Artists are born and die--sometimes in just minutes

When you analyze the success of any band there are several key elements that appear in the early stages:

• A hit song that is bolstered by other songs of similar quality. One thing I have noticed about bands is that many have a song that I like, but the other songs in the catalog fail to demonstrate that there could ever be anything more in their future. If you hear one song you like, you should be hearing something compelling in the other songs that piques your interest in their work. A few obvious examples of bands that nailed down a sound and career trajectory early on were The Beatles, U2 and Coldplay. Of course there could be hundreds more, but each of these artists produced a constant stream of material that continued to mature and develop, similar to artists such as Picasso and Jackson Pollock.
• Work ethic: Demonstration of intense creative output, and the ability to produce many pieces, even if many of them are duds.
• Perseverance: Continuing to demonstrate an interest in being creative at any level or genre.
• Maturity over time: Elton is still performing, even if the songs are duds. Here is a guy that shows up everyday for work at being a musician and songwriter.