleased with a reason to get out of the house. When it is safe to gather in groups again, it is essential to find places to play in front of people. And after a bad show, don't doubt yourself, most performers play hundreds of shows, and can bomb many more before they find success.
Make sure there's something on the stage that says who you are
This coincides with the first and second bits of advice. So, you've come up with a brilliant artist name, and you've started playing live in a local coffee shop. Someone hears your music but has no idea what that brilliant username is, and can't find you once they get home. Having a small sign, or some creative decorations on stage to solidify your branding and indicates where people can find more of you will only help to grow your audience. The easier you make it for people to find you online, the more likely they are to try.
If you've got a brilliant chorus, get to it soon in the song and then repeat and repeat it
In an interview on the "Does My Music Suck?" Podcast, Olga Fitzroy, recording, and mix engineer said: "you need repetition otherwise people forget it … If you've got something brilliant to tell them then just keep telling them it." The brain-like repetition, with research saying that a repetitive phrase or sound can trigger the brain into thinking it's listening to music. That's why you often like a song more the second or third time you've heard it.
Life's not easy
As the quote by Wane Dyer goes "It's never crowded along the extra mile." Unfortunately, success will not come overnight. But if you are passionate and make music you love it's easy enough to enjoy the journey to success as much as success itself.