If you feel like your music career is hitting a plateau (or you're noticing way more valleys than peaks), regardless of how long you've been at it, it's time to take stock of the situation. You need to take an honest and difficult look at what you're doing – but I don't mean that you need to decide whether to keep going or to give up. Get that thought of your head. You may eventually reach that conclusion, but not without some serious assessment and consideration first.
This article is more about how to assess – and perhaps solve – what could be ailing and stalling your career. You need to diagnose what you may be doing wrong, or what you may not be doing right, which are two very different things. Then, you need to figure out how to correct the problem. It's like any situation in life. You don't just give up. You figure out a way to fix it... if it's indeed fixable.
It's like writing. I always say I'm a way better editor than writer, in the sense that I don't ever turn in my first draft. But after writing and rewriting, I am proud of what I submit. You have to look at your music career that way, too. It's a book constantly being written and rewritten before you get to the end.
Here's how to diagnose what's wrong, and how to go about remedying the situation.
Seek objective opinions from those around you. If you have a manager, rely on his or her expert opinion. Friends with a local promoter or radio programmer? Ask them for some input. Talk to your fans, engage them on social media, and ask them what they want to see or hear from you.
Ask your friends and family for their honest opinion, and don't get mad at them for what they tell you; make sure they aren't the type to tell you what you want or hope to hear. Take what they say into account. If they are real friends, they'll be honest. Don't let their honesty create a rift, either.
[How and Where to Get the Most Constructive Feedback on Your Music]
Come up with an intensive writing or rehearsal schedule with your team or your bandmates. Take an inventory of your catalog, your progress, and where your creative brains are at. Have honest conversations, and then try and work through your end goals and desires.
Write songs. Trash them. Then revisit and rework them. Start over. Hit the reset button. Sweat it out. Do everything you can to communicate and figure out what your Point A is, and then consider how to get to Point B. This won't be easy, but survival will hinge on it.
What genre do you fit in? What are other bands or artists in your genre doing? Decide if you want to go that route or completely veer from it. You have to have a clear direction, but you also need to pay attention to the trends and what's happening in your genre in order to figure out how to survive and continue.
You have to make a decision about what your objectives, goals, and targets are, and then plan from there. If you're making a style of music that was a big trend five years ago and is no longer in favor, you have to decide what you want to do from an aesthetic and artistic perspective. Do you care about trends? Do they harm you? Do they help you? Do you jump on or off them? Create your own lane? Or travel within the parameters of one? These are all viable options for different musicians. Which works for you?
Before deciding what isn't fixable, you need to be honest about what is. If you've been playing for the same set of fans for 10 years with no growth or development, you need to consider that you may only appeal to a small sect of people. Or maybe you haven't done enough to branch out and reach new fans. Or maybe you're just not connecting because you're not progressing.
Yes, these are tough questions to ask. But you need to see what's fixable, what isn't, and correct from there. Only you will know if stopping or restarting is worth the energy you will expend. Most times... it is indeed worth it.
Amy Sciarretto has 20 years of print and online bylines, from Kerrang to Spin.com to Revolver to Bustle, covering music, beauty, and fashion. After 12 years doing radio and publicity at Roadrunner Records, she now fronts Atom Splitter PR, her own boutique PR firm, which has over 30 clients. She also is active in animal charity and rescue.