
Similarities between Musicians and Entrepreneurs - earbitscom
http://blog.earbits.com/online_radio/5-similarities-of-musicians-and-entrepreneurs/
======
seiji
People struggling to succeed are all the same. Startups, writers, script
producers, musicians, ...

See how much of this write-up rings true with you: <http://matt.io/entry/tz>
(Note: it's a reformatted version of [http://www.dannybarnes.com/blog/how-
make-living-playing-musi...](http://www.dannybarnes.com/blog/how-make-living-
playing-music) because the original is nigh unreadable.)

From a screenwriting point of view, John August has well written success
advice in his ongoing Q&A series: <http://johnaugust.com/answers>

~~~
TeMPOraL
> People struggling to succeed are all the same.

What does "to succeed" mean anyway? I was always wondering, and don't really
know to this day.

~~~
yotamros
If you ask me, "to succeed" is when you do something you believe in, and enjoy
the process, regardless of the outcome.

------
guynamedloren
Though lots of HNers might disagree (or be reluctant to admit it), I find
striking similarities between rappers and entrepreneurs. Behind the flashy
front of a rapper is a guy who has a dream. With enough drive, dedication and
passion, there's nothing stopping that rapper from achieving his dream,
regardless of the naysayers and the obstacles along the way. Entrepreneurs are
no different.

------
bradleyland
I couldn't agree more. A fair number of the entrepreneurs I know have some
sort of background in the arts. I was/am a musician and participated in the
high school marching band. This was, strangely enough, a "cool" activity at
our high school, where our band was openly appreciated by our sports coaches
and student body.

I regularly reflect on the experiences I gained in marching band when looking
at my entrepreneurial efforts. Mastery, confidence, leadership, discipline,
teamwork... The list of attributes developed when taking part in a performing
art is long and strongly correlated with those required to succeed in just
about any setting.

------
oblique63
Glad to see somebody finally put to words what's been knocking around my head
for quite some time now. Although it's not a state that's exclusive to either
musicians or entrepreneurs (as others in this thread have noted), I think it's
an analogy that seems to resonate more deeply with people in general. I know
I've seen it mentioned here that startups are the new 'rock bands' (in the
sense that success/fame-thirsty people are now forming companies instead of
bands to fulfill their dreams), and that's a comparison that everyone
understands, because who hasn't fantasized about being in a wildly famous rock
band at one point?

In fact, I'm not sure why this is even an analogy; in my mind, musicians ARE
entrepreneurs. I'm currently in the process of recording my first album as a
solo musician, and founding a music related startup at the same time
(<http://www.tabrat.com/>), and can already see the similarity of the hurdles
I will have to face on both frontiers. I would imagine this connection to be
painfully obvious to any musician working on a startup though. To elaborate on
this perspective, you could say record labels are analogous to investors in
the startup world (major labels being like larger VCs, and independent labels
being like Angels), where they could potentially approach you, but most likely
you'll end up pitching your product/music to a lot of them with marginal
success, if not deciding to just completely bootstrap as an 'indie' artist.
And there are plenty more 'connections' like that to be made, so I really
think musicians are a subset of entrepreneurs, not just merely their analogs.

------
te_chris
As an indie musician I've found that a lot of the skills I developed over the
years in rehearsing, getting ready to record, deciding which songs were best
for the recording (your product) and promoting shows through any outlet
available have proved invaluable in building my startup.

------
phektus
One can also see many parallels between bands and startups. Both is working on
getting 'signed'. Both start small and usually low budget. Both relies on
creating stuff to make their way. Both has to struggle with small group issues
and drama. So on and so forth.

------
RobMcCullough
Great post. I can relate, and I have always thought the same thing. Starving
Musician === Bootstrapping Entrepreneur.

~~~
yotamros
Totally!

------
pauldisneyiv
A musician friend and I recently discussed the similarities in naming a
startup and naming a band.

------
Djabowski
Very true my colleague was a musician before starting his own (music) related
company.

------
juiceandjuice
Forgot one thing:

Lots of them do similar things and imitate, failing to stand out in the crowd.

------
mtogo
The main difference is you can make a good living playing music.

