Tony Chung's Geekwhat.com

I’ve been thinking about the path to becoming a successful musician. I’m sure a lot of aspiring musicians are thinking about this 24-7. After some contemplation, here are Tony’s 5 steps to musical fame:

1. Work your ass off and become good excellent at whatever it is that you do. This is where passion kicks in. If it’s guitar, take lessons and practice many hours a day. If it’s singing, your vocal chords should be on your mind 24-7.
2. Get your name out there. Start performing. Tell your network of friends. Keep performing. Distribute your music.
3. Get noticed and signed by a good company/agent. Sign a contract with a solid company and have them invest in marketing your music. This is a pivotal point. Basically, you are looking for $$$.
4. Write hit stuff and become successful. The catalyst. A combination of luck and hard work. Get a hit out there. Become famous.
5. Sustain success. Self-explanatory.

That’s pretty much it Short and simple. #4 is key. Working your tail off touring and getting signed by some company is not too difficult as long as your persistent. But #4 is hard to control. It’s up to the public and whether the pieces fall in place for you.

I guess this applies to getting your startup noticed (or acquired by Google) somewhat too…