How To Become a Successful Musician Using Networking

Andrea

It is often said that success in any field boils down to networking. Whether you want to become a successful musician or not, networking is an essential part of the process. It can help you find talent agents, book gigs, and even meet new friends. If you want to become a successful musician, networking is key. There are many ways to network and make connections, so find out what works best for you. Some tips for networking as a musician include: 

1) Attend music events and meet people who are in the industry. 

2) Join online music communities and forums. 

3) Go to music festivals and meet other musicians. 

4) Make connections with music marketing professionals.

Uploading your music onto music streaming platforms ensures your fans can listen to your music whenever they want to. There are plenty of options for consumers such as Spotify, Tidal, Pandora, and Apple Music. But what’s the point of uploading songs if no one is actually going to be listening to them? How do you become a successful musician?

40 thousand songs are uploaded to Spotify every day, but how will your song stand out? To keep making music you need to earn money doing what you love

How to get started - becoming a successful musician

One of the most important parts of being a successful musician is creating a fan base!

More and more musicians are creating songs on their own home music equipment and not collaborating with others.

But without collaborating, networking or building relationships there’s a chance that nobody will listen to your track and enjoy it.

What is Networking

Networking is one of the most important skills you can develop in your career. It allows you to build relationships with people in your industry and learn about new opportunities. Networking also gives you the opportunity to share your skills and knowledge with others. Which can help you advance in your career.

Networking is one of the most important skills you can develop in your career. It allows you to build relationships with people in your industry and learn about new opportunities. Networking also gives you the opportunity to share your skills and knowledge with others. Which can help you advance in your career.

You have to make connections with other musicians, industry professionals, and fans to build a fanbase and find new opportunities. There are many ways to network, such as attending music conferences, joining online communities, and going to shows. The more people you meet and connect with, the more likely you will see success as a musician.

A lot of independent musicians don't have a manager/agent, which means that they work completely on their own. But, most musicians need someone to assist with the business of music. So, get out there and meet people!

You are on your way to becoming a successful musician.

Finding a mixing engineer

The quality of your song matters a lot. So to make your song the best it can be you’ll likely need a sound engineer, right?

Even if you have some experience, having a second pair of ears check it out is a good idea. Create a guide track, get their input and see if they can take it to the next level.

You can easily find an engineer here on Indiy

Successful Musician

Get your music heard - The importance of communities

To get your song heard, you’ll need to get involved with communities and start building relationships.

Facebook Groups

If you’re on Facebook, make sure you use groups.

You can post to any group that you join. Take note though, don't join and immediately start spamming.

As soon as you’re a part of a group, start engaging. You can do this in the comments, start posting things to start up a conversation. When interacting on other posts, be insightful and make yourself a part of the community. 

Facebook Events

Next, you have events. Facebook puts a big emphasis on helping people find things to do nearby.

Start by searching your local area. So if you’re from Chicago you, search “Chicago musicians” or “Chicago music events”.

Be smart on your way to being a successful musician

Don’t just start posting your latest track, asking people to listen, or whether they’d be willing to collaborate. Because let’s face it they don’t know who you are, so they won’t actually care. 

The same applies to Reddit and Sub-Reddits.

Remember that human beings are on the other end of your keyboard. Therefore, you need to consider their feelings. How do you feel if someone tries to sell you a product with no consideration for you as an individual?

Spamming people is not networking and you’d be wise to remember that. Once you’ve established a friendship and you think you can benefit from your connection. If you are posting periodically on your own wall maybe your new connections will also see this organically.

Put yourself out there

The next step is actually putting yourself out there in person. The rel world is still importand. Meet some music industry professionals by attending some music networking events.

That might seem scary and social interaction can sometimes be awkward. But for stepping out of your comfort zone, you could potentially cross paths with an opportunity. Maybe you will connect with someone who’s going to help you progress along your career path. Or maybe you can add value to someone else and you will benefit in ways you can't even imagine now.

Be patient

Don’t connect with people just to ask for something. In fact, think about the value you can add. Don't ask for anything until you’ve established a true connection, listen and allow the people to talk about themselves.

Learn what they can offer, but share if you have something relatable to the conversation. 

The importance of networking to be a Successful Musician

Networking is important for any career, but it’s especially important in the music industry. It can be tough to break into this competitive field. But meeting as many people as possible and building relationships with them is a great way to start. Force your way into the Music Scene.

You will not make it in music without mastering the power and art of live networking.

How to make a connection

Networking is key for any musician looking to make a name for themselves. But, how do you go about making connections when you don't know anyone in the industry? Here are a few tips: 

It’s not about going straight in with a sales pitch.

You can start with “Hey I’m [insert name], Nice to meet you!” Usually, the person will share their name with you too.

Networking can be a great way to make connections and advance your career, but it can also be daunting. Here are a few tips to help make a connection when networking:

1. Put yourself in the other person's shoes. When you're able to empathise with the person you're speaking with, it will come across in your interactions.

2. Be genuine. People can tell when you're being fake, so don't try to be someone you're not. Just be yourself and let the conversation flow naturally.

3. Ask questions. People love to talk about themselves, so ask them questions about their work, their interests. This will build a connection with the other person and show that you're interested in getting to know them better.

Remember why you go to a networking event in the first place, to make connections.

At the end of the conversation ask if they have a business card.

Successful musician goals

No one can become a successful musician without setting goals. This may seem like an obvious statement, but it is actually quite profound. Without specific goals to strive for, a musician will lack focus and will likely be unable to achieve significant success.

One of the best ways to set musical goals is to model oneself after successful musicians. Study what these musicians do and how they achieved their level of success. It is important to remember that there is no single path to success, so find what works best for you and go after it with determination.

It is also beneficial to have short-term and long-term goals in mind. Short-term goals might include learning a new song or practising more regularly. Long-term goals could be anything from recording an album to playing at a major concert venue. Whatever your goals may be, make sure they are realistic and achievable.

A simple short term goal could be to connect on social media with those you meet at events.

Get Organised

One of the best things you can do as a musician is to be organised. This means having all of your social media handles in one place, so that people can find you easily. It also means keeping your information updated, so that fans and promoters can stay in touch.

A great way to stay organised is to use a social media management tool. These tools make it easy to keep track of all of your accounts, and they can help you schedule posts ahead of time.

Another important thing to remember is to keep your website up-to-date. This is where fans will go to learn more about you, and it’s also where promoters will go to find out how to book you. Make sure your website is easy to navigate, and that it has all the information potential fans might want to know.

If you don’t yet have business cards printed, click here to fix that! Make sure your business card has all of your contact information on it, including your website. Or at least a way I can easily find out more, for example, use your YouTube channel.

The person needs to first buy you before they will buy anything you’re selling and that includes your music.

How To Become a Successful Musician Using Networking - Wrap up

In conclusion, networking is key to becoming a successful musician. By meeting other musicians, industry professionals, and fans, you can create opportunities for yourself and your music. Take the time to build relationships and cultivate your network. You will be on your way to a successful music career.

By attending events and meeting new people, you can expand your professional network and find potential partners or clients. Be sure to stay in touch with your connections and continue to build relationships, and you'll see growth.


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Andrea

Andrea graduated from Roehampton University and The BRIT School, whose globally recognized alumni include Adele, Katy B, Ella Eyre, FKA Twigs, Jessie J, Leona Lewis, Katie Melua, Kate Nash and the Rizzle Kicks. She takes her love of the arts and entertainment industry to provide useful information to upcoming musicians, helping them navigate the industry and avoid making costly mistakes. She actively mentors our current contributors. Andrea has qualifications in Content Marketing and also manages our collaborative playlists for independent artists

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