Over the years, through countless conversations with emerging artists, I've observed how the concept of success is often victim to a distorted perspective. In an artistic era dominated by social media and television talent shows, the word "success" is systematically confused with "fame" - an association deeply rooted in popular culture. It's no coincidence that one of the most famous Italian talent shows was named after the series "Fame".

A paradigm that has influenced even the music industry, which now often reverses the traditional process: instead of discovering and cultivating new talents, they seek already-known personalities from other contexts (like YouTubers or TikTokers) to transform them into musicians. This approach not only lowers the qualitative level of musical offerings but also spreads a "instant and effortless" mentality, fueling a consumable, disposable music mechanism that only a few manage to survive and consolidate their position over time.

What is Success Really in the Music World?

Success is often seen as a ladder, with infinite intermediate steps leading us to achieving a goal. From this perspective, completing a project - whether a single song or a complete album - already represents a significant milestone. Think about it: how many people start musical projects without ever finishing them? How many get lost along the way, perhaps trusting the wrong people or becoming demotivated facing initial difficulties fed by the "instant success" trap?

Every small milestone deserves to be celebrated: completing a song, receiving the first positive feedback, watching your micro-fanbase grow organically, receiving sincere compliments after a concert. These are all authentic success signals that shouldn't be underestimated - steps on a ladder that can take you higher and higher. I've often met artists who, blinded by the top rung of the ladder, are unwilling to see or make the effort to tackle the previous steps, perhaps considering them too exhausting and humiliating for the image they have of themselves.

Let's talk about economic sustainability. In my opinion, the first true rung of success from this perspective is making your musical project self-sufficient: covering the costs of instruments, recordings, travel, promotion. This is a fundamental milestone that many underestimate, but which represents the solid base on which to build any artistic career. The next step, even more significant, is being able to live from your music: paying rent, buying groceries, leading a dignified life through your artistic work. This is already an extraordinary success in the current landscape. Everything that comes after - fame, big stages, gold records - is not the measure of personal success but rather the implementation of the entrepreneurial vision of your musical project.

Certainly, living exclusively from music in Italy represents a considerable challenge. The market is small and saturated, competition is ruthless, and the audience is poorly educated in listening to new music and valuing local realities. But perhaps this is precisely where we should rethink our approach: instead of visualizing a success pyramid (or ladder) with only one spot at the top, we should start imagining and promoting circular structures where every artist can find their space, contributing uniquely to the musical landscape and where the audience feels more involved in the music scene.

The Path of Success

Imagine your artistic journey as a mountain hike. Before you looms a majestic peak, its summit wrapped in clouds. Like many novice artists, your gaze is captured only by that highest point, almost hypnotized by the mirage of "I made it".

You start the journey enthusiastically, but soon the reality of the climb becomes evident. Around you, other hikers seem to move with greater confidence: some dash quickly with their latest-fashion equipment, others flaunt medals from a thousand conquered peaks. Each of their secure steps feeds your frustration, each of their successes seems to diminish your own progress.

The map in your hands shows several paths to the summit. There's the direct route promising immediate glory, and gentler paths that wind through the forest, allowing for stops and detours. In your heart, you know which one you'd prefer - the fastest route, naturally. But fate, in the form of a broken shoelace during a thunderstorm, has other plans.

At first, this unexpected detour really gets under your skin. Each step seems like a compromise, a distancing from the dream. Yet, just when frustration peaks, you begin to notice something different. The secondary path pulses with its own life.

In a small lodge, you meet someone who transformed a break into a vocation, preparing herbal tea for tired travelers. In a sun-drenched clearing, a solitary violinist has made his stop a natural stage. A little further, around a fire, a small community shares stories and songs, transforming the mountain into an arena of human connections.

When the violinist invites you to join his melody, you hesitate. But something inside you - perhaps the same spark that pushed you to start this journey - urges you to accept. And so, note by note, magic takes shape. A passing guitarist adds his rhythm, a singer emerges from the trees' shadows, a percussionist pulls a djembe from his backpack. The music grows, expands, becomes larger than the sum of its parts.

It's at this moment that revelation strikes: for all these people stopping to listen, enraptured, you are already the destination. Their joy, their smiles, the energy created - all of this has already happened. It's not a step towards success; it is success itself.

As you continue your journey to the summit, you carry a new awareness. The forest violinist now plays in your band, the singer becomes your vocal coach, the sound engineer passing by believed in your project when it was just a sketch. Each encounter has left an imprint on your music, each detour has enriched your sound.

When you finally reach the peak, you realize that true success was not conquering the summit, but creating a community along the way that resonates with your music. Because authentic success is not a solitary destination, but a shared journey where every stage, every encounter, every apparent detour contributes to shaping not only the artist you've become but also the lives you've touched along the path.

In this journey towards success, a fundamental reflection emerges that is too often overlooked: the need to distinguish between professional success and personal fulfillment. If our ultimate goal is achieving a state of well-being and inner completeness, we should reconsider the weight we give to purely external achievements. Contemporary society tends to measure success through tangible parameters - money, visibility, social status - but evidence shows how misleading this correlation can be.

It's no coincidence that nations with the highest GDP per capita often record the highest rates of depression, mental disorders, and psychotropic drug consumption. This paradox manifests at the individual level too: how many stars, seemingly at the peak of success, have publicly shared their battles with anxiety, depression, and a sense of emptiness? These examples remind us that external success, if not accompanied by inner growth, risks transforming into a gilded cage.

In the musical context, this means profoundly rethinking one's artistic path. It's not just about reaching specific professional goals, but asking how these milestones genuinely contribute to our emotional and spiritual well-being. The real challenge lies in finding a balance between professional aspirations and personal growth, between the desire for recognition and artistic authenticity, between measurable success and that subtle, yet profound sensation of being in harmony with oneself.

Perhaps the most authentic success lies precisely in the ability to maintain this awareness throughout the journey, remembering that every note played, every song written, every performance realized should first and foremost resonate with our inner truth. Only then does the musical journey become not just a path to success, but a journey of authentic personal realization.