A company can be a source of opportunity, maybe even a partner, but if you want something to rely on, look to community.

No matter what your goals or existing sources of income, a consistent component of a musician’s career is connection to a fan base. Today, this is represented through an email list. And in that sense, it is not different than any other business.

Artists ignore this basic idea. They try to build a creative business without a fan base or believe that someone else will do that for them. An email list lacks the allure of a social media following and monthly listener count — the appearance of success. Social media and streaming platforms don’t ask you to build anything. They actually prefer that you don’t.

Greg David didn’t take a day off in five years and he produced 200 songs in 5 years that generated millions of streams. This extreme focus is also, as he put it, tunnel vision. His life and career were out of balance. He developed a single source of revenue that was controlled by a label. When it came time to move on from that label, he realized that millions of streams meant nothing without an email list to back them up.

Uploading your catalog to Spotify without an audience is like putting up flyers in your city. Millions of people pass by it, some will see it, few will read it, and none will remember it. The appearance of access is not a substitute for connection. That is found through the quiet and patient work of cultivating a community.

The allure of reaching the entire world is a shiny distraction from the humble and meaningful possibility that you can serve your community of fans in the same way as a neighborhood butcher. If you feed people, they will take care of you.

If you want to look successful, put your faith in a corporation. If you want to sustain a career, serve a community. Offer free meals and begin a conversation.

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