Don’t make music for some vast, unseen audience or market or ratings share or even for something as tangible as money. Though it’s crucial to make a living, that shouldn’t be your inspiration. Do it for yourself.Billy Joel

Top 5 Mistakes Singer/Songwriters Make 1. Expecting others to do things for you 2. Paying to play 3. Chasing big breaks instead of learning how to make a fundamental living 4. Forgetting where you came from; Bruce Springsteen once said that selling your hometown out for another is one of the worst moves you can make as an artist. He’s lived, worked and toured the world over and has always remained loyal to his Jersey hometown. Word to “The Boss.” 5. Betting on Nashville Never “outbook” yourself. Never book a venue you can’t fill. Smells of ego. Don’t saturate your base with a ticket event competing with a public, flat-rate event (bar, restaurant, coffee house, festival, etc.) Never ever book a ticket event in the same town within 60 miles and several months, if not a year (depends on the town/city). You’ll rob your fans of incentive. Allow yourself the benefit of a higher-ticketed house concert or small venue before you graduate your worth to a 250+ (and up) venue. If you’re consistently selling out, then it’s time for new shoes. Write songs for the right reason. Write from your heart, not for your wallet. From Christopher Kent… “If you think you’re going to get rich quick by writing songs, you’re not well acquainted with the music business. It doesn’t work that way. Using unrealistic expectations as your motive for writing will only lead you to disappointment. When you write a good song, you’ll enjoy yourself, you’ll express yourself, you’ll be appreciated (by some people, at least) and you may even become a force in other people’s lives. These are good reasons to write (I’m sure you can think of others). If your reason for writing songs is to get rich quick, your songwriting career will be short and depressing. Write songs because it’s fun and because of the impact that a good song can have on you and on the people around you. If you do it for the right reasons, you won’t be disappointed and you’ll keep doing it. As you keep doing it, you’ll keep getting better at it. After a while, you’ll get so good that you might just write yourself a hit song!”