How to MAKE IT in Electronic Music in 5 Basic Steps!

Prerequisites-------> TALENT / PASSION / HARD WORK / THICK SKIN

Phase 1 - Make The Music (and don't use ghost producers!)

Ok, you figured you had to do this part right?

Start by investing some money in a basic music production PC or Mac setup. $2000-$2500 should do the trick at the cheapest professional level. If all goes well it will be a tiny fraction of what you will earn from your efforts! You'll also need a dedicated room with a reasonable sound, a pair of monitors, a sound-card and a DAW (Ableton, Cubase , Sonar). Eventually you'll want to expand your collection of VST Instruments to make digital sounds with, so hold some money aside for that.

Perfecting the art of making a track and the techniques used can take up to 2 years of hard work - stay patient and dedicated to your vision. Even then, some tracks may take more than 30 man-hours to complete, and sometimes even more. But this will be the most rewarding & artistic phase of the process. Finish song after song and keep learning. The rewards come from within, since they will not yet be financial - this stage is about the excitement of creating , a career emerging on the horizon, and beginning to understand everything you will generate with your music. This first phase is the essence of being an artist - hold on to that.

Phase 2 - Send the music out to Labels / A& R's + NETWORK

Ok, so you got a few killer tracks! The next step, after playing them to your buddies to rave reviews (this is essential), is to send them to some influential industry peeps. Go search label websites, instagrams, twitter accounts & other people's phones for emails & contacts for A&R's who will be prepared to listen to your music. Many are readily available online. Make sure you target the correct labels for your sound! Try and include links to your own artist social network pages, which should be as busy as they can be even before approaching labels. It helps to know these people in person, so try and get down to industry events / nights and get to know the people around - personal contacts are always helpful if not crucial. Be patient, they might not reply straight away. They might not even reply first time round - have a thick skin, you will get knockbacks! But persevere if you know that what you are doing is good and there is a place for it in the market.

Ok, now wait and hope...

Phase 3 - Put Together a String of Releases

So the label got back and said they'd like to include your track on a mix they will be putting out 2 months from now. Fuck yeh! Enjoy that feeling, and let it motivate you to make more tracks. Hit up more labels telling them all about your new release on x label. Try and secure a stream of releases on numerous labels, as many as possible within as short a time as possible. This is how to gain the maximum exposure at an early stage and it is a proven winning formula. As soon as you have your first big hit, your output will be forced to slow, so take advantage of this early period to be as prolific as you can possibly be. Let the momentum build. Keep focused on the music during this phase, do NOT get distracted from your goal. You are only half way there, and the fire is still burning strong..

Phase 4 - Building Hype

So the hype starts to build.. Big name DJs are playing your tracks, radio DJs are supporting, you may have a manager, an agent, DJ offers coming in and money starting to flow- do not get carried away! This is only Phase 4 and you still have not made it. Many people will get to this phase and think they have made it only to fail to make any significant life-changing sums of money through their music. The best way to deal with Phase 4 is to make the biggest fuckin tune you can possibly make. If you are lucky and your track breaks into the mainstream, that will propel you directly to Phase 5. If not, Phase 5 can still be achieved through consistent quality over a number of years, and continuing to network, however it is key during this phase to try and focus on bringing your sound to a wider audience. If your focus is making money, then you will want to water it down as much as possible. If your focus is your art but you are trying to get to a point where you don't have to worry about money, then try and stay as close to your artistic core as possible and build your fanbase organically.

Phase 5 - Global Domination (or at least a stable income/job)

Congratulations are in order! Your fanbase is consolidated, it's time for that big show/album/tour! This phase will present you with various paths & choices, always think carefully before deciding which route to take. Be true to yourself. Do not lose momentum, or take too long to produce material. Party, but not too hard. Enjoy your success, your fame, your money, but always stay focused on the next goal. If you reach this phase you are likely to already have these practices down. The key of every artist is simply to flow, and be your best self. There are widely varying levels of financial and artistic success within the Phase 5 category. One artist might make $5m in a year whilst another might make $100k. Both would be considered to have reached Phase 5 - both have 'made it' within music and can move forward with a solid career ahead. I have made over $500k from my music so far. Hardly global domination but a pretty awesome ride so far.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme, but if you're dedicated, passionate, hard-working, thick-skinned and prepared to follow my 5 steps to greatness you might just find a way to make a living doing what you love..and you can't ask for much more than that!

See y'all soon.