How can you overcome rejection and setbacks in the music industry?

If what you do is serious, no amount of rejection is ever going to stop you. Don't do it for the money, or fame, or any other false reasons. do it because you enjoy it and because you have the ability too. And lastly, there is a wide range of self help out there to do things yourself. Build on that. and by the time you get noticed, you might find the freedom of being in control of your own destiny is far better than being signed to and told what you can and can't release, when to and where to gig, or what mag/radio to do interviews for.....Keep the art, art.

You cannot grow without rejections. You need that outside feedback to know that you need to improve your skills. They are not a personal attack, just a statement of the fact that there's more that you need to do. The more rejections and setbacks you get, the more you can grow. Look at them as opportunities to learn and develop.

In everybody's life, it's easier to get rejected and defeated. Each of these events generate frustration, sadness, rage and the younger you are the more difficult become to accept them. So the best way to digest negative events is to deeply breathe, talk about it, try to understand what was wrong, never accept to affect your self-esteem and keep going

Remember it isn’t personal; they are simply looking for someone with specific traits that they need. When it comes to music, they are looking for a specific song or track that fits their need. Your song or track may just not be what they are looking for at the time. It doesn’t mean it won’t fit in a different project at a different time.

In the music industry, overcoming rejection involves learning from feedback. Instead of taking setbacks personally, view them as opportunities to improve. Seek constructive criticism, analyze it objectively, and use it to refine your craft. Embrace the learning curve; every setback is a chance to grow. Stay open to different perspectives, and adapt your approach based on the feedback received. This not only builds resilience but also positions you for long-term success by turning setbacks into stepping stones for improvement.

Understand that it is very hard to make a decent living in the music industry. Focus on the satisfaction and spiritual reward of creating music. Judge yourself by your growth and not commercial success. Keep developing your craft. Continue to put yourself out there and be patient. Success can come when you least expect it

I totally agree with this. Rejections and setbacks should contribute to analyze, re-consider and add a little bit more to your ow experience in order to keep growing. Going a different way from others, could be a more difficult but more successful way.

One must always accept the iniquities in this world. This is the first step to healing after being roller coasted and ripped off every hard working dollar an artist has made. Secondly one must also accept that success in the music industry is manufactured and barely thrives on quality. After all the the target audience are young immature folks who follow whatever trend their peer groups set for them. Thirdly and most importantly the artist must acknowledge the fact that the content he or she presented was viable and worth its weight in salt but the industry is not structured on quality therefore the artist must engage in a 9 to 5 job that pays well. If a famous artist releases a song everyone goes for it like the 15m streams for the Stones

I also agree with this. I have a direct experience. When I was asked to launch EMI Italy's dance imprint Dance Factory, most of the radios didn't take us seriously, for many reasons, but in principle, because we were a particle of a major. First problem. Second problem: according to the rules of any multi-national company, we were not allowed to license our products to companies outside the major. I broke all the rules and started to build up my own international network (with no permission) mainly with independent labels and to sign products that were not even released in Italy but suitable to other territories, especially the "less" explored territories. It was a successful decision

An example of how to celebrate your achievements is by keeping what I like to call a “hype file”. It’s a simple Google doc or piece of paper with your biggest wins. You keep adding to that and you can go back to this file every time you need a reminder of how far you’ve come. In my experience having coached DJs, producers and music industry professionals, since 2015, I’ve found many have high standards of what their achievements should look like and can be overly self-critical. To soften that inner critic, having a hype file can be a great resource.

Little achievements are big achievements and should always be celebrated, not just for self esteem but also to let everybody know. Let's say you get in the chart in a very small country. Why you shouldn't let everybody know? Especially these days, through social media, you may get 2 "likes" but there will be more people who see it

Yes, it is very important to have different sources of income. If I have to stick to the music business there are so many different areas that could give income and if not all of them it is always a good thing trying to get into as many as possible

One of the biggest myths in the music industry is that the most successful people don’t work hard. People choose to see the luck (timing) and the talent, not the inevitable hard work that has been put in. If you’re serious about success in the music industry, you need to be prepared to… * Overcome rejection and failure * Develop your sound & skills * Be content making music for you Once you can’t handle rejection, you’ll fail. Once you stop progressing, you regress. Once you start making music for other people, you’ve lost.

I think staying positive is the most important thing you can do in the face of setbacks. Think of creative ways of overcoming those obstacles. Let failures be your teacher and Don’t compare your successes with others.

At some point, you have to be comfortable with the word "no." When a venue, musician, manager, etc. tells you no, you have to be okay with that. It's usually not personal and it can be frustrating, but know that many opportunities come after a sea of no's. You also need to be able to tell others "no" if the event they ask you about doesn't align with your goals. Just because it might be a great gig for some doesn't necessarily mean it's a great gig for you.