There is one thing that separates music professionals from hobbyists and amateurs: Their willingness to work.
No two words are more frequently uttered by aspiring music professionals than “I’m gonna.” This fact is not based on science, nor is the second word even technically a word, but fifteen years of industry chats have proven it correct nonetheless. Aspiring professionals love to talk about what they’re ‘gonna’ do. The bands they’re gonna work with, the show they’re gonna go to, the story they’re gonna write, etc.
No one cares about what you’re gonna do. Everyone cares about you’re doing right now.
The main difference between amateurs and professionals is a willingness to do the work required to reach the position they desire. Great ideas and a desire to good for others in music alone are not enough. True professionals put action behind their thought, and they do so without having to be given permission or motivation from the outside world.
The pursuit of dreams alone is not enough. Everyone is chasing a dream. Everyone wishes to be something more than what they are right now. The problem is most folks stop at wishing. To break from the herd and separate yourself as a professional, you have to be willing to dig and do the work. It’s both as simple and as complicated as that.
If you don’t know where to begin, turn to someone who does. Find a professional doing the job you’d like to have and express your interest in the business. Research on your own as well (no one wants to hear questions that Google can answer).
Start with a single decision: Today will be different. Star there and make good on it. With a little time and a lot of hard work, making moves on your own will become second nature. Others will soon take notice, and life will change, but that only happens if you take it upon yourself to do the work.
Time. It’s the one thing we all want that is always fleeting and impossible to replenish. The luckiest among us realize the value of time in their teen years, but most don’t appreciate it’s true nature until some great loss occurs in the mid to late twenties. Whatever the case may be for you, it’s likely you feel your time to quote/unquote ‘make it’ in music is constantly slipping through your fingers. Every day it seems there is a new, younger hitmaker finding success. That yodeling kid from Wal-Mart went from viral fame to releasing a (really freaking good) hit single distributed by a major label in under a month — all before he’s old enough to take a driver’s education course.
Here’s the thing you have to remember: You don’t have to find success at a young age to become successful in life. There are no age restrictions on happiness. The digital age has presented new opportunities for overnight success, as has reality television, but that kind of exposure the associated success comes from chance, and you cannot rely on luck to get you through this life. At the risk of sounding pessimistic, it just doesn’t make sense. The universe cares not for your flights of fancy and the things you wish you were, nor will it ever bend over backward to assist you in the day to day struggles of being a functional human being.
So, if viral success isn’t the ideal path, then the only one that remains is the same one traveled by every person working in music today. Success in this industry is, by and large, earned through years of handwork and dedication to your craft. It’s the result of treating others well and always doing your part, regardless of whether or not others did the same. Success, for lack of a better description, is the sum of everything you’ve done over the entirety of your time in music.
With this in mind, you may think you need to work harder than ever. We’ve been conditioned to believe that any waking hour not spent working on something that helps us inch closer to our goals is time wasted. After all, someone somewhere is no doubt chasing the same dream as you or I and they’re probably working on something incredible, right? That’s what my brain tells me.
The fact of the matter is that whether you pull an all-nighter tomorrow or not isn’t nearly as important as your longterm commitment to this field. Success in music, especially the kind of success that leads to a legitimate career (with benefits, etc.), takes time. There is no way around it. There is also no rush because there is no endpoint. There will never be a day when you reach a professional peak, and the sky suddenly disappears. There will always be another thing to make, pitch, sell, or whatever it is you wish to do with your life. Always.
Do not be afraid to rest. Take the night off if you need it. Heck, unless you’re getting paid to do something feel free to take as much time as you need whenever you need it. Those who are indeed called to this industry can never stay away for long, and in time you’ll feel that passion you’ve been searching for return. This journey we are on lasts a lifetime if you want it to, but you have to take care of yourself. No one else can do that for you.
Today, September 6, marks the start of a brand new school year for most of America, which means many of you reading this now are likely doing so while ignoring or altogether avoiding something related to your education. If true, don’t fret. We aren’t going to tell on you or try to convince you that your time would be better spent listening to your instructors (though it may be), but we are going to say that this time you have to be in school is incredibly important. People will tell you that you don’t need higher education in order to make it in music, and while that may be true for some for others (in our experience, most) it is a absolutely crucial time for personal and professional development that should not be taken lightly. We plan to provide you with plenty of tips and tricks as you navigate the year ahead, but to get you start we came up with these three easy to apply pieces of advice for making the most of the time you have been given:
Experimenting is never easier than it is right now
Even if you think you know what you want to do in the music business you should use your time in college to experiment with a variety of roles and responsibilities. Maybe you try doing PR for a band on campus, or maybe you agree to manage them for a semester in hope of raising both of your profiles within the industry at large. Maybe you contribute to a music blog for a couple months to try and improve your networking skills with the PR firms you hope to one day work at. If you’re a musician, maybe it’s time you try that obscure side project you have been kicking around in your free time. If you rap, try producing your own beats. If you produce, try learning to mix and master the work of other producers.
One of the most important lessons you can learn about life in this business is that everything is connected. Success or failure in one area can impact the success or failure of something down the line. No matter where you want to end up in this industry it’s smart to have at least an understanding of what others do and what the demands of their role entails. You don’t have to stick with everything you try, but who knows? You may discover a talent for something you never knew you possessed.
One word, two syllables: Network
A career in the music industry is not entirely built on knowing the right people, but knowing the right people certainly won’t hurt. The funny thing about being in college is that you never know who among your peers will actually become some kind of power playing in the business, so it’s best to try and at least get along with everyone. Ask people what they want to do and how they plan on accomplishing those goals. Find those with a similar drive to you whose goals fall in line with your own. You don’t have to work together, but maybe you try it anyways because there is strength in numbers. Raise one another up while you’re still trying to establish yourselves and you will forge relationships that stand the test of time.
Speaking to networking with the industry at large, this is another instance where experimentation can be useful. As you try and figure out where you fit in you should be asking those who already found work within the business about their journey. Find people whose work ethic you admire and make yourself known to them. Send emails. Make calls. Do whatever you can to get on the radar of people who are in the kind of positions you want to be in yourself and ask what you can do to make their lives easier. I cannot promise this will end in work or internship opportunities, but it will put your name in their brain. That way, when opportunities do arise, they know they can turn to you in order to get the job done.
Start and maintain a portfolio of your work
There are numerous sites that will allow you to launch a basic portfolio portal for next to nothing, but I want to urge you to buy a domain that is as close to your name as possible and build a proper website. That may sound daunting to those of you who lack a lot of internet skills, but platforms like Squarespace make the process of creating a site customized to your and your skill set surprisingly simple. (Please note: They didn’t pay me to say that, but I do use their service for my own site.)
Your personal site will be the doorway the industry at large uses to know you and your work. Keep a blog that details your pursuits, upload images related to your work, and always keep a running list of things you’ve done and who you did them for. You probably won’t have much to write when you begin, but as you accumulate accomplishments and learn new skills maintaining a proper corner of the internet to promote yourself will be increasingly important. Starting early is your best shot at avoiding self-promotion headaches down the line.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and 10-year veteran of the entertainment business. James prides himself on his work to educate aspiring industry professionals about the realities of a life in entertainment, and he is currently working hard to finish his first book on that very topic. You should probably follow him on Twitter. If you wish to speak with him, email: James@haulix.com.
