What type of artist are you?
It is always a good idea to set goals and priorities each year, as it is a helpful system for tracking your progress in your music career. Everyone starts somewhere, and over time if all goes as planned, performers rise up the ladder to new levels of career excitement. The Young Performers Club has its own level system they utilize for tracking an artist’s progress. When we receive calls from new artists we immediately assess what level they are at so we know best to how to structure a development program for them, and help them acquire the experience they need for future success in the industry. Rating yourself, compiling comments and getting industry feedback will help a lot in your future development. Be aware and honest about where you are at. What is real in the online numbers, and what is inflated through financial investment is hard to determine, however, engagement is one real number you can start to track. As an example, if you post a video on YouTube and receive no comments or likes, that should indicate you need to do a better job getting the song out to your fan base.
If you ignore the importance of goal setting, it will be a more challenging road ahead! Start by determining what level you are at.
Level 1- Launched
Launched and fully committed to a career in music
Knows who they are as an artist
Opens for top “A” level artists
Performing at top venues and concerts on a national level
Extensive resume with hundreds of gigs
Comprehensive and intensive artist branding
Significant online presence and highly active in social media
Strong online engagement (likes, comments, shares) with limited boosting
Fully engaged in social media
Success licensing music
Favorable chart positions on YouTube and other music sites
Signed or managed by a reputable company
Financially dependent on performance/music sale income
References from “A” level industry executives
Level 2-Ready
Strong local and regional presence
Original music online on YouTube
Strong fan base across multiple social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reverbnation, and YouTube)
Good online engagement (comments, likes, shares)
Performance experience locally and regionally (100+ gigs)
Performances at top venues in the region to good size crowds
Most want to advance to level 1
Music recognition in publications and music awards/nominations
Articles in publications and industry references
Opener for “B” level artists
Gets selected for gigs and highlighted in industry publications through submissions on music sites such as Reverbnation
Professional artist package
Professional videos and photos
Have music showcased on top sites for added visibility
Is branding focused (professional logo and consistent image)
Has participated in nationally recognized tours
Has a “one sheet” containing all career accomplishments
Have a dedicated manager and or booking agent for managing their gig, PR and recording activities
Practices on a committed and frequent schedule, and utilizes high quality producers, coaches and teachers
Obtains paid gigs and sells some music online
Has a committed genre
Level 3-Newbie
Getting feet wet performing
Performing at local festivals and venues to small crowds
Guest performer experience with higher level performers
Participating in local and regional competitions
Starting to explore writing and recording music
Has an online presence, but engagement and fan following is weak
Posting low/no budget music videos (do-it-yourself)
Starting to develop an online presence
Participates in a local music program each week
Starting to build an artist resume
Toggles between different genres
Level 4-Explorer
Not certain of what type of artist they want to be
Just learning and not sure what direction to go in
Performs/practices mostly at home
Performing locally (school events, local community centers, age friendly venues, local festivals, etc.)
Limited online presence
Apprehensive about taking the next steps
No artist branding
Once you start performing, give us a call and we can help you organize your priorities and establish a branding program. It is advisable to do this when you transition between Level 4 and Level 3.