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    Why I Failed in the Music Business...and how NOT to follow in my footsteps
    Why I Failed in the Music Business...and how NOT to follow in my footsteps
    Why I Failed in the Music Business...and how NOT to follow in my footsteps
    Ebook195 pages2 hours

    Why I Failed in the Music Business...and how NOT to follow in my footsteps

    By Steve Grossman

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    About this ebook

    Business is business and the more you know about it, the more you’ll succeed.
    You are pursuing a career in an industry just like Henry Ford did when he made the first Model T a century ago.
    -Steve Grossman

    Musicians have a problem. They believe in differences between the Creatives and the Suits, the Right Brains and the Left Brains, the artists and the businesspersons; differences that keep them focused on their music and ignorant of what it takes to succeed in the music business.

    Steve Grossman should know. He failed in the music business. And while failure may be a harsh way to describe a 20 year drumming career with multiple hits, tours, endorsements and a Grammy, it’s the truth. He failed to build a long-term, music career and left music in 2001 for a job in the “Real World.”

    That's when he learned that there is really very little difference between The Arts and the Real World. You can make a living in either world...you just have to know the rules. By NOT following in Steve's footsteps you'll discover:

    •Why your talent is your biggest problem.
    •The importance of planning and how to do it well.
    •How and why you must think like a business owner.
    •Why people are key to your success and how to succeed with them.
    •Why “succeeding in the music business” is a terrible goal.

    "When it comes to the music business, Steve Grossman owns the Been There, Done That t-shirt. With a healthy dose of humor and clear-eyed look at his own failures he answers all the questions working musicians are afraid to ask. You can learn to succeed in the "Real World" of the "The Arts" by learning how NOT to follow in his footsteps."
    - Mike Parker, managing editor - BuddyHollywood

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWordCrafts Press
    Release dateJun 27, 2011
    ISBN9781465840066
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    Reviews for Why I Failed in the Music Business...and how NOT to follow in my footsteps

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    • 5/5
      Brilliant, sincere and warm account of the author's experience in the music business, with some of the life lessons learned in retrospect. Food for thougth, and action.
    • 4/5
      A well rounded read not just about life as a musician but also how to approach life in general. You often get told by authors to do this or do that but for once you'll be told what not to do. And that is equally important knowledge, too.

    Book preview

    Why I Failed in the Music Business...and how NOT to follow in my footsteps - Steve Grossman

    Why I FAILED in the Music Business...

    ...and How NOT to Follow in My Footsteps

    by

    Steve Grossman

    Published by WordCrafts Press at Smashwords

    Copyright © 2011 Steve Grossman

    Cover art & photography by David Warren

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    CONTENTS

    Introduction

    1. I Thought Talent was Enough - The many things needed for success

    The Importance of Making A Living

    Your Work Isn’t Your Life

    Dressing For The Job

    Equipment And Tools

    Business Is Business

    People

    A Life

    Customers

    Talent is NOT Enough

    2. I Thought I Had Enough Talent - Self-development – you can learn it all

    Fairness

    Combinations

    Soft Skills

    Can We Learn More?

    3. The Company I Kept - You can’t do it alone – networking and crabs in a bucket

    People

    Using People

    Exchanges

    Customers 101

    The Power of Association

    Recap

    4. How I Kept My Company - You own a business and it’s YOU!

    Businesses and the People Who Start Them

    I Quit!

    Imagine This!

    It Has To Be Perfect!

    Doer + Dreamer + Detailer = Success

    You Own A Business, And It’s YOU!

    You, Inc.

    A Mission

    A Board of Directors

    You Are Just Soap On A Shelf

    Customers 102

    You, Inc. Has Two Products

    Is It Soap Yet?

    5. My Attitude - The power of belief

    Lies and Myths

    Success or Failure

    Attitude and Actions

    Response-Ability

    Willing to Change

    6. I Was Dreaming - Is what you want real? Make sure

    Disillusioned

    Careers, Fields and Jobs

    You, Inc. Needs a Marketing Plan

    Marketing 101

    Marketing 102

    7. I Was Hoping - The power of a right goal

    $1,440

    1,440 Minutes

    Gols (it’s not a typo)

    Goals

    Unexpected Benefits

    8. I Wanted To Be A Star - What you want is a LIFE!

    Stick-to-it-tiveness

    You

    Why?

    Be Unique

    Be You (the 2 most important words in this book)

    9. You, Inc. - Using your plan

    Money

    Living the Dream

    Money has no value

    Earning Money

    Investing Money

    Keep your money

    A Lifetime Plan

    Cashflow

    Get a Job

    The Plan

    Handy

    Accountable

    Nearly Right

    Daily

    Focused on the Why

    Enjoy the Process

    Resources

    To my patient, understanding and supportive family: Jill, Kayce and Jennah. I am blessed beyond measure.

    INTRODUCTION

    I was a musician once, and now I’m not.

    Well, perhaps it's more correct to say I used to make my living as a musician, and now I don’t.

    Either way, it means the same thing: I’m not in the music business anymore. For reasons I didn’t fully understand at the time, my career path went up, leveled off, and then went down.

    The leveling off was the most confusing part.

    I knew how to play drums and I was a nice guy, but I constantly saw other people get the gigs I wanted. Despite having the talent to get the gigs, the success I wanted never came, and I didn’t understand why.

    Until I joined the Real World.

    The Real Problem

    Real World is a term people in The Arts use to mean anything outside of the entertainment industry. They use it in phrases such as, This sure beats making a living in the real world, or It didn’t work out, so I’m getting a job in the real world.

    When people in the Real World tell people in The Arts to quit dreaming and get a real job, people in The Arts say: If I do, I’ll be a sellout.

    These terms imply the Real and Arts worlds are separated by a big wall; a wall that should not be climbed or looked over because the rules and rewards of each world are different.

    I used to think that way. I wish I hadn’t.

    People in The Arts think they are different. Of course everyone thinks they are unique and special, but people in The Arts go further. Their uniqueness is worn boldly and proudly. The more unique something is - a song, concert, outfit, whatever - the better it must be. It’s Artsy.

    There is even some obvious and not so obvious prejudice against people who are not artsy enough. This prejudice divides The Arts from the Real World, and even divides The Arts itself.

    I used to think that way. I wish I hadn’t.

    People in The Arts have a death grip on their dreams. Because they constantly hear, You’ll never make it, and Go get a real job, they close their minds to any outside influence or ideas.

    I used to also think that way. I wish I hadn’t.

    Lastly, people in The Arts struggle with success. They believe they should only be in it for the music.

    I used to think that way, too.

    Just Out of Reach

    I had a pretty good run in the music business. As I look back over my 20 years of playing drums in the industry, I have no complaints. I accomplished a bunch of my goals and achieved more than most musicians ever do.

    But my ultimate career goals always seemed just out of reach, and I could never figure out why. I saw and experienced things that left me confused and frustrated; things that gave me questions and doubts that eventually caused me to leave the business.

    Leaving music - my one and only passion - was hard. But as I worked to retrain myself so I could provide for my family, I found a world of information about ideas and skills that I never knew existed.

    This information gave me answers; answers to why I didn’t get gigs and other musicians did; answers to why I got some gigs and others didn’t. I learned why I thought the things I thought - and why some were good and some were not; and why I had partly succeeded, but ultimately failed.

    The more I learned the more excited I got. For the first time in a long time, I was excited about my future.

    But this book isn’t about me, it’s about you. It’s about telling you why I failed in the music business and how not to follow in my footsteps.

    So, why did I fail?

    I didn’t realize the power of attitudes and beliefs that affected my life for good and bad.

    I didn’t know about people skills.

    I didn’t know about success skills: things that work for everyone and are never taught in schools.

    I was clueless about money and finances.

    I didn’t know what I really wanted.

    This Book

    I wrote this book as a ladder over the wall between The Arts and the Real World; a ladder that will give you access to the real world skills that will help you in the music business. It will also show you how and why you should always look over that wall for help in building your career.

    This book is about:

    You - the real you, your music and your dreams; the things that make up your life and therefore deserve your time and attention.

    Business - the fact that you are pursuing a career in an industry just like Henry Ford did when he made the first Model T a century ago. Business is business and the more you know about it, the more you’ll succeed.

    Skills - the tools, skills and ideas that people use to succeed no matter who they are or what they’re doing.

    What this book is NOT about:

    You will not find me dogging the music industry or any of its people. Are there problems and bad people in the music industry? Of course, just like the real world. But overall, it’s a great industry full of great people. It’s also a fun way to make a living - if you can.

    I will not tell Arts people how to understand or deal with Real World people or vice-versa. You might learn some of that along the way, but that’s not my goal.

    You will not find a list of publishers, managers, record companies, advice about contracts, performance techniques, or how to do your hair and make-up. There are tons of books and resources that cover all that stuff and more. Use them all – you need that information to succeed, too.

    My purpose is to show you what you need to learn from the Real World, how you can use it to build your career, and why you should.

    First, I have a story:

    Mike and Bill

    Imagine a small duplex in the suburbs of an average city. On one side of the duplex there lives a man named Bill. Bill works as a banker. On the other side there lives a man named Mike. Mike works as a guitar player.

    It’s 6:15 in the morning when Bill’s alarm goes off. Bill gets up bleary eyed and heads for the shower to get ready for work. Next door, Mike is asleep - really asleep. His band finished playing at two in the morning and he’s only been in bed since four.

    We’ll check on him later.

    Twenty minutes later, Bill is clean and shaved, and sipping on a cup of coffee while he picks out a tie. He’s got an important meeting today at the bank so he picks his red tie, white shirt and blue suit because he has read countless studies that prove this to be a powerful combination.

    At 7:30, Bill climbs into his car - which he bought so he could haul clients around - and begins the 45-minute drive to the office. He arrives at his job and begins to do whatever it is that bankers do. At 10:15 he takes a break, which is the same time Mike turns over, fluffs his pillow and goes back to sleep.

    At 1:00 in the afternoon Bill has finished lunch and is giving himself one last check in the mirror before heading to his manager’s office to discuss the afternoon’s bank merger meeting.

    Back at the duplex Mike gets out of bed and puts on some torn jeans and his favorite tee shirt. He skips a shower because his band has an important show tonight and his hair looks best a day or two old. He skips shaving, too. He grabs his guitar, climbs into his van - which he bought so he could haul the band’s equipment around - and begins

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