Dear Aspiring and Current Music Artists,

First things first, keep doing what you’re doing, keep creating, keep trying new things, keep writing, keep networking and keep hustling. If music is truly your passion, no matter what, it will always find you and you will always find it. Don’t run from it when it gets hard, keep pushing.

Now, while you’re pushing, make sure you are pushing yourself in the right direction. Being an artist is a business just as well as an art and understanding that business is imperative. What are your goals for music? Is it it just a hobby or is it your legacy? If it’s your legacy, make it yours not theirs. It’s very easy to hop on the “cover” bandwagon when you start making music because it’s not an arduous task to re-write or re-sing a song that’s popular and familiar. However, you want to be notorious for your own sound and you want people to like your music based on your idiosyncrasies not the familiarity of your music with the sounds of other artists.

A saucy sample on the other hand is something different but, when you first start making music you don’t have the clout or the funds to clear most samples. But, let me say this, covers are not a bad thing but they can’t be the only thing you do or a vast majority of what you do. Be inspired by the sounds of others but, constantly replicating those sounds won’t help you stand out amongst the millions of other people creating music.

You should be creating music because you have a story to tell and no one can tell your story like you can but, when you get sucked into the “cover” world you place yourself in a box that’s extremely hard to get out of. Music is not a box, it’s an ocean – one you’ll drown in without the proper skills and love for the process. Covers are great for exposure but too many of them can be stifling in the long run. My advice – write and create daily. Youtube beats are your friends. Do a couple covers if you please but leave your mark, not the faded stamp of another artist.

Sincerely,
Miss Ikonic

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