You may be surprised to know that there is a whole lot more to being a star than singing and dancing, and just because your mum or your boyfriend or girlfriend thinks you’re absolutely lovely when you do that little thing you do, doesn’t mean the rest of the world will.
Many people have had many a harsh lesson learnt when they’ve gone on stage in front of an audience and got not quite the response they where expecting, it doesn’t mean you are not talented but the way you present your talent is crucial to your career.
Do not be disheartened because the big boys get it wrong all the time, in fact 90% of the acts signed to major record companies hit the wall, but that doesn’t mean you have to. But I hear you say,
“If the majors get it wrong so much and they have so much money and resources what chance does lil’ old me have?”
The big boys are a huge machine and do not spend as much time personally developing every aspect of your craft as you would think, their primary objective is what they can sell, so if you are just about OK but they can sell you, then off you go. But that way of working only works for a short time only the truly talented and well developed artists last and make a career of this industry.
Development basically means you are ready, ready for very opportunity and every set back, being able to handle negative or positive situation be it on stage in the studio, in the media or in the record company. There are definite reasons why every body doesn’t become successful in this industry and one of the main reasons is Artist Development.
There are key areas to think about when you are thinking of developing yourself as an artist, the obvious is to develop your key talent whether it may be singing, rapping or your instrument. The next area to think about is the way you look, now that don’t mean you all have to rush down to the most expensive store so don’t panic. When developing your image you should think about what you are trying to get people to think or feel when they look at you, do you wish them to think you are sexy, credible or moody, your image should reflect your overall statement as an artist. Another area is your verbal presentation, or how you cope with media situations. This is something you should rehearse just as you would rehearse a song, you should rehearse your interviews and record your development so you can see and hear the difference.
So unless you can sing like Whitney or Stevie, dance like J-Lo or Usher, have the media savvy of Max Clifford and the selling skills of advertising giants Saatchi & Saatchi , then you need to think about development!
