Did you know the average YouTuber with 1 million views has 3,873 videos uploaded? That for the average person to reach 100k subscribers they need to upload 1,171 videos? This shit isn’t easy. In fact – it is quite difficult. This is why consistency is key.
I wanted to break down for you how much you need to do to get somewhere, what that payoff really starts to look like and some ways to set your mindset so that you can create enough content to eventually reach the so-called tipping point.
3. How Much Do You Need To Do?
A whole helluva lot. There’s a music industry joke about the ‘overnight success that took 10 years.’ This is just part of the game. It takes a long time to get the pieces in place to succeed. Even when it doesn’t seem like it, something was going on in that person’s life for them to be successful. Very rarely does success come out of the blue.
What this means is that you need to get out there and start releasing quality stuff. You need to start engaging and creating quality content at scale for an extended period of time and then eventually people will start to notice. And you can’t just do it into the void, you need to be sharing and pushing. But again – once you start to get really good… things begin to pay off in a big bad way.
2. What The Payoff Looks Like
The payoff is of course the most exciting part. Usually what happens is some confluence of talent, relationships, and luck fuses together to ensure that you can have the growth you have been angling for so long. The thing is you need to build towards these in a consistent and regular manner.
So often what you see is bands working in their own little corner and not really reaching out to anyone or trying to work on improving their situation. They only release music every four years and wonder why they aren’t getting anywhere. If you’re not pushing, taking the time to grow and put out material, then you are crippling your own ability to have success in the music biz.
1. Getting Your Mind Right
In many ways, this is the hardest part of the process. I understand that sometimes it feels like you are screaming into a void and no one is paying attention to your content. You put all your energy and money into it and don’t feel like you are getting anywhere. This part really sucks the big one. However – there is always hope.
You need to realize that by putting stuff out there you are just getting progressively better at releasing content. As you get progressively better at releasing content the more you become likely to create good content. You just have to view the whole thing as a learning experience. Build on what worked well, engage with those around you, and things will pay off. But if you don’t put anything out – how can you expect to get better?
As you can see consistency is a crucial part of what the music industry needs to see to make you succeed. Even the biggest musicians who seemingly came out of nowhere have years of hard work behind them. The payoff though is people starting to understand what your overall vision always was. Of course – you need to get your mind right for this. You need to embrace the right mindset of creating to learn and going from there. Once you do, the world is your burrito.
MATT BACON
Read Matt’s other Bacon Bloody Bacon blogs here:
Matt Bacon is a consultant, A&R man, and journalist specializing in the world of heavy metal. Having worked with everyone from Glam Rock icon Phil Collen of Def Leppard, to post Black Metal titans Alcest, by way of legendary thrashers Exhorder as well as labels including Prophecy Productions and Ripple Music, he has dedicated his life to helping young bands develop. Having started his own blog at the age of 14 he views his career in artist development as ‘a hobby that got out of hand’. In 2015 he formed Dropout Media in order to better support the artists he loves. We sit here now, years later with countless tours booked, records released, and deals signed, and loving every minute of it.
For more information: