Playing To Your Strengths

Today's "tip" is more of a general word of advice than anything technical. But it's extremely important nonetheless. From my personal experience as well as from watching countless others, I believe that this just has to be one of the most important bits of advice I can only wish I had gotten back when I was starting out.

While it goes without saying that as indies we tend to "have to" do everything ourselves, it's equally obvious that no matter how good we might be in more than one area, there's typically just one area where we well and truly excel. So, if you're a great rapper, for example, but not a great singer, one of the most important things you'll ever do is RECOGNIZING that fact. Because if you do, you won't be hung up on seeking out a BETTER singer, will you now?

The same goes for songwriters. Too many songwriters dream of being "singer/songwriters," whereas their true strength might lie in songwriting itself. They might "feel" their music better than most singers, but can they really deliver it better? In many cases, they can't but they try anyway. And then they get frustrated because people don't hear the song quality first. The FIRST thing your audience hears is the performance. You could argue that the "first" thing people notice is the "mix" but... performance is by far the most important aspect of any production. Get that right, and all of a sudden your dodgy mix seems to sound a little better and even your average song suddenly starts sounding like a potential hit.

It's perfectly fine to do everything yourself in the initial stages. Pre-develop and pre-produce your songs all by yourself. But when the time comes to show it off, start making some calls and find the best people you can find to help you finish it off! There's no shame in being a great collaborator. There's no REAL pride to being the lone wolf! On the contrary - of the dozens of the most successful artists I know i can't think of one who's done it ALL by him or herself!

Why should all this matter?

Well... if you didn't get it yet, let me tell you the difference: if you don't play to your strengths you will remain an unfulfilled, perhaps bitter, artist until the day you throw in the towel. If you play to your strengths and associate yourself with the best people you can find, you'll fast-track your career like NO contacts and "industry ins" could ever do.

And pretty soon, you'll be soaring with the eagles! Wanna be a pro? Do as the pros do!

LISTEN TO: 225-Q/Monday Jun 01, 2009