First and foremost Happy 2020!
A new decade is upon us and the energy in the air is amazing. I haven’t felt like this since we rang in the year 2000.
If you were anywhere near the industry at that time, then you might remember just how dramatically everything changed back then.
It was the start of a huge power shift from the studios and production houses to you: the talent.
Most actors, however, don’t remember the industry of the time. They don’t remember and didn’t experience the pre-social media age either. More on that in a sec.
I want to touch on this really quick because at the time (2000) there was a real fear in many, many people that the world as we knew it would end.
Some saw it as a time for progress, others let fear paralyze them and they hunkered down in a doomsday bunker.
What I witnessed then, is what I’m seeing again as we move into 2020.
The most successful actors have been living like there will be no tomorrow, but they are riding the wave of change in a positive way.
Here’s what this has to do with your acting career.
If you want to be successful in the industry in 2020 and beyond...
You have to live like the sun may not rise tomorrow.
If you went after something and fell flat on your face, but there was no tomorrow, what would it matter?
The industry moves so fast, that if you make a mistake, by the time someone realizes everyone has moved on to the next thing.
In 2000 we were looking at the dawn of streaming services. In 2020, with streaming services overtaking traditional content distribution channels, there is literally not enough content to go around.
This means there is more work available for actors than ever before. The catch is that, there is less attention to go around.
See, the reason that the studios and production houses have lost their grip on the industry is that they no longer control the attention of the consumer.
There are too many options available now.
In turn, they need you (the actors) to bring the attention to their projects. That puts the control back in your hands.
This also means that we are in an entirely new industry and that’s not an exaggeration by any means.
So, if you feel like you should be making progress and getting ahead in the industry but you keep spinning your wheels, you may be right on the edge of having a career that exceeds your wildest dreams, but you just need to modify a few things.
You could be making all the right moves, you might just be a decade behind the rest of the industry, which may actually be holding you back.
In, let’s call them the old days even though they really weren’t that long ago, the art was at the forefront of casting decisions.
As much as we all hate to admit it, that’s not the case anymore.
For the reasons I mentioned a moment ago, we have come to a point where the actor who is best suited for a role, doesn’t always win.
The actor who can command and bring the most attention to a project now has a much better chance of being cast.
That begs the questions: which one are you focusing on?
See, in the “old days” the best thing for you to do was to focus on refining your talent and getting out there as much as possible.
Today, you have to focus on your talent of course, because you do have to be “good enough” but more importantly you have to focus on making yourself visible to the industry.
That holds true whether you are a complete newcomer, or whether you have been in the industry for some time and are looking to reach the next level in your career.
What the most successful actors understand better than anyone is that there are 2 sides to the industry.
There is the artistic side and the business side. At the end of the day, projects have to turn a profit or the industry would cease to exist.
So, to have real, long term success as a professional actor you have to make yourself an indispensable cog in the industry machine and the best way to do that is by becoming a marketing powerhouse.
Actors tend to think that their agent’s job is to get them auditions. That’s true in a sense, but your agents real job when you dig into the core, is to sell you and your talent as being a viable product.
They have to sell industry decision makers on that and when they do it successfully, you get called in for auditions, call backs, and book the part.
I could go on for days about the intricacies of that because it is that complex, but suffice it to say that actors come a dime a dozen, but actors who can attract attention to a project will always be in demand.
The problem is that actors are creatives and that’s very much a right brain activity. Dealing with the attention getting and the business side of the industry is a job for the left brain.
I have to warn you though, as it was in the “old days” the time to get started on this is now.
Competition in the industry will only increase with time, and carving out your space in the industry and maintaining it is a lot easier than clawing your way to the top once everyone else has caught on to this concept.
The first movers will always have the advantage, so seize the opportunity while you can.
Think of it kind of like beating traffic on the 405. You will never beat it once you are already in it, but you can preempt it.
So, let’s get you on the highway before it’s too late.
Because I want to help as many actors as possible, I have kept the virtual doors open to this for a long time.
However, we are now nearing capacity and we may have to shut it down to new members soon.
The last thing we want is to get bogged down and I want to make sure that we have plenty of staff and resources to provide you with what some have called the best customer support in town.
BoostMyStar was created by actors specifically for actors, so we deeply understand how important this is to your career.
We also know how important it is to have people you trust in your corner. So, let us be a part of your support system and feel free to get in touch anytime.
After all we do share a common goal, and that’s to...
See you at the top,
Scott