There are many differences between famous and emerging music artists, including how they are represented, writing their own songs, pay, the meaning behind their music, passion, and many more. These differences play a key role in how musicians are represented. With more money, musicians have better access to venues, and therefore they can make a bigger appearance and gather a reputation.
It is challenging to make a reputation in the music world. According to the Stat Lab, 90 percent of independent artists report not making a full-time living from their music, and the majority of the remaining 10 percent still need to hold other jobs related to their music career to make a living. According to Greg Austill, a local artist in Michigan, there are different challenges he faces as an independent artist, including having to prove himself multiple times.
“Having to prove myself over and over again. I am confident that once I get in front of an audience that I can win them over, but sometimes it is hard to translate what you do on stage into recordings and videos that venues often want to see before booking an artist,” said Austill.
Music is a way for people to connect, share their experiences, their dreams, and even make a living. People use music as a way to express themselves and escape unpleasant events in their lives; Music can also be considered a form of therapy for a multitude of people, helping them release their emotions and understand themselves better.
Musicians and their music are important parts of any community and culture. Music allows stories to be passed down throughout communities. Austill believes that local and emerging music artists play an important part in any community and spread representation of the good and bad parts of a community.
“Local artists can play a big role in representing and sharing the highs and lows of their community with local, regional and even national audiences,” said Austill.
Every musician, beginner, famous, or local all deserves to have a chance to achieve their dreams, whether those dreams are big or small; they matter and make an impact in our communities. Austill has incredibly valuable advice for beginning musicians.
“Be yourself. You may not be the best singer or instrumentalist, but there is only one you. Authenticity is your best asset. Even if you never win a Grammy or sell out a stadium, at the end of the day, if you are true to yourself, you have accomplished something great,” said Austill.
Every big-name artist was once a beginner artist; Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Alex Warren, for example, all started as beginner musicians. Most artists start to go viral from just one song blowing up or many songs being big hits, like Alex Warren’s song Ordinary, or Taylor Swift’s continued series of big hits.
