I would like to share my view on the music industry with you. I want to do this because I went through this "doom thinking" myself. This happened because everyone around me was very negative (friends, A&R people, producers, etc.) I guess every musician has experienced that feeling. Now that I''m moving forward I thought the time is right to express my thoughts. I''d like to do this with a number of rules.

Rule 1: Be yourself! Producers, A&R people and the like will try to push you in a certain "box". They will tell you "Don''t do this because it won''t sell" or "We''re going to put a reverb on the clap because that''s what Madonna does on her latest record" Ok, they are right if you are thinking in terms of short term success. If you want to make a living out of music you need to be original and personal. I think what made me more credible is that I stopped listening to producers and start listening to my heart.

Rule 2: Work hard! I think it''s very unfair of people to tell you that you haven''t got talent. They want to make you believe that some people have it and you don''t. The truth is that all biggest artists have had success through hard work. Did you know that the ABBA guys worked for 4 months 8 hours a day to write their songs?

Rule 3: Know what you want! I think everyone can accomplish his dreams. It doesn''t matter if you want to make experimental jazz or commercial pop music. You just have to know what you want and go for it. For instance if you are looking for a producer for your music and he tells you he doesn''t like this or that song but you still believe in it, well simply find another producer. There might be different reasons why he tells you it is crap. The reason is often very simple: he doesn''t like the type of music you make. For instance: my new single is going to have a "bluesy" kind of melody. A year ago I sent the demo of the song with a blues accompaniment to a producer who told me he didn''t like the song because it was too "bluesy". Later I send him some more "happy" songs and he liked none of them. When I finally met him, he told me he only likes songs in minor keys. So don''t fool yourself: it''s not because they are producers that they are objective! Another example: last year, I have been desperately looking for a producer. In my hunt I met this f...ing A&R guy and a producer who told me my English wasn''t good and I will never be able to write good songs. I was completely devastated and I needed a boost so I asked the opinion of one of my ''friends'' who is a producer. He told me he liked none of my (5) demo songs! With friends like that, who needs enemies? I had to throw my ballads in the bin. The only song he liked was a song with an Arabic tune but he thought that it needed some percussion, kanuns, backing vocals, blahblahblah. I thought to myself: this guy doesn''t know what I want! I''m not a folk artist, I am an electronica artist! And then I met my actual producer who said that he liked my songs but that they need to be more elaborated! So you see: be patient and everything becomes possible!

Rule 3: Believe in yourself (but not too much)! It is excellent to do your own thing but you have to know your limitations. Once you know your strenghts, work on them! For example: I used to do everything on my own (singing, recording, arranging, ...) Then I asked myself: what do I really want to do and what am I good at? I concluded that I wanted to sing and write songs. So I told myself I had to work on that and to let others do the rest (which of course is not always easy because you don''t necessarily find people who are able to do what you want (for a reasonble price)) Also, don''t forget to be selfcritical. It is very dangerous to state that your music is so good that nobody likes it. They might be right ...

Rule 4: Respect others and demand respect! Musicians complain alot because they believe they are not respected. However, firstly ask yourself if you respect people too. I noticed I managed to get respect from pub owners because I showed empathy for their situation. For my last gig the pub owner told me he couldn''t pay the whole band. So I told him I understood his situation and I proposed to do the gig alone for a lower price. You have to be diplomatic and smart when you''re not famous. On the other hand: some people really haven''t got any respect. In that case: don''t make a fuss, be professional, do your gig and tell yourself you won''t play there ever again!

Well guys, that''s it for now! I could go on writing more but I don''t want to knock you down with too much blahblah.

Nabil khazzaka - www.ArtistRise.com/Nabil