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I'm an artist

Anything related to matters of the mind
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GuestUser8117

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It is pretty clear to me that I will spend my life on the piano. I don't think i will ever call myself an entrepreneur, I'm a musician. I wanted to start a service business but I couldn't. I always had this F*cking resistance to take action. Don't know where it comes from and it really sucks. But, I'm an artist. I'm a composer. People want to hear music and go to concerts, to hear the great composers like Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, etc.

Sometimes, my hands hurt because I play too much. Day and night. I got bored with the electric guitar, it became too easy. And I played at least 5000 hours.

So I don't know how this avenue can be fastlane but I'll give it a shot.

And I started giving less of a F*ck of what others think of me. I'm working on that.
 
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ravenspear

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Of course that can be fastlane. An artist or composer can write/perform music that thousands or millions of people buy or listen to. Fastlane is just about doing something that affects many people.

If you have no business/entrepreneurial skill, then maybe you just need to partner with someone that can more effectively market your musical abilities.
 

IrishSpring600

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You (and me)

Record yourself playing piano. (Record myself lifting weights.)

Put it on YouTube. (Put it on YouTube//Bodybuilding Forums)

???? (????)

Profit (Profit)
 

devine

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It's a common and well-known subject, since I'm originally from media industry.
No, music can't be a fastlane business for an artist. Not for big numbers. Not really cost-effective / Not Art.
The best you can do is provide your music for films/games/etc to license. If your music is truly great then you'll have a chance to build a business, with a lot of hard work.
Another case scenario - you write a lot of stuff that just sells good.
Both are not really cost-effective.

Do you have your own recordings, of your original music? Do you mind to share?
 
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LifeTransformer

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I just logged on to here to add a quote to my signature and I saw this thread.

Here 's the quote:
WHO told you it couldn't be done? and, what great achievement has he to his credit that entitles him to use the word "impossible" so freely?
 
G

GuestUser8117

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It's a common and well-known subject, since I'm originally from media industry.
No, music can't be a fastlane business for an artist. Not for big numbers. Not really cost-effective / Not Art.
The best you can do is provide your music for films/games/etc to license. If your music is truly great then you'll have a chance to build a business, with a lot of hard work.
Another case scenario - you write a lot of stuff that just sells good.
Both are not really cost-effective.

Do you have your own recordings, of your original music? Do you mind to share?

Not yet. One recording just stands there(recorded) in the electric piano. I'm seeking a piano teacher or mentor in my city who can help me. Just installed the audacity software on my computer.
 

devine

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Not yet. One recording just stands there(recorded) in the electric piano. I'm seeking a piano teacher or mentor in my city who can help me. Just installed the audacity software on my computer.
What electric piano do you have?
How much are you willing to spend on your setup?
 
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MisterBHZ

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My uncle is one of the greatest pianist I've ever seen. He was in a band and traveling the country doing shows for most of his career. But now, he works a job. He has a tremendous skill that can be highly monetized but he doesn't know about the fastlane way of doing it. I doubt he'd take action if I told him this idea I'm about to lay out to you.

Millions if not billions of people would love to learn how to play the piano (myself included). But, most people don't learn it and bullshit around with it because they think its too hard to learn (myself included).

You could create a video course teaching people how to play the piano but make it so ridiculously EASY to learn that you'd have to be a lazy jackass not to learn after going through the course.

Make videos of you playing the hell out of the piano and then start talking about how you can help me play just like that in 8 weeks or however long. I'd buy that shit out that.

Thats' a way to monetize your skill in the fastlane.
 

devine

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You could create a video course teaching people how to play the piano but make it so ridiculously EASY to learn that you'd have to be a lazy jackass not to learn after going through the course.
Thats' a way to monetize your skill in the fastlane.
a) Insanely difficult and long work.
b) It's difficult to market.
c) Again, not cost-effective. One good track can make more money.
 

Ninjakid

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I don't see why this is a problem at all.

You're clearly gifted with the piano and you have relentless passion. You've made a pact with a divine force to channel itself through you and allow you to create works of art. Don't try to fit an octagon into a trapezoid, follow your F*cking heart!

Oh and contrary to popular belief, there is A LOT of money to be made in music, especially classical. The problem with most musicians is that they make a half-assed attempt, and then say that there's no money to be made in music.

If you devote as much effort into honing your craft and marketing your talents as any other joe millionaire does a service business, you'll be ballin like an OG
 
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G

GuestUser8117

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I don't see why this is a problem at all.

You've made a pact with a divine force to channel itself through you and allow you to create works of art.

How the heck do you know that? Are you some mind reader lol. The problem is that I don't really want to be famous. I'm pretty allergic to celebrity. Here is a sculpture I've made :

1472775_10202399613220921_2028505617_n.jpg
 

LifeTransformer

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There are artists I've never heard of that make millions. That's just one fact I'd like to point out.

The other thing I was thinking of was this; If I've got a music related idea I think you could perform, how cheap would you be to hire?
 

AgainstAllOdds

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I disagree with a majority of the people in this thread. I'm an artist myself (paintings), and switched from art to a boring business. Why? Because I believe passive income (freedom) will make me a lot happier than doing what I enjoy, yet struggling to survive.

Here/below is a post I made on the topic: https://thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/why-youre-in-the-wrong-industry.63975/.

I have friends that are making music, paintings, and films. They're all extremely talented, yet all of them are struggling.

Why?

Because they're not filling a need.

And I know what you're probably thinking: I listen to music, enjoy art, and love a good movie. How are they not filling a need?

But before we answer that question, let's take a step back and define what "filling a need" really means. In abstract terms, it can mean virtually anything. However, in economic terms, it's defined by one thing: the exchange of money.

Whenever someone hands you a dollar for a product or service - that's an indicator of you filling a need. The customer is willing to part with their money in order for you to provide them with value. Therefore, it can be assumed that the more money you make, the more of a need you're filling.

So how do you take that info and determine if you're in the right industry?

Simple.

If you're struggling to make money, then here's a two step process to determine if the industry is a right fit. Ask these questions:
  1. Does it seems like the odds are stacked against me, or can I control the growth of my business?
  2. If the odds are stacked against me, then is the market size large enough for me to make a considerable profit? Or is there too much competition relative to the market size?
Now let's run through an example:

Let's say your goal is to become wealthy. On top of that, you're a musician. You love making music, but are not making money. On the other hand, you have an idea for a dog toy that seems promising, but you don't know if it'd make sense to make dog toys instead of music.

Well, let's take a look at the size of each industry.


Therefore, the pet industry is 4x larger than the music industry. And in relative terms, it provides 4x as much value as creating music does.

On top of that, there's hundreds of thousands, and maybe even a couple million musicians in the U.S. However, there's only a couple hundred thousand dealing with pets.

Thus, not only is the competition lower in the pet industry, but the payout is also 4x higher. So if your goal is to be wealthy, then does it makes sense to play a harder game for 1/4th of the payout? Or does it makes sense to play an easier game and earn a lot more?

tl;dr: Industry size and the ratio of competition to industry size define how difficult or easy it will be for you to make money. If wealth is your primary goal, then get into industries where the odds are stacked in your favor. Sell pet products, not music.
 
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MTF

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Jake

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So I don't know how this avenue can be fastlane but I'll give it a shot.


I went to school with this kid




He seems to have figured it out. Hard work, willingness to move and put yourself out there, taking advantage of "luck" that comes your way.

But if you want to be an entertainer but not entertain then that doesn't seem like an easy task at all
 

Hai

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Build a list by providing great value(free stuff)->test your "art". The key is to be customer-centric->entertainment.

Fastlane can be done by quantity. Just get a critical mass of people to become customers.

Then "launch" your product.
Artists need to be marketers and salesman above everything else.
Selling your music should become fun to you, if you going to go that road.
 
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Nekoemon

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Over the rainbow
By its potential to touch millions, music can be a Fastlane, though its a very unfair world in that regard. Why some great catchy songs remain obscure while some boring shit (like 80% of U2's songs) are filling stadium? It has some explanations but also a lot of mystery. So music is a business but rather different from other businesses.

How can you touch more people and make your music leave its basement ? Work on your image, reputation and charisma. In most cases, people buy music for everything that's around rather than the music itself. At least in the first place. You can have great catchy songs, if the way people see you is a normal person and if your promotion is just "Please buy my album, I play pop-rock with folk influences", you will join the 542.321.568 artists who "play pop-rock with folk influences" asking to "please buy my album". Have great stories and make people talk about you, any which way. Apply principles in Robert Greene's "48 laws of power", "50th Law" (with 50 Cent) or "The Art of Seduction". After all, an artist is a seducer in the first place. Or should I say the difference between an artist and a musician, if both play music, is that one seduces, attracts and has charisma. The other plays music.

The problem is that I don't really want to be famous. I'm pretty allergic to celebrity.
Ah, OK. In this case, you may need to opt to improve your piano skills to the point of becoming a great session musician. I don't know about the pay, I guess it's a forfeit, but if you can negotiate a small % on the sales of the album, you might hit some jackpot in case of big hit. Think of those who played on Michael Jacksons' "Thriller"...
Now the best asset a musician has is his songwriting abilities. It requires a little effort (or some pleasant efforts) and an investment close to zero. With a good management of the copyrights, you can get an interesting ROI and in case of failure, you haven't lost much anyway. Be a session musician or a star, it doesn't matter as long as you have that holy skill.

And if you need only one book in which you can use ideas every day, it "Black Vinyl, White Powder" (should I really explain the title?) by manager Simon Napier-Bell. That guy has a solid background (Yardbirds, Japan, Wham!, to name a few) and most of all big balls. A boldness and absence of fear that any indies musician should need.
 

nradam123

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It is pretty clear to me that I will spend my life on the piano. I don't think i will ever call myself an entrepreneur, I'm a musician. I wanted to start a service business but I couldn't. I always had this F*cking resistance to take action. Don't know where it comes from and it really sucks. But, I'm an artist. I'm a composer. People want to hear music and go to concerts, to hear the great composers like Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, etc.

Sometimes, my hands hurt because I play too much. Day and night. I got bored with the electric guitar, it became too easy. And I played at least 5000 hours.

So I don't know how this avenue can be fastlane but I'll give it a shot.

And I started giving less of a F*ck of what others think of me. I'm working on that.

I think not everyone should be an entrepreneur.
But everyone should be entrepreneurial, which basically means being innovative and striving to be an elite performer in the field.
 

Maxjohan

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Here is the guy you could study and learn from:
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/producers/andrew-lloyd-webber-net-worth/

If you don't want to be famous. Use a pen name. Or just let your business generate a comfortable living for you, instead of millions of dollars in revenue. I guess, if you just gonna compose music I doubt you will get much press or groupies hanging outside your home. It's sort of like being a songwriter, right? Not as much spotlight as the artist preforming the song.
 
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Selfy

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I'm a writer, genre-writer. That is my fastlane.

I say no1 is an artist. Maybe literature, nice sentences about a story no1 wants to read, but they don't make the numbers. Same with musicians.

Are you a good musician? Be honest about that.

Are you willing to create music that you don't like? That is often key in going commercial.

Are you disciplined?

Creating music and creating music for a living are two different things.
 

Carnage

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I dont think the fastlane is just about following your passion. The Fastlane/business gives you financial freedom and free time so you can pursue your passoon/hobbies.
 

Nekoemon

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Over the rainbow
I don't have a camera.
You don't need a camera at first. Just create a video with a cool image that illustrates your music and that's the first step to spread it. Use the monetize option of Youtube (you never know) and make sure your music is at least protected in case some evil funny loser would like to steal your ideas. Copyright it as soon as you can (and if the "soon" is today, that's even better).
Then on the way back home, buy a camera that fits your budget, if possible a better one, but Youtube is full of crappy amateurish videos that get lots of views so I assume the quality is not really the viewers' concern.
 
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