Who Told You Music Had to Work This Way? The 10 Rules Behind the Rules

What if some of the biggest obstacles in your music career aren't lack of talent, opportunity, or hard work?

What if they're rules you've been following without realizing they were ever optional?

We hear them all the time in the music industry:

You need a manager.

You have to tour.

You need more followers.

You should be on every platform.

If you're serious, you have to go all in.

Independent artists should be able to do everything themselves.

And, of course, one of the biggest ones:

That's just how the music industry works.

But is it?

For the premiere episode of Do Music Differently, I'm joined by Dr. April Lynn James to count down what I call The 10 Rules Behind the Rules — ten deeper beliefs that can influence hundreds of smaller decisions musicians make about money, success, work, creativity, and their careers.

The 10 Rules Behind the Rules

We're counting them down from #10 to #1:

10. It has to be all or nothing.

9. If one solution doesn't work, the solution doesn't work.

8. More is better.

7. You have to be ready before you move.

6. Success has to be earned through sacrifice.

5. Your worth is determined by other people's response.

4. Success means bigger, famous, and visible.

3. There is one right way to succeed.

2. Independent means doing everything yourself.

1. Music means struggle.

These beliefs can show up in ways we don't immediately recognize.

“Music means struggle” can become artists shouldn't expect to make much money.

“Independent means doing everything yourself” can turn into trying to handle your own marketing, booking, administration, graphics, website, shipping, accounting — and everything else.

“More is better” can convince us that we constantly need more followers, more content, more shows, more platforms, more equipment and more hours.

And “success means bigger, famous and visible” can leave someone feeling unsuccessful even when they've built a music career that gives them the income, freedom, creativity and lifestyle they actually wanted.

But Are the Old Rules Wrong?

Not necessarily.

That's an important part of Do Music Differently.

The purpose of the show isn't to throw out every piece of traditional music-industry advice and replace it with a new set of rules.

It's to question the rule.

Where did it come from?

What problem was it originally trying to solve?

Does it still apply?

Does it apply to you?

What is this belief costing you?

And what other choices might be available?

Sometimes an old rule still contains useful information.

Sometimes it worked for a different generation, business model, genre or career goal.

Sometimes it works beautifully for one artist and terribly for another.

The problem begins when we stop treating advice like advice and start treating it like law.

What Does Success in Music Actually Mean to You?

That's one of the bigger questions underneath this entire show.

Does success mean being famous?

Making music full-time?

Having millions of streams?

Touring?

Owning your masters?

Building multiple income streams?

Having time to create without constantly worrying about money?

Being able to make music while raising a family?

Performing a few times a month and loving every minute of it?

Your answer doesn't have to look like anyone else's.

And once you know what you're actually trying to create, you can start asking a much more useful question:

Do the rules I'm following help me build that life?

If the answer is no, maybe the next move isn't working harder at following the rule.

Maybe it's questioning it.

Join Us for the Premiere of Do Music Differently

On this first episode, April and I will work our way through all ten beliefs, share examples of the smaller rules that grow from them, and explore what can happen when we stop automatically accepting “that's just how the music industry works.”

Make sure you check out more about April! I highly recommend the Alice Way. https://aprillynnjames.com/

This is also just the beginning.

In future episodes, I'll be talking with artists, music professionals, entrepreneurs, business experts and sometimes people you might never expect to hear on a music show.

Because if we keep asking the same people the same questions, we shouldn't be surprised when we keep getting the same answers.

Do Music Differently airs Thursdays at 4 PM Eastern on W4WN Radio and Talk 4 TV.

And I want you to be part of the conversation.

Think about your own music career:

What is something you've been told you HAVE to do to be successful?

Now ask yourself:

Who made that rule?

And most importantly...

What rule are you ready to rewrite?