You have the feeling that you are doing everything right, you are convinced that you are producing quality music, but you are still not having the success you would like to have in your career. Sometimes it is difficult to identify what it is that prevents us from succeeding.

In other words, why isn’t your music career taking off?

As you may already know, in today’s world making “good” music is not enough: you have to work on your music marketing. But what does that really mean? If you’re still waiting for your music career to start making waves, the reason is probably one of the seven listed below.

You’ve lost motivation and procrastinate.

Most artists embark on this industry driven by a great musical passion. And that passion motivates them to both work hard and take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way. In the beginning, everything is new, everything is wonderful. Even when things don’t go well, every setback is seen as a useful experience that could help going forward.

However, as time goes on, life moves on, new responsibilities arrive and new passions are discovered. So, inevitably, as the years go by, artists devote less time to their music and begin to get discouraged. But the fact is, if you want to shape a career worthy of the name, you have to be 200% involved in the process.

The good news is that motivation is cyclical; sometimes we’re highly motivated and sometimes we’re on the verge of giving up. The trick is to realize that these ups and downs are dictated by a little voice in our head. We can choose to ignore it and keep working on our career no matter what.

In short, behave as if you are already at the top of the music business; work every day and don’t let yourself be controlled by your own mood swings and emotions. The key is to be consistent, even if you are not always full of motivation. In any case, don’t let yourself become lazy and lethargic.

Your brand is confusing

One of the first (and most difficult) steps in a music career is the clear and successful identification of your brand. It can be confusing – and even a little uncomfortable – to have to put into words who you are and what you want to be, but it’s a vital task to tackle.

You need to have a clear idea about your brand so you know how to promote your music online, what opportunities to take advantage of or turn down, and what to do next. Your brand is not only the basis of your marketing strategy, but it is also vital for your fans and music professionals to be able to understand your position in the market in just 10 seconds.

In short: decide on your brand as quickly as possible if you want people (including yourself) to understand your music career identity.

Your online presence is not the right one

Yes, social media can feel like an unnecessary, time-consuming burden. Yes, it requires putting yourself out there and displaying, at the very least, a bit of narcissism. But mastering your online presence, learning to use it as a tool for building your project and communicating with your fans, is one of the main differences between having a half-dead career and one that takes off at high speed.

Having an optimized online presence and strengthening ties with your fans will also attract the attention of the press, programmers and record labels. This will also influence all aspects of your career promotion: attracting potential fans, their loyalty, the strength of your project and its economic value. Above all, always keep in mind that your fans mean everything to you. If you learn to take care of your online presence and your fan base, your music career will have no limits. A suggestion: start with social networks.

Your concerts are not attracting interest

We often hear that it’s better to focus on developing a local fan base, rather than a regional or national one. And it’s true: although the Internet offers fantastic international opportunities, I recommend that you expand your online presence locally at first.

Naturally you dream of traveling and probably feel that your ideal fan base could be located anywhere, but at the end of the day there are numerous advantages to conquering your home region first (if you’re still there) and perfecting your craft before exporting it. And, of course, if you fail to attract a noisy and enthusiastic crowd locally, it’s likely because…. your performance itself is the problem.

Film your gigs and be objective about your live performance. Is it really engaging? Is it boring? Does it say something to your audience? Do you interact well with the audience? Invite your friends and family and ask them for honest feedback. In fact, even before D-Day, you should be thinking about how to sell your performance. What are you doing to promote it?

Simply posting “Come see us perform Saturday night…” on Facebook is not enough. Can you be more proactive in promoting it? Can you make it more personal? What can you do to make this gig a pivotal event? Experiment with new techniques on and off stage until you find what works.