THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A PLAN

(In this crazy thing we call the music business)

So… you’re this gifted MC. When you rap, it’s like someone preaching a sermon over a beat. If you flow about the struggles of day-to-day life, you make people feel that someone out there gets what they’re going through. If your subject matter gets into the “street hustle”, listeners wonder if you are only rapping about it or because you are so compelling, people wonder if you were actually out there in those streets hustling. Spit a few verses about fine women and sipping champagne at the clubs and pushing a tight whip on whatever the latest rims are, and groupies start to stalk you on Twitter and haters try to get at you to take what they think you have.

You’re that good at rhyming. Your talent is undeniable. You work with one of or some of the tightest beat makers in the game, so believe me when I say, I understand your frustration. You’ve been working hard at building your career. You’ve just hit the 25 year old mark (old timer in rap years), so now you feel you have to adjust your age on your bio, take some new pictures, change your style a little to fit what’s hot now. You clock in to a job that sucks all the life out of you. You are getting desperate now. When your friends call about making some fast money doing “God knows what”, you don’t reply “NO” as fast as you used to. You can’t take it much longer. Icing on the cake is that you’re are in a relationship with someone who believed in your dream at first and is now actively campaigning that you let the dream go and move on.

Wow! That would be enough for anyone to consider a career change. Give up the dream. Move on, but wait. That passion burning deep inside you to do what you do is telling you that you just have to go. Pack your bags for a week long stay in New York. You believe (as you should) that you have the best collection of beats and rhymes ever assembled on one project, so you’re going to just go out there and make someone listen, and then sign you up for superstardom.

I know this sort of blind passion well. You hear stories of how someone made it happen, just like that. Truth is, there are a few stories of that happening. Some of them are even true. So what’s stopping you from achieving that goal? The fact that in your own hometown, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people chasing that same dream. In your region there’s thousands upon thousands who want a successful music career. You don’t believe me? Go to Myspace, type in your area code and watch how many starving artist are in your area. But, you say, “Man…those cats can’t hang with me”. This music business is littered with artist who can’t hold their own against some unsigned talent somewhere in the world. Which means that the reason you don’t have a deal has very little if anything to do with your abilities.

Now back to the “desperate trip to New York, LA, ATL or where ever” plan. You’re the poster boy for a starving artist. You have maximum skills but no money, contacts or influence. You’ve never been to any of the music industry Mecca’s out there so if you take the trip, you’ll be flying blind. The money you have saved up is impressive for where you live and the local economy that you thrive in. In your own hometown or region, that nest egg could do a lot. I guarantee you that it won’t mean the same in those places I mentioned. I’m not saying don’t go. I am however saying, have a plan.

In New York, there are just as many or more artists trying to get a break. I’ll bet you that the phones are constantly being bombarded with calls from people who live there trying to get on. Now as an artist, you need to have a great deal of confidence in yourself, but you also need to recognize that talent alone will not get you through the door.

People don’t realize the value of having a well thought out, well-written plan. You can’t beat a plan. Especially one that is physically represented on paper, so that you can reference it when you feel yourself getting off point or if you need to make an adjustment in you efforts to reach your goal. A plan (A realistic plan) cuts through all the thoughts that are counter productive to you getting where you want to go.

Try this; get in your car, and go somewhere you’ve never been, but don’t use Map Quest or any type of map. There’s a chance, all be it a slim one, that you may stumble on to your destination. Now, pull out a map, mark your destination and find the best root to get there. You will undoubtedly save fuel, time and energy getting there with a map as apposed to going at it with out one. A plan is nothing more than a map. People who succeed at their goals usually have a plan. A plan designed to cut out all the wrong turns, and wasted moves.

The music business is overflowing with people sitting on the porch, waiting for you to ask them for directions to places they’ve never even been. You know the people I mean; you get lost out there and you decide to stop and ask someone who looks like they might know, usually because they are in the area of where you’re trying to go, and nine times out of ten, they don’t have a clue. They may even ask for a lift hoping to ride your coat tails.

Having a plan will help you to prepare for rough terrain, curves in the road, and it will help you properly fuel for the trip. “Damn dude, you want me to stop my hustle and write out a plan”? Yes. Your plan does not have to be this twenty or thirty page long formal document. It can be as simple as an out line on one sheet of paper that highlights points or small goals along the way to your ultimate goal, or don’t. Get out there and drive. Waste gas, and make unnecessary moves. Take that trip on the fly and use that hard-earned money in some of the most expensive cities in the world. There’s a slim chance that it will work, but why not hedge your bets. Figure out who you need to talk to out there. Make sure they are in town the week you go. Make sure that they will be able to meet with you. Make sure that they are not in a business cycle that won’t allow them to sign anyone for reasons like budgets or cut backs on new signings. Believe me! You don’t want to have to come back home with no deal, no prospects, no hope, and now… a whole lot less money. Think about it…