The Best Advice For Music Artists... From A Music Artist

Summary

Nick, un artista independiente con casi cuatro millones de oyentes mensuales en Spotify, enfatiza la importancia del 'skill stacking' para el éxito en la carrera musical. Él aborda la necesidad de dominar múltiples habilidades o contratarlas, como la creación de contenido, edición de videos, diseño gráfico y gestión de redes sociales, para los artistas que no pueden asumir costos externos. Además, comparte una lección de vida sobre el compromiso y la preparación, que le permitió aprovechar las oportunidades cuando decidió retomar su pasión por la música en 2019. Nick también desmiente la idea de que su éxito es solo por tener un podcast exitoso, pues este se lanzó dos años después de su carrera musical. El mensaje principal es que la excelencia en la música no es suficiente; los artistas deben ser versátiles y apasionados para tener éxito.

Takeaways

• 🎓 **Habilidades Diversas**: Un artista independiente debe ser bueno en muchas cosas o contratar servicios, especialmente si no tiene fondos para outsourcear.
• 📈 **Skill Stacking**: Acumular habilidades es un factor clave en la carrera de un artista, permitiendo el crecimiento y el éxito en la industria musical.
• 🎥 **Creación de Contenido**: Incluye la creación y edición de videos, diseño gráfico, y publicación de contenido en redes sociales, que son esenciales para promover la música.
• 🎧 **Producción Musical**: Aprender a grabar, mezclar y masterizar la propia música es fundamental para el desarrollo de la carrera musical.
• 🤝 **Trueque de Servicios**: El skill stacking permite intercambiar servicios con otros profesionales, lo que puede ser beneficioso cuando los fondos son limitados.
• 💪 **Trabajo y Preparación**: El éxito no es casualidad; es el resultado de años de trabajo duro y preparación en habilidades relacionadas con la música.
• 👫 **Compromisos en Relaciones**: Hay que considerar las preocupaciones de los seres queridos y hacer compromisos, lo que puede afectar las decisiones profesionales.
• 🚀 **Transición de Habilidades**: Las habilidades adquiridas en uno negocio, como la creación de contenido o la gestión de un negocio, pueden ser transferibles y valiosas en la carrera musical.
• 💡 **Inspiración Personal**: La vida personal, incluidas las relaciones, puede ser una fuente de inspiración para la letra de las canciones.
• 📚 **Educación Autodidacta**: Hay una gran cantidad de información gratuita en línea para aprender las habilidades necesarias si tienes la disposición y el deseo de hacerlo.
• 🎉 **Éxito Auténtico**: El éxito en la música no solo depende de la creatividad musical, sino también de la capacidad para promocionar y gestionar una carrera artística exitosa.

Q & A

¿Quién es Nick y qué hace aproximadamente cada mes en Spotify?

Nick es un artista independiente que tiene aproximadamente cuatro millones de oyentes mensuales en Spotify y logra aproximadamente un millón de reproducciones diarias en la plataforma.

¿Qué es el 'skill stacking' según Nick y por qué es importante para un artista independiente?

El 'skill stacking' es la habilidad de acumular habilidades en varias áreas, lo cual es crucial para un artista independiente ya que les permite ser competentes en muchas cosas o contratar servicios si tienen los fondos para hacerlo. Esto impacta directamente en su capacidad para crecer en su carrera musical.

¿Qué habilidades menciona Nick como necesarias para un artista independiente para ser exitoso?

Nick menciona habilidades como la creación de videos, edición y composición de videos, diseño gráfico, grabación de sí mismo, uso de DAWs como Logic Protools o Fruity Loops, mezcla y masterización de música, estrategia de gestión de contenido en redes sociales y diseño de mercancía.

¿Qué es lo que Nick no hace en sus videos y por qué?

Nick no hace tutoriales sobre cómo hacer cosas específicas, como editar videos en Premiere, porque él proporciona información sobre lo que es necesario para tener una carrera musical exitosa y espera que la gente busque esa información y la aplique por sí misma.

¿Por qué Nick no promociona su podcast en sus videos de música y viceversa?

Nick no cross-promueve su podcast en sus videos de música ni viceversa porque desea que las personas descubran cada una de sus pasiones por sí mismas y no porque él las vincule.

¿Cuál fue una de las lecciones de vida que Nick menciona y cómo impactó su carrera musical?

Nick menciona que una de las lecciones de vida fue la importancia de hacer compromisos en las relaciones, lo que lo llevó a posponer su carrera musical para estar con su esposa. Esta lección lo llevó a adquirir habilidades en videoproducción y negocios que más tarde se tradujeron en éxito en su carrera musical.

¿Por qué Nick no comenzó a perseguir la música como una carrera hasta 2019 a pesar de haber estado haciendo música desde los 13 años?

Nick no comenzó a perseguir la música como una carrera hasta 2019 porque su esposa, quien había estado con él desde los 16 años, no estaba cómoda con la idea de que él fuera de gira y realizar shows. Nick tomó la decisión de posponer su carrera musical por el bien de su relación.

¿Qué negocio tuvo Nick antes de comenzar su carrera musical y cómo ayudó a prepararlo para el éxito en música?

Nick tuvo una compañía de medios que se dedicaba a diseño gráfico, construcción de sitios web, video y fotografía. Esto le ayudó a adquirir habilidades en la creación de contenido, diseño y negocios que más tarde se aplicaron en su carrera musical.

¿Cómo Nick aborda el hecho de que algunos creen que su éxito en música es solo por tener un podcast exitoso?

Nick aclara que comenzó su carrera musical en 2019 y lanzó su podcast con su amigo 'Cakes' en 2021, dos años después. Por lo tanto, su éxito en música no fue debido al podcast, sino a su dedicación y habilidades adquiridas a lo largo de los años.

¿Cómo Nick define el éxito en la música y por qué cree que hacer buena música no es suficiente?

Nick define el éxito en la música como no solo hacer buena música, sino también ser bueno en múltiples aspectos como la creación de contenido, marketing y negocios. Cuestiona que hacer buena música por sí sola no es suficiente para tener éxito, ya que hay muchos artistas talentosos que no logran ganarse la vida con la música.

Outlines

00:00

🎵 La importancia del skill stacking en la carrera musical

Nick, un artista independiente con aproximadamente cuatro millones de oyentes mensuales en Spotify, enfatiza la importancia del 'skill stacking', o acumulación de habilidades, en el éxito de un artista independiente. Destaca que, además de la creatividad musical, es necesario dominar áreas como la creación de contenido, edición de videos, diseño gráfico, grabación y producción musical, y gestión de redes sociales. Nick argumenta que, sin fondos para externalizar tareas, es fundamental adquirir una variedad de habilidades para crecer en la industria musical. También menciona la crítica que recibe por no proporcionar tutoriales prácticos, pero enfatiza que su papel es proporcionar información valiosa para que los artistas se desarrollen por su cuenta.

05:02

💑 Compromisos y lecciones de vida en la carrera musical

Nick comparte su historia personal, donde la relación con su esposa, comenzada en la escuela secundaria, influyó en su decisión de posponer su carrera musical. Expone cómo la necesidad de compromiso y el pensar en el bienestar mutuo de la pareja lo llevó a dejar de lado la música temporalmente. Mientras tanto, Nick creó una compañía de medios, adquiriendo habilidades en diseño gráfico, construcción de sitios web, video y fotografía, que más tarde se tradujeron en habilidades valiosas para su carrera musical. En 2019, con el apoyo de su esposa, decidió retomar la música, utilizando las habilidades adquiridas y aprovechando el enfoque en el contenido en la era digital.

10:03

🚀 El éxito en la música y la preparación para aprovechar la oportunidad

Nick reflexiona sobre cómo su experiencia previa en la creación de contenido y en la gestión de negocios lo preparó para el éxito en la industria musical. Destaca que, a pesar de haber comenzado su carrera musical en 2019, ya contaba con una base sólida de seguidores en TikTok y una comprensión profunda de cómo crear contenido viral. Además, refuta la idea de que su éxito es meramente por tener un podcast exitoso, aclarando que el podcast fue lanzado dos años después de haber iniciado su carrera en la música. Nick enfatiza que su éxito es el resultado de una obsesión por aprender y mejorar en áreas clave, como la creación de contenido y la promoción de la música, y no de factores externos.

Keywords

💡Skill Stacking

Skill stacking es el proceso de adquirir múltiples habilidades que complementan entre sí. En el contexto del video, se refiere a la necesidad de un artista independiente de dominar una variedad de competencias para tener éxito en su carrera. El artista menciona que debe ser bueno en muchas cosas o contratar a otras personas para que lo hagan si tiene los fondos para hacerlo. Ejemplos de habilidades mencionadas en el script incluyen la creación de videos, diseño gráfico, grabación de música y gestión de redes sociales.

💡Independiente

Un artista independiente es alguien que produce y lanza su música sin el apoyo de una compañía discográfica. En el video, el narrador destaca la importancia de los artistas independientes para dominar múltiples habilidades, ya que no tienen el respaldo de una empresa que pueda manejar aspectos como la promoción y la producción. El narrador mismo es un ejemplo de artista independiente con millones de oyentes mensuales en Spotify.

💡Spotify

Spotify es una plataforma de música en línea que permite a los artistas compartir su música con un público mundial. En el video, el narrador menciona que tiene aproximadamente cuatro millones de oyentes mensuales en Spotify, lo que demuestra su éxito y alcance como artista independiente.

💡Carrera en la música

La carrera en la música implica dedicarse profesionalmente a la creación, interpretación y promoción de música. El video trata sobre cómo los artistas independientes pueden desarrollar su carrera en la música a través del skill stacking y la gestión de múltiples aspectos de su trabajo, como la creación de contenido y la promoción en redes sociales.

💡Contenido

El contenido, en el contexto del video, se refiere a las diversas formas en que los artistas pueden presentar su música y conectar con su audiencia. El narrador enfatiza la importancia de la creación de contenido, como videos y diseños gráficos, para promover la música y atraer a más fans.

💡Mercadotecnia

La mercadotecnia es el proceso de promocionar y vender productos o servicios. En el video, se sugiere que los artistas independientes deben ser buenos en la mercadotecnia y la gestión de contenido en redes sociales para tener éxito en sus carreras musicales.

💡Bartering System

El sistema de trueque es una forma de intercambio de bienes o servicios sin el uso de dinero. El narrador menciona el sistema de trueque como una estrategia para los artistas que no tienen fondos para contratar servicios, sugiriendo que pueden intercambiar habilidades con otros profesionales para obtener lo que necesitan.

💡Compromise

El compromiso implica hacer concesiones o acuerdos mutuos en una relación. En el video, el narrador comparte una lección de vida sobre cómo el compromiso en su relación con su esposa lo llevó a posponer su carrera musical, lo que eventualmente lo preparó para tener éxito cuando finalmente decidió retomar su pasión por la música.

💡Preparación

La preparación se refiere a la capacitación y el desarrollo de habilidades necesarias para enfrentar una tarea o situación. El video enfatiza cómo la preparación del narrador en su negocio de medios de comunicación y su experiencia en el diseño gráfico y la producción de videos lo ayudaron a tener éxito en su carrera musical.

💡Obsesión

La obsesión es una fuerte pasión o interés por algo. El narrador menciona que debe haber una cierta obsesión por la música y el aprendizaje de habilidades relacionadas para tener éxito en la industria musical.

💡Podcast

Un podcast es un formato de programa de radio en Internet que se puede escuchar a voluntad. En el video, el narrador aclaró que su éxito en la música no fue debido a su podcast, que fue lanzado dos años después de que comenzara su carrera musical, sino que su éxito fue el resultado de su preparación y dedicación a la música.

Highlights

Nick, an independent artist with around four million monthly listeners on Spotify, emphasizes the importance of skill stacking for independent artists.

Skill stacking is a significant factor in Nick's career growth and success in the music industry.

To be a successful independent artist, one needs to be proficient in various areas such as video creation, graphic design, music production, and social media management.

Nick suggests that if artists cannot afford to outsource tasks, they must learn to excel in multiple skills.

He refutes criticism about not providing practical advice, stating that he provides the necessary information for a successful music career.

Nick encourages artists to use the internet to learn specific skills such as video editing, music mixing, and mastering.

Skill stacking not only aids in career growth but also enables artists to barter services with others who have complementary skills.

Nick shares that he has written a book on navigating the new music industry independently.

He discusses a life lesson about compromise in relationships and how it influenced his decision to delay pursuing a music career.

Nick reveals that he ran a successful media company before entering the music industry, which provided him with valuable business and content creation experience.

His experience in business and content creation prepared him for success when he entered the music industry in 2019.

Nick clarifies that he started his music career before launching a successful podcast, contrary to some assumptions.

He never cross-promoted his music and podcast, allowing each to grow independently based on their own merits.

Nick addresses comments about his success, attributing it to years of dedication and learning rather than external factors.

He stresses that being good at music alone is not sufficient for success; multiple skills are necessary in the music industry.

Nick concludes by encouraging independent artists to learn multiple skills and to apply the information he provides to start their own successful music careers.

Transcripts

welcome back to another video my name is

Nick I'm an independent artist with give

or take four million monthly listeners

on Spotify and something else that I

don't usually put in my intros but I

feel like will help add credibility to

the things that I'm saying is that I do

1 million streams every day on Spotify

only hey guys in this video I touch on a

few different things um I touch on what

I feel is one of the most important

things for an independent artist to do

in their career and and to learn I touch

on a life lesson that I feel is very

important and I touch on outliers in my

career that help me become successful so

all I have to say I hope you enjoy this

video thank you for watching the single

most important thing that an independent

artist can add to their tool built is

their ability to skill stack and skill

stacking is a huge outlier in my career

that I'm going to die deep on and share

with you on how that it impacted my

ability to grow my music career so to be

a successful independent artist you need

to be good at a lot of things or

Outsource a lot of things but if you

don't have the funds to Outsource you

need to be good at a lot of things among

the many things that an independent

artist needs to be good at video

creation so filming videos thinking of

ideas for videos editing videos

composing videos posting videos graphic

design having ideas for cover Arts

learning tools such as Photoshop or

Adobe Illustrator or using simple ones

like canva and just overall maybe having

an eye for what looks good being able to

record yourself so learning Daws such as

logic Protools able tin Fruity Loops Etc

mixing and mastering so mixing your own

music uh mastering your own music making

it sound good production music

production social media and content

management strategy being your own

receptionist designing merchandise I

mean you could go just run the gauntlet

right it's so many things that an

independent artist needs to be good at

and that might sound overwhelming to

most and it probably is overwhelming to

most but the fact is you're not going to

make it very far if you don't learn to

be good at a bunch of things or

Outsource a bunch of things to other

people but if you don't have the funds

to Outsource you need to learn how to be

good at it you need to stack the skills

and lately I've been getting a lot of

hate saying like you all you do is talk

you don't give practical things that we

can put to use and my only assumption

here is that because I said you need to

be good at video editing that expect me

to like show you how to edit videos on

Premiere in this video and that's not

what I'm going to do I'm providing you

with the information on what is required

in order to have a successful music

career there are plenty of videos on the

internet on YouTube of how to make a

good video how to edit a video what I

want you to do after you get the

information from me is take that go type

in YouTube how to film a good Tik Tock

video how to edit a video how to mix and

master my own song I'm not the guy

that's going going to just make

tutorials on how to do that stuff I'm

providing you with information in the

hopes that you will take that and run

with it and start your career on your

own I'm not going to handhold you the

whole way I'm not going to spoon feed

you but I am going to provide you with

what is required in order to make a

living making music because I care

because I know you're watching and I

know you're probably talented and I know

you probably just need a little help and

a push in the right

direction unfortunately you need to be

good at a lot

in order to have a successful music

career you can't just be good at music

another plus about skill stacking is it

gives you skills that you can B with

other people who have a different skill

set than yours let's say you're good at

graphic

design and a mixing engineer needs

graphic design for something now instead

of exchanging money you can exchange

services the barter system classic you

can design something for a mixing

engineer or a producer and then they

will do the production or the mixing for

you for free

right bartering Services free for free

so the more skills that you can stack

and the things that you can be good at

the more value you hold in a barter

system so when funds are low skills can

be high there is a plethora of free

information on the internet if you want

it bad enough and you're willing to do

the

work you can find it also if you like

what I'm sharing in this video or in

other videos I did write a book on how

to navigate kind of the new music

industry independently

and I'll put the link in the description

if you care about that now I'm going to

touch on an outlier in my career and in

my life there was a life lesson and uh

one of the reasons that I feel that I

was able to be successful in music and

I'm going to start back a little bit

I've been making music since I was 13

years old I'm 32 years old now I've been

making music for almost 20 years I

didn't start pursuing as a career until

2019 let me tell you why I didn't start

pursuing music as a career until 2019

around 20 9 I graduated high school in

2009 so somewhere around there and the

years after I wanted to do music I've

been with my wife since we were 16 years

old we're High School sweethearts I've

been with my wife since we were 16

somewhere during that time I wanted to

pursue music as a career social media

content creation outside of YouTube

wasn't really at the Forefront then so

the way to do that was to you would have

to do more touring you have to go do

shows College shows Etc my wife

girlfriend at the time uh wasn't

comfortable with me going and doing

shows and I know this is going to be a

hard pill to swallow for a lot of you

guys but in relationships there's

compromise it's not always 5050

sometimes it's 802 sometimes it's 90 10

sometimes it's at 100 zero there's

compromise in relationship because it

becomes not all about you that's your

life partner and you make decisions

together it's not only what's best for

you it's what's best for the both of you

so I put music to the side stop making

it stop pursuing it but in that gap of

when I stopped making music and sto

pursuing music I started a media company

where we did some graphic design some

website building some videography and

some photography I know your immediate

thought is oh well no wonder this dude

was able to be good at a music career he

was a videographer before this yes I was

but I put in the time in order to be

good at making videos and to know what

makes a good video I watched all the

YouTube videos on how to compose video I

watched all the YouTube videos on had to

edit video countless hours of watching

people make videos so that I could get

good at making videos same with

photography same with website design

same with same with graphic design if I

wanted to be good at it I put in the

work that was required to become good at

it and I'm going to connect the dots on

how this is uh A Life Lesson and and not

only a lesson and why it lended itself

to me to become a successful music

artist so yes I had a video production

company that I owned operated

and I did a lot of promotional videos

for small businesses for the town that I

live in I shot a lot of weddings so I

did that for like 8 years and in 2019 I

came to my wife and I said hey do you

mind if I give this music thing another

go I think I know way I can do it

without doing any

shows um touring

Etc she gave me the go-ahead so I had

her support I had the support of the

most important person in my life but

what I didn't realize was life prepared

me for the success that I was going to

have in music in 2019 I entered into the

music world in a time where content was

first and I had just spent eight years

of my life creating content so what may

seem like luck was just preparation

meeting opportunity and the life lesson

here in that situation if I didn't put

my wife's concerns first I don't know if

I would have been successful in music

life prepared me for the success that I

had music another Point here that I

forgot to mention because I always get

distracted is that I also ran a business

a successful business before I started

my music business I learned how to run a

business properly I learned how to take

care of your clients and in music your

clients are your fans your supporters

how do you take care of them how do you

deliver to them what they want how do

you make them feel like they come first

how do you run a business properly I ran

a successful Media Company and a lot of

that stuff translated into how to run a

successful music business so when I say

that life prepared me for the success

that I had in music it's multifaceted

it's that I was able to learn how to run

a successful business before I started a

new business it's that I spent 8 years

learning how to make videos and then

transitioning that into making videos

that promote my music it's that I

sacrificed some of my desires for the

better of my relationship and in turn my

relationship is what inspires a lot of

my lyrics that I write about in my songs

so life prepared me for the success that

I was going to have in music when I

started pursuing music in 2019 I was

writing songs about love I was writing

songs about life I was able to create

videos and content in my own cover arts

and I've always been someone that if I

am interested in it I hyperfocus on it I

obsess over until I get good at it you

have to be a little bit obsessed about

making a living making music

in order to make a Liv and make a music

and I'm sure there's a lot of stuff that

I forget because I just sit down and

start talking and I don't write out

bullet points and stuff sometimes I wish

I did but it's just not my personality

to do so I just kind of start talking

off the cuff and I saw a comment

recently that said uh Nick Nick D is

only um successful in music because he

already had a successful podcast and I

want to address that I have a podcast

called the Freddy show with uh my friend

cakes and it has 2.7 million followers

uh I just want to address certain things

about that and how it was an outlier in

my career but not in the way you expect

so I started pursuing music in January

of 2019 I didn't launch the podcast with

cakes until February or March of

2021 two years into my music career so I

didn't have the podcast before I started

pursuing music the podcast wasn't

successful before I started pursuing

music I already had hundreds of

thousands of monthly listeners and

followers on my own personal Tik Tok and

the reason that I have a successful

podcast is because I obsessed over what

makes a good video I spent the hours

researching and dissecting other viral

videos to learn what is it that makes a

video viral what is it that hold

someone's attention what keeps someone

on a video how do you make something

engaging I put in the time to learn all

of those things I didn't just wake up

knowing how to make videos I spent eight

years making videos before I started

pursuing music as a career and another

thing I read in the comment was the

person said that often on my music

videos it says isn't this the same dude

from the podcast in that comment they're

assuming that they're finding me because

of the podcast unless because of my

music I want to address that I never

cross-promote it either I have 2 million

followers on my uh music Tik Tok 2.7

million on the podcast account with

cakes I never cross-promoted either of

them so the people who are fans of the

podcast test unless they found it out

for themselves did not know that I made

music because I didn't tell them and the

same with my music they did not find the

podcast because I told them from the

music side of things they just came

across it why am I good at making music

because I've been making it since I was

13 20

years why am I confident in my advice

because it works why am I making these

videos if I don't have to because I want

to I want to see you guys win so to to

wrap it up you have to be good at

multiple things you can't just be good

at one thing you can't just be good at

making music it's not enough I think I

got distracted which is what I usually

do so my bad but hopefully the premise

of this video came through that it's

important to skill stack there's many

different skills that you can learn to

help you be a successful music artist

but I truly feel that being good at

music isn't enough loads of talented

people out there and unfortunately a lot

of them are not making a live and making

music because making good music is not

enough and for every artist that you

feel they are simply just making good

music and it's working there's usually a

team behind them doing the stuff that

they don't want to do so the work is

still happening it just might not be

done by the artists themselves but as

Independent Artists the work falls on

our shoulders and there's no way around

it unless you're willing to give up a

percent of your income or pay people all

I have to say I hope you're crush it I

hope to see you win and I hope to see

you in the next video

cheers