Chances are, if you're here reading this post then you're probably, like me, interested in a career in the music industry. The struggle for many is that you'd love to make something so cool and diverse as music your job, but choosing the perfect career for you is a pretty overwhelming decision, especially considering the plethora of avenues available to you. From the performance side of things, to the field of production, sound engineering, and everything in-between, there is certainly the job of your dreams out there, it's just a case of figuring out what suits you. An important note to make, that people are sometimes unaware of, is that it's not uncommon for professionals in the music industry to work a range of different jobs, meaning that you don't have to narrow your life's career down to one aspect of the industry you're passionate about. As I said perviously, there is a vast number of options to explore, whether you wish to be centre-stage or behind the scenes, and I'm going to discuss both the more typical routes, as well as some of the slightly more obscure routes, that are often overlooked.
The first, and probably most obvious route, is performing. This route has plenty of opportunities from being a band member, or a solo artist, to a backing vocalist, or a session specialist. This is a job for you to showcase your skills, and be in the spotlight. Gigging at larger venues can be super thrilling, and getting reaction from a live audience to your music that you love is very rewarding. However, you can go in a slightly different direction to being a singer or instrumentalist, and instead be a DJ or an electronic music artist. One thing to consider is the possible lack of consistency with your schedule, or struggle to find opportunity and therefore not having a particularly stable income.
If performing isn't really your thing, or you'd rather leave it as a hobby, there are plenty of other options that are just a crucial to the industry, such as sound and production. You could be a creative producer, a sound engineer, a game audio designer, a film and TV sound designer, an audio technician, etc. As a producer, sound engineer, or technician, you get to be involved in the live music, but without the pressures of performing, and you may even get to go on tour with an artist or band. This is a great option if you are pretty technical, patient and very creative.
In a similar way of getting to be creative with production, there's also the route of composing, which gives you a huge creative license. There are so many ways you can go with it, too - you could be a film composer, a production music composer, a video game composer, etc. Although, something to bear in mind is that if you are a self-employed composer, you may experience periods with no work available. Similar to composition, there's also songwriting, which is an area where you can make a LOT of money - if you're good, that is. However, you have to be a very motivated and resilient person, someone willing to fail many times, throw away pages and pages of attempts, and keep on going until you finish the song. And then repeat.
And then of course there's the music business side of things, which has a vast range of opportunities such as running a record label, being a label executive, being a music manager, a music agent, a music distributor, a music promoter, a DIY release manager, a publisher, a gig promoter, or going into A&R. Running a record label means that you can work with the artists you want, artists that play the kind of music YOU love. You get control over a lot of decisions, from choosing releases, deciding release dates and tour dates, and how you'll go about promotion. However, to run a label, you must face an initial investment and it can be a while until you make money from it, which can be frustrating, and so you must take lots into consideration before deciding to run your own label. You need to be organised, especially since you'll have to be wise with the budget. It will be down to you to pay for everything involved with the music releases, and so you have to balance things correctly in order to make a profit. Working for a label allows you to get similar experience but without the risk of losing money. As a music manager, you would have control over the aspects of an artist or band's career, working with artists you love, but this does mean you have a lot of responsibility. As a music promoter, you'll spend your time promoting music, artists, events and more. As a music agent, you'd work with mangers, promoters, labels and artists - this can be a difficult career to get into, and you won't earn much until you're established and make a name for yourself. As a music distributor, you get to listen to new releases before anyone else, and be the first to know when new music is coming out, working with labels and record shops. However, you may have to sell albums you dislike, and the job can be dull. As for working in A&R, you would go talent scouting and oversee the development of artists.
You can also go into live sound and events. You could become an events manager or organiser, a festival site manager, a live production manager, a venue manager, a tour manager, or an artist liaison. Working in any aspect of events is going to be an exciting position, as you get to work with others to put together and attend events, but it is definitely a high-stress position, with long hours, much travel and high demands. As for being a tour manager, you get to work closely with artists and bands, but in the same way as careers in events management, it is a lot of pressure and stress, along with much travel. As an artist liaison, you would work with artists, handling the artist management for events, making sure that the artist's transport and accommodation is all sorted. You'd look after them on-site, and make sure that they are updated on everything. This job works really well with being a stage manager, and sometimes the two roles can be combined. This way you get to meet artists and attend cool events!
Then there's marketing and communications, with opportunities in music PR, music journalism, broadcasting, digital marketing, event marketing & social media. With music PR and marketing, you work with the media, and feel rewarded when what you've been promoting gets played - but it is a tricky and quite repetitive job. As a music journalist, you always get the inside info on upcoming releases and events, and have the chance to share your thoughts and create trends. However, this is a very competitive job, and so it's very difficult to get published.
Taking an avenue that helps improves other's lives can be very fulfilling. An obvious one here would be teaching - you could be a music teacher, an academic, an instrumental or vocal tutor, or run a choir or band. These jobs may not pay so well, however some of them could be a second job - one that's mostly for enjoyment, passing on your musical knowledge, and bringing people together. Another choice is to go into music therapy, which is a great option for those of you who are passionate about music, but also its psychological benefits.
And finally, if you're a lover of both art and music, then becoming a cover art designer is a fantastic option. This way you get to play a huge part in creating the vibe of an album, giving it an identity, giving it that special something that makes the album stand out to someone endlessly scrolling through Spotify, or browsing a record shop, for example. This is a job that will require you to make yourself and your art known to get work, but is a really unique job that allows you to get working with artists and experimenting with different styles of art.
So, that's it! I hope this post shows you just how diverse the industry is for jobs, and helps you take the next step in figuring out your future in music.
The Guide to Choosing Your Perfect Music Career
Sunday, 29 August 2021 • Being a Musician, Industry Know-How
Chances are, if you're here reading this post then you're probably, like me, interested in a career in the music industry. The struggle for many is that you'd love to make something so cool and diverse as music your job, but choosing the perfect career for you is a pretty overwhelming decision, especially considering the plethora of avenues available to you. From the performance side of things, to the field of production, sound engineering, and everything in-between, there is certainly the job of your dreams out there, it's just a case of figuring out what suits you. An important note to make, that people are sometimes unaware of, is that it's not uncommon for professionals in the music industry to work a range of different jobs, meaning that you don't have to narrow your life's career down to one aspect of the industry you're passionate about. As I said perviously, there is a vast number of options to explore, whether you wish to be centre-stage or behind the scenes, and I'm going to discuss both the more typical routes, as well as some of the slightly more obscure routes, that are often overlooked.
The first, and probably most obvious route, is performing. This route has plenty of opportunities from being a band member, or a solo artist, to a backing vocalist, or a session specialist. This is a job for you to showcase your skills, and be in the spotlight. Gigging at larger venues can be super thrilling, and getting reaction from a live audience to your music that you love is very rewarding. However, you can go in a slightly different direction to being a singer or instrumentalist, and instead be a DJ or an electronic music artist. One thing to consider is the possible lack of consistency with your schedule, or struggle to find opportunity and therefore not having a particularly stable income.
If performing isn't really your thing, or you'd rather leave it as a hobby, there are plenty of other options that are just a crucial to the industry, such as sound and production. You could be a creative producer, a sound engineer, a game audio designer, a film and TV sound designer, an audio technician, etc. As a producer, sound engineer, or technician, you get to be involved in the live music, but without the pressures of performing, and you may even get to go on tour with an artist or band. This is a great option if you are pretty technical, patient and very creative.
In a similar way of getting to be creative with production, there's also the route of composing, which gives you a huge creative license. There are so many ways you can go with it, too - you could be a film composer, a production music composer, a video game composer, etc. Although, something to bear in mind is that if you are a self-employed composer, you may experience periods with no work available. Similar to composition, there's also songwriting, which is an area where you can make a LOT of money - if you're good, that is. However, you have to be a very motivated and resilient person, someone willing to fail many times, throw away pages and pages of attempts, and keep on going until you finish the song. And then repeat.
And then of course there's the music business side of things, which has a vast range of opportunities such as running a record label, being a label executive, being a music manager, a music agent, a music distributor, a music promoter, a DIY release manager, a publisher, a gig promoter, or going into A&R. Running a record label means that you can work with the artists you want, artists that play the kind of music YOU love. You get control over a lot of decisions, from choosing releases, deciding release dates and tour dates, and how you'll go about promotion. However, to run a label, you must face an initial investment and it can be a while until you make money from it, which can be frustrating, and so you must take lots into consideration before deciding to run your own label. You need to be organised, especially since you'll have to be wise with the budget. It will be down to you to pay for everything involved with the music releases, and so you have to balance things correctly in order to make a profit. Working for a label allows you to get similar experience but without the risk of losing money. As a music manager, you would have control over the aspects of an artist or band's career, working with artists you love, but this does mean you have a lot of responsibility. As a music promoter, you'll spend your time promoting music, artists, events and more. As a music agent, you'd work with mangers, promoters, labels and artists - this can be a difficult career to get into, and you won't earn much until you're established and make a name for yourself. As a music distributor, you get to listen to new releases before anyone else, and be the first to know when new music is coming out, working with labels and record shops. However, you may have to sell albums you dislike, and the job can be dull. As for working in A&R, you would go talent scouting and oversee the development of artists.
You can also go into live sound and events. You could become an events manager or organiser, a festival site manager, a live production manager, a venue manager, a tour manager, or an artist liaison. Working in any aspect of events is going to be an exciting position, as you get to work with others to put together and attend events, but it is definitely a high-stress position, with long hours, much travel and high demands. As for being a tour manager, you get to work closely with artists and bands, but in the same way as careers in events management, it is a lot of pressure and stress, along with much travel. As an artist liaison, you would work with artists, handling the artist management for events, making sure that the artist's transport and accommodation is all sorted. You'd look after them on-site, and make sure that they are updated on everything. This job works really well with being a stage manager, and sometimes the two roles can be combined. This way you get to meet artists and attend cool events!
Then there's marketing and communications, with opportunities in music PR, music journalism, broadcasting, digital marketing, event marketing & social media. With music PR and marketing, you work with the media, and feel rewarded when what you've been promoting gets played - but it is a tricky and quite repetitive job. As a music journalist, you always get the inside info on upcoming releases and events, and have the chance to share your thoughts and create trends. However, this is a very competitive job, and so it's very difficult to get published.
Taking an avenue that helps improves other's lives can be very fulfilling. An obvious one here would be teaching - you could be a music teacher, an academic, an instrumental or vocal tutor, or run a choir or band. These jobs may not pay so well, however some of them could be a second job - one that's mostly for enjoyment, passing on your musical knowledge, and bringing people together. Another choice is to go into music therapy, which is a great option for those of you who are passionate about music, but also its psychological benefits.
And finally, if you're a lover of both art and music, then becoming a cover art designer is a fantastic option. This way you get to play a huge part in creating the vibe of an album, giving it an identity, giving it that special something that makes the album stand out to someone endlessly scrolling through Spotify, or browsing a record shop, for example. This is a job that will require you to make yourself and your art known to get work, but is a really unique job that allows you to get working with artists and experimenting with different styles of art.
So, that's it! I hope this post shows you just how diverse the industry is for jobs, and helps you take the next step in figuring out your future in music.
Here are a few random tips & tricks that you may not know about that can be of great use, or great time-savers, while producing music on Apple's Logic Pro X.
1. The Brush Tool
When drawing in MIDI notes, often you will use the pencil tool to draw in each individual note, but this can become time-consuming when you begin clicking multiple times to input the same pattern. What's even quicker than copying and pasting, is using the brush tool that allows you to draw a line of notes as you draw the cursor along.
2. Track Stacks
Using Logic Pro's track stacks, you should group together certain tracks as it makes mixing much simpler - a huge factor in music production is organisation. This also means that the tracks in your stack can share one fader. In addition, any effects added to a stack will affect all the tracks in the stack in the same way, giving them a consistent sound.
3. Sustaining MIDI Notes
Do you ever record or draw in some MIDI and then decide you want the notes to sustain until the note changes? And then have to manually select and adjust the notes? Well, no more. Open the note editor, select all of the notes that you want this to happen to, then go to 'Edit', 'Trim' and 'Note End To Following Notes'.
4. The Marquee Tool
The marquee tool is one I found out about only recently and has saved me so much. As opposed to manually selecting every single point for the automation, the marquee tool allows you to drag and select the range you want to automate.
5. MIDI Compression
Often when recording in MIDI, it doesn't sound exactly how you want it to, sometimes due to the weighting of the MIDI keyboard you used. Rather than spending ages automating the velocity of each note, just let the 'Velocity Processor' MIDI effect do the work for you. It lets you choose a threshold point, above which the ratio will set the amount of velocity reduction.
So those are my 5 random tips & tricks that could save you a little bit of time if you didn't already know about them!
Here are a few random tips & tricks that you may not know about that can be of great use, or great time-savers, while producing music on Apple's Logic Pro X.
1. The Brush Tool
When drawing in MIDI notes, often you will use the pencil tool to draw in each individual note, but this can become time-consuming when you begin clicking multiple times to input the same pattern. What's even quicker than copying and pasting, is using the brush tool that allows you to draw a line of notes as you draw the cursor along.
2. Track Stacks
Using Logic Pro's track stacks, you should group together certain tracks as it makes mixing much simpler - a huge factor in music production is organisation. This also means that the tracks in your stack can share one fader. In addition, any effects added to a stack will affect all the tracks in the stack in the same way, giving them a consistent sound.
3. Sustaining MIDI Notes
Do you ever record or draw in some MIDI and then decide you want the notes to sustain until the note changes? And then have to manually select and adjust the notes? Well, no more. Open the note editor, select all of the notes that you want this to happen to, then go to 'Edit', 'Trim' and 'Note End To Following Notes'.
4. The Marquee Tool
The marquee tool is one I found out about only recently and has saved me so much. As opposed to manually selecting every single point for the automation, the marquee tool allows you to drag and select the range you want to automate.
5. MIDI Compression
Often when recording in MIDI, it doesn't sound exactly how you want it to, sometimes due to the weighting of the MIDI keyboard you used. Rather than spending ages automating the velocity of each note, just let the 'Velocity Processor' MIDI effect do the work for you. It lets you choose a threshold point, above which the ratio will set the amount of velocity reduction.
So those are my 5 random tips & tricks that could save you a little bit of time if you didn't already know about them!
Millions of people suffer with performance anxiety - and this can be such an annoyance, especially when you're talented at what you do, only to end up getting stage fright and messing up at the worst time. So, I decided I wanted to do a little research on this and give a few steps that you can take to try and overcome this.
1. Practice
If you want your performance to go well, with minimal mistakes, then of course the first step would be to practice and practice until you've aced what you're performing. Turning up unprepared will only make you more nervous.
2. Pre-Performance Preparation
Make sure to eat a decent meal a couple of hours before the performance so that you have enough energy, aren't hungry, and haven't eaten too close to the time of performance, to avoid bloating. Basically, you want to minimise any issues for yourself at the time, to allow for everything to go smoothly.
3. Focusing On What Could Go Right
...And not vice versa. Avoid any negative thoughts, doubting yourself. If you tell yourself it will go wrong, chances are, it absolutely will. Self-belief and confidence really is the key to this. You need to stay positive and visualise it going well. And if you'd rather shift the focus from yourself entirely, then think about what you are providing the audience.
4. Control Your Breathing
Practice slow, controlled breathing, and perhaps even meditate before you perform to clear your mind and get yourself in the right headspace.
5. Try To Relax
Similar to controlling your breathing, allow yourself whatever you need to shake out those nerves. Whether that's a brisk walk, jumping, shaking out your hands - whatever it is, make sure to get it out before you go on stage.
6. Connect With The Audience
Acting natural and confident will help you, as your brain will think that you're doing okay. Smile at the audience, make eye-contact and just allow yourself to settle in to the environment.
These are just a few tips towards keeping your performance anxiety in check, but of course it's a work in progress. It will take time, so try to be patient with it, and kind to yourself. Best of luck!
Millions of people suffer with performance anxiety - and this can be such an annoyance, especially when you're talented at what you do, only to end up getting stage fright and messing up at the worst time. So, I decided I wanted to do a little research on this and give a few steps that you can take to try and overcome this.
1. Practice
If you want your performance to go well, with minimal mistakes, then of course the first step would be to practice and practice until you've aced what you're performing. Turning up unprepared will only make you more nervous.
2. Pre-Performance Preparation
Make sure to eat a decent meal a couple of hours before the performance so that you have enough energy, aren't hungry, and haven't eaten too close to the time of performance, to avoid bloating. Basically, you want to minimise any issues for yourself at the time, to allow for everything to go smoothly.
3. Focusing On What Could Go Right
...And not vice versa. Avoid any negative thoughts, doubting yourself. If you tell yourself it will go wrong, chances are, it absolutely will. Self-belief and confidence really is the key to this. You need to stay positive and visualise it going well. And if you'd rather shift the focus from yourself entirely, then think about what you are providing the audience.
4. Control Your Breathing
Practice slow, controlled breathing, and perhaps even meditate before you perform to clear your mind and get yourself in the right headspace.
5. Try To Relax
Similar to controlling your breathing, allow yourself whatever you need to shake out those nerves. Whether that's a brisk walk, jumping, shaking out your hands - whatever it is, make sure to get it out before you go on stage.
6. Connect With The Audience
Acting natural and confident will help you, as your brain will think that you're doing okay. Smile at the audience, make eye-contact and just allow yourself to settle in to the environment.
These are just a few tips towards keeping your performance anxiety in check, but of course it's a work in progress. It will take time, so try to be patient with it, and kind to yourself. Best of luck!
Releasing music these days is a complete minefield if you're a small, newish musician wanting to get their music out there. The largest and most popular streaming service out there is Spotify, but is it worth releasing your own music on there?
There are many reasons why you may not want to choose Spotify. Starting with perhaps the largest reason first, being that Spotify doesn't pay well. It doesn't pay artists enough money for the quality music that provides Spotify with streams, and it is well-known that the platform is tailored to suit the larger, commercial artists who get huge amounts of streams, leaving the smaller artists pretty stranded. When the smaller artists actually tend to be some of my favourite.
However, I think you should look at it this way. It IS the largest streaming platform, and, as it is not going to be much of a source of revenue, it should be used as a place to build an audience and market your music. Furthermore, Spotify statistics hold a lot of weight in the music industry. If one of your songs reached a large amount of streams, it probably won't pay you much, but will give you invaluable exposure. Yes, Spotify is brimming with new releases, and it feels impossible to get found, however it is possible with hard work. The most important thing you should do is promote your music on any social media you have. Creating a strong social media presence will help drive traffic to your Spotify, and invite fans to share your work, too. More ways for people to find your needle in the haystack include getting yourself on playlists, no matter how small their following, and asking anyone you know of in the industry to share your work as well.
Another issue is that releasing your music on Spotify will reduce album sales, as it will make it free to stream. This is something to seriously consider because as a small artist, you may not want to take this pay cut, but I personally think that it is worth the risk because some people will still buy your album, albeit a smaller percentage of them, but if you manage to build your fanbase on Spotify, that will increase the amount of people buying your album.
Overall, I think that Spotify is where you want to be focusing your energy in terms of distributing your music because this is where everyone is at. No matter if you're not making much money right now, if you want to build a reputation and an audience, try here. It's going to be difficult, it's going to be slow, but I'd say it's worth it. If not for any financial benefit, but just to be able to have your music out there on one of the biggest streaming services! It's satisfying and rewarding, and hopefully with time, and more releases, you'll gain some traffic.
Should You Release Your Music On Spotify?
Friday, 20 August 2021 • Being a Musician, Industry Know-How
Releasing music these days is a complete minefield if you're a small, newish musician wanting to get their music out there. The largest and most popular streaming service out there is Spotify, but is it worth releasing your own music on there?
There are many reasons why you may not want to choose Spotify. Starting with perhaps the largest reason first, being that Spotify doesn't pay well. It doesn't pay artists enough money for the quality music that provides Spotify with streams, and it is well-known that the platform is tailored to suit the larger, commercial artists who get huge amounts of streams, leaving the smaller artists pretty stranded. When the smaller artists actually tend to be some of my favourite.
However, I think you should look at it this way. It IS the largest streaming platform, and, as it is not going to be much of a source of revenue, it should be used as a place to build an audience and market your music. Furthermore, Spotify statistics hold a lot of weight in the music industry. If one of your songs reached a large amount of streams, it probably won't pay you much, but will give you invaluable exposure. Yes, Spotify is brimming with new releases, and it feels impossible to get found, however it is possible with hard work. The most important thing you should do is promote your music on any social media you have. Creating a strong social media presence will help drive traffic to your Spotify, and invite fans to share your work, too. More ways for people to find your needle in the haystack include getting yourself on playlists, no matter how small their following, and asking anyone you know of in the industry to share your work as well.
Another issue is that releasing your music on Spotify will reduce album sales, as it will make it free to stream. This is something to seriously consider because as a small artist, you may not want to take this pay cut, but I personally think that it is worth the risk because some people will still buy your album, albeit a smaller percentage of them, but if you manage to build your fanbase on Spotify, that will increase the amount of people buying your album.
Overall, I think that Spotify is where you want to be focusing your energy in terms of distributing your music because this is where everyone is at. No matter if you're not making much money right now, if you want to build a reputation and an audience, try here. It's going to be difficult, it's going to be slow, but I'd say it's worth it. If not for any financial benefit, but just to be able to have your music out there on one of the biggest streaming services! It's satisfying and rewarding, and hopefully with time, and more releases, you'll gain some traffic.
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