Smule Community Artist Profile: Aron Michaels on Building a Career in Music
Smule Community Artist Profile: Aron Michaels on Building a Career in Music
Aron Michaels did what most of us only daydream about – he quit his day job to focus full-time on his career as a singer and songwriter.
This week, we’re happy to present Aron as our latest Smule Artist. What makes us especially proud is that Aron hails straight from the Smule Community.
Like many people, Aron often wondered what it would be like to make a living as a musician. Unlike many people, Aron stopped wondering and started doing. The 33-year-old last summer quit his job managing a restaurant in New York, sold his house and devoted all his energy on music.
“I would literally sing all day on Smule,” Aron told us. “I’d perform 12 to 14 songs a day, a lot of them duets, and then perform shows at night.” In total, he’s racked up 6,330 performances on Smule as of Monday. He’s also an honorary member of several of the top Sing! groups, including #M1 and #Outlaws.
In December, Aron moved from Long Island, N.Y., to Atlanta, GA, where his country songs can find a larger audience. In the South, Aron’s had the chance to perform with Clint Black and Collin Raye.
For others wanting to launch their own musical careers, Aron has the following advice:
- The Internet is the new tour bus. Back in the day, you had to play bars from town to town and book your own gigs. It’s not like that anymore There are artists who make a living with a grass roots following online. Smule can be a big part of that and has been for me.
- Be totally interactive and social. When someone takes the time to go to my website, learn the lyrics to my song and perform my song with me, it’s pretty special for me. I try to get to know a little something about everyone who sings with me. Aloofness really doesn’t pay. People aren’t impressed by that. You definitely have to engage. People want to feel close to people they admire. They want to know you’re a real person.
- You’ve got to write. Whether you play guitar or piano or use samples online, you have to write and express yourself. Music speaks to people. It’s the only universal language out there. It evokes feeling and passion. That said, I very rarely tell people what my songs are about, because it doesn’t matter what I think. What matters is what people feel when they listen to your music.
Leveraging the Smule platform, Aron promoted his music by releasing his original songs as Open Calls and asking others to sing them with him. Here’s a great example:
Now it’s your turn to sing with Aron. Click the big green button below to launch the song, and then tap the Join Now button on the bottom right to record your duet or “Every Time It Rains” with Aron.
Photo of Aron Michaels by Natasha Beccaria.
