Creating and releasing music is just one part of the equation in an Artist's career. Refining the non-musical skills listed in the post is as important to survive in the fast paced Music Industry Eco System
1) GRAPHIC DESIGN : Learning basic graphic design will help you create your own cover arts, album covers, social media posts andt much more without relying on someone else to do it for you. Learn the basics of Photoshop or Canva to speed up your design process & build a professional artist brand.
2) LEARN A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT : Playing an instrument allows you to gain a better understanding of musical theory. An instrument allows you to have a tactile and visual way to learn musical concepts. Knowing musical concepts can help you make better compositions. Not to mention, learning an instrument also gives you a better ear and learn how to analyze musical pieces.
3) SOCIAL MEDIA : Who are you going to play your music to if you don't have any listeners or followers. Its extremely important to take your Social Media posts seriously & devote time in building a community. Today's creators offer much more to their fans than just music. Between track releases, keep your audience entertained with exciting and insightful content on a consistent basis. Show them you are a normal human just like others and not just a studio nerd making music in his/her cave.
4) MUSIC JOURNAL : Its difficult, rather humanly not possible to retain all the info in your head. The tracks you like, the ideas you want to produce, your yearly goals, your daily tasks/things to do etc. Its wise to jot down all that’s in your head down onto a diary. This will make you a more effective & competent Artist. Its ok to go digital and take down your notes on Apps. I personally like writing with my own hand with a pen.
5) VIDEO EDITING : Without a doubt Video is the most dominant medium on the internet. As an Artist you need to post videos on Instagram & Youtube & to do so consistently with speed its wise to learn the basics yourself so that you don't have to rely on someone else (which also slows you down and also you'll have to shell out money for their services). So learn video editing and do the basics yourself.