A number of my friends who are in the music business feel it’s important to be true to their artistic roots. In other words, the reason they got into the business was to express what was in their hearts. They really don’t want anyone to tell them to do anything differently.

I happen to think that’s a great idea. In order for you to be successful, you have to be true to yourself and work with material that is interesting to you, regardless of what might be popular at the moment.

But what of the “wisdom” that says you don’t need to understand how business works because you’re an artist.

Sorry to throw cold water on you, but suck on this pearl of wisdom first.

The business of the music industry is no different than the business of Wal-Mart. You have a product, there are costs associated with production of that product such as material costs, marketing, freight. Add profit margins and voila - you are a business.

What many artists fail to understand is that things like their “blue periods” or relentless droning about the death of their beloved cocker spaniel may not be interesting to the record executive, or a particular marketing tactic may be more essential to the execs than it is to the artist, or that a particular look may have to be modified because it isn’t what’s going to sell. While something might be most pressing to an artist, all the work and effort put into a project might have to be shelved or kept in a personal collection.

If you’re interested in becoming successful, consider approaching the industry in a different way. Take these three tips and see if they help:

1. Think from the “other side” of the desk. From an objective standpoint, if you were on the other side of the table, what would you do? Take your ego and personal feelings aside, does it make sense to you? If you say “yes but…” hang on. In this scenario we’re assuming you’re not an established name yet, so you’ll have to wait for to have a track record before you can “yes but”

2. What works for others, may help me If you’re trying to gain a foothold, take a look around, are you trying to invent a new method when that road has already been built? I’m all for artist individuality and becoming your own person, but consider what others in your genre are doing and see if they might be able to show you something already established

3. What are the record companies looking for? One of the best ways to learn what insiders are thinking is to get to know them. Are you networked within the industry well? How might you be able to get to know the industry better? What are your street teams saying about you? Can you use the information in a way that is helpful to you?

If you can think from a different perspective, it will help expand your sense of reality. If what you’re doing isn’t working, ask yourself, why? Tune it up and see if you can increase your appeal by tackling the problem from a different approach.

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