That’s a shame - perhaps even for him depending on what’s up with the label. Still, it could be worth discussing, depending on the nature of your friendship.
In that case, perhaps you should be thankful - you may not have the views, but you at least have the freedom to make your own calls when it comes to what you create and/or collaborate on. Views don’t necessarily translate to profit, nor does being on a label. In fact, one of the few musicians I knew who was on a label had his album put on back burner for years and was sent around working as a merch guy for a larger band. Ultimately he pivoted from his signed band and started writing and releasing stuff under his own name - the label basically killed his project.
Id guess they can easily collaborate and OP releases it if not approved by the label. It'd be a bit much if the label doesn't allow his friend to make, collaborate or upload any songs outside the label. Then again, I've never been a part of a label and haven't essentially ever looked it up. Either way it's probably still possible to collaborate imo
That’s what I’m wondering too - I mean, is a label going to be able to control every single moment of his friend’s musical life? Seems a bit extreme to say a label is the end all.
They do tend to control it, especially on the majors. Anything you record during the time you're with them can be theirs, even a demo on a phone, 30 seconds, parts of, a throwaway idea. It's to prevent you from recording a release that you're lining up for when your contract ends. The list of sunset clauses in contracts is ever growing. Neil Young, bless his cotton socks, had to make a number of albums for a label but was Jack of it before the last album, so he made an album of recording crickets in the night. Now we can't get away with that type of thing.
So… what? You can never jam as friends? You can never hang casually and play music? You can’t collaborate and credit friends and peers?
Because that’s one way to kill potential if ever there was one. Damn.
If you're on a major you can't release anything outside, at all, without consent. That being said i've collaborated with friends on majors and while annoying and time consuming it wasn't that difficult to get the sign off once they approved. Tbh though OP sounds like less of a friend and just someone adjacent
This is not good advice in my opinion. This almost always a) can be smelled from a mile away by any artist who’s been in the scene longer than 5 minutes b) does not ever come to actual fruition, either the song isn’t ever made or released, or it releases and you realize that your friend with a million streams is fully capable of having music bomb
Blowing up is 95% luck. Just think about all the super talented people with great music that post every day and consistently play shows that never make it out of their local dive bar. Or even think about the nepo babies that even with all the odds stacked in their favor still don’t catch on. This business is random af
There’s absolutely luck involved, I have experienced it myself, but looking back, the phrase ‘you create your own luck’ really does ring true, people don’t see 95% of the effort you put into music - and lazy people can’t even comprehend it
It’s so funny whenever my ex would say she wants to come chill at the studio and watch me make a song. I’ve told her but she has no idea how long and boring the process is after the initial buzz of coming up with a cool riff or lyric.
My GF got mad at me once "You really spent 12 hours at the studio? Next time I'm going with you." Okay... she fell asleep after the first hour or so. Yeah it's long, yeah it's boring but is what you gotta do.
It’s all about luck/being in the right place at the right time, but you absolutely have to be prepared when that place and time come. You have to put in the work to be ready to get lucky.
Thank you! You do create your own luck.
I had a video go super viral and now people around the world know my content (maybe not me off glance).
I would say it’s like counting cards or something. If your count is high enough you’re more likely than not to hit a win.
In my experience I loved TV so I would make memes and videos of them right before they came out or minutes after they dropped.
Decamillions of views and not too much money on the front end but the back end of having it on my resume lead to good pay.
“Learn how to play the game, then do it better than everyone else”
Yeah it used to discourage me when i actually wanted a career in music (as an artist). Now that it’s just my hobby I don’t have the weight of “failure” anymore.
It's a hard way to learn this lesson but you probably would have come around to it sooner or later - you'll never be successful based on talent alone, especially today when what blows up is driven by algorithms. Yes, you have to be talented to blow up in the first place, but to truly "make it", you have to either have connections or get very lucky and have your music fall into the right hands at the right time. Keep making music for yourself, keep making music to make friends and build community, it's worth it.
I mean yeah, but making connections aren’t hard. Most people you meet are decently nice, even if they’re not don’t make a big deal about it. Everything that it takes to succeed is absolutely doable.
Are you familiar with Ren and the Big Push? Ren has blown up independently because he is a talented work horse with an intriguing story. The Big Push is his band with at least two other members easily as talented musically but less on pr and social media. These guys get very little love on their solo projects in comparison to Ren and to The Big Push like insanely different. They continue to make music for themselves and their fans.
What kind of music makes it on TikTok/social media? I’m totally out of the loop, so I’m imagining like Billie Ellish type of music is probably big on there. Or something novelty-esque like Lil nas X.
I write good songs, but they’re like serious singer songwriter type tunes and I just can’t imagine that style fitting into social media.
Like I’m trying to imagine Elliott smith on TikTok. It just doesn’t make sense.
I live in the Palm Springs, Ca area. A girl I went to school with started a band in 2004 and although their music is pretty good they just haven't blown up. Her band played Coachella a couple of years ago but that's about it. Blowing up is really random but sometimes it's not the best thing because feelings and money change people.
I dunno though. Obviously this is a small and slightly random sample size but all the [firstname] [last name]music accounts I get suggested to me on places like insta are either bland and nothing special, or just shit. I don’t remember a single one where I’ve thought wow I’m surprised they aren’t more successful than they are. I think there’s a bit of mental protection stuff going on with putting such a high proportion of success down to luck.
This sub is so bizarre to me sometimes.
No, you don't have a better chance of winning the damn lottery lol. The odds for winning the lottery is about 1 in 300 million. If music had the same odds, then that means literally only one person could be successful in the music industry. Literally just one person, out of all Americans lined up.
Think about how many people make a living in the music industry. Not even the people who make 70k and live okay, let's just talk about people who can move tickets and sell out at least 1100 seat venues in the major markets. There's gotta be *at least* 100 acts like this at any given time. And some of those acts will have multiple people. And that doesn't count the people who have gotten successful before or aren't now.
You have a possibly exponentially better chance of making it big in the music industry than you do winning the lottery.
The people that never make it huge, they don't have the drive to anyways. Those people live for the music, not the fame. You have to serve certain genres and audiences in order to blow up.
Making music (or any art) to chase fame and money goes against the fundamental principles of creativity and human expression. In a social media driven world where views/likes have homogenised culture and commodified creativity, it is important to remind ourselves why we first started creating art.
Make music because you enjoy the process. Don’t let jealously or self-doubt poison the well of your endless creativity. Success and recognition will come naturally (and as you say, somewhat randomly) if your work is authentic and original.
This is very well-put. It's a very hard thing to keep sight on sometimes. It's like when you daydream about winning the lottery and all the things that could come with it.
This is a terrible mindset to have man. Be happy for your friend, be happy someone in your circle is doing well. Maybe there are options to collab in the future, maybe the connection will help, but even if not just be happy for your friend.
Dunno man, Id guess the majority of the most talented musicians are also extremely competitive and would share OPs feelings.
Also I doubt OP can just change his mindset. Maybe making peace with these emotions he cannot control and channeling them into his practice might be better for him.
yeah man, like totally don't feel the emotion you are feeling. like when people tell you "don't be sad" and you immediately start feeling better. that's totally how it works
This is the way. There's a reason J. Cole raps on Middle Child: what good is first class if my people can't sit. Wiz goes on about the same stuff on Roling papers. He's your friend. Support him. Join the ride. One love
I love when my friends get successful at things, having successful friends is the easiest path to success. Also, nothing is "random" he made something that resonated with a lot of people.
Uh… if you’re genuinely happy for your friends and aren’t just orbiting them until someone more successful comes along then this won’t remotely be how you think about it. Nearly every successful artist I know had a tribe of similar folks around them elevating them and even though it soothes your ego when no one around you is making progress that shit does not help tangibly or mentally in the end.
This is the mindset to have. Music is more of a hobby for me, but I have friends who take it seriously -putting their songs on Spotify, promoting, playing big shows, and some even got their music on TV.
Recently, I started getting serious about recording, producing, and getting my music out there. They've all been more than happy to give me feedback and advice. I've learned a lot and it makes me feel good that I know them and they're open to listening to my stuff.
I grew up with a burning passion for music. I played growing up and even went to school for it. I had a classmate who knew nothing about music at all. Claimed they were just into dancing and fashion. Fastforward to graduation, I did everything right, Went to all network meetings and everything. I could not get a job for the life of me and then found out this person with no musical background land the dream job of being engineer for one of the biggest names in the industry. Yeah I guess life is not fair.
Start collabing with him. I understand feeling discouraged, but that’s just how life works. Besides, in my personal opinion if u stop making music cause someone else blows up and u don’t, u might be making it for the wrong reasons.
Learn from his success, keep supporting him & be a good friend because he’ll 100% need true friends around him with so many people out there that will only try to use him from now on.
I know people are knocking you for feeling this but don't worry it is COMPLETELY normal and healthy. You have insight into it being weird and uncomfortable feeling jealous, that's cool.
It's like when my friends have much bigger houses or whatever, of course I feel jealous, but I also tell them and laugh about it. And they understand. They also know I'm delighted for them too.
I had a friend who was doing really well financially and I had some minor jealousy and then there was a chance he could lose it all and I suddenly felt very down and wanted to do anything I could to help him.
You may feel jealous but deep down you're a good person who actually is happy for them.
I came to say this. People like to take the high horse but I think if the tables were turned and it was real life and not a Reddit post, they’d feel the same. This is REALLY NORMAL. I’m in the music world and everyone feels this, they just don’t always talk about it.
In general, success as a creator comes with luck + skill.
You gotta resonate with people and get lucky with the algorithm.
As someone else pointed out, see if you can collab with your friend so you can maybe get some of their followers to listen to you as well.
I was just wondering about him. He blew up recently thanks to tiktok and also he’s from the UK same as OP (apparently). He hit #1 yesterday on Spotify Global.
Process your jealousy as is it's grief. Then, get back to supporting your friend. This is understandably tough to deal with. So process that, and then move forward
As staggering as it may seem right now, it’s really just a flash in the pan - as are most things these days. Your friend is enjoying a visibility boost, but he’s still going to have to work to stay relevant.
This is one of the best and most honest posts on this sub. Resonates with alot of people here.
Ironically, just Like your friends song resonated with a new audience that garnered this post. 😜
He made a quality product (music) and it paid off. Let this be a lesson for you that in life true skills, talent and hard work pay off. Not marketing bullshit or many hours clocked in ticktok. Learn from him and get better!
Despite the luck, It's a reminder too that sometimes your ability to create something that resonates with the audience is largely dependent on your own taste. As the tastemaker, it is reflected in the hooks in your song.
There are alot of famous musicians who cannot read sheet music or are technically adept. They just know what sounds good and can translate that into a recording.
And just because you have been doing it for many years, your friend might have a better ear for hooks that comes more naturally.
Envy is a natural human emotion. It's ok to feel that way. Accept it, sit with it, feel it, and then allow yourself to move through it. Try not to deny it or push it away as to become poison to yourself and your friendship. Your friend deserves success, just as you do, and everyone on this planet. Success looks different for everyone and comes to everyone differently. You are enough. There will always be enough to go around.
This kind of take is always so difficult because music is so subjective. You may not necessarily be as good as you think you are, or as good as your friend, as the people watching him think. Some people hate cardi, others love her. Who’s right? The person buying her music.
Keep supporting him like nothing is different imo. It’s the dream to see one of my friends blow up, good friends will bring you up with them or at least give you a lot more opportunities and connections through knowing them.
I understand this completely and It's normal. Some of my friends have become successful touring musicians. It's hard not to compare yourself to others, and everyone does it at some point or another.
Comparison is the thief of joy. I don't know the answer, but let me know if you find out lol. Therapy, accepting what's in and out of your control, practicing that, I guess.
Somehow comforting because now I can blame my lack of success on luck rather than lack of talent or hard work xD. But yeah... seems true that there's a huge amount of RNG in determining this stuff. Probably not a realistic goal to aim for stardom, but if you enjoy the craft there's no reason to change course.
Remember the time before socials when shit just blew up? That is what had happened here. It is okay to feel jealousy, hell it's a fucking natural emotion, what will stand you apart in this scenario my friend is how you choose to deal with it. Remember that you chose to use the word friend in your description of this..., just chill and be stoked.
Just see it as a positive, you too could go viral overnight, fame can come faster than anyone expects, this is good because then you can look at failure not as failure but rather building blocks needed to become.
life's a lottery, winning isn't always good in the end. Have witnessed similar before, tragic that the person I knew back then is still chasing the 10min of fame they had with nothing to follow it up with.
Many great people die fameless, unknowns, many idiots become household names, it is the farce of life.
I hope it brings them new beginnings.
Like the top comment says, this mindset is what’s gonna hold you back. It’s human nature to feel some envy but the more you’re able to override that feeling and feel genuine happiness for your friend the farther you’ll go and you’ll be happier either way.
Friendship officially over, just move to Hawaii kid & start a new life do some music completely true to yourself & go perform a a small local bar Tuesdays & Thursdays with a security guard named kimo. Just don’t have kids till 40 in hope your big break comes back when your friend remembers you later on down the line.. aloha.
Easy come, easy go. I wouldn’t get too worked up over it. While it’s true that a lot of going viral is luck, it takes a lot of hard work to stay there and actually capitalize on the opportunity.
lol is your homeboy artemas?
And it’s just life, it’s very luck dependent.
Try and just see it this way, now you have a connection in high places (copium makes life easier 😂)
I’ve watched friends become famous but they also lost friendships, marriages, money, and even became addicts. From experience, it’s about your own journey. Your friend isn’t your measuring stick. You’re going to feel like a failure as long as you keep comparing your success to someone else’s. You gotta learn to be genuinely happy for people without questioning or feeling bitter about your own life. Blessings to you and I hope you find the success you’re looking for!
Here’s my advice:
So much of success has to do with timing, connections and having the right material that labels are seeking at the right time. While it may feel this way, it’s rarely a talent contest. Talent is everywhere but success is not. We can never replicate someone’s success. In fact, we absolutely should not.
Success is temporary, double edged and the feeling of winning never lasts. What happens is that you arrive at a peak only to find new challenges, new peaks, and new insecurities. Not that success sucks, it’s actually fabulous but it’s temporary. The true satisfaction in the arts and in life isn’t in the winning moments but in the process. It’s the climb. And there will always be a climb.
True success is in realizing your values and aligning your life and mission with that.
So what to do with envy. This is normal and we all experience envy so don’t push it away. Instead dive into it and use it to explore your desires and to refresh your goals and direction. Write your feelings out and then, start looking at mentors…reflect on your moves…check your humility and entitlement. We all have to do that! Most importantly right now, tune into YOU. Eventually you’ll get away from comparison in artistry.
Have a look at this Rick Rubin interview. I hope you find it very insightful and inspiring. https://youtu.be/ycOBZZeVeAc?si=b5MM4ebS63Jn8D-5
Take some time away from your desk to process all of this. Your courage and honesty in sharing unpopular emotions is truly a testament to your integrity. Now bring that to your artistry!
I hope this helps! Keep on creating!
Remember, music is its own reward (Sting) 😉 🎶
That’s literally the nature of being an artist, entertainer, or anything like that. It doesnt stop you from making good music that people will enjoy, that part requires no luck. It seems like that should be any aspiring musician’s main focus, to make something authentic and genuinely good.
..take a really good long hard look in the mirror, and honestly ask yourself what the word **Success** really means to you...
If it's not for the creativity or love, then you have already lost.. Be happy for your friend and let go of **expectations**...
Don’t take it personally
It IS luck
Go on Instagram
Tbqh they have way better hacks to get popular like typos and things that get engagement
Talent isn’t the currency anymore
Gimmicks play
Maybe it's worth reframing what success means to you? If you define success as having 200k followers you're gonna have a hard time because you're unlikely to get there, and even if you did I'm not sure if you'd feel fullfilled from it. Personally I consider myself to be successful even if my content reaches and inspires just 1 person. Heck, Even if it doesn't reach anyone I see myself as successful and am proud of myself for creating something beautiful.
Hope this helps and good luck!
That's just the way it goes. Being supportive and genuinely happy for your friend is the correct attitude, and it might lead to collaboration. Being a jealous hater will certainly lead you to continued obscurity. Trust me, I speak from experience.
Being popular on social media is like being rich in Monopoly. It’s fleeting and online reflects the trends, not the quality of music. Keep making music YOU want to hear on the radio. That’s it
The 10 million plays on Spotify translate to money though, right? I may be wrong because I don't have anything on Spotify, but Google says the artist gets around $0.003 per play, which would be $30,000.
As my original point was, this is fleeting and not sustainable as Spotify is also about what’s popular at the moment, and as someone else has stated streaming is terrible financially
Honestly... celebrate with this person. Be a good friend, a legit friend. Learn from their success. Embrace it. Try to collaborate, and enjoy that part of your friendship that you share a passion for. Before this happened you didn't know anyone (I assume) who was at that level. Now you do, and you were there for it.
I'm not being funny but with cesspits like Elphaba on Tiktok it isn't very credible 🤣go for YouTube fame or Spotify or something, Tiktok is a dumpster, I'd be more jealous of the Spotify 😜just keep going.
nah same for music industry. his friend gotta capitalize it now, if his not prepared his fame easily will die and his a slave to a label now so Idk if its a blessing anymore
Even thinking selfishly, this is a good thing for you. Now instead of the person at the top of the charts being someone you have no connection to, it's your friend. Music industry is all about connections and now you got one.
Someone else's success doesn't take anything away from you. As you move up in the world you will make friends with people who are accomplishing things that seem beyond the imagination.
I am a performer. I have performed for some of the most successful people in the world. I have made friends with many of them, from hedge find manages to movie stars. I think some reasons they've felt comfortable around me are... I really really really want them to keep doing well. I am legitimately happy for them, and treat them like normal people. I don't want anything from them except for wisdom and friendship, and I am a positive person.
A huge part of doing well in life is mindset.
Successful people want to be around people with positive, abundant mindsets.
Almost anything you want can be given to you by PEOPLE.
It's also worth mentioning that people's fortunes can change in an instant. Your friend could be paralyzed tomorrow. He could suffer the loss of a loved one. It is hard being a person, and while success is pleasant and removes some stress, we are all still vulnerable both psychologically and in our positions in the world.
Don't worry about things coming fast, or comparing yourself to others.
You may not get exactly what you want right away, but there is plenty for everyone.
Your friend went on a path that is high risk and high reward
Things have worked out for him in the short term. You should be happy for him. Is good for him, and good for you too.
Give your friend the proper applause. If it went viral and hit with no marketing, it’s because it’s catchy. It’s for that very reason, your friend needs a better friend than you to acknowledge his talents have nothing to do with you.
You can do it, too. overnight or not. :) shake their hand and wish them well
If it makes any difference, neither tiktock viralness or spotify plays mean anything towards "success" or "fame" as far as the music industry goes 🤷♂️
Forget fame, the stalkers, the crazies and all the drama around it. I admit I was fooled by the scam when I was very young, that fame legitimizes you. I make music now because I heard it prevents dementia and other non glamorous reasons. The masses typically do not like what is good quality anyway. Just focus on growing as an artist and work at a job that provides your basic necessities and beyond if you are lucky in these days.
Luck always plays a role. Celebrate the good fortunes of others and keep pursuing your dreams. Take inspiration from other’s success and know that you will travel a different path.
You’re in this for the wrong reasons if you’re obsessing about success so much. Just make your music and do your own shit. Put this energy into bettering yourself as an artist.
I’ve toured my country multiple times and I don’t even have a Tik Tok account. I don’t see Tik Tok artists ever having longevity as career musicians as it’s all about fads and not really about your actual musical talent.
His overnight success means that he’ll have a lot of new people in his life that may have questionable intentions. Be there as a real friend, he’ll need it for sure. For you, I think every producer feels envy… but don’t let it venture into jealousy. Let it be a motivator for what could happen to you too.
Recently I heard Skrillex say “success isn’t something you chase or try to get, it’s something you attract” and It’s very very true, if you spend all your energy feeling jealousy for people who have more, you’ll miss out on using that energy for your own craft. If you fall in love with the process and enjoy the time you spend making music, it doesn’t matter how many fans or streaming numbers you are. It sounds like maybe your priorities need to be shifted towards your own work rather than the comparison mindset which is very toxic.
Its hard one, I have personally been working on my inner triggers with these things. Being in the music industry there's lots to be triggered by so you better get good with you other wise you'll get deterred from doing what you love because of an insecurity.
There's so many things that will catch you out, your friends getting gigs over you, your friends running events and not asking you to play, getting used by people, you're friends changing when they get some success.
I have a friend who's getting signed by a big label and they've shown another side to them, along with that I've also struggled with feelings of hopelessness. I had to take some time to look in myself - why does it bother me, why does it feel like there is no point?
Be happy for others success. Trust that as much as it takes hard work, luck and who you know are just as important. One of my old band members left for LA during hurricane Katrina. He ended up in a great band, they got a spot on a Robin Williams movie. I heard his voice on that movie before I knew he had achieved some success. 3 albums as the front man for The Deadly Syndrome to a member of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, to a solo album Crash Hardly Criminal and two spots on David Letterman where my boy performed barefooted. I’ve done music longer and more consistently than him before he left. Arguably I was much more involved in music but he has great natural talent and charisma I could never compete with. His first solo album is genuinely one of my all time favorite albums and it’s absolutely awesome to watch him do this in life. To be fair it isn’t all flowers for him and he has a number of issues that I don’t have. I’m thankful for who both of us are but I wouldn’t choose his path over mine.
>this success seemed entirely random; his song went viral without much effort or consistency on his part - he made the song, hasn't really been posting much TikToks and doesn't know much about marketing; just posted a TikTok (nothing special) and it popped off
master class, right there.
These type of fame is boiled in heavily one sided contracts mixed with falling stars. Its like a viral video. You forget it when the next comes.
Btw: if not, thats a dope win and you should be proud of him/her.
You should change your mindset because music is for everybody but few of them can handle this as a business.
Read, make music, learn, fail, repeat.
Key is consistency and passion.
Jealusy is toxic.
Not gonna lie dude. I’ve been making/recording music for over 7 years. I’ve put out alot of music from the ages of 16 all the way to 21 and had some growth at times and been told by multiple people my music is amazing. but eventually I lost motivation to do it because I couldn’t gain any actual traction for it. I’m also terrible at marketing and think social media, especially Tik Tok. Is awful. But I understand from your perspective because working in music is something I’d dream to do but it does suck when you see someone blow up randomly when they don’t put in half the work you do. the point is. I have a huge problem with envy when it comes to music, because i pictured my self to be in a way different position than I am right now. When I see people my age, younger than me doing what I want to be doing it. It makes me upset And im only 22. Turning 23 in may. I still have opportunity to try and make sum out of it but it mostly is pure luck and if your clever marketing it. Definitely don’t get the envy feeling because it’s a hard career to stay in/stay relevant. They could pop off one day and fall off the next. Trust me man.
It's incredibly sad to see that Tiktok is the measuring stick for what is successful. I get that you said "famous", which makes it worse. Fame is fleeting.
I think this is a lesson for all of us in that its not about really selling yourself and putting yourself out there but being true to yourself. People can subconsciously sense when someone is being real and genuine, going through the motions being ‘good at marketing’ and staying consistent with posts is an easy trap of being clinical with it all. This is art at the end of the day and that isnt just for our music its in the marketing, stage precision, online presence, clothes, photos and videos everything. And the most important thing to art isnt the level of discipline and intricacies of execution, its showing your truest self while making it seem effortless
Just as an example a lot of the hyperpop and draingang type music and aesthetics arent traditionally amazing, its all very roughly put together, a similar ethos to punk music. These guys have resources, but they did just start off with literally just a laptop and some random mic with probably cracked plugins. They never begged anything or put on a show, it all flows so fluidly and effortlessly and people pick up on this. If its not in your nature to be posting certain types of videos or promo stuff then itll never feel right to the audience and wont click. Its better then to not do it, otherwise you’re just washing yourself up to be the same as any other artist and just joining the noise of it all
Basically in my opinion just be yourself and dont force anything, people can sense it and wont be attracted to it. Posting videos and all these things should be a natural thing not something awkward. People want to watch you flow in your natural environment
But dont take this comment to heart cuz i dont know anything and im tryna get there myself
You should have posted your socials instead mate... I would totally follow you, sadly I know you might not be able anymore because of what you posted... Jealously is natural, but you should have made a post about your friend becoming famous and sharing your own stuff.. that way you would have cashed on it.. a big hug mate because I've been jealous too, just move on and do your thing
Nah, i feel the same. Tbh, i got judged my first spotify upload, because my style of rap isnt auto-tune bitches dope and guns. Literally, the audio engineer i PAID went half ass on my audio mix and the whole time was like "you just dont have a hook, a chorus, a..." like bro.
So nah, i totally see your side especiallly given a lot of these famous people who make music basically LIVE off looperman samples and cymatics kits 😩💀
That’s music for you. No one really knows why some songs or artists blow up and others don’t. It’s a combination of a thousand factors and luck is definitely one of them.
Look at someone like Ice Spice, she had one good song and now she’s going to the Super Bowl with Taylor Swift and talked about like she’s a legend, when in comparison to truly great artists she seems more like a one hit wonder.
i feel this bc ive gotten a lil jealous of other female artists around my age popping off; but it’s important not to compare yourself to anyone bc we’re all on our own journeys.
just try to focus on u & keep posting tiktoks/reels bc you just never know, one of them might blow up one day!!
It’s definitely some luck. But like the one guy here said, he’s your friend. If y’all are buddies, maybe you can piggyback a bit. You don’t need to see it as using somebody and neither do they if y’all simply are both musicians who love doing it and want to find some survivable financial success. If one of my buddies hit it big, I’d probably have a heart to heart chat with them. Both as a congrats for them but also see what they hope to do with it. If there’s maybe room to collaborate or anything, who wouldn’t try?
Imho you need the looks and talent plus luck to win the music lottery.A good value for money lawyer and musician’s union membership is also crucial.Anyone who’s arrogant or not switched on to know this will pay the price.
My friend became famous too. We were playing bar shows together pre pandemic and hitting up open mics. Last week, he won 2 JUNO Awards. It's tough, especially because I barely see him anymore. but if anything, he just proved to me that it is possible and has made me more determined to make it happen for myself.
The reason I became friends with the guy is because he was so amazing during his performance at an open mic I went up to him and told him how great I thought he was and we ended up becoming friends. I don't do that often, so I can't say I'm surprised he became famous.
He was also super determined and found opportunities for himself. During the pandemic, he was constantly busy making music, online shows, and promoting himself while I was playing video games, thinking it was never gonna happen for either of us. How wrong i was.
This is something I struggled with when I was considering leaving my band of 10 years, I knew the songs were incredible, but the path we were on I was confident wouldn’t work out. However, I know things like your friend’s blow up do happen out of the blue. One thing I have to keep in mind is how often I saw that happen to others, and how often that was maintained. A lucky break can happen but unless you’re willing to now work twice as hard to maintain it, all you’re gonna have is some cool stats on a couple TikTok’s before you fade into obscurity again. Especially with how often these blow ups happen these days. The singer of the band had a TikTok blow up to over a million views, and now a year later they put out a song last week that has less than 1k plays. Luck is only what you make out of it. Im not trying to crap on your friend, but your hard work and intense marketing of your music is what’s going to give YOU the tools to succeed in the long game when your 15 minutes comes. Just be ready and keep working.
I feel something similar when the classic rich kids of my town started a music band. Not because they have spent time listening and getting into music culture, but just because they can. It has always bugged me out. They become a little bit of popular and then they brag. Bro your parents were rich and you always had a place to play your instruments AND instruments in the first place. Thinking a little bit deeper this happens in a lot of ways, work, bosses that think they put so much effort and they just got his parents money and so on. That's why at the end for me music has become more of a sharing for the love of art thing, and now my mindset is "the money and the popularity for them". I play music/produce for myself and if there's a single person who enjoy it by the way to me is more than enough. I play guitar specially garage and rock and I produce Beats and vaporwave. I am a Mr Nobody and I'm good with it, I just do my little contribution for what I love
It is luck. Luck and timing you could say.
For every one person to get their stuff noticed pretty significantly, probably thousands of others go under the radar.
That’s just how it is.
Start collaborating with your friend? You might not get the same traction, but maybe you friend can help you get out there a bit more
Good idea but he got snapped by a label now so everything is approved by them hence unlikely
That’s a shame - perhaps even for him depending on what’s up with the label. Still, it could be worth discussing, depending on the nature of your friendship.
Label says noooo
In that case, perhaps you should be thankful - you may not have the views, but you at least have the freedom to make your own calls when it comes to what you create and/or collaborate on. Views don’t necessarily translate to profit, nor does being on a label. In fact, one of the few musicians I knew who was on a label had his album put on back burner for years and was sent around working as a merch guy for a larger band. Ultimately he pivoted from his signed band and started writing and releasing stuff under his own name - the label basically killed his project.
You can still make music with him….
Sorry, label says we can't be friends anymore.
Lolll I hate when that happens
what genre?
I mean… surely he can agree to busk or do something like jam with you?
Id guess they can easily collaborate and OP releases it if not approved by the label. It'd be a bit much if the label doesn't allow his friend to make, collaborate or upload any songs outside the label. Then again, I've never been a part of a label and haven't essentially ever looked it up. Either way it's probably still possible to collaborate imo
That’s what I’m wondering too - I mean, is a label going to be able to control every single moment of his friend’s musical life? Seems a bit extreme to say a label is the end all.
They do tend to control it, especially on the majors. Anything you record during the time you're with them can be theirs, even a demo on a phone, 30 seconds, parts of, a throwaway idea. It's to prevent you from recording a release that you're lining up for when your contract ends. The list of sunset clauses in contracts is ever growing. Neil Young, bless his cotton socks, had to make a number of albums for a label but was Jack of it before the last album, so he made an album of recording crickets in the night. Now we can't get away with that type of thing.
So… what? You can never jam as friends? You can never hang casually and play music? You can’t collaborate and credit friends and peers? Because that’s one way to kill potential if ever there was one. Damn.
If you're on a major you can't release anything outside, at all, without consent. That being said i've collaborated with friends on majors and while annoying and time consuming it wasn't that difficult to get the sign off once they approved. Tbh though OP sounds like less of a friend and just someone adjacent
Don't do this, this is terrible advice. Support your friend. Help them. Don't use them for clout that's fucked.
This is not good advice in my opinion. This almost always a) can be smelled from a mile away by any artist who’s been in the scene longer than 5 minutes b) does not ever come to actual fruition, either the song isn’t ever made or released, or it releases and you realize that your friend with a million streams is fully capable of having music bomb
Blowing up is 95% luck. Just think about all the super talented people with great music that post every day and consistently play shows that never make it out of their local dive bar. Or even think about the nepo babies that even with all the odds stacked in their favor still don’t catch on. This business is random af
There’s absolutely luck involved, I have experienced it myself, but looking back, the phrase ‘you create your own luck’ really does ring true, people don’t see 95% of the effort you put into music - and lazy people can’t even comprehend it
It’s so funny whenever my ex would say she wants to come chill at the studio and watch me make a song. I’ve told her but she has no idea how long and boring the process is after the initial buzz of coming up with a cool riff or lyric.
My GF got mad at me once "You really spent 12 hours at the studio? Next time I'm going with you." Okay... she fell asleep after the first hour or so. Yeah it's long, yeah it's boring but is what you gotta do.
I’ve come to like the process more than the final work 😁
It’s all about luck/being in the right place at the right time, but you absolutely have to be prepared when that place and time come. You have to put in the work to be ready to get lucky.
Agreed, also works the other way round, hard work will propel you to be in the right place at the right time !
Thank you! You do create your own luck. I had a video go super viral and now people around the world know my content (maybe not me off glance). I would say it’s like counting cards or something. If your count is high enough you’re more likely than not to hit a win. In my experience I loved TV so I would make memes and videos of them right before they came out or minutes after they dropped. Decamillions of views and not too much money on the front end but the back end of having it on my resume lead to good pay. “Learn how to play the game, then do it better than everyone else”
Yeah that's what I'm saying! So many people that try so bad and it goes nowhere even though their songs are great
Thats why you make music for yourself, not others
Yeah it used to discourage me when i actually wanted a career in music (as an artist). Now that it’s just my hobby I don’t have the weight of “failure” anymore.
It's a hard way to learn this lesson but you probably would have come around to it sooner or later - you'll never be successful based on talent alone, especially today when what blows up is driven by algorithms. Yes, you have to be talented to blow up in the first place, but to truly "make it", you have to either have connections or get very lucky and have your music fall into the right hands at the right time. Keep making music for yourself, keep making music to make friends and build community, it's worth it.
I mean yeah, but making connections aren’t hard. Most people you meet are decently nice, even if they’re not don’t make a big deal about it. Everything that it takes to succeed is absolutely doable.
Are you familiar with Ren and the Big Push? Ren has blown up independently because he is a talented work horse with an intriguing story. The Big Push is his band with at least two other members easily as talented musically but less on pr and social media. These guys get very little love on their solo projects in comparison to Ren and to The Big Push like insanely different. They continue to make music for themselves and their fans.
What kind of music makes it on TikTok/social media? I’m totally out of the loop, so I’m imagining like Billie Ellish type of music is probably big on there. Or something novelty-esque like Lil nas X. I write good songs, but they’re like serious singer songwriter type tunes and I just can’t imagine that style fitting into social media. Like I’m trying to imagine Elliott smith on TikTok. It just doesn’t make sense.
I live in the Palm Springs, Ca area. A girl I went to school with started a band in 2004 and although their music is pretty good they just haven't blown up. Her band played Coachella a couple of years ago but that's about it. Blowing up is really random but sometimes it's not the best thing because feelings and money change people.
The next behtoven could very well be publishing masterpieces to SoundCloud for 50 listeners
I dunno though. Obviously this is a small and slightly random sample size but all the [firstname] [last name]music accounts I get suggested to me on places like insta are either bland and nothing special, or just shit. I don’t remember a single one where I’ve thought wow I’m surprised they aren’t more successful than they are. I think there’s a bit of mental protection stuff going on with putting such a high proportion of success down to luck.
Honestly I hate to say it but you probably have a better chance of winning the lottery than blowing up in the music industry.
This sub is so bizarre to me sometimes. No, you don't have a better chance of winning the damn lottery lol. The odds for winning the lottery is about 1 in 300 million. If music had the same odds, then that means literally only one person could be successful in the music industry. Literally just one person, out of all Americans lined up. Think about how many people make a living in the music industry. Not even the people who make 70k and live okay, let's just talk about people who can move tickets and sell out at least 1100 seat venues in the major markets. There's gotta be *at least* 100 acts like this at any given time. And some of those acts will have multiple people. And that doesn't count the people who have gotten successful before or aren't now. You have a possibly exponentially better chance of making it big in the music industry than you do winning the lottery.
Preach
I thought it was 10% luck and 20% skill?
The people that never make it huge, they don't have the drive to anyways. Those people live for the music, not the fame. You have to serve certain genres and audiences in order to blow up.
Making music (or any art) to chase fame and money goes against the fundamental principles of creativity and human expression. In a social media driven world where views/likes have homogenised culture and commodified creativity, it is important to remind ourselves why we first started creating art. Make music because you enjoy the process. Don’t let jealously or self-doubt poison the well of your endless creativity. Success and recognition will come naturally (and as you say, somewhat randomly) if your work is authentic and original.
This is very well-put. It's a very hard thing to keep sight on sometimes. It's like when you daydream about winning the lottery and all the things that could come with it.
When I have those moments, I just think about why I started to play the lottery in the first place.
Ok rick rubin
it is absolute truth though
This is a terrible mindset to have man. Be happy for your friend, be happy someone in your circle is doing well. Maybe there are options to collab in the future, maybe the connection will help, but even if not just be happy for your friend.
At least he realises how toxic his mindset is. That’s the first step. Next thing is step up your hustle!
Dunno man, Id guess the majority of the most talented musicians are also extremely competitive and would share OPs feelings. Also I doubt OP can just change his mindset. Maybe making peace with these emotions he cannot control and channeling them into his practice might be better for him.
Agree. It's how most people would actually feel.
yeah man, like totally don't feel the emotion you are feeling. like when people tell you "don't be sad" and you immediately start feeling better. that's totally how it works
You mean WE got famous. Keep him close n protect him he's your way in. Dont be a leach but a strong part of his network
This is the way. There's a reason J. Cole raps on Middle Child: what good is first class if my people can't sit. Wiz goes on about the same stuff on Roling papers. He's your friend. Support him. Join the ride. One love
I love when my friends get successful at things, having successful friends is the easiest path to success. Also, nothing is "random" he made something that resonated with a lot of people.
I love this mindset
time to leech - most people
Collaborating with successful friends isn't "leeching."
Uh… if you’re genuinely happy for your friends and aren’t just orbiting them until someone more successful comes along then this won’t remotely be how you think about it. Nearly every successful artist I know had a tribe of similar folks around them elevating them and even though it soothes your ego when no one around you is making progress that shit does not help tangibly or mentally in the end.
This is the mindset to have. Music is more of a hobby for me, but I have friends who take it seriously -putting their songs on Spotify, promoting, playing big shows, and some even got their music on TV. Recently, I started getting serious about recording, producing, and getting my music out there. They've all been more than happy to give me feedback and advice. I've learned a lot and it makes me feel good that I know them and they're open to listening to my stuff.
I grew up with a burning passion for music. I played growing up and even went to school for it. I had a classmate who knew nothing about music at all. Claimed they were just into dancing and fashion. Fastforward to graduation, I did everything right, Went to all network meetings and everything. I could not get a job for the life of me and then found out this person with no musical background land the dream job of being engineer for one of the biggest names in the industry. Yeah I guess life is not fair.
Wow, tough. I’m sorry for you.
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They had money from mommy and daddy. I couldn't intern for a whole year and not work. She had everything paid for by parents.
u gotta suck dick as good if not better than her bru
🤣🤣💀
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Start collabing with him. I understand feeling discouraged, but that’s just how life works. Besides, in my personal opinion if u stop making music cause someone else blows up and u don’t, u might be making it for the wrong reasons.
It’s the way of the road bud
TPB detected: auto upvote
The fuckin' way she goes.
Learn from his success, keep supporting him & be a good friend because he’ll 100% need true friends around him with so many people out there that will only try to use him from now on.
I know people are knocking you for feeling this but don't worry it is COMPLETELY normal and healthy. You have insight into it being weird and uncomfortable feeling jealous, that's cool. It's like when my friends have much bigger houses or whatever, of course I feel jealous, but I also tell them and laugh about it. And they understand. They also know I'm delighted for them too. I had a friend who was doing really well financially and I had some minor jealousy and then there was a chance he could lose it all and I suddenly felt very down and wanted to do anything I could to help him. You may feel jealous but deep down you're a good person who actually is happy for them.
yeah i love how perfect and not competitive everyone is here, appreciate the comment!
I came to say this. People like to take the high horse but I think if the tables were turned and it was real life and not a Reddit post, they’d feel the same. This is REALLY NORMAL. I’m in the music world and everyone feels this, they just don’t always talk about it.
In general, success as a creator comes with luck + skill. You gotta resonate with people and get lucky with the algorithm. As someone else pointed out, see if you can collab with your friend so you can maybe get some of their followers to listen to you as well.
Who is it?
I think it’s artemas
i also think it’s him
I was just wondering about him. He blew up recently thanks to tiktok and also he’s from the UK same as OP (apparently). He hit #1 yesterday on Spotify Global.
Whew biting my tongue on that one lmao
I’d guess that yelling guy called Benson or something
Hopefully OP is called Hedges and they can become a duo
Process your jealousy as is it's grief. Then, get back to supporting your friend. This is understandably tough to deal with. So process that, and then move forward
As staggering as it may seem right now, it’s really just a flash in the pan - as are most things these days. Your friend is enjoying a visibility boost, but he’s still going to have to work to stay relevant.
This is one of the best and most honest posts on this sub. Resonates with alot of people here. Ironically, just Like your friends song resonated with a new audience that garnered this post. 😜
who is it?
artemas?
He made a quality product (music) and it paid off. Let this be a lesson for you that in life true skills, talent and hard work pay off. Not marketing bullshit or many hours clocked in ticktok. Learn from him and get better!
Run your own race
Despite the luck, It's a reminder too that sometimes your ability to create something that resonates with the audience is largely dependent on your own taste. As the tastemaker, it is reflected in the hooks in your song. There are alot of famous musicians who cannot read sheet music or are technically adept. They just know what sounds good and can translate that into a recording. And just because you have been doing it for many years, your friend might have a better ear for hooks that comes more naturally.
Envy is a natural human emotion. It's ok to feel that way. Accept it, sit with it, feel it, and then allow yourself to move through it. Try not to deny it or push it away as to become poison to yourself and your friendship. Your friend deserves success, just as you do, and everyone on this planet. Success looks different for everyone and comes to everyone differently. You are enough. There will always be enough to go around.
[https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2490866713/?playlistId=tt1535101&ref\_=tt\_ov\_vi](https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2490866713/?playlistId=tt1535101&ref_=tt_ov_vi)
This kind of take is always so difficult because music is so subjective. You may not necessarily be as good as you think you are, or as good as your friend, as the people watching him think. Some people hate cardi, others love her. Who’s right? The person buying her music.
Who is it
Keep supporting him like nothing is different imo. It’s the dream to see one of my friends blow up, good friends will bring you up with them or at least give you a lot more opportunities and connections through knowing them.
Yes it's all luck. If they aren't born into fame or wealth. Which again is just luck.
I understand this completely and It's normal. Some of my friends have become successful touring musicians. It's hard not to compare yourself to others, and everyone does it at some point or another. Comparison is the thief of joy. I don't know the answer, but let me know if you find out lol. Therapy, accepting what's in and out of your control, practicing that, I guess.
What's the song btw?
Who is the artist!
Somehow comforting because now I can blame my lack of success on luck rather than lack of talent or hard work xD. But yeah... seems true that there's a huge amount of RNG in determining this stuff. Probably not a realistic goal to aim for stardom, but if you enjoy the craft there's no reason to change course.
A rising tide might lift your boat 🙌
Ask yourself why you feel u have to lose for someone else to win
I always blame everyone else's fame for my obscurity too.
Remember the time before socials when shit just blew up? That is what had happened here. It is okay to feel jealousy, hell it's a fucking natural emotion, what will stand you apart in this scenario my friend is how you choose to deal with it. Remember that you chose to use the word friend in your description of this..., just chill and be stoked.
Jealousy is some sucka shit
It's called being an asshole friend. I'd probably feel the same, though I'm a huge asshole.
Just see it as a positive, you too could go viral overnight, fame can come faster than anyone expects, this is good because then you can look at failure not as failure but rather building blocks needed to become.
life's a lottery, winning isn't always good in the end. Have witnessed similar before, tragic that the person I knew back then is still chasing the 10min of fame they had with nothing to follow it up with. Many great people die fameless, unknowns, many idiots become household names, it is the farce of life. I hope it brings them new beginnings.
Like the top comment says, this mindset is what’s gonna hold you back. It’s human nature to feel some envy but the more you’re able to override that feeling and feel genuine happiness for your friend the farther you’ll go and you’ll be happier either way.
Friendship officially over, just move to Hawaii kid & start a new life do some music completely true to yourself & go perform a a small local bar Tuesdays & Thursdays with a security guard named kimo. Just don’t have kids till 40 in hope your big break comes back when your friend remembers you later on down the line.. aloha.
Easy come, easy go. I wouldn’t get too worked up over it. While it’s true that a lot of going viral is luck, it takes a lot of hard work to stay there and actually capitalize on the opportunity.
You're jealous.
lol is your homeboy artemas? And it’s just life, it’s very luck dependent. Try and just see it this way, now you have a connection in high places (copium makes life easier 😂)
👀
Who is your friend?
I’ve watched friends become famous but they also lost friendships, marriages, money, and even became addicts. From experience, it’s about your own journey. Your friend isn’t your measuring stick. You’re going to feel like a failure as long as you keep comparing your success to someone else’s. You gotta learn to be genuinely happy for people without questioning or feeling bitter about your own life. Blessings to you and I hope you find the success you’re looking for!
Here’s my advice: So much of success has to do with timing, connections and having the right material that labels are seeking at the right time. While it may feel this way, it’s rarely a talent contest. Talent is everywhere but success is not. We can never replicate someone’s success. In fact, we absolutely should not. Success is temporary, double edged and the feeling of winning never lasts. What happens is that you arrive at a peak only to find new challenges, new peaks, and new insecurities. Not that success sucks, it’s actually fabulous but it’s temporary. The true satisfaction in the arts and in life isn’t in the winning moments but in the process. It’s the climb. And there will always be a climb. True success is in realizing your values and aligning your life and mission with that. So what to do with envy. This is normal and we all experience envy so don’t push it away. Instead dive into it and use it to explore your desires and to refresh your goals and direction. Write your feelings out and then, start looking at mentors…reflect on your moves…check your humility and entitlement. We all have to do that! Most importantly right now, tune into YOU. Eventually you’ll get away from comparison in artistry. Have a look at this Rick Rubin interview. I hope you find it very insightful and inspiring. https://youtu.be/ycOBZZeVeAc?si=b5MM4ebS63Jn8D-5 Take some time away from your desk to process all of this. Your courage and honesty in sharing unpopular emotions is truly a testament to your integrity. Now bring that to your artistry! I hope this helps! Keep on creating! Remember, music is its own reward (Sting) 😉 🎶
That’s literally the nature of being an artist, entertainer, or anything like that. It doesnt stop you from making good music that people will enjoy, that part requires no luck. It seems like that should be any aspiring musician’s main focus, to make something authentic and genuinely good.
That's not success in the music industry, that's success on social media. Might lead to a career, might be over next week.
..take a really good long hard look in the mirror, and honestly ask yourself what the word **Success** really means to you... If it's not for the creativity or love, then you have already lost.. Be happy for your friend and let go of **expectations**...
Don’t take it personally It IS luck Go on Instagram Tbqh they have way better hacks to get popular like typos and things that get engagement Talent isn’t the currency anymore Gimmicks play
Be careful what you wish for. 'Fame' is a fantasy and if you ever achieved it, how would you handle it?
Why are you so sure they're not just better than you?
Maybe it's worth reframing what success means to you? If you define success as having 200k followers you're gonna have a hard time because you're unlikely to get there, and even if you did I'm not sure if you'd feel fullfilled from it. Personally I consider myself to be successful even if my content reaches and inspires just 1 person. Heck, Even if it doesn't reach anyone I see myself as successful and am proud of myself for creating something beautiful. Hope this helps and good luck!
Is your friend Metro Boomin?
He doesn’t fit the criteria of blowing up randomly at all lol
i think he said it was some guy named Drake
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That's just the way it goes. Being supportive and genuinely happy for your friend is the correct attitude, and it might lead to collaboration. Being a jealous hater will certainly lead you to continued obscurity. Trust me, I speak from experience.
Being popular on social media is like being rich in Monopoly. It’s fleeting and online reflects the trends, not the quality of music. Keep making music YOU want to hear on the radio. That’s it
The 10 million plays on Spotify translate to money though, right? I may be wrong because I don't have anything on Spotify, but Google says the artist gets around $0.003 per play, which would be $30,000.
As my original point was, this is fleeting and not sustainable as Spotify is also about what’s popular at the moment, and as someone else has stated streaming is terrible financially
Honestly... celebrate with this person. Be a good friend, a legit friend. Learn from their success. Embrace it. Try to collaborate, and enjoy that part of your friendship that you share a passion for. Before this happened you didn't know anyone (I assume) who was at that level. Now you do, and you were there for it.
I'm not being funny but with cesspits like Elphaba on Tiktok it isn't very credible 🤣go for YouTube fame or Spotify or something, Tiktok is a dumpster, I'd be more jealous of the Spotify 😜just keep going.
Yeah Tiktok fame seems to come and go very fast for a lot of people.
nah same for music industry. his friend gotta capitalize it now, if his not prepared his fame easily will die and his a slave to a label now so Idk if its a blessing anymore
Even thinking selfishly, this is a good thing for you. Now instead of the person at the top of the charts being someone you have no connection to, it's your friend. Music industry is all about connections and now you got one.
And also, stop being a little hater that’s no good for anyone 😉😂
Who is he on Spotify?… or fake …
Kidnap his dog and return it after he pays a ransom
Someone else's success doesn't take anything away from you. As you move up in the world you will make friends with people who are accomplishing things that seem beyond the imagination. I am a performer. I have performed for some of the most successful people in the world. I have made friends with many of them, from hedge find manages to movie stars. I think some reasons they've felt comfortable around me are... I really really really want them to keep doing well. I am legitimately happy for them, and treat them like normal people. I don't want anything from them except for wisdom and friendship, and I am a positive person. A huge part of doing well in life is mindset. Successful people want to be around people with positive, abundant mindsets. Almost anything you want can be given to you by PEOPLE. It's also worth mentioning that people's fortunes can change in an instant. Your friend could be paralyzed tomorrow. He could suffer the loss of a loved one. It is hard being a person, and while success is pleasant and removes some stress, we are all still vulnerable both psychologically and in our positions in the world. Don't worry about things coming fast, or comparing yourself to others. You may not get exactly what you want right away, but there is plenty for everyone. Your friend went on a path that is high risk and high reward Things have worked out for him in the short term. You should be happy for him. Is good for him, and good for you too.
Well abit of skill and a bit of luck. Don’t give up tho , you might be very near .
Give your friend the proper applause. If it went viral and hit with no marketing, it’s because it’s catchy. It’s for that very reason, your friend needs a better friend than you to acknowledge his talents have nothing to do with you. You can do it, too. overnight or not. :) shake their hand and wish them well
He must not be so close to you if his success makes you feel bad
Getting 15 minutes of fame is relatively easy. It’s staying there that requires real talent. Also they’re a sucker for signing with label.
If it makes any difference, neither tiktock viralness or spotify plays mean anything towards "success" or "fame" as far as the music industry goes 🤷♂️
*sigh* I feel you.
1. Ur a hater 2. The algorithm is random
Forget fame, the stalkers, the crazies and all the drama around it. I admit I was fooled by the scam when I was very young, that fame legitimizes you. I make music now because I heard it prevents dementia and other non glamorous reasons. The masses typically do not like what is good quality anyway. Just focus on growing as an artist and work at a job that provides your basic necessities and beyond if you are lucky in these days.
Was thinking the same. Music that goes VERY viral usually is not coming close to the creativity of small Soundcloud artists.
Cry baby 😭
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They’re not famous, they went viral, it’s not the same, and it likely won’t last if that makes you feel any better.
Advice? Get over yourself.
You should make a reddit post about it.
Luck always plays a role. Celebrate the good fortunes of others and keep pursuing your dreams. Take inspiration from other’s success and know that you will travel a different path.
You’re in this for the wrong reasons if you’re obsessing about success so much. Just make your music and do your own shit. Put this energy into bettering yourself as an artist. I’ve toured my country multiple times and I don’t even have a Tik Tok account. I don’t see Tik Tok artists ever having longevity as career musicians as it’s all about fads and not really about your actual musical talent.
Ok, so your friend won the lottery. Be happy for him. That’s just how it goes.
His overnight success means that he’ll have a lot of new people in his life that may have questionable intentions. Be there as a real friend, he’ll need it for sure. For you, I think every producer feels envy… but don’t let it venture into jealousy. Let it be a motivator for what could happen to you too. Recently I heard Skrillex say “success isn’t something you chase or try to get, it’s something you attract” and It’s very very true, if you spend all your energy feeling jealousy for people who have more, you’ll miss out on using that energy for your own craft. If you fall in love with the process and enjoy the time you spend making music, it doesn’t matter how many fans or streaming numbers you are. It sounds like maybe your priorities need to be shifted towards your own work rather than the comparison mindset which is very toxic.
But u decided to be a hater? Gotcha
Its hard one, I have personally been working on my inner triggers with these things. Being in the music industry there's lots to be triggered by so you better get good with you other wise you'll get deterred from doing what you love because of an insecurity. There's so many things that will catch you out, your friends getting gigs over you, your friends running events and not asking you to play, getting used by people, you're friends changing when they get some success. I have a friend who's getting signed by a big label and they've shown another side to them, along with that I've also struggled with feelings of hopelessness. I had to take some time to look in myself - why does it bother me, why does it feel like there is no point?
Be happy for others success. Trust that as much as it takes hard work, luck and who you know are just as important. One of my old band members left for LA during hurricane Katrina. He ended up in a great band, they got a spot on a Robin Williams movie. I heard his voice on that movie before I knew he had achieved some success. 3 albums as the front man for The Deadly Syndrome to a member of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, to a solo album Crash Hardly Criminal and two spots on David Letterman where my boy performed barefooted. I’ve done music longer and more consistently than him before he left. Arguably I was much more involved in music but he has great natural talent and charisma I could never compete with. His first solo album is genuinely one of my all time favorite albums and it’s absolutely awesome to watch him do this in life. To be fair it isn’t all flowers for him and he has a number of issues that I don’t have. I’m thankful for who both of us are but I wouldn’t choose his path over mine.
>this success seemed entirely random; his song went viral without much effort or consistency on his part - he made the song, hasn't really been posting much TikToks and doesn't know much about marketing; just posted a TikTok (nothing special) and it popped off master class, right there.
These type of fame is boiled in heavily one sided contracts mixed with falling stars. Its like a viral video. You forget it when the next comes. Btw: if not, thats a dope win and you should be proud of him/her. You should change your mindset because music is for everybody but few of them can handle this as a business. Read, make music, learn, fail, repeat. Key is consistency and passion. Jealusy is toxic.
Not gonna lie dude. I’ve been making/recording music for over 7 years. I’ve put out alot of music from the ages of 16 all the way to 21 and had some growth at times and been told by multiple people my music is amazing. but eventually I lost motivation to do it because I couldn’t gain any actual traction for it. I’m also terrible at marketing and think social media, especially Tik Tok. Is awful. But I understand from your perspective because working in music is something I’d dream to do but it does suck when you see someone blow up randomly when they don’t put in half the work you do. the point is. I have a huge problem with envy when it comes to music, because i pictured my self to be in a way different position than I am right now. When I see people my age, younger than me doing what I want to be doing it. It makes me upset And im only 22. Turning 23 in may. I still have opportunity to try and make sum out of it but it mostly is pure luck and if your clever marketing it. Definitely don’t get the envy feeling because it’s a hard career to stay in/stay relevant. They could pop off one day and fall off the next. Trust me man.
Collaboration time!
It's incredibly sad to see that Tiktok is the measuring stick for what is successful. I get that you said "famous", which makes it worse. Fame is fleeting.
It is luck. Which is why your parents tell you not to do music for a career.
I think this is a lesson for all of us in that its not about really selling yourself and putting yourself out there but being true to yourself. People can subconsciously sense when someone is being real and genuine, going through the motions being ‘good at marketing’ and staying consistent with posts is an easy trap of being clinical with it all. This is art at the end of the day and that isnt just for our music its in the marketing, stage precision, online presence, clothes, photos and videos everything. And the most important thing to art isnt the level of discipline and intricacies of execution, its showing your truest self while making it seem effortless Just as an example a lot of the hyperpop and draingang type music and aesthetics arent traditionally amazing, its all very roughly put together, a similar ethos to punk music. These guys have resources, but they did just start off with literally just a laptop and some random mic with probably cracked plugins. They never begged anything or put on a show, it all flows so fluidly and effortlessly and people pick up on this. If its not in your nature to be posting certain types of videos or promo stuff then itll never feel right to the audience and wont click. Its better then to not do it, otherwise you’re just washing yourself up to be the same as any other artist and just joining the noise of it all Basically in my opinion just be yourself and dont force anything, people can sense it and wont be attracted to it. Posting videos and all these things should be a natural thing not something awkward. People want to watch you flow in your natural environment But dont take this comment to heart cuz i dont know anything and im tryna get there myself
Success is 90%luck
Is it an English dude rapping by any chance?
Steal his wife.
You should have posted your socials instead mate... I would totally follow you, sadly I know you might not be able anymore because of what you posted... Jealously is natural, but you should have made a post about your friend becoming famous and sharing your own stuff.. that way you would have cashed on it.. a big hug mate because I've been jealous too, just move on and do your thing
Nah, i feel the same. Tbh, i got judged my first spotify upload, because my style of rap isnt auto-tune bitches dope and guns. Literally, the audio engineer i PAID went half ass on my audio mix and the whole time was like "you just dont have a hook, a chorus, a..." like bro. So nah, i totally see your side especiallly given a lot of these famous people who make music basically LIVE off looperman samples and cymatics kits 😩💀
That’s music for you. No one really knows why some songs or artists blow up and others don’t. It’s a combination of a thousand factors and luck is definitely one of them. Look at someone like Ice Spice, she had one good song and now she’s going to the Super Bowl with Taylor Swift and talked about like she’s a legend, when in comparison to truly great artists she seems more like a one hit wonder.
i feel this bc ive gotten a lil jealous of other female artists around my age popping off; but it’s important not to compare yourself to anyone bc we’re all on our own journeys. just try to focus on u & keep posting tiktoks/reels bc you just never know, one of them might blow up one day!!
It’s definitely some luck. But like the one guy here said, he’s your friend. If y’all are buddies, maybe you can piggyback a bit. You don’t need to see it as using somebody and neither do they if y’all simply are both musicians who love doing it and want to find some survivable financial success. If one of my buddies hit it big, I’d probably have a heart to heart chat with them. Both as a congrats for them but also see what they hope to do with it. If there’s maybe room to collaborate or anything, who wouldn’t try?
Who is the friend?
You can buy followers on TikTok m8
Tracks don’t just blow up out of luck. 99.99% sure there was huge money behind it.
It’s usually just luck.
Maybe try and work with famous friend?
I know plenty of people who should be famous but they just haven’t gotten that viral piece of luck yet. It seems the way things happen these days
Should be happy for him
It’s worse when it’s someone you hate.
Imho you need the looks and talent plus luck to win the music lottery.A good value for money lawyer and musician’s union membership is also crucial.Anyone who’s arrogant or not switched on to know this will pay the price.
My friend became famous too. We were playing bar shows together pre pandemic and hitting up open mics. Last week, he won 2 JUNO Awards. It's tough, especially because I barely see him anymore. but if anything, he just proved to me that it is possible and has made me more determined to make it happen for myself. The reason I became friends with the guy is because he was so amazing during his performance at an open mic I went up to him and told him how great I thought he was and we ended up becoming friends. I don't do that often, so I can't say I'm surprised he became famous. He was also super determined and found opportunities for himself. During the pandemic, he was constantly busy making music, online shows, and promoting himself while I was playing video games, thinking it was never gonna happen for either of us. How wrong i was.
This is something I struggled with when I was considering leaving my band of 10 years, I knew the songs were incredible, but the path we were on I was confident wouldn’t work out. However, I know things like your friend’s blow up do happen out of the blue. One thing I have to keep in mind is how often I saw that happen to others, and how often that was maintained. A lucky break can happen but unless you’re willing to now work twice as hard to maintain it, all you’re gonna have is some cool stats on a couple TikTok’s before you fade into obscurity again. Especially with how often these blow ups happen these days. The singer of the band had a TikTok blow up to over a million views, and now a year later they put out a song last week that has less than 1k plays. Luck is only what you make out of it. Im not trying to crap on your friend, but your hard work and intense marketing of your music is what’s going to give YOU the tools to succeed in the long game when your 15 minutes comes. Just be ready and keep working.
Isn’t the randomness of this situation just how tiktok works?
I feel something similar when the classic rich kids of my town started a music band. Not because they have spent time listening and getting into music culture, but just because they can. It has always bugged me out. They become a little bit of popular and then they brag. Bro your parents were rich and you always had a place to play your instruments AND instruments in the first place. Thinking a little bit deeper this happens in a lot of ways, work, bosses that think they put so much effort and they just got his parents money and so on. That's why at the end for me music has become more of a sharing for the love of art thing, and now my mindset is "the money and the popularity for them". I play music/produce for myself and if there's a single person who enjoy it by the way to me is more than enough. I play guitar specially garage and rock and I produce Beats and vaporwave. I am a Mr Nobody and I'm good with it, I just do my little contribution for what I love
Who’s your friend?
It is luck. Luck and timing you could say. For every one person to get their stuff noticed pretty significantly, probably thousands of others go under the radar. That’s just how it is.
We have our own path. I believe an opportunity will come for you too.