Why Talented Musicians Fail 

Dude, these pearls apply to all business owners. Great job.

Music and popularity isn't always about who's most talented.

This is so well said. I’ve noticed that there’s almost a talent curve where people who are very talented can often succeed in an industry, but ironically, the people who have the most talent usually also struggle with concurrent mental health issues or personal issues that prevent them from actualizing. Many of the all-time greatest actors only did a couple of movies… I think that there’s something about the sensitivity level of an artist that makes inserting yourself into a machine, very difficult, but it is possible.

I’ve never seen a more sober take on how to be successful as a musician. Thanks for this.

It doesn't matter how talented you are, if nobody can handle being in a tour bus with you, or dealing with you, it probably won't go well. A Nashville pro told me that a long time ago. He toured with a major artist for decades.

This really rings so true! I had the pleasure of working with an amazingly talented drummer. He definitely had trouble with organizing, commitment, and communication. We were driving to a gig together (I was driving my car - he didn't have a car...) and talking. He said he had gotten a gig with a new band, and was going to have to go buy a new calendar for the new band. I instantly blurted out, before I could better phrase this, that this explained why he was always double-booking himself! He needed to put all of his gigs from all bands into ONE calendar so he would know if he was booked already. At first there was a look of realization on his face. Then he got sheepish, perhaps a little ashamed. He buried his face in his phone for the rest of the drive to the gig.

I feel like my best skill is songwriting but since I'm a solo artist I do everything else as well. I want to be successful enough to hire help. Working on it!

Awesome insight, Nicky!!

Great & sound advice. Thanks, Nicky. Stay healthy. Take care.

Hey mate, video for you. Can you make a video called.. "If money didn't matter.. how would I become a rockstar" something along those lines. I think the problem holding a lot of musicians back is the lack of money and capital to invest at the start. However, hypothetically.. lets say you make 50k a month already running a business. And your goal is to record an album and tour the world in 6-12 months. What would you do with a 50k to 100k budget? Great content. Cheers

Wherever you are whatever you're doing if you're playing music and having fun that's a win

Great video as always Nicky, Thanks.

I’ve been teaching 40-50 students a week, and 75-120 gigs a year - for years now…. I totally get this video. 😂😂😂. You’re 100% correct about the gifts/deficiencies quotient. Also, there is a fine line between “team” and “sycophants.” lol.

I love this! This is a great view for both artists and supporting musicians and crew. The more we all understand each other, the more we can do together!

Your advice is so helpful, i am a local musician, play in church, lead the team (as a drummer, lol) and also an aspiring studio player from home and everything you've said really has opened my eyes to the reality of the business. Thanks a lot for your insight.

Excellent insight. Thanks.

You ain't lying. Just did a pickup gig on guitar. Decent singer but, terrible guitar player rhythmically. It was just him on acoustic and me on tele. Torture for me but, the folks seem to like it.

Great perspective!

Thanks, Nicky. You know what “we” also need? Constant reminding. Cheers!

Always good info. Lateness in ANY profession is a deal killer.

You brought up excellent points, thanks.

Great analysis. I like your reference to having a supportive, knowledgable team.

Clean playing. Another interesting video.

Great video Nicky, Thanks!

Great video Nicky! Excellent advice as always. I couldn't agree more about burnout. I learned a long time ago as well to just walk away for a few days. The weird thing is or at least for me when I do pick the bass back up I usually play better. It's almost like my fingers just needed a break. 😄🎸🎸🎸

Great stuff and great lesson here!

More great info. Appreciated the songwriter input as well 😉

Great advice!! I have leaned a lot about organizing things in the last three years and I’m still a work in progress :) managing things is tough but it’s super important as a pro for sure.

Thanks for sharing the real deal - so much good info, which goes beyond music and can be applied right now to many areas of life. Sheesh, now you are like a youtube life coach, cool. From Gleason, TN - thanks.

Excellent video, I love your way of transmitting musical knowledge and experience, greetings from Argentina! :)

New Canadian fan here. this is the 2nd video I have watched and honestly thank you for this great advice!

Good stuff.

Nice playing man! Very slick

Thank you for this , I have been wondering how to work with producers

Always helpful - Great info thx for sharing . In Nashville this weekend Love to chat I’m re-building my team

You seem like a real knowledgeable person on the subject. I’ve been trying to start a band and honestly not sure how to even start making money at it but I know how to share it for free so maybe that’s a start. Getting gear together has been difficult but I think if I’m just able to record mix and share, maybe add video, we could work to produce art that people may want to consume in entirety and more than once. Cheers! Thanks for the advice! Been taking lessons as well

Great content my friend 🎉

I'm really enjoying your channel, Nicky. There are a lot of points you make that apply here in Austin, TX as well.

Love what you talk about I go a little too far on my channel get blocked lol most people Don’t understand how Nashville is locked down lol hard to get into the big time lol luckily I did it in another state but meeting guys at Git didn’t hurt! Lol keep up great work.

Nicky, this channel is beyond awesome. I jammed & hung w some of the Country Stars in LA in my 20’s back when… if I had YOU as my coach I would’ve been TOURING with em too. And gettin PAID

This guy spoke truth. Great stuff.

I played a couple of gigs with a guitarist that once recorded and toured with an international superstar. One gig was a backyard birthday party . On that one his car broke down in the guest of honors driveway forcing the birthday boy to make repairs. The other was a small wedding . On that one he left his vintage Les Paul in the parking lot of the venue and drove off without it. Lucky for him I was the one that found it. There was a reason he went from playing in large arenas to playing with me. He was a Great guitarist and a mess of a human being. Unfortunately he and the superstar he toured with have both passed away since.

Thanks for the insight. It's a collection of ideas I hadn't thought about. I know, just show up 45 minutes early and chew on a coffee while you chat with the road crew or engineer. Actually, showing up early in the studio helps the engineer locate you in the room and allows you to find out what the producer is looking for.

I like that opening country blues lick that moves down....I stole the premise and changed it a bit....will use it for a solo in Constant Sorrow....bluegrass! ;)

habitual lateness drives me insane! Great video and thanks for your time.

I've seen a lack of organization hold a lot of talented people back.

I'm digging it,,,🎉

Great video man. Any pieces of advice for a really new guitarist/content creator like me in this 2024 world? Where should I focus my efforts if I want to get my guitar playing in as many ears as possible? You’re always a great mentoring voice and are very in touch with the realities of music and human nature.

Thanks, Nicky!! I feel contemporary music is crap. Even Elvis would fail in 2024. So many artists out there. It seems the music industry only wants crap music to succeed. No Serial Killer.

Great vids. I have a question for you, any advice on a songwriter getting songs out there without having to be a recording artist? Thanks!

If you’re not 1/2 hour early, you’re late. Thanks for the videos.

That’s me. I’ve got the goods but not the personality. Never made the jump to the A leagues, but I played with the best in the B leagues locally.

Back in the 90s I was a videographer for a TV station while fanfare what's going on. My reporter and I had interviews set up all day in a curtained booth. Sometimes an artist was a no-show, but you can bet by the time the manager got through with them, the artist suddenly was happy to do an interview a few hours later. Hats off to the managers of some of those artist!

Who’s to say someone is talented? What’s the defining characteristic of failure? What about success…what’s that look like? I’m a total weirdo when it comes to this stuff; I don’t know why, but I feel like a trained monkey performing circus tricks when playing live for an audience…I hate it. It isn’t my idea of success. I have already had more “success” with my songs than I had ever thought possible, and I’m just a nobody. I just posted my tunes on here and set them free. I wasn’t expecting anyone to listen to them and enjoy them. I don’t have connections in the industry, nor do I want to be part of the industry. God told me to write and share my songs, so I did. I can’t think of anything better than to please God. That is why I personally feel so successful. Cool topic, man. 🐰🎸🎶✌️

Im not the pro musician. I am a business owner. To be successful you must be able to multi task and higher levels than others. If not you better surround yourself with those that can. Also be able to recognize the value of those around you or someone else will. Be kind to the little people as you climb the ladder to success. You may need them as you're coming down.! I really enjoy your contributions a sincerely decent human.

Why do talented musicians fail? The answer is easy..and you can answer it in one of two ways..and both apply. 1. They don't have songs. 2. They can't write songs. You can have all of the skill in the world..but if you are just noodling around..you are just noodling for the sake on noodling. You have to have songs...good songs that require nooding.

How and where do you learn these organization skills

Excellent 👍 470 #

I wonder, do you find this to be less of a problem in major pro music towns, or do you find this dichotomy affects musicians no matter where they are?

It’s hard to write a catchy tune That’s why Plenty of talent but no super catchy songs They can play just as good as say jimmy page or a country guitar player but no black dog or stairway to heaven

I've suffered the same problems, I love singing, I've not put any covers on here for two years, I have adhd and autism, and it's difficult to cope.

👍

Ohhh😲....how interesting! Thanks

👏👏👏👏

Great insights here!

So awesome man! I have been reading effortless mastery by Kenny Werner. I am set to fly out from North Texas to South Texas as a white guy selected to play on Tejano music. I am going to a place where two cultures collide and I am nervous! Guy's on the level of Flaco Jimenez will be there and I am going over in mind why they hired this white boy! Lol....On time is a given and I just want to be what they expected which is , I have no fucking clue! Tejano music that I have researched is the same so I guess my job is to radically change some some things but keep some heritage . Wish me luck fellas.....

Work ethic. I know😂

Your typical aspiring musician is business stupid. It really comes down to relationships. After that, it's marketing. Musicians fail miserably most of the time. That's why it's 'easy' for you to succeed, you're one smart cookie. 🍪 Gonna hit you up for a lesson soon. Rock on!

There's always that one guy!..lol

Nicky love your content. If you’re needing some keyboard tracks layed down contact me.

Great advice from a great musician!

I had a label I wanted to be on since I was 17 in the palm of my hands. He told me it was the best shit he's heard in years. Then I made it evident that I was insane so he ghosted me lmao... It is not laziness (regarding the art), it's not that I'm totally unlikable, it's not the quality of the material... I think if i were to boil it down, I would say the biggest problems are my shyness and strangeness.

Well said I feel. If it works, in the future, I think your viewers might be interested in a break down of the number system.

Morgan Wallen's handlers keep failing him. And yet, he's a country music song in the making 24/7.

35 years in Nashville... I've had nearly a dozen close friends get major record deals and only 2 out of that dozen have had top-10 singles. All of them lost their initial deals at some point once the singles dried-up and they eventually got the "we just don't hear it" label meeting. The scary reality is two major things determine if you make it. 1) luck 2) a great song out of box. If you don't have that hit song early you're toast. The industry doesn't develop artists anymore...they just don't have the patience. Oh yeah... one other thing that may help ..if your family can buy 3% of the label like Taylor Swift's family did that'll give you a boost up the ladder. 🤘. Anyone who's lived in a town like Nashville knows there's 20+ times more top-flight talent then there are label spots. Its a fickle biz. All the talent , organization, determintation in the world guarantees you nothing. That being said you can always be a mid-level self-promoted artist...it beats digging ditches. 😊

This isn’t talent this is playing by numbers.

Look to the Beldin Model

If your out to sell..its generally not creative..its a formula

It’s sounds like the producers your describing have the same skills as any good dr, lawyer, manager/ceo

If you need to get a job done make sure you give it to a busy man.

Adhd is a big problem with good artists too

What if I feel like I possess neither “great talent” or organization skills….? At times I feel like the strongest “thing” in me is imposter-syndrome…. I have the Love and Passion for music making, and create songs often… I have tons of little parts saved that I know will one day evolve into songs…. I walk around seeing killer potential in other non-pro musicians, and I see them as Peers because I also see some type of potential in my stuff… But it seems that no one “sees me or my music” in the same light…. And that causes me to think I’m delusional or I just suck and should quit trying…. I’m obviously hardheaded and a glutton for punishment (of my own making)….. Y’all are all pro musicians, not therapists…. Not sure what to do….🎸😔 PS. It’s gotten so bad, I started living on ramen and peanut butter sandwiches so I could buy a bunch of synths and drum boxes to just make music by myself…. But that utterly negates the joy of playing with a band of likeminded musicians. Lost and unconfident

Mediocre material, lack of marketing skills, lack of personality

Did he say"hurting cats"???

It isn't about talent anymore.

Welcome to the houseplant jungle,,,

Too many talented musicians not enough stages.

They don't have enough houseplants,,,

If you dont write/play your own stuff then you aint an 'artist', you're just a scamming performer IMO. Imagine Picasso signing his name on someone else's painting, same thing.

KISS succeeded. The Ramones succeeded. All while countless players of much more skill languished in their bedrooms. It’s just the way it goes.

Too many fish not enough food

Hey Nicky! Great stuff. Might wanna throw the in front of those sweet water links so they’re clickable.

👍