Simple things to get the ball rolling with your music
Whether you’re wanting to begin a full music career or you’re in it for a hobby, it can seem overwhelmingly difficult to get into the music industry. You don’t have to make millions of dollars in order to consider yourself apart of it. These small and simple steps can lead to bigger opportunities if you have a solid game plan.
Read, Read, Read
All it takes is a few minutes each day to go through your local newspapers, blogs, social media and entertainment magazines to know what’s going on in your city. Find out where venues pertaining to your genre are located and what nights they have concerts.Try to notice small things such as if there are specific artists that play there regularly or if they host certain events that would be good to network.
Be Scene
After you do your research of reading about who’s who and where people go to check out music, you’ll have to go to these places. It not only helps to just go to these venues but you will want to familiarize yourself with the area. You may come across neighboring stores you can later distribute flyers and/or posters to as well as possibly establish bartering relationships of some sort. As for the actual venue, you’ll want to pay attention to details such as when the highest amount of patron traffic is, if there is a bar, if there is a stage, what kind of sound set up is there, etc.
Shake Hands, Kiss Babies
Speaking of networking, this should become a habit of yours. Go to an office supply store and get business cards printed, (which costs only about $10). From there, hand them out to people you meet at the venues you begin to frequent. Let people know what it is you do. Be sure to collect their contact information as well. Always be sure to leave a good impression as many times people remember you from your initial introduction to meeting them. You never know when you may need their help.
Doing these small and simple things repeatedly will soon become natural and will grow easier over time. Keep in mind you shouldn’t be spending a lot of time on these, but rather in increments each week. Following these steps won’t get you paid right away for your music, but it helps to lay the foundation of good relationships that can eventually lead to opportunities.
For more insight on this topic, check out this article.
