A career in music?

Hope this is the right forum...

Ok, so say someone looks up to you as a Musician, Producer, Beatmaker, Singer/songwriter, whatever you are. So they express their interest in music and would like to pursue a career in the industry.

If you could give your advice and tell them important tips that will stick with them and help them throughout their career, what would you tell them? What have you learned and realized in your time dealing with music that you would tell them? Just curious as usual! you know me...


I would begin with explaining criticism and how it should help you more then hurt or offend you. gotta be able to take criticism. if you cant, you just wont make it...

ask them first and foremost to decide between:

having a career in the industry

and

writing and producing music-

the two are quite different, you could essentially work in the industry but have no exposure to the actual making of music...

if its a career they want its a case of straightforward qualifications (if any are needed) and getting out there applying for jobs; start at the bottom- work your way up....

if they want to write music which will become part of that industry there are no sure fire tips on how to achieve successs- otherwise we would all be doing this full time...

once its been decided its a case of pointing in the right direction- there are industry posts here which may help and more than enough gear./technique posts

greg

greg i feel you. i just wanted some input...just to see what some peope think and what important sh*t they learned along the way..

well i could you the skinny on being a bedroom mus- but that wont help if your friend is more interested in a career there- info, info

greg

no i wasnt asking for anyone, i just wanted to know what yall would tell others......but its all good

I would say, "Meet people."
As with any career, a lot of it is who you know...and who they can introduce you to. (and so on, and so on.)

Be humble and likeable, and operate from a place of respect.
To hang with professionals, you have to behave like a professional yourself.

If you live in a place where there's nothing going on.....move.




Oh yeah..........and you gotta have skills too.

there are many options.......

I have a 9-5 for a small pro audio company

I do freelance engineering

DJ and produce

I get $$$$$ most from the top listing and the least from the bottom

I got the 9-5 from a former audio instructor of mine.........

BUT would not have got the job without VAST experience in the other two part-time jobs........


You want to work a job you love you need 2 things

1 education
2 a special talent or niche no one else has

itchyvinyl wrote:
Be humble and likeable, and operate from a place of respect.
To hang with professionals, you have to behave like a professional yourself.

this is the one thing that ive noticed with most succesful people up to this point. i.e. when keeping it real goes wrong


espescially beatmakers. its funny how these boombap sampling dudes are all on this highhorse and think they are on another level compared to synth based-comp producers because they feel their music is more unique and original and respectfull to the artform when most musicians would like to strangle the shit out of us for stealing their music in the first place and not having a grasp on music theory and what nots..

i guess, just some things ive noticed

itchyvinyl wrote:I would say, "Meet people."
As with any career, a lot of it is who you know...and who they can introduce you to. (and so on, and so on.)

Be humble and likeable, and operate from a place of respect.
To hang with professionals, you have to behave like a professional yourself.

If you live in a place where there's nothing going on.....move.




Oh yeah..........and you gotta have skills too.

yea i agree wit a lot of what was said.

...the advice would be based on what exactly people were trying to do, I do agree many of the suggestions above are on point.

For aspiring artists(MC's, singers,groups,musicians), DJ's, producers, etc.:
GET THE DAMN NAME OUT! Don't matter if your sh*t is so so, great, whatever...no matter what the timeline for your accomplishments, keep your name in peoples ears as much as possible. That's the biggest mistake I've made personally, just not gettin the name out enough for people to embrace what I'm accomplishing. On that note it's good to establish a name you want to run with early on so you don't dump years of work into promoting a name you end up changing and have to start over. Key words or slogan-esque type sh*t is essential in today's attention deprived society. The botttomline is you can't get them lost years back, so start promotin' your name or image ASAP and hustle to keep it alive.

For industry minded heads:
Exactly what itchyvinyl said, be in a location where what you want to do is poppin. For example, I live in the SF bay area. There are some minor opportunities out here, but it ain't an industry town per se. The clubs ain't really poppin, TV or commercial opportunities - not really happenin, and the local artists that get played on the radio out here don't seem to match that popularity with record sales. So for me to sit back and be like 'Imma be the biggest producer in the bay' is kinda like not sayin much. It'd be better to say 'I'm an established producer from the bay, but I do work all over the place.' Like that dude Rick-Rock, he's based out here, but his influence in the industry is felt coast-to-coast.

The most important thing to realize is that the artist/producer side of things is like being a master craftsmen - the opportunities are earned with hard work and connections. There is no real consistency as the industry changes like the weather, so brace yourself for potential rough seas even if you are on top of your game. That's the problem with being a solely sample based producer like homie was sayin above, this limits what genres your are compatible with, etc.

Industry jobs are the staple as artists, etc. come and go based on current trends. For cats that want in on that sh*t, I'd say go to school and learn the functionality and legal workings of the industry down to the penny. From there you can pick a number of music related fields which will pay well.

Sorry a little wordy there.

My advice: find out how TLC went bankrupt after selling 10 million records and do the exact opposite. haha.

seriously...

I'd tell anyone gettin in the game to learn about the different ways you can generate income making music. This includes MAKING money and KEEPING it. Know the pay structure. If you're an artist, you're always the LAST to get paid. A good general rule of thumb is if you wrote it, produced it, and performed it, you're good to go. More emphasis on the first two, the latter ain't as important. But a combination of all three and you're practically bulletproof. If you get signed and still get shortchanged, your contract was seriously screwed. And advances don't mean shit once it's recouped by the label. So don't go out and buy that Benz just yet....

you have to have patience especially for aspiring artist and producers. that doesnt mean sit around and wait, but nothing happens over night.

I'd tell 'em keep they day job, hope for the best but expect the worst.

right! have something to fall back on

never take "no" as an answer/be result driven
believe in yourself/skills/talent/dreams and the ability to get the job done
deal with ups and downs
have a understanding of "the best is yet to be born"/you are who you are
keep your chops up
always be ready to perform/show your talent
have short, mid and long term goals

the goals portion is the most important followed by dealing with ups and downs. there are going to be good days and some f*cked up days, always be ready to perform/show your talent at a drop of a hat (you may only get one chance). your talent and allot of luck is the key to success.

always remember:

a goal without a plan is only a dream.