Becoming a hobbyist

So you’ve gone through all the questions in the previous section, and you’ve decided that you like your existing path of playing music strictly for fun. Then becoming a hobbyist is the best direction for you. Again, it’s okay to be an amateur, a lover of music, or a person who doesn’t make the music business a priority in their lives. There is no shame in it, and it’s actually what a lot of other musicians in denial should be doing!

If you can’t be honest with yourself about what you want to do and where you want to be, you’re not going to be a very happy person. Don’t lie to yourself about your goals and your dreams. If you come to the decision of wanting it to be about the music and not about the music business, you will be so much happier as a hobbyist and have so much more fun.

Being a hobbyist doesn’t mean you can’t play with professionals or even do professional events, recordings, or do professional work. It just means you are doing it as a hobby and not as a profession.

One of my favorite back-up vocalists had a professional housecleaning service. She decided to build up a great company and leave the music as more of a hobby. She attended a lot of open mic nights to have fun, and she also had a gig a couple times a year where her friends as well as her clients would come out to see her.

I loved her voice, and she loved singing in the studio. She could take a lead line and build really warm and cool harmonies on top of the lead vocals … in most cases, in a single take. Whenever I had a need for her tone and sound, I would always get in touch as early as I could to get her to take a few days off to work with me. She was not a professional, but she was on my list of go-to people for professional albums.

So don’t get lost in the idea that if you are a hobbyist, you’re only allowed to play with other hobbyists. Some hobbyists take the time off of work or use vacation time to do short tours, too. At the end of the day, it can make music that much more fun and still give you a sense of security in a day job that affords you the lifestyle you want to live.

The same goes if you want to be involved in the businesses side of the music industry. From marketing and promotion of a band, to advertising and producing, there are always musicians and businesses that need help and want your involvement even if your primary job is something that doesn’t involve the music industry at all.

Becoming a part-timer

This is in that place between the hobbyist and a full-time professional. If you feel comfortable doing some of the work and the business that needs to be done, and you adjust your world to be able to give a solid percentage of time and effort to a part-time career, you may find that the part-time angle might be best for you.

Perhaps you’re on the fence about going all in and giving the full dedication to having a full-time career in music. This can be a testing phase and for others it can just be a solid place for a simple foundation to be involved in the music business, but not going all in.

Most part-timers look to find the type of supporting jobs that allow them the ability to live the lifestyle they desire while leaving more time for music than just the hobbyist. The part-timer derives income from music, from licensing songs, and has the flexibility in their day job to be able to play out some as well as travel and tour a little and write music as well.

If you are looking for a regular day job as a part-timer or someone who has to work a little longer before you can quit the day gig to become a full-time musician, look for jobs that don’t require you to work too early in the morning or too late at night. These part time jobs that require weekends can get in the way of being able to play gigs as well. Try to find the work outside of the music business that can pay your way and your bills but doesn’t hamper or block your forward motion inside of the music business.

Being in the music business on a part-time level allows a great deal of musicians and those in the business side of things an additional stream of income while following a dream that they want but are not sure if they want it 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

If you are working on the business side or on the musician side as a part-timer, make it clear to those around you that you are not full-time. Don’t get a bad reputation as someone who claims to be professional and then not being able to do what’s expected. Your honesty about being a part-timer can help to build more part-time clients and connect with the right professionals or aspiring professionals that might need your help.

Becoming a professional

That amazing song, that great look, that band that sounds like no other: These are only parts of the music business. To thrive, sustain, and succeed in the music business — the singer on the front of the stage, the drummer in the back of the stage, the manager on side stage, or the production company that built that stage — you need to know the 16 Ps that help you move further in all the aspects of the music business or any type of business today. In becoming a professional, have the 16 Ps in Place!

P is the 16th letter in the alphabet, and these 16 skills that start with the letter P can help you move further, faster, and higher in business than anything else:

• Personality and the ability to engaging others: So much of the music business is communication and engagement with different personalities. Learn the best ways to resonate and connect with other personalities.
• Patience: So many have failed because of lack of patience — rushing, posting, reacting, or racing to put something out before its ready, signing on the dotted line before having a third party or lawyer review it, or launching something before the marketing, promotion, and distribution is in place. Be patient to prosper!
• Perseverance: Continuity and continuing to do the work in the best of times, in the worst of times, and every time in between is a skill that you want to practice in the music business.
• Practice your skill: Practicing your instrument and making the time to constantly learn and grow is key. Always make time to practice.
• Professional work ethic: It sounds obvious, but a strong, centered, and professional work ethic makes all the difference.
• Problem solving: Make sure your problem-solving skills are focused on fixing the problem instead of assigning the blame.
• Preventative maintenance: After a problem has been fixed, apply the skills and methods to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
• Planning and attention to detail: Looking at every number, every option and every cost allows you to handle every question and every possible thing, good or bad that comes at you.
• Preparation: Get your ducks in a row, whether you are going in to the studio, sitting down for an interview, or getting ready to solicit an investor.
• Production: From producing your music to producing your music business plan, the skill of knowing how to allocate time and the attention to each production element is key.
• Promotion: Promotion never stops. This skill is required to continue to keep revenues and profits coming your way. Whether promoting a studio in which people record to a venue for people to see you perform in, to the songs you want people to buy, promoting and marketing is part of the rest of your career.
• Phone: Your phone skills need to be up to par. No mumbling, and don’t talk too fast or too slow. Work to avoid the “uhhs” and “umms.” Make sure your verbal delivery on the phone is professional, personable, and prepared.
• Proficiency: From your instrument to the phone skills, from your promoting skills to your presentation, and everywhere in between, the proficiency skill set, mixed with practice, helps you to maintain and grow all your abilities and all your skill sets.
• Practical communication: Knowing the right time to talk, the right time to be quiet, and the right way to connect with people is a great skill to have. That old Kenny Rodgers song, says it best… “Know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away and know when to run.” Think practically, logically, and considerately in your communication, and many more people will listen.
• Playing well with others: Don’t hog the sandbox. Your skill set of knowing how to play well, communicate well, connect well, and even argue well, will leave you very well off.
• Presentation: It’s all about the delivery. With all the other skill sets you have, with all the work you do and details you add, it all culminates in the delivery and presentation. Make it pretty, make it sharp, and make it represent all the Ps in harmony.

Whether you’re a performer, in the spotlight or out, the business person, or the creative type, these key skill sets will take you further than the best song, the best look, and the best band. The music business of today is much more open to the professionals that care and consider others than the egotistical and selfish stars and stories of yesterday.

Behind the spotlights

These are the musician jobs that don’t have the brightest spotlights shining on them, but keep you playing, performing, recording, and writing the music that is out there shining.

• Session musician, substitute musician, and backup musician: The highest caliber musician job for musicians; these musicians are the first call to the studio, the last-minute call to cover for another, or one of the backup singers or players for a tour, session date, or gig.
• Songwriter, composer, jingle writer, movie and television scoring: These are the writing and composition job options.
• Chart writer and transcriber: Writing charts for live musicians and for studio sessions also includes transcribing parts.
• Theatre musician and regular/repeating gig musician: The solid continuity gig that has some great security to it.
• Cruise ship musician and or wedding/cover band: Short-term but also good-paying gigs and jobs. Wedding and cover bands or general business groups can be very lucrative in certain cities and towns.

The cruise ships can be rough if you are a larger or taller person because the accommodations can be tight.

Though safe and somewhat secure, the cruise ship, theatre, and wedding band or cover band options can become monotonous, boring, and repetitive. Some musicians love this work, whereas it can really drive others insane after a while. It’s a personal thing. I couldn’t handle a theatre subbing gig that had me playing the same thing, every day, over and over and over and … well, you get the idea.

Building the spotlights

Are you the architect type? Do you like the kind of work that builds from the ground up and the type that is all about creating the right foundations? Maybe the building-careers job options strike your fancy.

Music business consultant: A professional and experienced music business consultant has a wide array of experience and knowledge about the music business and helps artists, labels, managers, and others organize and outline plans for successful ventures.

The consultant job takes a great deal of music business experience under your belt before jumping into this field. More than 90 percent of music business consultants hurt more than help clients because they take a life coach approach to make up for lack of experience, knowledge, or up-to-date information.

• Graphic designer: Designing logos, merchandise, promotional posters, social media, headers and everything else graphic!
• Web designer: Designing artist’s websites, merchant pages, landing pages and other web-based music sites.
• Search engine optimizer/branding content planner: These folks help plan, design, and optimize the content that artists post on blogs, social media sites, and their own websites to build up their rankings in searches and grow the social media fan bases. They’re also referred to as content providers. This is a new and growing field.
• Recording studio employee: Working at a recording studio from administrative to assistant engineer. This can be a great position to work your way up in the production field.
• Music producer: The person who oversees the recording project as a whole. The job description of music producer can be wide, or in some cases very narrow.
• Recording engineer: In some cases, the producer is also the engineer; in other cases, the recording engineer is handling all the aspects from setting up the microphones to getting the basic sounds and working with the producer to capture the songs and the takes.
• Mixing and mastering engineer(s): Setting the volumes, effects, sounds, equalization, and manipulating the song to where you want it. The mastering engineer takes the final mix and gives it a final two-track review along with setting up the order of the songs, the fades, and the last touch.
• Photographer: Taking the pictures for branding, web, postings, marketing, and everything else.
• Videographer: From music videos to interviews, short promotional videos to YouTube video shorts.
• Fashion consultant: Some artists need help with their look and image. From working individually with the artists or working through a manager or a record label, this job helps create the overall appearance and branded image of an artist or band.
• Hair and makeup: This job option includes photo shoots and specific gigs, but many larger-scale artists travel with hair and makeup personnel.
• Sound, light, and stage designer: Designing the lights or the stages for tours and artists with large budgets.
• Choreographer: Many artists need dancers, and dancers need a choreographer.
• Instrument builder: Building the instruments for the musicians.
• A&R (artist and repertoire): Finding musicians and artists is less of a job due to the Internet, but if you have a good ear, an eye for development, and an understanding of what it would cost to develop an artist, you could be in A&R.

Whereas internships can be a great thing, make sure you learn from them. Many internships, especially in the music business, take advantage of those trying to learn by having them do menial tasks that don’t help the intern grow. You have to do some basic tasks, but an internship is about learning, growing, and developing for a potential job or experience. Make sure you get that experience, and you’re not being used as a free worker.

Selling the spotlights

Do you like the idea of the pitch? The idea of selling? Is advertising and sales your game? Here are a number of the selling job options in music:

• Booking agent: Booking the gigs, the festivals, the events, and every other show.
• Distributor: Distributing the physical and digital product to brick-and-mortar stores and online sales sites everywhere; also setting up the contracts to get the best percentages for those sales.
• Solicitor: Soliciting to record labels, managers, investors, and others for financing, sponsorships, endorsements, opportunities, and partnerships. This is the true sales part of the music business — always out there asking and selling to get the support and the backing.
• Music publisher: Publishing music, inserting and licensing music, collecting the royalties, and tracking where the music is being used and how often.
• Marketer and advertiser: Setting up the advertising budgets for physical and online ads. Tracking the conversions and following the trends to save the most time and get the most bang for your buck in creating to most exposure possible.
• Music store employee: Selling equipment to musicians, from guitars to amps, from strings to bows.
• Online promoter: Specifically promoting online through websites, social media pages, and networking with bloggers, reviewers, and other sites to expand promotion as far and wide on the net as possible.
• Street or physical promoter: The crew that puts up stickers and posters as well as has a physical presence in stores and outside of shows. Often times working for a series of different bands and artists coming into the area where that promoter is based.
• Translator: Translating content into other languages to reach international audiences.

Running the spotlights

The hands-on jobs make the lights shine, the sound move, and the money flow. These are the direct job options for the music business.

• Manager, representative, personal assistant: The chief operating officer (COO) for an artist, overseeing and running all the operations.
• Personal assistant: Taking care of all direct needs of a star or group. Tasks include everything from running errands to keeping the schedule and calendar.
• Publicist: A crucial job building the biggest media awareness for an artist or band.
• Talent buyers: Planning shows and buying the right acts for the right times.
• Merchandise: Creating, selling, ordering, and customizing promotional merchandise (T-shirts, CDs, keychains, and so on).
• Driver or travel agent: From driving the tour bus to organizing the travel plans. This person handles all point A to B operations.
• Venue owner or manager: Handling a venue that brings in the talent.
• Stage manager: Running the stage, side stage, front of house, and all the crew.
• Lighting tech (literally running the spotlights at times): Handling the visuals from the on stage effects lights to lighting for the artists.
• Sound engineers: Mixing at the front of the house or running monitors on the side of the house; delivering the best sound for the artist and creating the best sound for the audience.
• Touring manager: Overseeing and handling all planning, contacts, and schedules for a tour.
• Instrument technician: Setting up, breaking down, and maintaining the instruments for musicians.
• Website/social media manager/content creator: Running the website and social media; ensuring the best content is being posted.
• Backline: Renters, suppliers, and owners of backline gear available as and when needed. Backline gear makes up anything you need for a show, from a drum set to an amplifier, a piano to a keyboard, and anything else that an artist might need to perform.
• Roadie: The people who move the gear from A to B and back to A, as well as handling the lifting and basic issues.

Protecting the spotlights

From the legal contracts internally and externally, from insurance to instrument repairs and restoration to taking care of the music, and the wellbeing of musicians, these are the protection job options in the music business.

• Lawyer (entertainment, intellectual property, and business law): One of the key areas that musicians in the music business need.
• Accountant, bookkeeper, and auditor: Tracking the expenses, revenues, profits, and percentages so that everyone knows exactly what is being made, what is being spent, and where it is going.
• Insurance professional (personal and gear): Insuring gear and people. What happens when a musician can’t play? If you’re the insurance professional, you make sure both the artist and venue are protected.
• Instrument repair and restorations: Repairing and restoring instruments from the present and the past is a great job for the detailed craftsman.
• Healthcare professional (chiropractic, massage, dental, physician): From being a personal physician to a massage therapist on tour to being budgeted by recording studios and some venues for massage, chiropractic care, acupuncture, and other healthcare-related needs. This is a growing option that may cost investors and labels to hire you, but can save them tens of thousands on the other end when their artists stay healthy and fit.
• Bodyguard: Bodyguards are in high demand with higher-echelon artists who gain popularity quickly.
• Music librarian: A challenging job to get, but a musicologist of sorts that organizes, catalogs, tracks, and in some cases even transcribes music from the past and present.

Protection is key. Lawyers, accountants, and insurance agents are some of the most important jobs for musicians, labels, managers, and agents to use and hire. The ones that don’t find out the hard way in the end.

Paying for the spotlights

Key parts of the music business are the money jobs. From finding it, to investing it, to donating it, to raising it, to getting paid back. Here are some areas if you have an interest in the money side of the business.

• Record Label: Often times the record label is the financer and the organizer of many of the jobs listed above, just placed in to a one-stop shop of sorts. Working for a label that has financing and actually finances its artists is more and more rare. Yet that really is the base of a label. Working for a label can include all the above in building, protecting, and running the spotlights jobs.

  There are a lot of fake record labels out there. Be very careful with whom you get involved and what they actually do and don’t do. If a label is not financing or finding the financing for an artist to create, distribute, and promote a product, they are only covering the job descriptions of representative, manager, or agent, but taking percentages that they don’t deserve. Always do your due diligence and check out everyone and everything.

• Banker/allocator: Handling the banking and allocation of funds from investors, labels, or wherever money came from. This is one of those positions that’s sometimes covered by the manager or representative, but having a third party that allocates the money going out and tracks the money being spent can make investors and the label feel more secure.
• Private/personal investor: Being an investor or working with investors to find individual entertainment investments can pay well on referrals and percentages. Also, being the middle person between an artist and investor can save others time as it pays you money.
• Venture capitalist/angel investor: This job is usually set aside for those with a great deal of money or companies that invest in entertainment. Although music and entertainment can be a risky investment, a great deal can be made in percentages and profits by those who invest wisely.
• Grant writer: If you have or want to develop skills in grant writing, many artists, labels, music businesses, and music-based businesses are always looking for money. This is a great field if you have interest.
• Fundraiser: Raising funds for projects with music business plans, assisting with grant proposals, and reaching out to both profit and nonprofit avenues to raise money can be a solid career. Setting up combinations of crowd funding, sponsorship campaigns, and other types of fundraising approaches can be beneficial and lucrative.
• Royalty and payment collector: Working with a performing rights organization or one of the royalty collection groups can be a bit like being a detective. To find out if, when, or where music has been used and who should be paid can be a great job option and also be morally fulfilling to help those who should be paid and haven’t had the ability or tools to find out how.

Reviewing the spotlights

The reviewers, writers, and critics of the music business can be a great area if your writing skills are what you love to use the most. Also, serving as an editor for a label, an artist, management groups, or others in the field can be rewarding.

• Editor and content editor/proofreader: The English teacher, of sorts. The editor makes sure that the content is well optimized, that correct grammar and spelling are used, and that a second set of professional eyes has gone over it. From product content to web content, from music business plans to press releases, being that editor can make all the difference between a professional release and something that looks amateurish.
• Music reviewer: A challenging job to get because, in a way, everyone’s a critic. But, if you have the drive and work to connect with various magazines, websites, and both entertainment- non-entertainment–based publications, being a music reviewer can be a lot of fun.
• Music journalist or blogger: Whether working for a magazine, a website, or as an independent writer, music journalism can be a great option. Mixing payment for your articles with online ads on a website around your article can draw supplemental revenues.

Educating the spotlights

These jobs are for the person who might be leaning toward teaching or supplementing another area in music with a job in education. These are jobs in which you want to build up experience and knowledge before coming out of the gate.

Teach for the love of it and not for the money. Teach after you have learned and after you have enough experience to guide others. Way too often, musicians needing extra income turn to teaching even if they aren’t ready to teach. Don’t hurt the growth and fundamentals of another if you aren’t really ready to teach. Also understand that you need a degree for most of these as well as a good number of years of study.

• Music educator (teacher, professor, private instructor): In classrooms to online as full-time professors to private instructors and everywhere in between, music teachers, instructors, and professors are needed from elementary schools to colleges and music stores to online video conferencing.
• Speaker or clinician: From speaking or delivering clinics for musical instruments, composition, business aspects, and many other areas of the music business, the speaker or clinician presents education formats to larger audiences. This is also a job option where years of experience should be in place prior to entering. While a degree is not required, many want to see one or see a vast amount of experience in the industry with a résumé that reflects the knowledge of an expert.
• Music therapist: A music therapist applies elements of music to therapeutic situations for non-musicians as well as for an array of both physical and mental disorders. Though the history of music as therapy has been around for a long time, this is a newer field. This is a field that requires a degree.