About This Blog

Thanks for stopping by the blog
of singer/songwriter Dan Coyle;
I'll keep this little gem up to date while on the road, writing,
recording, and meeting my fans
at shows. This may give you some insight into just how weird I can be - and all of the weird things I enjoy.
There will be stories, poems, rants,
musings, and other forms of writing that my feeble vocabulary cannot contend with. 

Hope you enjoy!

Main Blog Page

Share

 December 1, 2011

Advice To Upcoming Singer Songwriters
I’ve been very lucky the past few years to be able to spend my time touring, playing shows, and making albums for my full-time job. Last week this culminated in my receiving an invitation to attend a function at the 2013 Grammy Awards as a guest of honor. This set my mind to thinking about the dozens of emails I receive each year from upcoming singer songwriters for advice. I thought I would take a few moments to put some things down in one place. For what it’s worth, here’s what has worked for me.
  • Start slowly, but not too slowly: I meet a lot of writers, musicians, and singer songwriters who are ambitious but scared. Often, they are surrounded by people telling them that it’s “hard to make it in music,” that they “won’t be able to support themselves,” and to be sure to “keep their day job.” While I can understand why people feel the need to fill others with this advice, I think it’s ultimately very damaging to those who give too much credence to such persuasion. In my experience, nothing really started to happen for me until I truly dedicated all of my time and energy to making my way in the music industry. While I began at open mic nights around my city and region, I had such a passion for playing live shows that I quickly knew it was time to get out there and spend my weeks, months, and years traveling and playing shows. Of course, I was content to be on the road most of the year, live very cheaply, and play any show that came my way...whether it was going to pay a lot of money, or none at all. Take your time to ease into music as a career but, once you have something to offer, don’t hesitate to take that great leap of faith and live your passion every hour of every day with nothing else syphoning your energy away.

  • Find out what you’re best at and go with it: Like I mentioned above, my true passion is playing live shows. I don’t take nearly as much pleasure in making albums, collaborating with other artists, or doing radio, newspaper, and television interviews. My solution is to travel and play 100 - 150 shows every year. I still take the time to do most interviews, and to make an album each year, but I spend the majority of my time planning, touring, and writing...because this is what I’m best at. Once you decide to go for it, take some time to figure out where your passion lies and what your strengths and weaknesses are, and then you’ll know where to start.

  • Don’t pass up ANY opportunities, you never know what they will bring: After you start to make your way in your own direction remember that, as you’re starting out, you really need to take everything that comes your way. I can’t even count how many shows I’ve played where (on paper) it looked as though I would lose hundreds of dollars by going to play a single show. What I found was, more often than not, through the CDs I sold, the people who I met, and the graciousness of others, I rarely lost money playing free shows. I have been offered radio play on huge radio stations, interviews and reviews in major newspapers, even television appearances just because the right person was in the audience at one of my live shows. In the long-term, the publicity and meaningful relationships that I built from these types of performances have paid enormous dividends.

  • Know when to ask for more: As you begin to grow (and everyone grows at a different rate) you will start to build an audience who is excited and engaged, willing to come to your shows, purchase your music, and tell their friends about you. Once this begins to happen, realize that venues, distributors, record labels, management companies, public relations companies, producers, the press, and many other people will begin to contact you. You should be prepared for this, because I wasn’t. Be sure to recognize when your stock has gone up because of your hard work. This is the point at which you can ask venues, talent bookers, and managers for more money, more perks, and a fair shake for the awesome music your making and the fans you’re bringing out.

  • Finally, make your own way: I started out by saying that a bunch of people (including me) are going to tell you this, that, AND the other thing about your decision to follow your artistic endeavors. The bottom line is this: no one has more invested in you than you, so trust yourself the most. Don’t take praise or criticism too seriously, or you will become beholden to them. You have to be able to keep your focus on what you’re trying to accomplish, which will leave you very little time to worry about what you think you can’t accomplish, or what other people tell you is possible and impossible. Other people’s opinions are just that, simply an opinion, nothing more. Keep your mind on where you’re going and don’t let all of the peripheral distractions consume your time and energy; preserve your energy because you will need it.


Thank you all for the great messages that you’ve left me regarding the Grammy’s, it’s much appreciated. Be the best you that you can be, everyday, and we will change the world.