I spoke to a group of college music majors this past week and it got me thinking about this question. So dear musician, if I could say only one thing to you about succeeding in music, here’s what I’d say.
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You’re Never NOT Marketing
- See every conversation as an opportunity to build your network that will lead to the work you want.
- Understand that every gig you take tells the world what kind of career you want. Taking a gig ’cause “it pays great” tells everyone you’ll play anything for money. This is fine if it’s true, but what if you truly want to play on a big rock tour?
- Always play great. People won’t know or care that you’re having a bad day or don’t care about the music. What they will know is that you’re a bad player and you don’t care about music at all.
- Dress for the gig all the time.
- Get around people who are in life where you want to be.
- Help others get to where they want to be in life.
- Show up on time or early and be glad to be there.
In other words, be intentional about everything you do and say so that it leads naturally to your music career.
