j.chan

Another swell addition to the Music Think Tank archives, this collection of thoughts from Frank Woodworth at Glacial Concepts. All the advice in this article is practical, logical and can be easily realized by anybody who wants to excel.

From the four points Frank makes, I personally can’t pick one that is more essential than the other. They are all key to building and sustaining the longevity of your career. Once you get your foot in the door and find that steady job, perhaps applying to new jobs becomes a little less relevant, but I would definitely say that building your base, skills and knowledge, and creating conversations are levels that should continually be worked on (through to the last days of your career and beyond).

It can seem sometimes (as you pace back and forth at the bottom of the ladder), that there are people who just have some kind of magnetism that jobs, people and opportunities flock to. Yes, I believe it’s true that there are people out there who just happened to live in the right neighbourhood and have the right friends that allowed them to concurrently launch careers in the music industry, right from the get-go, with great success. For others, it’s the determination-school-internship-internship-retail job-leap of faith path that gets taken. And that’s way-okay, possibly even more rewarding when things start coming together.

As a person who took the latter route to building a career in the music industry (I’m still in the early stages), I fully back all of the advice given in this article. A career (in any industry) can be a time consuming rocket to launch, but nothing worth doing ever comes easy or for free. Building relationships takes time, as does proving what you (your work ethic, style and approach) are about and that you are an asset not to be passed on. Don’t be cheap and skip on these steps because it’s yourself that you’re investing in. Nothing screams “not worth it” to an employer than an individual who doesn’t want to improve themselves in the career department.

If you’re keen on building a career in the music industry, stay keen - all the way to the top.

A handful of the Coalition Music team will be heading halfway around the world to Singapore next week to take part in the amazing Music Matters conference + festival (come on up and say hi if you see them!), needless to say excitement is in the air.

The wonderful thing about conferences and music festivals is that it’s a great environment to meet new people, network and discover bands from all over the world.  If you’re in a band, this is an opportunity to chat up a person you’d otherwise never be in the same room with - and that’s what the link above is all about.

Say you’ve got your performance down pat, but you start getting the shakes before you’ve extended your hand. Take a breather because you’re probably not the only one. Jasper Donat, the President of Music Matters, recently shared his key points to networking at major conferences - all great things to keep in mind. Have a look at these tips on preparing yourself to network professionally and effectively. Start incorporating a few at a time if it seems daunting.

Hope to meet you at a conference soon!