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1. You have to NEED to make it.

Wanting to make it is not enough. It must be your one true calling. If you're willing to be broke, with no direction home, you might possibly make it. Sacrifice is the key element. If you're not willing to sacrifice your home, your relationship, forgo children and sleep on the floor when you're forty, don't expect to make it in music, certainly don't expect to sustain.

2. You have to be great.

Good is not good enough. You've got to blow our minds.

3. You can't do it alone.

That's an Internet fiction, from a decade past, that if you just posted something online it could cut through the noise. You need a team:

a. A lawyer

b. A manager

c. An agent.

A lawyer to make sure you don't sign bad deals that hobble you forever.

A manager to play interference, he who sells himself and makes his own deals is destined to piss people off.

And an agent to get you gigs.

An agent is hardest to get. A manager is never easy. But no act ever made it without a manager.

4. Money

It can't buy you love, but it can buy you visibility. That's what you're looking for today.

The story of 2013 is cacophony, noise. Nothing rises above the din unless it is worked by a team. There's just too much out there, and no one agrees what is great. So, gatekeepers are everything. I know this is contrary to everything you've heard for the last ten years, but this is what noise has wrought. How can you attach yourself to those who will get your message out? You must have the goods when you get your chance, but spontaneous virality is doomed in an era where BuzzFeed is a business BASED on virality and Gawker and other outlets play the same game. If you can't get on their radar, if you can't expose a large audience, you're never gonna make it. Sorry.

5. Believers

Sure, you need fans. But all they can do is pay for your Kickstarter record, and have you noticed we hear no more Kickstarter stories, that the outlet is the new BlackBerry, something that used to be that is no longer? If you're just speaking to your fans, getting money from them, you might be able to survive, but you'll never be able to grow.

You need business people, those with power, to believe in you. They need to do favors for you, get you on the radio, get you placed on shows, give you a chance to demonstrate your wares. If you're totally DIY, you're gonna be living in your basement.

6. Sustaining

That's the hardest thing to do these days, not have one hit, but two. The label might sign and promote your single track, and then they'll drop you when you've got no follow-up.

7. Learning

We live in a country where no one can admit they're wrong. If you're not willing to question every choice, do it differently next time, you're never going to make it. Three years ago, almost everything I've said above would be different. You could go viral by your lonesome, social networking worked. But times change. You once used your aforementioned BlackBerry and were thrilled to get your e-mail on the run, now it's all about apps. People hate change, but those who are willing to do so win. Kind of like in Silicon Valley, where it's called "the Pivot." Your original idea didn't work, so you take the core and go in a different direction. You might think you're a rocker, but truly you might be a country artist. You might think you're a singer, but you might really be a songwriter, or a producer.

8. Pay little attention to those who are popular.

By the time you get your chance, completely different people and paradigms might rule. Originality is the key to longevity. Be yourself, not someone else.

9. Publicity

Was useless until this year. With so much information, we see publicity as evidence that someone believes in you. The content is less important than the imprimatur, that you've risen above. Used to be if we saw your name everywhere, we winced. Actually, we still do, but we now know you're not a complete wanker.

10. Word of mouth.

Is still king, but too many are promoting for friends and have terrible taste. We've all got our trusted filters, and those who count are not afraid of the mainstream. The Internet is littered with those who abhor anything that is truly popular. Don't get caught in their backwater, unless you want to starve. You want to be popular. Otherwise, get out.

11. Popularity.

Means people like you and your music. It comes with haters, because it's so hard to break through, people are going to be angry that you did. You'll be told you're ugly, that your music sucks, that you can't sing, that you've got no talent, but don't believe it. It's so hard to make it that if you have, pat yourself on the back and do your best to survive.

12. Longevity.

One hit and you can get royalties forever. Maybe even live dates. But chances are you'll have to have a day job. The rule is, the harder it is to do, the better the chance of survival. Which is why doctors can always be employed, even if they bitch about their compensation. The barrier to entry to music is miniscule, so there are always others who are eager to take your place. The more skills you've got under your belt, the better your chance at lasting. But don't be holier than thou that you can read music and got a degree, these are just tools, building blocks, a foundation, it's what you build on top that counts.

13. Be nice.

It's the key to making it. If you're a jerk, no one's going to want to work for you, go out of their way to promote you. Constantly say thank you and go out of your way to be appreciative. Everybody loves compliments, not just the act.

14. Sour grapes.

Are gonna pull you down. The woulda, shoulda, coulda posse can tell an interesting story over a beer, but these people never succeed. Life is full of challenges, if you haven't been screwed, you haven't played the game. The road to success is paved with humiliation, you can complain about it or swallow it and realize it's dues.

15. There are no guarantees.

Everybody's time goes by. Most only peak for a short while. Enjoy the ride when you break through

I love great art - no matter the medium..

Cornell University biomedical engineer Lawrence Bonassar 3-D prints ears using “ink” that contains living cells.

I love great art - no matter the medium..

A close friend was visiting Nelson Mandela a couple of months ago. Mr. Mandela asked him if he thought anyone would remember him after he was gone! Now, that's profound humility! God bless the man and his belief in infinity.

Once again you astound me with the hard cold truth.

Where were you when I was younger and desperately needed this advice. My band had a deal at Warner Bros. in the late 90s through the early 2000s. We lost our manager just as our single was about to be released to radio over some dumb internal shit that could have been avoided. Our manager felt slighted over a money issue and my band was too prideful and self righteous to go back and make it right with him. What made it worse was our then up and coming lawyer fueled the fire against our manager and made us feel justified in not taking the high road and making peace. It was terrible advice by someone who should have known better, which is ironic considering our attorney at the time is now the manager of the _____ _______.

Shortly after our attorney abandoned us and no one wanted to manage us because any serious billable money had already come from our record advance and publishing deal which was long paid out and spent. Back then without a manager to advocate and fight for you at a major you were dead in the water. Especially if you were one of those "developing" acts on the label which we were. What people don't realize who haven't been on the inside of this scenario is that you don't just have to appease your A & R guy and his boss, they're generally already on your side because they put they're asses on the line to sign you. You have to appeal to every single department at the label that matters to your career including marketing, PR, distribution, radio promotions among others. Each one of these departments have their own agendas and pet projects. You have to have someone to rally all of those departments around you to support you at the right moment, timing is everything and without a manager this is nearly impossible.

Long story short losing our manager killed our single for the most part. It was a mediocre success at best even with a video (back then MTV still played music). The single actually did more to help the act we'd collaborated with than us. Our record deal (which was starting to look up) lost steam and we fizzled. We managed to hang on for another year or so by the skin of our teeth but it was a slow painful decline that I will never forget.

That last year was made up of me trying to desperately find a manager and save our careers while my band unraveled, it was like grasping sand. I regret not making peace with our manager when I had the chance, it might have changed our outcome significantly. It was not just a bad decision but a career killing one for me as an artist.

Since then I've had a few minor successes, a few Billboard top 10 singles or remixes as an indie producer / writer / DJ (Mostly on the Billboard dance charts) but I'm getting older now, I'm no longer on the cutting edge and I kinda had my big break and f'd it up. To some extent I've reinvented myself and make a living working in the industry but my big break to make it as a young up and coming act is gone forever.

Maybe John Mayer, since he's still practically a household name, can do better than a developing act like ours did, but like you said he's getting older too and so is his core audience, age isn't your friend in this industry for most artists (there are few exceptions).

Anyway the point of my story is to warn younger artists to not be cavalier about their relationship with their manager. If they are lucky enough to have a manager that is loyal, hard working and honest, even if things aren't always going your way, hold on to them and foster that relationship. A great manager will make or break a band. A manager who is loyal grows with a band and keeps its dirty secrets while constantly advocating for you and navigating the complicated web of people that have to be appeased in order for you to have a shot.

Young bands may not understand that just having a good song or being the flavor of the month isn't usually enough, the business and political side is just as important and this is why a good manager is so crucial.

Mikael Johnston