Becoming a Famous Musician, Starting as a Beginner

It’s too late.

It’s too much work.

I’m too far behind.

I’ll never accomplish what I want.

Do any of these excuses sound familiar to you? All too often, people give up on their musical dreams because they think they’re too old, or it’s too late for them to learn the skills they need, or it’s too hard. Life is short, right? That boat has sailed.

But thinking like that is self-defeating. There is an ancient Chinese proverb that states, “He who says he can and he who says he can’t are usually both right.” If you think you can’t do it, you’re probably right. But it’s not because you don’t have the ability or the time… It’s only because you’ve already decided you can’t.

The fact is, life is long and there are plenty of opportunities to do what you love to do. There’s no deadline for your dreams. It’s never too late as long as you’re still alive.

Consider a Studio Pros artist we featured on our site, Barb Bechler. She was retired from Real Estate and had never had a music career, but she decided to give it a try. With some dabbling in Apple’s Garage Band, the knowhow of Studio Pros’ musicians and producers, and a little hard work, she became an award-winning songwriter. While it wasn’t exactly overnight, it probably felt that way (at least a little bit) for Bechler.

But that’s just one of many real-life examples of people pursuing dreams, no matter where they are in their lives and no matter how much experience they initially have. Everyone starts with no experience at some point, so why not start now? Plenty of successful people have started lucrative careers after working in a different industry first. And lots of musicians have found success later in life because they kept at it no matter what their age was. Think the music industry is only open to artists in their teens and early twenties? Consider this:

-Kid Rock’s first big hit was when he was 28.
-The Goo Goo Dolls had their first hit nearly 10 years after the band formed.
-Carlos Santana’s biggest commercial success was released when he was 52.
-Bonnie Raitt’s biggest commercial success happened when she was 40 and had already recorded 10 albums.
-Sheryl Crow was 32 when her first hit single was released. She continued her success well into her 40s.
-Although they obviously had plenty of success beforehand, Aerosmith’s first #1 hit, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” was released almost 30 years after the band was founded.

Don’t sell yourself short. Don’t count yourself out. You’re not down for the count. Record the album you’ve always wanted today. Who knows where your career will end up?

Posted on: July 23rd, 2010