Music Jobs
Music Jobs
It's More Than "Who You Know"
Music jobs. We all want them. But to get more music jobs, it's more like "who knows you." That's not just a play on words. The more people who know about you and/or your group, the more music jobs you'll get. Maybe that's oversimplifying it, but the columns I've written over the past few years in the International Musician concentrate on getting people to know you and what you do, where to find these people, and how to go about getting them to book you, or at least refer you.
Hal Leonard Publishing has taken more than 40 of these columns and put them together in book form. The book is called The Business of Getting More Gigs as a Professional Musician. It was released nationally just a few weeks ago, and it will be in bookstores as well as music stores all over the country. I am happy that it also plugs the American Federation of Musicians and has the Union seal on the back cover.
The focus of the book is: good-paying music jobs don't just happen, you have to make them happen. The book acknowledges that musicians have many excuses for not getting music jobs: the economy is off, money is tight, clubs aren't hiring, corporate budget cuts mean fewer corporate gigs, and so on. But this book also points out that there are many musicians, whether singles, combos, or bigger bands, who are doing exceptionally well. They work constantly and their calendar is full, no matter the month or season. The common theme is: the more people who know about you, the more music jobs you'll get. It's not just who you know, it's who you can know.
Think about it this way. Retail stores depend on customer traffic to sell their goods. The more customers who come through their doors, the more they sell. Well, in some respects, you are like a retail store. You are selling your services as a musician or as a band. Your customer traffic is the people you talk to, who call you on the phone, who e-mail you, and who you talk with on a regular basis. If these people you come in contact with don't book you, maybe they can refer you, or tell other people about you so those people can refer you for music jobs. The more people you have talking about you and/or your group, the more music jobs you'll get.
To do this effectively, you'd better have business cards with you all the time, CDs and press kits in your trunk, and a few brochures at your fingertips. You also need to tell everyone you meet about what you do, where you are playing, or where you have played. This could be standing in line at the bank or supermarket, sitting next to someone on a plane, or casual conversation at a party. In the book there is a whole chapter on self-promotion. The topics are:
- First You Have to Get Their Attention
- Selling Yourself
- Primitive Promotions When Starting from Scratch
- The Stay-in-Their-Face Approach to Booking More Gigs
- Are Your Business Cards Getting You More Gigs?
- Competing for Gigs with Mobile DJs
- Dialing for Gigs
- Creating an Endless Stream of Bookings
If you missed these in the International Musician, they are all there in the book. The idea is that doing these things once is not enough for getting music jobs. You have to do them over and over. They have to become a part of your daily routine. You can't give up. They have to become second nature to you. When someone says, "What do you do?" just answering, "I'm a musician" is not enough. It's more like, "I'm a musician, and we're playing at the Dinosaur Club this week. Come see us. We play all kinds of music jobs, we're a lot of fun, here's my card."
You have to have an "elevator" speech ready when someone asks you what you do. That's a little descriptive talk that you can give to someone between floors on an elevator. Something you can say in just a few seconds before the door opens and they get out. Something besides, "I'm a musician." Do you have that little speech ready the next time someone asks what you do? It needs to be creative, maybe clever, and a little memorable. (That's where the card comes in.) Also very short. It's great one-on-one, shameless self-promotion. You just never know if that next person you talk to can help take your career to another level. Or at least help get you another music job.
