Hi there and welcome to The Record Factory Blog
Every couple of weeks, I’ll be publishing some tips and tricks to help you get what you want out of your music career. I hope you find the info useful… If you have any questions, or are looking to make a cd and would like some free help, advice and contacts, please email me
So here we go, I thought I’d start with a two part blog on Music Professionalism… Part one deals with Relationships.. Cheers, Simon
You might be Australia’s answer to John Lennon, but unfortunately your musical talent alone will not magic up a music career. Displaying a level of professionalism in your work is absolutely key to maintaining, developing and enjoying a fulfilling and sustainable music career.
In the race to the equivalent of a musical Melbourne Cup victory, RELATIONSHIPS win by a nose, with PROFESSIONALISM running a very close second. Here’s a list of tips to hopefully help you on your way to a successful music career.
Build and maintain mutually beneficial creative relationships.
This doesn’t mean just getting along with your peers/mates! We’re talking about the broader context of creating a network, working with clients and developing new business.
‘Music Professionals’ spend years building professional relationships. Creating rapport, establishing trust, sharing information and ideas and having hard conversations all will probably happen before your relationship yields fruit. Remember that your investment of money, time and energy is, more often than not, certainly worth the effort.
Be good to everyone.
“I was running for an elevator once and the person inside clearly saw me but jumped for the ‘door close’ button anyway, calling out “I’m late for an interview” as the doors slammed in my face. He needn’t have worried about being late… the interview was with me. You just never know who people are and where they might wind up, so it just makes sense to make friends with all people at all stages of their careers.” Les Vogt, US Promoter
Get beyond ‘being nice’.
Building relationships is about getting to a point where you have a mutual understanding of what you can achieve together. Over time, move beyond the surface and talk about expectations, challenges, objectives, desired outcomes and a definite plan for cooperative projects with each other.
Be brave and ask for feedback and advice!
Don’t be afraid to be open and to share info with your network. Don’t miss the opportunity to benefit from the good people you’ve surrounded yourself with. It can be personally challenging, but if you’ve surrounded yourself with like-minded people, they’ll appreciate your openness, honesty and desire to improve.
Maintain contact.
Don’t be the person that only calls or turns up when you need something. People will quickly find you out. Once that happens, it will be really hard to change their impression of you. I know it’s sometimes hard if you’re time-poor, but try to keep in touch with people. Even a simple email or MySpace post will let them know you’re there.
Keep your word.
Reliability and integrity are essential in building a relationship. Don’t promise to help someone out or attend an event if you have little/no intention of going. Don’t try to be everything to everybody. Unless you’re Doctor Who, you can’t be in two places at the same time (even he finds it hard and he’s a Time Lord, you’re just a musician). Don’t agree to do things purely for your own benefit. Be selfless sometimes – your good work will come back and benefit you at some point, often when you least expect it.