The Truth About Building a Music Career

What actually builds a lasting music career?In this episode of Throwing Spaghetti, Jacque Ryal sits down with singer-songwriter, producer, and Professor of Songwriting at Berklee Kat Reinhert to unpack the realities of building a sustainable life in music.Drawing from decades as both a working artist and educator, Kat shares what she's learned from mentoring hundreds of musicians: why artists often focus on the wrong metrics, what consistently creates momentum, how to build a creative practice that lasts, and why community, feedback, and authenticity matter more than chasing every new marketing trend.One of the biggest takeaways? The Taylor Swift career is the .0001% and the Phoebe Bridges career might bring you what makes you ultimately happy. Kat reminds us that meaningful music careers often take 10 years or more to build and that patience, consistency, and showing up for your community are far more powerful than chasing overnight success.We also dive into perfectionism, defining success on your own terms, whether the industry rewards great music or great marketing, where artists waste money, and what Kat would do differently if she were starting from zero today.If you're an independent artist trying to figure out what actually moves the needle, this conversation is full of practical insights, a few hard truths, you'll be thinking about long after the episode ends.