People always seem to talk about how the young rapper, Soulja Boy, is fluke and is not a real artist . What Soulja Boy is, is someone that created his own lane, someone that seemingly worked hard to get noticed, realizing that he could not wait on someone to promote him to the record labels, so instead, he concocted a plan for the record labels to come to him through YouTube. While he may not be considered the most talented artist around, he was able to create a publicity buzz that would get people to take notice to what he was doing, and that is what a lot of artists need to realize that the key is.
In my line of work, I have met artists that were not as talented as others, but, somehow, their tenacity was able to take priority over their talent, and that allowed them to shine in a new light. On the flipside to this, I have encountered artists that I thought to be exceedingly talented, but their drive was stagnant, and they did not want to go the extra mile to get discovered in the music industry, so, as a result, they sit and watch others take the spot in the spotlight, that they feel should be theirs. They did not want to utilize social media and networking, they did not want to set up an EPK or press kit, nor did they want to spend money on elevating their success.
What artists need to realize is that artists are a dime a dozen in this day and age, so standing out is just an intricate part of the process as the real talent. We have all, at one time or another asked ourselves how certain artists get discovered, when they seem to be talentless, we do not discredit the feel that the “it’s not what you know, but who you know” notion may have come into play, it is many of their extra drive that gets them recognized.
I say all of this to say that if you want to be successful in the music industry, it is life-sustaining that you go above and beyond your talent. If your peers are doing two shows a week, you have to line up five-even if they are free shows. You have to get out there and give out your CDs at different events – that is right, you may have to start out giving out your CD, just so that your name can get out to the public. Not many people start at the top, and to achieve and attain anything that is worth attaining, you have to go above and beyond what is considered to be normality.