Ever wondered why you and your music hadn’t quite got off the ground yet! That Retail Chick lays it all out as to why you might be having a hard time.

Here are 10 of her top reasons why artists don’t make it in the music industry:

1. Myspace.com/W T F????

  • Myspace started out as a great tool for new artists trying to make a name for themselves in the music industry. But now there needs to be a new rule: All artists that sign up for myspace music must be approved by the Myspace A&R Department! They need one BADLY!

2. “I gotta do a lot of mixtapes so I can be like Wayne!!!”

  • Now, let’s do some research. Lil Wayne has been rapping since 1997. And after 9 CD’s, over a dozen HOT mixtapes, and 10+ years in the game he is where he should be. Wayne has laid his ground work. Remind me, what number mixtape were you on??? And why was the last one so whack???

3. “I’m from OHIO and I moved to ATL to break my music because OHIO ain’t feeling me???”

  • If you can’t make a name for yourself in your own city, do you really think it will be easier in ATL? If you just moved to Atlanta thinking this is the place to make a name for yourself in the music industry, take a number. Because you just got in line with a slew of other folks that came here to do the same.

4. “I just need to get a distribution deal so I can get these records on the shelf.”

  • Records on the shelf at every music retailer in the USA will not equal sales unless you have a GREAT marketing campaign, HUGE promotional budget, and GOOD Music. National distribution is no good without a national marketing campaign. Can you afford that?

5. “I paid DJ (fill in the blank) to host my mixtape and everybody knows him but nobody knows me!”

  • It doesn’t matter who you pay to do your mixtape. If the music is whack, it’s whack. And there’s not a DJ in the world that can cosign it and make it sound better.

6. “I paid (fill in the blank) Magazine for a feature story about me & my music.”

  • Just make sure that the other artists that were featured in that issue aren’t the only people reading the magazine you just paid!

7.”Artist development…man f–k that, I got SWAG!”

  • For all of the artists out there, that have deals, songs on the radio, reality TV shows, or the ones that have no buzz at all; Swag is no good without PERSONALITY and media training is a must! Fans want to see a STAR! And grabbing your pants to hold them up while try to walk or acting stand-off-ish around fans will not work! You may have swag on a record or in a video, but your personality is at Level Zero in person!

8. “Billboard…what’s that?”

  • The words Artist & Business are like oil & water, for some reason they just don’t mix. Artist that don’t ask questions or seek information are candidates to be SCREWED! Take a little time and pick up a Billboard magazine. It’s the best $7 bucks you will have spent in a LONG time.

9. “I just signed to this indie label with major distribution!!!!”

  • Ok Cool, but do they know what a record label is supposed to do??? I see so many distribution deals that don’t work because the indie label didn’t realize how much of the marketing cost was THEIR responsibility!!!! Don’t blame distribution because your CD didn’t sell…blame the team of people you hired to work at your indie record label.

10. GREED

  • Don’t get taken advantage of in this industry. There are hundreds of people out there ready to sell you a dream and take your money whether your music is good or bad. Music in order to be sold has to have what I call the “PRESS PLAY FACTOR.” I will get into what that is a little later.

Funny indeed! But most importantly, TRC’s reasoning is dead on. Hopefully artists will take these bits of advice and re-evaluate their situation.

To read the rest, check out That Retail Chick!