200 last week and already 43 at the start of this week. Out of thehundreds of emails I get a day, there is a growing trend amongst artists like yourself that ask the same question. A question that defines the current, past and future state of their music careers.

„I keep emailing my mailing list about all my upcoming shows and the same 20-30 people always come. I mail out to college radio stations and I get some airplay but not enough to sell more than 5-10 CDs in the stores. I mail out to the press and I may get a listing of my new CD or shows but no reviews. I’m doing the same things as I did in the past and

I’m not getting any results!”

There’s the key statement. You may have said these same things yourself or are or have been or will be, in the same position as the hundreds of artists who email me this question or something similar. The answer is right there in the statement. Right in the question. “I am doing the same thing as I did in the past and its not working.”

That’s it. Whether its God, the Universe, or your own inner self, whatever you believe, it is a call that is trying to reach you. One that

says, what you did in the past is to not yielding the results you want!

So change what you are doing! Instead of continuing to use the same strategies or repeat mistakes of the past, challenge yourself to do something new.

Your future success (and how you define that) depends upon it. Here’s some first steps to get you going.

70% or more of all your CD sales will come at shows. If the same people are always coming to shows and the rest of the people on your mailing list are non-responsive, get rid of the list. Be brave, start over.

Obviously these people are not responding. Develop and cultivate new fans that will. Go to other artist&Mac226;s shows, meet the fans, give them sample CDs, get them to know you on a personal basis and what your music is about.

The press need a story. Just releasing a CD like 40,000 other artists this year is not a news item. What are the songs on your CD about?

What&Mac226;s the theme? The message you are trying to communicate through your music? Who are the people you want to connect with? Where do you find them? Once you do, how are you going to let them know about you and your music?

Real CD sales (hundreds or thousands of copies a month) requires continuos exposure. Stations playing your song at least 40 times a week.

Especially when people are driving in their cars. Not at some late night hour. Focus on getting the attention of fans who listen to the stations you want to be on. Not just the airplay.

While millions of CDs are still sold in record stores, an ever growing percentage are sold on the internet at sites like Amazon and CD Baby, not to forget your own. If your music is geared for 25 + year olds, make sure you have the internet covered. How can your website be redefined to be more effective? Does it ask people enough to buy your CD? Or are you redirecting your fans and visitors away from your site to listen to your music some place else? Why? Besides poor visual live performances that feature nothing more than the artists or band members merely standing there, poor design and structure throughout out websites lose more CDs sales than anything else.

Now the question becomes this. If you are serious about breaking the patterns of the past that that are not getting you what you want, buy yourself a journal. Write out these questions on the tops of the pages that I have asked you. Challenge yourself to come up with new ideas. Leave the old ones behind.

It is far easier to fail in your music career than succeed. All you have to do is, nothing. Quit don’t try. Let the messages you felt were important at some point, just fade away. Or you can decide your message is worthwhile and it needs to be heard and discussed. Then fight to get it out there.

Success is how you define it. It is not measured in CD sales or by what others think.

If you are serious about moving forward with your career, I have 4 different books at my site that guide you to your definition of success. You can preview them and order them at http://www.tsamusic.com

If you are serious and want my personal help getting on the right path, email me through my website, http://www.tsamusic.com