Mike Dunn Welcomes You to the Business

The reality is that 90% of people who dream of having a career in music, whether it be Producer/Singer/DJ, etc., will never make it to the level they dream of. It takes a lot of hard work and determination to succeed in this industry and many people just aren’t up to putting in the work to make it happen. You have to be able to take the bad comments as well as the good ones and accept that you are going to get rejected now and again. You are gonna be told no fifty times before you hear one single yes.

Imagine going to work everyday for a year or two and not getting a check. That’s what it is for most of us who have made it: years of doing free gigs or producing free tracks, just to get on a project or in a club.

See, when you really do it for the “Love of Music”, that’s what it takes to start getting paid for your services. It’s a neverending job and it requires the majority of your time. Your family will suffer. Your relationships will suffer. You will suffer. There will be days when you don’t sleep. (Remember that when you’re sleeping, someone else is working. The famous phrase comes into play: “When you snooze, you lose.”) You’ll gain a bunch of fake friends and you’ll lose a couple that said they were true ones.

In this business, it’s about what can you do for me, not what can I do for you. It’s not who you know – it’s who knows you.

People get it twisted between hating and real. “I don’t like what you do… because I can’t do it.” (Hating!) “I don’t like what you do, but I respect it.” (Real!) You’ll have people that smile in your face, and talk about you as soon as you turn your back. This business brings out the best in some and the worst in others. You have to know who is there for the moment and who’s there for the long haul.

In my many experiences in this business, I’ve seen it all. I’ve been on top and I’ve been at the bottom. I’ve sat at the table with the best and I’ve been at war with the worst. But one thing that I’ve never done is give up on my dream or let anyone tell me that I could not. I was always told that “slow motion is better than no motion”. I continued to believe in what I believe in, have faith in what I was put on this earth to do.

If this is what you wanna do, remember that there are no short cuts, no easy routes, no hook-ups and no hand-outs. There will be joy as well as pain, heartaches and strain, bumps and bruises. In the end it’s a business – a business of no one owes you anything and no one really cares, either.

So, if you think is for you GOD bless and good luck. And remember: trying to dim someone else’s light won’t make yours shine no brighter!

Written by Mike Dunn