Interview with Suzanne Polinski on Mindset and Modern Music Marketing

What are the most important mindsets for an artist/band to cultivate for growing their music business like a professional?

The most important mindset to keep in mind when growing a career in this industry is a combination of abundance, experimentation, and longevity. Get out of the scarcity mindset that there aren't enough fans out there {or that others are going to steal your fans - that's not a real thing} or there isn't enough money to make from your craft. If you're not making money it's because you don't have a solid foundation around you to accept it. Get out of the perfection mindset that says you have to get it right on the first try; you're not going to and you shouldn't want to because we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. Lastly, when we look at our career beyond the next release or the next show, we're able to realize that the mistakes we make now or the content we create now are just one small piece of a much larger journey - mistakes will seem less significant and it's easier to play around an experiment when you've accepted you're in this for the long haul.

When should an artist or songwriter consider label services and how do they go about doing it with success? 

In terms of getting signed? You never want to waste your time considering label services. Keep doing what you're doing and only think about giving your attention to a label when they're at a point where they're considering you. Your career is not dictated or determined by a label - they're a bank with very high interest loans. They can't do anything for your career that you can't do yourself beyond giving you a larger budget and they'll never give you that budget just because you're a nice person with talent. They give that budget to the people who have already put in the work to grow a following large enough to warrant a larger budget. Stop chasing them and start chasing an loving up your fans. THEY are the ones who will bankroll your career and it won't be in the form of a loan, fans invest. Fans will get you more fans if you make it about them and not about chasing some illusive white whale {i.e. getting to 100,000 followers, etc.}. Don't treat your fans like numbers and they'll work for you and get you the other super fans you need to invest in your career. If a label comes along because you've built something special that they want, then you'll be in a position to negotiate more on your terms and even walk away confidently if it's not what you want. 

Now, if by "services" you mean management or career coaching/development services, those also come when you're ready for them. It's important to set aside time each week to dedicate to business development and learning the various skill sets you need yourself, even if you plan on outsourcing certain tasks to other people. You never want to give up the reigns completely and blindly hire someone to do something you're in the dark about. Hire someone when you know the main thing holding you back is not having the support they offer. Remember, a manager can't do their job if there's nothing there for them to manage. If you're not at a point where you're inundated with opportunities and shows and things for them to handle for you, start with a career coach {whether in person or by investing in a course or two to help you learn certain skill sets} to help you get clear on your goals and how to carry certain tasks out correctly so you can build to the level where you do need a manager or booking agent. 

What main thing (1 or more) do successful artists do that unsuccessful artists don’t? What do they need to know?

The thing successful artists do that others miss is they work towards the right goals. They don't get distracted by vanity numbers {i.e. followers, likes, subscribers} and they focus on consistent engagement with their fans. Consistent in message {i.e. on-brand} and consistent in regularly checking in so that their fans trust they can invest their time and money into this artist and not feel like the artist will disappear on them and not commit to showing up and putting out more great content. They take things in stride and are always connected to the bigger picture - why they're doing this and what their fans ultimately want from them. They don't waste time with competition and stay focused on what they want to accomplish in their career. 

How do successful music artists/bands manage their career differently than unsuccessful or undiscovered artists?

They slow down. They see it as a business with different departments - there's a time for admin work {i.e. emails, website updates, financial management, etc.} - and they break up their days/weeks to address each of these focuses separately. They also know teams don't have to look a certain way. They can start with virtual assistants or even apps that can help automate certain functions/tasks for them. They take time to plan and reflect on the work they've done to see what's working and what's not. They know things take longer than they had hoped and they keep going. They focus more on learning from what didn't work rather than not taking action until it feels ready or right - because they know that time/feeling won't come.

What types of things are you seeing that people waste their time on, and what activities should those efforts best be utilized doing?

Social media {when they're using it without intention, like engaging with their fans}, false urgency of getting back to emails that don't pertain to what they're currently working on or learning skill sets that they don't need to implement in the near future. For example, will you need to know how to automate your emails to your fans and build fan funnels? Yes, absolutely. If you don't yet have anyone on your list do you need to be learning that right now? No. So while there are some incredible resources out there and so much to learn, don't get so focused on career development that you don't stop to implement what you already know first before taking on the next lesson. When we fall into educational rabbit holes that usually indicates we're running from/avoiding what we've already learned because we don't want to get it wrong so we spend more time learning even more and soon we'll forget what we first learned and get so overwhelmed by everything we've taken in that the perfection paralysis will take over and we'll get no where with everything we've learned. Keep it simple. Break things down. And take action sooner rather than later. 

Whats the biggest thing you try to instill in artists or bands/brands you work with?

Play the long game. Stop getting upset that it hasn't happened yet because a watched pot never boils. Take action and reflect on it as you go so the broken things don't stay broken. Stop wondering when you're big break will come because that's how you'll miss it - the big breaks don't come out of the blue, they come from acknowledging and celebrating the smaller breaks and bringing that positive energy and motivation and gratitude forward into the next thing you do.