If you didn’t already know, Tijs Michiel Verwest, better known as Tiesto, is a Dutch DJ and producer that has been in the game for over 20 years. He was the first DJ in history to play at the Olympics and has made an insane amount of achievements that don’t really need to be listed here. No matter who you are, you know Tiesto, or at least in name. Hell, my mom even knows about Tiesto!
So what is it about Tiesto that brought him to the top and kept him there? Well there’s a few things, and they are certain aspects that every major DJ or artist needs in order to stay in the spotlight.
HE SURROUNDS HIMSELF WITH THE BEST
- Ever since Tiesto was a young and ambitious DJ he has surrounded himself with the best people he possibly could to help him achieve his dream. Being friends with Armin Van Buuren and Ferry Corsten in the Netherlands certainly helped, as the three artists pushed each other to the limit in order to achieve greatness. Any entrepreneurial book will tell you how important the team is to success. Surrounding yourself with other like-minded, hard working people will only serve to inspire you to pursue your passion that much further, and Tiesto did just that.
HE CONSTANTLY EVOLVES AND GROWS
- Every major successful artist has always evolved throughout their career. Art without progression is stagnation, and stagnation loses novelty quickly. We all know that Tiesto now is releasing music with the likes of KSHMR and Martin Garrix, but where did he start? He started with simple trance and house music (well, technically with hardcore and gabber but that was before the alias Tiesto). He became massively popular through his trance music with hits like ‘Adagio For Strings’ and ‘Elements Of Life’. But if he kept making songs in that style, he would never have stayed in the spotlight the way he has. He evolved with the times and started releasing more progressive house music, then he evolved his sound for the big room fans, and now he is even leaning toward the deeper side of house with artists like Oliver Heldens. He just started a deep house label AFTR:HRS, and although some blogs may try to chalk it up to him trying to hop on the bandwagon, he has always evolved with the times, and this is nothing different.
HE INSPIRES AND MENTORS TALENT
- Tiesto has been the inspiration for some of the biggest DJs in the world, including Hardwell and Martin Garrix. He didn’t just inspire them, he saw their talent and helped mentor them into who they are today. He is the type of person that is always on the lookout for the next great artist and always mentors them and helps them make the right choices in this crazy industry. Although I highly doubt he does it for selfish reasons, it helps him as well because he learns what younger people are doing, along with surrounding himself with the best talent in the world.
HE IS A BUSINESSMAN
- Tiesto may be a DJ, but being a DJ on a major scale is similar to being a CEO of a major company. He is the face of the Tiesto brand, he has his own clothing lines, he now runs multiple record labels and has multiple partnerships with other companies. The Tiesto name is a household name, and that is a testament to his awareness of business tactics. He runs the company and has entire teams working for him in every aspect to help out. If you don’t make yourself a marketable, you might just get left behind in the saturated market. Tiesto doesn’t have that problem.
All of these factors reveal to us why Tiesto has reached great success and will remain on top forever. He’s the most iconic DJ in the world and for good reason. One day he may decide to step down, and you can be sure that he will pass his mantle on to someone well deserving. When the time comes, he will simply remain behind the scenes, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. So if you want to learn about longevity in the music industry, pay attention to what Tiesto is doing, because you can be sure he’s doing something right.
H/T Magneticmag