An Indie Artist Must Be…
Here's what I think it takes to become a true indie artist...

Being an indie artist is no easy feat and I daresay, it’s not for everyone. Only artists with a special set of skills and characteristics can make it as indie artists. If you don’t have what it takes, you’ll eventually fall off on the way. The good news is that you can work towards equipping yourself with the traits you need to succeed. And as your friend, I’m here to tell you exactly what those traits are.

In this article, I’ve listed seven traits I believe every indie artist must have to succeed in the competitive jungle of an industry. In your journey, there will be amazing days and horrible days, good and bad times. These traits will help you navigate and push forward until you get to your goal. They’ll help you build resilience for the tough times and a level head for the good times.

So if nothing else, an indie artist must be…

Passionate

Passion for your craft is a non-negotiable. What is music to you? Are you in it just for the payday or does your heart beat faster whenever music is mentioned? Without a passion for music that has nothing to do with money, you won’t survive long in the industry. Only a passion can keep you steadfast even when music is taking away more money than it’s bringing in. Only passion can keep you when all your effort seems to be yielding nothing.

Without passion, it’s all about logical decisions and the best return on investment. Music will likely push you to the very limits of your love for it. One would think music is trying to fish out those who only say they love her because of the money. So build your passion, it will keep you strong when everything else makes you weak.

Confident

If you don’t believe in yourself, you won’t make it very far in the music industry. Not only is imposter syndrome sure to assail you when you’re at those low moments, but even at the high moments. You’ll feel like a fraud. People will call you a fraud, some to your face but mostly online. It’s easy to say you don’t care what others think, but it’s often easier said than done.

So you have to know deep within you just how good you are. You have to believe beyond any doubt that you’re good at what you do. Get people around you who, while offering constructive criticism when needed, will help reinforce your confidence.

Creative

There are currently about 11 million artists and creators on Spotify. So there are 11 million voices competing for the attention of the world. That’s a scary number, isn’t it? In that sea of artists, you have to stand out. You have to be different enough to catch the eye of the audience or you risk being just one of the others. To be different, you must get creative.

If you try to do the same things everyone else is doing, you won’t break out of that plateau. You have to get creative and do something different. Don’t be different just for the sake of it, however. Allow the creativity to direct you.

Educated

No, I don’t mean you need a degree in music or anything of the sort. You don’t have to go to college to be a successful artist. But you must be educated about your craft and industry. How do things work in the music industry? What are the contracts all about? You need to understand these things or you risk being cheated in your journey. You need to understand what different terms mean so that you’re not a blind man in a dangerous land. This education will keep you safe.

You also need to understand the technical details of the music. What drills will improve your voice? How can you improve production quality? These are questions that will keep you from becoming complacent. There are many dangers in an artist’s life, but you must never get complacent. If you get too comfortable and stop improving, that’s the beginning of a slow but steady decline.

Multi-talented

If you can only sing, you have a lot more work to do than someone who can sing and write, for example. You need to cultivate different talents because they’re all ways you can break into the industry. And once you’re in, nobody cares how you got there. Artists like Jon Bellion and Sia broke in through their songwriting, but now we love their songs.

All you need is to get in the door. If you’re a producer doing good things, and one day you show you’re a good rapper too, no one will care that you started as a producer. Once you’re in, it’s all about how good you are.

Connected

As you grow in your career, you will meet different people. The people you meet at each stage will help you get to the next stage. So you have to be deliberate about making the right connections. Build relationships because there’s nothing more powerful than knowing somebody. If you’re great at what you do and have the right connections, there’s nothing you can’t do.

It’s not about what you know, but who you know.

Your network is your net worth.

These are popular sayings I’m sure you’ve seen before. As cliche as they are, you’d better take them seriously.

Consistent

To succeed at anything, you have to keep at it. You don’t have to record a song every day or spend 8 hours in the studio. But you have to show up. It could be 8 hours today, 1 hour tomorrow, sometimes even 30 minutes. But you have to show up every day, even when you don’t feel like it.

Especially then.

Final Thoughts

Being an indie artist is not for the faint-hearted, but it’s possible. You can do it. On the way, you’ll need these traits to help you push through. If you apply them correctly, your success will come. It might take longer than you’d want, but it will come.

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a great start. As you grow, you’ll learn some of the lessons for yourself. An artist must be many things to succeed, and now you know 7 of them.