My apologies as the title is a bit misleading so let me provide more context. A hustle in the traditional sense is selling a product or service that can make a profit in a short amount of time. For instance, selling tee shirts can make you a profit in a short amount of time because it is a tangible item. However in today’s world music would be the medium you would use to sell that tee shirt, not the actual song itself. In order to sell a record, or mp3 file of your music, you would need to develop a fan base through building your brand. Something that can’t be done overnight unless you have a truly undeniable song. Traditionally you can sell a tee shirt or merchandise overnight, but the song itself may take up to a year for that same buyer to purchase your record let alone stream it 1500 times to count as a “song purchased.”
A lot of artists will try to rush this process by putting the music out in hopes that “something will happen.” That something is usually fame, money, and access but the problem is that with the amount of music out in today’s market it's very hard to cut through the noise. Even for Desiigner who received a diamond plaque for selling 10 million copies of his single “Panda” had to work that record for a year on soundcloud and in local clubs before it blew up. So if you were to guesstimate time, money, and resources spent on that one record for it to get the attention it needed to even get recognized on billboard you would probably come to the conclusion that you would’ve sold a lot of tee shirts and made your money back faster than you would on a song that you’re not even sure is going to sell enough copies to pay for the train ride to go anywhere to promote it. The goal shouldn’t be to put the music out and wait for something to miraculously happen, the goal should be to go on a promo run to raise awareness of the song. Yet many feel that if they put the record out immediately they will see an immediate reward. Therefore, selling music in a traditional sense can’t be classified as a hustle until you have at least the fan base that will buy tickets and merchandise because of the music or brand.
The best solution for any artist is to view their records as precious commedities that need proper attention. I’m not saying hold onto your music until the perfect opportunity arises as we all know that never happens. If you feel you need to put the music out, do it because you want the world to hear it as soon as possible not as a way to make sure rent is paid next month. Risk and Reward is a delicate balance and putting all your chips on a song that your friends may not even retweet isn’t worth the stress. Excitement about the listeners reaction, not moves made by financial fear.
“At this point in my life, I’m looking at it like a hustle.” Said the touring artist with thousands of paying fans, not the one one with an eviction notice and no where to go.
