The Music Industry in 2018.

-The people that are doing really well have paved their own path. The cookie cutter artist is getting less and less traction.

-Distribution is everything (once your art is amazing)

-Word of mouth is not what it used to be. Still really important, but it's harder yet to break through the noise.

-Market to the smallest audience you can find, not the largest. Then niche out.

-As producers find ways of building their own producer community online, information is getting democratized. With all the information you have (which is a great thing), find ways to make what you do stand out from the herd.

-TV shows like American Idol and The Voice are done with the actual music business. It's all about ratings. It's just TV theatrics at this point. That's why it's still going.

-Labels are making PLENTY of money. They have more cash than they have had in a long time, thanks to streaming. But don't expect them to invest in your up and coming project. Not without a real plan.

-Publishers. Depends on the company and what their strategy is. Some are dying. Some are thriving. Much work to be done here still.

-The most successful artists and companies are those that hold the keys directly to the customer. Labels answer to nobody EXCEPT Spotify.

-Festivals like Coachella sell out before the lineup is announced. Which means again, the distribution, the institution, is more important than the name.

-Some may want or need to go the label route, which still holds a lot of value! They want to see that you have a path to profitability. If you can't show them the way, you will not be signed.

-Pennies make dollars. Find an administration team that hunts for those pennies all over the world. It's way too complicated to do yourself now.

-You can't do it alone. You need a team. Sell the journey to smart people and let them do what their best at. Delegation and team building might be the most important thing you do as an artist.

-In an online self-serve world, RELATIONSHIPS are more important than ever. Don't sign up with TuneCore when a real person with connections that will fight for your money is down the street. We youngsters hate real interactions and it can really hurt us long term.