I would add that many of the very best artists owe their careers to knowing the right person at the critical moment.

In a recent interview, composer Randy Newman explained how childhood connections got him into the business:

"Newman started writing songs because his childhood friend Lenny Waronker, who later became the president of Warner Bros. Records, suggested that he try it. “He knew who Carole King was and stuff. His dad had started a record company,” Newman said."

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/08/21/randy-newman-co...

He is brilliant, but might have gone unnoticed if his best buddy had not been a second-generation record company executive.