Thank you to my friend, Bret Bunton, for tagging me in a post. I guess what were were chatting about last evening made the gears turn. We chatted about making the leap to turning your gigging into making a living. The most important thing to realize is that as an ARTIST, people are INVESTING in YOU. They need to like you, appreciate you, and most of all, trust that you will provide your art with your whole heart. This is not just fans, but those in the business. Most of the time they are one and the same. John Mayer (like him or not) gave a clinic at Berklee College of Music a few years back. He had a lot of great insights into how the whole thing works, after all, hes smart, talented, and successful at what he does. The big thing that stuck with me was this. . . . Dont make Business Contacts. Its not about collecting business cards. Its about making relationships. Its about making friends. Its about finding people that have chosen the same industry for the same reasons and want to find others that will make it thrive so we can all survive these fast-changing times in this crazy industry. The person that is going to hook you up with that awesome studio, or the band that wants you to open for them on tour, or even that lawyer that will help you with a tough contract. . . you want those people to be the same people you would want to go grab a beer with, or coffee, or dinner. You want those to be the same people you would CHOOSE to spend your time with. You want those to be the same people that, if they have the capacity, would help you out just because youre a good person, and thats what friends do. This also means, you must be that person to others. You must support your colleagues with your whole heart. Go to their shows. Talk to your friend, the sound guy, when theyre doing a cheesy wedding gig you happen to attend. Offer to invite that songwriter you saw at a coffee shop over to your house to jam. Befriend people with honesty, because as you meet more successful people, they are not surrounded by cold-hearted business men. They have networks of people they trust and care about. And when we care about the people we work with, we use our skills to improve their lives. Ultimately, somewhere along the line, if someone cares about us in the same way, they will do the same for us. The catch is, it only works if you do it first. So, as you build your Music Business, do it with the same love you have for the music itself. After all, they are one in the same. ~N
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 16:50:57 +0000
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