Taking Talent to the next level

Making it in the music business is a challenging yet exhilarating journey. Alvin Frazier knows and shares simple facts, realities and common-sense insight to making it in music. Of course, a string of hit songs help, but what about a lasting career? What about those that don't want to be behind the mic, but would rather be in other roles such as an engineer, a promoter or a marketing expert? There are so many lanes in the music industry that you may have overlooked most of them.

In this special episode, we introduce Alvin Fraser who breaks down the basic essentials of making it in the music business. Frazier has traveled extensively on tour, released multiple albums, appeared in films and also modeling campaigns.

So, if you are young and trying to make it, ask yourself this: “what are you willing to sacrifice for your fame and money?” Young because if you are much older than twenty-five and still trying to make it as a musician, your chances just went from .01 percent to .00001 percent. Sorry, but that’s the reality. Even though there is no age that is too early or too late to start a career in music. If you love music and want to start doing it professionally, don't let anything stop you! Just understand the norms that come with starting a career late.

We know some young bands willing to completely change their sound for a chance for fame and money. They don’t really know what they want to sound like. They just want to be seen and heard. So if a “successful” producer tells them they should sound like different without understanding the marketing power of their own sound, they may jump at the chance because they dream of having their song on the radio.

There's a reason we asked Frazier to be our special guest in this series. The veteran Cleveland native is a songwriter, musician who plays several instruments, singer and is a formidable producer.

Frazier has learned to position himself as one of Cleveland's most recognizable talents. He has also learned to maintain consistency with live performances, special guest performances and his talent has enabled him to currently ba a part of the tour with the legenday hit-making DAZZ Band.

But Frazier has extended his brand and boldly entered the world of acting in plays, films and TV. He has also designed his own apparel line and even models.

Besides his incredible talent (he plays several instruments and sings with the best of them) it is Frazier's open mind and willingness to grow and evolve that keeps him int he game. With such extensive knowledge and experience, Frazier helps you realize the practical elements of making it in the music business. Enjoy and be sure to subscribe and leave a comment.

The music industry is very competitive and one of the more difficult industries to break into, but it is possible. Whether you are a Music Producer, Engineer, or Artist, you still may have what it takes to break into the music industry if you work hard and take the necessary steps. You also need the right timing and material.

Frazier is quick to remind us that talent matters and creativity goes a long way. A lack of skills, or a lack of the right type of skills, is one of the greatest barriers of entry into the music industry. You aren't going to get hired at a commercial recording studio if you don't know the first thing about recording music. The same goes for promoters and producers, attorneys and tech professionals in entertainment.

Social media is important but should not be an excuse for not getting out and connecting with communities that love and crave the kind of music an artists creates. Social media can serve as a monitoring system to better understand what your fans and followers like the most.

Conducting social media surveys give your listeners a chance to answer back on the comments. Frazier talks about why it matters and how he uses it to expand his reach.

It takes time to build a career and he's clear about that. To make it music, you have to play the long game. After all, its a career, not a just a job. Careers take time, talent, resources and extraordinary creativity. A successful career in music doesn't happen overnight. Very few if any ever do.

It takes patience, tenacity, an openness to critique, and even some failures to help you learn and clarify your goals. After that, make your music and make it happen. It doesn't start with a hit song, but getting one or more hits is a great start, which very few artists get to experience. Although hit songs means "any widely played or big-selling song", the specific term hit record usually refers to a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio airplay audience impressions, or significant streaming data and commercial sales. But there are other kinds of hit songs.

Some hit regionally, while other songs are a hit within a specific community or listening audience segment. The numbers also suggest that no matter who you are, it's very difficult to make a hit song: No super-producer or songwriter gives an artist more than a 6% chance of landing a No.1, or more than a 15% chance of landing a Top 10 hit.

In the next episode, we will dig deeper into what a hit song is, the kinds of hits that matter, and what goes behind the making of a hit song.