Yes, im 18 and want 2 forget college this year and showcase my singing ability 2 the world.
it's been my lifelong dream but i get no encouragement from my folks.
they want me 2 go 2 business college because they think my career in singing is a waste of time

Ive always wanted 2 be a performer, i write lyrics all the friggin time, im not great at writing music though

And i dont wanna take no for an answer

So can anyone suggest how i go about starting my career 2 be successful?

thank you

Well...
I will tell you this. If you want to "make it" in today's business in the vain of your orginal post, it would be about the same odds as winning the lottery regardless of your talent.

Now, if you want to pursue this as an art, then by all means, you've come to the right place. There are musician's here that you can collaborate with and start making songs. If your that driven, start making a demo CD. Invest in some recording equipment or buy some studio time and network with the right musicians/song writers and get some music together.

Your "resume" so-to-speak.

The odds are against you but you can do whatever you set your mind to.

Remember that having a goal means setting up steps to achieve it, without a plan to get there it's just a dream.

Leave ego out of the process, learn music in school or by hard knocks, keep positive and work hard. It's going to be hard and you will have to make sacrifices but I'm just going to say this again.

You can do whatever you set your mind to.

yamomma said:

Let us hear u.

Stay in school and look at your singing as your number one hobby. Invest all your SPARE time into it. Learn to record your material, either with other musicians, or learn to play or program songs using loops or whatever means you can to create.

BUT ALWAYS keep your singing career as a backup plan. Never make plans to BE a professional singer. In no way am I saying "give up". I'm saying, make it your hobby. So much so that it consumes all of your time and you develop a great talent that you can then turn into a part time job of sorts... singing at night, working your real job by day.

So then, when you're singing so much that it's cutting into your day job, THEN, quit the day job and see if you can pull it off.

My father used to ask me what was my backup plan when I didn't become a rock star, and I didn't have a backup plan. Which bit me in the ass when I was 26 with no marketable skills and no band.

Best of luck to you. Don't give UP, but don't be blind. Like Yamomma hinted at, the greatest singer in the world is probably ringing up groceries at a Piggly Wiggly somewhere because her record just didn't catch on at the time.

otan said:

Damn, ain't that the "Cold Hard Truth"

I agree with Otan and the others.
When I was about your age, I got my first pro manager. He told me: remember that showbusiness is about two things: show and business. It's probably a corny cliché, but it really struck me. In the business, the music is secondary. At best. That you love music and are talented does not mean you'll enjoy being a professional musician. Consider these things:
- How do you feel about travelling all the time and spending a huge portion of your time waiting before soundchecks etc?
- How do you feel about a future as a musician with a record contract, but making little money and working your ass off? With talent and pereverance, you might be able to pull that off. But being (and staying) famous is very rare.
- How do you feel about being able to perform and make records, but having little choice in the material you play, the way you dress, when you tour, who you record with etc?

I have a day job in advertising that's fun and pays well. Nights I play with my band and practice. We play exactly what we like. If we don't like a gig, we don't do it. I'd trade places with Prince, Clapton or BB King right away. But with any of the lesser gods living in a touring van? Not in a million years.

I'm not saying give up your dream. I'm saying: consider this.

It would be better IMO if you could juggle your college with your music, why not do both ,I mean I'm doing a music degree starting in a few weeks though there are other modules that arent music so if you find yourself wanting to do something else at a later date you can still do so and you arent putting all your eggs in one basket.
I also think that your folks are kinda wrong for pushing into a direction you seem uninterested in(could you not meet in the middle somehow). If you dont play an instument I think it is a good idea to start ,that way you are in a way self sufficient and dont need to rely on others so much,I'd also say writing music on a guitar or keys is often easier than just trying to think of melodys in your own head and adding lyrics later,though I'm sure others feel different.
I would also say that you gotta have a kinda plan of what you actually want to be,I mean just saying you wanna be a famous singers a bit of a jump from scratch,so have a plan of how you will go about it,look out in music stores they are always looking for singers etc ,and maybes they might not be good bands or whatever but its a start and it might give you the experience and confidence to move to the next level.

I would say do music aswell as going 2 college. Perhaps doin' a course in music @ college if its possible. Also I recommend gettin' some recording equipment, or u can just use ur PC if u get a midi keyboard or even just a mic 2 record vocals and then register on soundclick.com & put some songs on there and then collaborate online with other artists etc.

If you want 2 succeed in the music industry then u have 2 put 1000% effort in2 developing a fan base and perfecting ur singing/songwriting.

Best of luck,

what do u dream about?

stay in school ..... It will provide GREAT INSPERATION.


and that kind of insperation can't be found anywhere else.

Plus theres your interactive AUDIENCE right there.


LIVING IT And BEING IT are ONEin the same

word travels fast on campus

ElectricPurple said:

Good advice!

That's my biggest thing and would almost contradict what others are saying in this thread, but very important regardless.

If you want to be an artist, you have to live like an artist.

New experiences whether they be internal or external all work within the framework of finding inspiration. Making the journey within is just as important as what you surround yourself with on the outside.

I like to ask some of my musician friends... If you knew you would never be wildly successful at your art would you continue doing it? or... It's like picasso (i think) he painted his entire life, was poor, unrecognized and died without seeing major success. He would probably do it again. Poor bastard!

The point is, you have to have a love for what you're doing. Personally, I prioritize my life around my ability to continue making music. Good or bad, successful or not its who I am.

Some of the best advice I ever had came from a good friend, very simple -

"Don't be Scared"

PM me, I'll make you famous...

funkaholic1972 said:

You people are sick-o-neeng
Funk the funk on!

Go to school!
When I was leaving home for college I was thinking just like you. But staying in school is the best option but dont stop working on your music.

Make contacts and meet other musicians to work with.

Music is the first thing on my mind when I wake up and the last when I go to sleep
But I also wanted a degree. You can never have enough things to fall back on

jayaredee said:

I suggest the following:

- Drop out of college
- Form a band
- Book some gigs
- Learn to play instruments
- Realise playing instruments is quite hard, so just thrash them and call it 'primal punk'
- Get a manger and a lucrative record deal
- Start a gruelling US tour
- Have extraordinarily dirty sex with eager groupies who don't look like they could legally buy alcohol
- Take copious quantities of all kind of different drugs. Simultaneously.
- Start missing rehearsals
- Fall out with the the rest of the band
- Go off at a burly roadie one night about how you "fuckin' rock" but he doesn't, and you "fuckin' own" his ass
- Spend 2 weeks in local hospital recovering
- Get addicted to pain meds
- Become hopelessly depressed and wonder "what's it all about? Cos', like, it used to be all about, y'know, the music and not all this other shit...."
- Sink into a downward spiral
- Overdose on smack and die in an anonymous California motel room
- Miss the release of your debut album, which becomes an underground favourite on college campuses, but begins to gather steam when it's picked up on local radio, and eventually becomes a massive commercial success, receiving critical acclaim in the music press
- Never get to see the way that teenage rockers, who adorn their walls with your fresh-faced, doe-eyed image, come to look up to you as the icon of their generation, and scare the hell out of their respectable, middle-American parents when they announce: "Mom, Dad... I'm quitting school to start a band....."

deebee said:

I LOVE IT !!!!

Had me laughin my ass off!

ToyStein said:

Wasn't that the story of the band that sang "Love Is What I Got" - oh crap I can't remember their name, but the singer OD'd right when the record got pumped into full rotation.

deebee said:

Oh, my God! And then I woke up and realized I was already 25!