I thought I would write a short and candid note to the much younger songwriters, giving some brief words of caution of what can easily be overlooked when starting out in the music industry. I have received quite a few placements as of late and would not have received these spots if it had not been for diversifying my efforts in regards to both music and the marketing of my music. Any artist or songwriter is going to write or perform whatever inspires them and I would never wish to advise someone on what to perform, as I strongly believe that someone should do what inspires them, or create what inspiration has driven them to make.
This being said, I believe that one of the biggest mistakes that young songwriters make is putting all of their efforts into one lead, whether it be an agent, a licensing house, a music supervisor, or a record label. There is certainly no shortage of opportunities to make an impression on the industry and the general public, while hopefully making some money, but if these many opportunities are not exploited, then the probabilities go way down. Certain opportunities will only come about at specific times, but I know a lot of people, including myself, who have focused all of their hope, effort, and talent on a single opportunity, then coming up dry nearly every time this was the circumstance. People have quit jobs, school, and other level-headed pursuits in order to try and fulfill dreams based on one shot in the dark, and it just isn't worth it.
While some of these failed opportunities could be scams that leave aspiring artists worse off than they were before, the truth of the matter is that most of the time it is just more intelligent to network and contact anyone possible in order to reach some level of success in the music industry. While one key contact may be too busy for your music, or just not like it, another may want to deal with you on a non-exclusive basis, or even offer you a publishing deal. But you won't know if you only focus on the one glaring licensing opportunity in front of you. In most cases, it's not the industry professionals' fault that your opportunity didn't work out. It just wasn't the opportunity for you. So keep writing, recording, and putting your music out there, and at some point, if you are as good as you think you are, then you will find some success, whether it be only modest or extremely grand.
-Jason
