Artists vs Hobbyists

Whats your level of dedication? This is simply from my perspective, but I see hobbyists as a few people. #1.) Artists that constantly do the same thing over and over again, like industry mixtapes. I discussed this on my radio show, but the difference between Wiz rappin over someone else's beats is the fact that he has a large fan base and whenever he does post a song a lot more people are seeing that rather than a couple of hundred followers or facebook friends. I keep saying it over and over, mix up your "mixtapes" with not just industries but also original beats. Which will require you to in some cases buy beats from a producer. Which leads to #2) Self investing, a lot of artists look at this and take it wrong like producers are just trying to make money off them. Producers do have to eat, especially if an artist expects to get a beat, put it on an album and make money. Why shouldn't a producer get paid? I know a great amount of producer friends of mine who have $0.99 beats for lease , myself personally I do it for $30 cause I feel like thats the average online price I do it for. Also producers hold sales with great deals and I guarantee there are artist who look for FREE who never act on any of the sales they see online. Investing itself doesn't have to be monetary it could be knowledge, learn about online marketing, or more about the technical aspects of engineering and production.
3.) Change your routine, this to me is the most hardest part of it all. Lots of us work 9:00-5:00's and we do the usual go to work, come home play games, go hangout with friends and go to the club. I am not saying don't do this by any means but limit it. People who don't believe in what you're doing won't help you reach your vision. It doesn't make them bad people but you have to still INVEST in you with TIME as well. From working on music, networking, setting up a site, brainstorming ideas, there is always a lot of different ways to spend time then the usual.

Keep a positive mindset and always believe you will succeed, even if that means separating yourself from negative people, friends or fam. Negative energy isn't good for anyone's success