Law 4: Understand the Business
To many artist make the mistake of thinking something is owed to them because they made a song. They think that a venue is going to pay them something for performing. Here's the thing with that, if you can't sell tickets or draw a crowd then you don't get anything. Why? Nobody made any money. If you don't sell tickets or put in the work to at least promote your own performance, then they can't really give you anything if nobody paid anything to come in. Nothing from nothing equals nothing. Most venues want to make enough to pay the dj, the security, and bartenders. This is why some venues ask for money up front. They have to pay the people to work for them.
As independent artist you are going to have to invest in yourself, even if it is small budget. You just have to make smart decisions and investments. If your goal is be on major label, then that's what they are looking for. We often ask ourselves how the most untalented people get major deals. Simple they invested in themselves, built some type of fanbase, caught the labels attention, and got signed. They started making small investments , and as their fanbase grew they made bigger investments.
Law 5: Work Hard
What artists really need to have is a good head on their shoulders. It's good to have confidence, but having a big ego wont get you very far. Don't follow industry trends. If every song you make sounds like Migos, then really the people that you are trying to covert into fans will probably turn your music off and pop in a Migos album or mixtape. In other words, pay your dues and dare to be differnt. Most rappers that made it will tell you that in order to accomplish those two things it took a lot of hard work. Don't talk about how hard you work, let the fruits of your labor be the proof.