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Passion vs. Talent

Passion is a sincere dedication to something specific.

Talent is a persistently practiced dedication to something specific.

There is a difference between the two.

For instance….I am a passionate musician. I love playing the guitar, keyboard and singing. I get excited when I’m playing music and could easily go for 6 to 8 hours without even thinking about it on any given day.

I am not, however, a talented musician because I fail to practice enough to become a talented musician. To be a talented musician I would need to practice my passion daily. Persistent practice would qualify me for talent.

Unfortunately passion doesn’t get you paid and talent usually does.

In shortest terms…..It’s wonderful to be passionate about something but it’s lucrative to be talented at something.

Average Joe Wins The Big Prize!

I like hearing stories about the average hometown every day Joe getting the big prize. I’m not talking about winning the lottery. I’m talking more in the lines of when one of us regular peasants who have been struggling through this everyday thing we call life finally ends up making the big time. Somebody who nobody has ever heard of like American Idol Season 5′s Chris Daughtry for example. His story is a little older but the example will do.

Here’s a down to earth guy who was a Service advisor for a local car dealership in North Carolina who also happened to love singing. He aspired to be a musician since he was 16 years old. Chris worked at the dealer to support his wife and 2 kids like any good Husband and Dad would do but he also sang with his rock band at local clubs during the night and on weekends. He was very passionate about his love for music and still is. While Mr. Daughtry may have been able to support his family at the car dealership, he became very much more successful at what he truly loved doing. The guy didn’t even win American Idol in that season but still managed to become a mega successful rock star. Don’t get me wrong. I happen to like his music very much and there is no doubt about his talent but we can’t only use talent as an argument. People could also argue that Chris Daughtry had the venue of American Idol that made him famous. I think we would do good to remember that it was he who took the initiative to try out for Idol to begin with.

Let’s look at somebody much less in the spotlight now days but who still won the big prize. Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals was just a second string quarterback for the St Louis Rams when he got his big shot and went on to win MVP of Super bowl XXXIV and also took the Arizona Cardinals to their first big game in Superbowl XLIII. Before that he played Arena football for the Iowa Barnstormers and also stocked shelves for a local grocery store in Cedar Falls, Iowa to support his family. Some would say that he got his big chance when Trent Green, the Rams starting quarterback, got hurt early in in the pre-season of 1999 and that if Trent didn’t get hurt Kurt Warner wouldn’t have become the legend he is today. There is no doubt with this similar situation that the available opportunity helped Kurt rise to fame and he is most certainly a talented individual as well, however, we can’t take his persistence out of the equation. The man played football for years before becoming a star.

So what is it that made these two average Joe’s finally win the big prize? Was their talent the overbearing reason? Could it be that their opportunities just came to them like somebody who wins the lottery or was it their persistence and love for what they did that ultimately made them so successful? I suspect it was a combination of all of the above. Either way, it is these kind of stories that give me the will to drive on. Stories like this give us hope that if we want something bad enough it is always within our reach to get it.

I believe that in order to be super successful in life, no matter what your niche is, you have to love that something very much. You have to own such a passion for it that nothing will ever stop you from chasing it! When you enjoy what you do, it becomes very easy to excel and learn more. Your will and hard work alone will give you the steam to finally get what you want and deserve. The moral of this post is that being an average Joe with a passionate hobby and the ability to keep your eye on the ball can yield much prosperity!

Best Wishes

Marketing Your Music To The Masses!

This post may seem a little redundant to some of my professional musician friends out there but for others it may really help you get on your way.

There are many different things you can and should be doing to market you or your band’s music to the masses in the world. If you’re serious about your music and I am assuming you are then you need to take the necessary steps to prove it and let the world know as well. I have listed a few of the best ways below.

Branding Your Name

One of the most important things you can do is let everybody know who you are. Get T-shirts, buttons, flags, pens, hats and any other marketing devices you can think of made to distribute at your live shows. It’s great if you can sell them but if you can afford to then give them away. It will pay you back in huge sums later on just by the free advertising alone.

Distribute Your Demo

If you don’t currently have a demo you need to get one cut fast. Make sure it’s done as professional as possible. You don’t want your fans to hear hurried sloppy work. Regardless if it’s MP3, MP4 or on CD it needs to be of excellent quality. I would strongly recommend putting only your best song or few songs forward. These are the ones that people will remember. Make sure it’s your strongest song 1st followed by the next strongest and so on. Once you have them together and ready to go then start distributing your demo to anybody who will listen. I would also recommend using local radio and Internet stations that except unsigned Indie music. There are many of them out there. Send it to a radio station in every state in the country if possible and maybe even some overseas. Not all of them will play it but you are increasing your odds by sending to as many as possible.

Practice and Play Out Often

Live concerts are the absolute best for promoting your music. Have killer shows and get your audience involved. Play as many local clubs and venues as you can. If possible get out on the road also. Travel to different states and cities if your schedule and budget allows it. Just remember that word of mouth is the best or worst advertising you can get so make sure you stay practiced. You want to always give the audience the best show of their lives.

Secure and Keep an Up To Date Press Kit

This will include your demo, artist or band photos, press clippings, venue list, contact info, artist or band bio and things of that nature. Keep it all together and professionally done and organized. You never know who is paying attention! You may stumble across a record producer, talent scout or record label at any point in time.

Start and Promote a Website

If you don’t already have a website then start one today. With the amount of people browsing the Internet for new music these days this is absolutely essential in your quest for marketing to the masses. There are many different web hosting companies out there that will allow you to set up a website for free. It can get a bit technical and time consuming to do this but if you have the experience and the know how do it yourself. If not then hire somebody to do it for you. It will pay huge dividends in the end. Your fans must be able to find you on the net. Once the website is up and running make sure it is optimized for search engines so it draws as much free traffic as possible. Then plaster your website everywhere you go and on your t-shirts, buttons and all other marketing devices.

Get a Free Optimized Link at Modern Day Peasants.

Our site recently added a free optimized link to artist and band websites all over the world. Search engine optimization involves having as many links pointing to your website as possible. If you already have your website set up you can get a link pointing towards it for free here. Your website will enjoy highly optimized website traffic for life at no cost to you!

Do all these things properly and you will definitley be marketing your music to the masses. With a little luck and a little talent on your part you and your band will be well on the way to stardom.

Best wishes!

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Looking for an Audition or Job in Music or Acting?

Check out Explore Talent…. This company boast they are the World’s largest talent resource and judging from the looks of it they aren’t kidding! There are currently 38, 859 current auditions and jobs listed on their site as being available. In addition to acting jobs and auditions we’ve noticed their are plenty auditions and jobs on their website for musicians as well. They currently have openings for drummers, guitarist, bass guitarist, singers, etc.

Founded in 2003 ExploreTalent.com is the worldwide leader in acting Modeling Auditions. They are offering thousands of casting calls and Auditions. Explore Talent offers more Casting, auditions resources and Talent Agents than all other sites combined. Spending hours and not finding the Acting Jobs & Modeling Jobs you need? Find Reality TV Shows Casting Calls the modeling auditions Acting Auditions, modeling jobs, acting jobs, all in one place. Stop spending hours searching for casting & auditions. Submit yourself to casting calls, auditions – Get a call when Casting directors wants you.

If you’re a musician searching for a way to get your foot in the door and jumpstart your career or an actor or actress trying to do the same we would recommend your visiting this company and finding out for yourself what they are all about. Read the testimonials from their happy members. The best part about ExploreTalent.com is that it appears to be an honest venue between the folks looking for the talent and the folks who have the talent! Check them out today.

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Visit ExploreTalent now at the link below.

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