From DIY to Dream Team

In today’s music industry, there’s this romantic notion of the “DIY musician” who handles every aspect of their career themselves—from songwriting and recording to booking shows, merchandising, social media, and more.

While this DIY approach may seem empowering at first, the truth is this:

Trying to do everything yourself as an independent artist is a recipe for frustration and career stagnation.

Musicians who want to break through need to focus less on a DIY mindset, and more on building a strong team around them.

On the surface, the DIY mentality seems pragmatic. When you’re starting out and have limited resources, wearing all the hats yourself appears efficient. However, as your music career progresses, a DIY approach becomes hugely limiting.

Here are the top 10 reasons why you should focus on building a team instead of being a DIY Musician:

1. You Can’t Excel at Everything

Let’s be honest—no one is equally great at every aspect of music creation or the music business.

You likely gravitate to certain roles like songwriting, recording, or performing. Or maybe you are a great content creator. But expecting to be just as skilled at the nuances of licensing, digital marketing, tour logistics, and merchandising is unrealistic. When you DIY, your less developed skills become your Achilles Heal.

The areas you’re naturally strong in also plateau because you’re spread thin trying to do everything.

2. You’ll Hit Bottlenecks

As the sole driver of your music career, you can only take things so far on your own. There are limits to what you can accomplish through your DIY efforts, such as radio promotion, booking major tours, sync licensing, and other activities that involve established gatekeepers. You need a team that has built the right relationships to break through these bottlenecks so you can reach the next level.

Handling it all yourself denies opportunities for exponential growth.

3. Depth of Expertise is Crucial

Generalized knowledge about various music industry functions has some value early on. But gaining real traction requires specialized expertise.

Do you know how to optimize global royalty collection and digital aggregation? Do you have experience pitching songs to music supervisors for huge ad campaigns?

The depth of knowledge needed to excel in any given area requires a ton of time and focused commitment, which distracts you from developing and leveraging your strengths.

4. You’ll Waste Time and Money

Attempting to handle everything alone inevitably leads to mistakes from lack of experience. You might rush into signing an unfavorable record deal, waste money on ads that are not properly optimized, or invest in amateur PR efforts (which we see happen quite often). These missteps waste precious time and money.

Experts with precise knowledge and key relationships prevent blunders and identify the most efficient paths forward.

5. Opportunity Costs Add Up

Only having 24 hours in a day, time is absolutely your most precious and irreplaceable resource. The time you spend attempting to handle all the business aspects of your career cuts into the time you could be using to fine tune your creative output. Wouldn’t your energy be better spent in the studio polishing those lyrics or or on stage perfecting a jaw-dropping live performance?

Outsourcing non-creative work allows you to focus on your art.

6. No Accountability or Outside Perspective

When you DIY, it’s easy to become complacent and settle for “good enough” instead of embracing the path of continuous improvement. Without teammates or collaborators, you have no outside perspectives or accountability pushing you to consistently create work that is truly remarkable.

A team provides fresh eyes and ears that prevent you from putting out music and content that is just average.

7. Lack of Strategic Planning

Building a team brings together diverse perspectives and skills that contribute to strategic planning. Your perspective as the artist and creator, while valuable, is certainly limited. A team injects fresh viewpoints, helping you recognize blind spots and anticipate challenges. By including experts from different backgrounds – marketing, finance, production, and more – you're poised to craft strategies that holistically consider the intricate web of factors that shape your music career.

Remember, you not only have to navigate your present challenges but you also have to focus on developing complex strategies that position you for future opportunities and align with your long-term goals.

8. Resource Pooling & Synergy

We want to believe that our individual brilliance will propel us to success, but in reality, collective wisdom always transcends the limitations of the individual. A team channels the power of shared knowledge, assets, experiences, and connections. By pooling resources, you can learn to quickly leverage invaluable tools and insights, whether it's a niche marketing strategy that worked, shared studios to enhance your sound, or a connection from a peer that opens doors.

The HOME Community is revolutionary precisely because it is built around the idea of resource pooling and synergy.

The sum is greater than its parts, allowing each member to benefit from a collaborative environment that empowers everyone to reach new heights.

9. The Potential of Scaling Your Growth

What does it mean to scale a business?

It means you are able to grow your fanbase and music money rapidly, consistently and exponentially instead of slow, unpredictable and intermittent progress. It also means that you are reaching the full potential of your audience - basically finding everyone who wants to hear your music and participate in your career. This requires constant optimization to make sure you get the gears of your music machine spinning together in unison.

The three most important gears of the machine are Production x Marketing x Engagement. Sure, you can work on each of these gears as a DIY Musician, but inevitably one slows down as you shift your focus to the others. In an ideal world, you would have a team member focused on each of the gears full time.

Without a team you will constantly be bouncing around between your various roles, which will prevent you from truly reaching scale.

For more thoughts on Scaling Your Music Money Machine, check out this blog post that I wrote on HOME’s Website.

10. Leveraging Relationships (The MOST Important Reason)

On the DIY journey, the industry's vast network of gatekeepers and influencers often seems out of reach. However, by building a team, you tap into diverse networks that would remain inaccessible otherwise. Your team members bring with them connections from various corners of the industry, opening doors you didn't even know existed.

Whether it's securing a coveted collaboration or gaining access to industry insiders, your team's networks become your own, expanding your reach in ways that being a DIY musician could never achieve.

Now that we’ve explored the top reasons why the DIY approach is a bad idea, here are 10 practical ways to find the right team members:

1. Start with Your Strengths

Consider which music career functions excite you and utilize your greatest talents. For most, this is creating music itself. Look for ways to outsource the other responsibilities to teammates.

2. Search Artist Communities

Engage with online and local communities of artists (like HOME). Ask other creators for referrals to trusted collaborators and industry professionals they’ve worked with successfully.

3. Be Wary of Discounted Services

Cheaper services may seem like a good idea when money is tight, but this is often indicative of lower quality work. Seasoned professionals who are in high demand usually have higher prices. Vet everyone carefully to ensure their capabilities.

4. Prioritize Specialized Skills

Avoid the jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none. Expertise cannot be developed simultaneously across all sectors of the industry. Seek out those with a proven track record in specific functions and musical genres.

5. Check Potential Fit

Make sure prospective teammates understand your musical identity and goals to determine if they’re a good match before officially hiring. Are they truly excited about working with you? If not, then find someone who is!

6. Request Examples

Ask to see samples of real work related to the role you’re looking to fill. Evaluate their competency based on what they have already accomplished, not on what they say they can do for you.

7. Trust Your Instincts

Technical skills are crucial, but personality fit, ‘vibe’, and work style matter just as much if not more. Go with your gut if something seems off.

8. Start Small

You don’t need to build an expansive team overnight. Begin with the roles of production and marketing that create the foundation for your sound, your brand, and your audience growth. As you get traction, look for a manager, a sync rep, and/or booking agent to amplify your growth trajectory.

PRO TIP: If you really think you are ready for a label or publishing deal, hire a high-powered attorney who can help you shop your project around to make sure that you find the right fit and that don’t get taken advantage of!

9. Offer Ownership Opportunities

Rather than just for services, consider making standout team members partners by sharing ownership in the music you are creating. This teamwork and is often the best route for working with great producers when you don’t have a huge budget to pay their fee up front. Ask them if they work ‘on spec’ (speculative value), which means that you give up partial ownership of the master recording in exchange for their work. This also aligns incentives and can lead to producers helping artists find lucrative deals with major music companies (because the producer will get paid too).

10. Continuously Optimize

Team building is a never-ending task. As your career evolves, you will need to constantly reevaluate your team and what you need at that stage. Work on becoming a strong leader and don’t hesitate to make changes when required.

In other words, you might have to fire some people!

In an industry as competitive as music, having a team is not just advantageous; it is essential. The collective power of a team is exponentially greater than that of a DIY musician. Get rid of the DIY mindset. Focus instead on assembling your dream team, one skillset at a time. The rewards will be immense.

Your team is out there - go find them!