What You Need to Make It In The Music Industry — In My opinion.

Being an independent artist in 2025 doesn’t have to feel like a lonely road. It’s super important to build relationships that can help you grow and succeed in the music scene. Besides working on your musical skills, thriving in this industry takes a lot of effort, understanding, and a smart game plan. Getting great at your craft is just one part of the deal; the business side is just as crucial.

This brings me to a thought I often have: why do we expect musicians to pick up skills like business, networking, social media, marketing, management, and branding, while accountants don’t need to know anything about music? Am I being too harsh, or is there something real here?

Back on track, I believe building a solid team is key. If you get the right crew together, you can find everything you need within your group—like a graphic designer, photographer, producer, or a road manager.

I know a lot of us aren’t exactly rolling in cash to hire services, but here’s a list of people to think about connecting with or outsourcing to if your budget allows:

1. Manager

2. Booking agent

3. PR/publicist

4. Promotions plug for radio or clubs

5. Music publisher

6. Lawyer

7. Financial advisor

8. Mentor

9. Distribution partner

   
   

On top of that, working on your personal skills is super important for success. You’ve got to be ready and prepared because no one will want to work with you if you're not on your game.

Persistence and resilience are key. If you're not ready to push through the tough times, someone else will take your spot. Plus, if you don’t bounce back quickly from setbacks, your journey could become a lot harder, leading to frustration and maybe even giving up when your goals start to feel out of reach.

Being considerate is important too, even though some people can be tough to deal with. We can’t change that, so to hit our goals, we have to learn to work with everyone.

Stay engaged! It’s not just about writing—support others by checking out their shows and keeping in touch. Be empathetic, and if you want to be part of the music scene, support what’s happening around you. Don’t be the kind of person who ignores what you care about.

A strong work ethic isn’t just about being busy; it’s about being genuinely productive. These two things are not the same—just staying busy doesn’t mean you’re getting real results.

Lastly, talent is everywhere, but what extra skills or qualities do you bring? If you can’t afford to hire people for certain tasks, it’s smart to learn how to do them yourself. That’ll save you money for other things, and who know, you might even be able to use those skills to earn some extra cash to boost your music career.

Another example is being your own manager. You can learn the necessary skills instead of stressing about finding someone to manage you. By taking charge of your own career, you can gain valuable knowledge about management and start applying it to your music career. You'll be glad you did!

Thanks for checking out this blog post. Hope it helps as we all figure out the music industry together. My aim in writing this was to encourage us to team up and share tips to succeed in this business.

Follow me @MgiveZA on all social media platforms.