Career Musician Advice

Career Musician

Many musicians mistakenly deem career-building tasks to be anti-creative.
For them, ‘career development’ equates with writing newsletters, updating websites, emailing presenters, and the like – things that take them away from practicing.

Of course, we all have to carry out administrative chores to sustain our careers. But, as I see it, the most important career moves we make are those that inspire us, that give direction to our creativity.

And the more excited we are about our professional prospects, the more effectively we practice and the less onerous those administrative chores become.

This post highlights seven entrepreneurial strategies that can boost any musician’s creativity and career.

Craft compelling concert programsPresenters will flock to hire you if you offer programs that draw media attention and bring in listeners. Plus, you’ll be keen to promote shows that you know break new ground. So explore innovative ways to package the titles you love. You might even craft programs that tie into current events – say, “Music of Protest.”

Expand your audienceAre there venues where your type of music isn’t normally heard? Have you ever put together school programs? What about interactive concerts for the elderly or infirm? When you reach beyond your typical audience, you increase your relevance to your community and stretch your creative powers.

Compose on commissionDancers, filmmakers, theater directors, singers, and even business leaders often need music for their presentations. If you make yourself available to them, you open up possibilities for both income and creative synergy.

Record distinctive musicAs with live music, recorded music that blazes with novelty can rise above the competition. Classical performers, for instance, who commission and record new works stand out as pioneers (and plenty of grantmakers support commissions).

Team up in unexpected collaborationsNot only do collaborations broaden our musical abilities, insightful ones can lead us to new soundscapes and trigger bursts of compositional invention. These in turn can bring on ideas for concerts and recordings. So keep networking with other musicians and artists, and stay open to unforeseen collaborative prospects.

Create educational materialsFrom one generation to the next, aspiring musicians need up-to-date pedagogical materials. Who better to create those materials than you? The publications you devise can aid countless music lovers and earn you royalties far into the future.

Tap new technologiesSuppose you land a string of concerts: Why limit your audience to those who can attend your show? You might acquire some video production chops and stream your concerts live via sites like UStream. Or you could audio-record your performances and sell recordings right then on flash drives, as Aderra does.

In sum, whatever your musical style, there’s an audience eager to hear high-quality work in your genre. It’s up to you to think imaginatively and then do the work necessary to deliver that music.