When you think about starting a music career versus starting a business, the two are actually quite similar. Both are industries are difficult to break into. And both rely on attracting loyal customers for longevity of success.

So, it makes sense to approach a fledgling music career the same way you would approach a business start-up. There are a lot of parallels between the two. <a href="http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2016/06/why-you-should-treat-your-music-career-like-a-startup.html">Check it out</a>.

<strong>Big Picture Thinking</strong>

Pie-in-the-sky reaching is fine in its place. But don’t forget to make short term plans on how to get yourself a piece of that pie.

When you have something in writing, chronicling specific goals you want to achieve, you’re more likely to follow up on your aspirations.

Musicians are artists, and this often means they have the artists' sensibility of right-brained free association. So it can be easy to forget that the first step should involve a left-brained logical, thought-out plan.

A good idea is to make a plan for the long term––and make a plan for the short term. And while it’s important to stick to plans, it’s also important to be adaptable. If something comes up that's appears to be a good opportunity, don’t be afraid to take it. Even if it isn’t on your plan. Learn to roll with the punches and be flexible when it's in your best interests to do so.

<strong>Reach Out &amp; Touch Someone</strong>

Technology is everything now. By tapping into social media you’re going to see far greater success. Start an account on every social media channel and link them all together. Keep people up to date with what’s happening. Share videos of your writing sessions. Get to know your fans. Find people that are interested in your genre of music and follow them. When people follow you first, follow back. People <strong>love</strong> artists that get involved and make themselves somewhat available. It makes them feel involved in the process.

<strong>Network &amp; Collaboration</strong>

Another great thing about technology is that you can find other people in your local area that have the same musical interests. The potential is there to hook up with them for writing collaborations, or even gigging and touring. There's no end to the possibilities when you're willing to get involved with others in the same scene as you.

<strong>Release Fast &amp; Release Regularly </strong>

A great way to get a feel of what your audience wants from you is by releasing music quickly and regularly. This is especially important when you’re starting out.

Get into a pattern of releasing one song every two weeks, or even one song a week. People love to see the process involved in making music, and you can use that feedback to tap in to what your audience feels is your best direction.

Imagine if some of your favorite artists had come out <em>now, </em>as opposed to many years ago. There’s a chance that things could have turned out quite differently. Those bands that arrive with a bang, yet leave with a whimper, might have had more of a chance to succeed if they had a way to get regular feedback on their work.

<strong>It’s 2016</strong>

Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. You should know right from the starts that, at some point, you will probably fail at something. And that’s fine. You just pick yourself up and have another go at it.

The traditional view of the music scene has changed forever. You won’t get “discovered” unless you share and display yourself for the audience to see, hear, and hopefully, appreciate.