3 answers
Carleigh
Student
Port St. Lucie, Florida
1
Question
Asked
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Where do I start in order to obtain a career in the music industry?
How do I obtain a career in the music industry? I am a young independent musician. I don’t even know the first step of “getting in the door,” and I need some help. I’m not a nepo baby, I’m not rich, and I have no “connections” in the industry. I have talent, but I feel like that isn’t enough.
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3 answers
Jacob vanhaften
I rap for others and explain through my music that other people are not alone in this world
4
Answers
Hamburg, MN
Updated
Jacob’s Answer
Maintain a cheerful attitude and persist in creating music, sharing it on various music apps, video streaming, and audio streaming platforms. If your school permits, perform your songs there too. It's crucial to complete your education and take notes of your song ideas, so you don't lose track of their themes after school. By doing so, you'll also gain more recognition. As a rapper, I've experienced this journey firsthand. With a bit of luck and increased attention, success may come sooner than expected. Remember, I'm here to support and guide you throughout your song-making journey if you need assistance.
get noticed
make friends
publicly sing
make account to publish music from
spread word of your music
Jacob recommends the following next steps:
Joe-Drick van Wyk
Producer/ Composer/ Engineer
3
Answers
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Updated
Joe-Drick’s Answer
This question is very broad and can't be answered in short or have one specific answer, so I will stick to the easiest option.
As a professional in the music industry, I suggest you start collaborating with a lot of creatives (Music producers, artists, songwriters, sound engineers, film composers, music supervisors, etc.). Building your network is definitely one of the biggest keys to success in this industry.
Music producers are typically the easiest to reach because they are always looking for vocalists/ rappers and if you can play an instrument/ produce music, you can also offer them loops. Start an artist Instagram profile and add reels that showcase your vocal/ songwriting/ composition/ musical talent. Start by liking, following and commenting on post/ reels. It is crucial that you do this before shooting a DM. (If you don't follow them or interact with their content, why will they offer their resources to you or even open your DM. It is much easier to get a response, just don't spam, keep it to only ONE DM and have patience.)
Here are some tips regarding music producers:
1. Find producers who have a similar sound to yours that have equal or less followers than you;
2. If you have a TikTok, duet producers, opt for the ones that aren't viral but that have a decent view amount (1K - 100K):
3. Follow small producers that major/ big producers follow;
4. Follow similar artists that smaller producers follow, songwriting and ghost writing is a big thing;
5. Collaborate with production and sound engineering students, FREE PRODUCTION, FREE STUDIO TIME, one hand washing another.
As a musician, you should also rack up a repertoire of cover songs and start doing gigs. In the beginning a lot of work will require you to do it for free or spend more than what you will make. Also opt for free work in the beginning but ask if you could have a tip-jar and sell merchandise. Merchandise do not have to be T-shirts, it could be a cheap flash-drive with your EP/ Album on it or a journal with song lyrics that you can create with Amazon KDP.
If you're good at writing background music or jingles, reach out to indie/ student film writers/ cinematographers and publishers once you have somewhat of a catalogue. Sync licensing is also overlooked but has the most benefit, you can earn a lot of money, royalties and the possibility of blowing up is also big if your music get placed in a huge movie/ series (Look into publishing and stock music).
The most important question to ask yourself on this journey is: INDEPENDENCE OR LABEL? These are two different paths. Independence generally focus on talent over image, label, the opposite.
Remember, "Getting in the door" is only "getting in the door", it does not guarantee a career. Once you enter that door, the hard work begins, the more you'll be contemplating between creating music that sells/ trend or creating music that you want to create and take a huge risk at failing.
In conclusion:
If you're aiming for a record deal, the modern music industry is a 50/30/20 split (50% brand/ image, 30% network, 20% talent). You do need some talent but being able to sell a product or image and having the right connections are far more important due to the rapid rise in 360- deals and social media impact.
Hope this helps
Joey
As a professional in the music industry, I suggest you start collaborating with a lot of creatives (Music producers, artists, songwriters, sound engineers, film composers, music supervisors, etc.). Building your network is definitely one of the biggest keys to success in this industry.
Music producers are typically the easiest to reach because they are always looking for vocalists/ rappers and if you can play an instrument/ produce music, you can also offer them loops. Start an artist Instagram profile and add reels that showcase your vocal/ songwriting/ composition/ musical talent. Start by liking, following and commenting on post/ reels. It is crucial that you do this before shooting a DM. (If you don't follow them or interact with their content, why will they offer their resources to you or even open your DM. It is much easier to get a response, just don't spam, keep it to only ONE DM and have patience.)
Here are some tips regarding music producers:
1. Find producers who have a similar sound to yours that have equal or less followers than you;
2. If you have a TikTok, duet producers, opt for the ones that aren't viral but that have a decent view amount (1K - 100K):
3. Follow small producers that major/ big producers follow;
4. Follow similar artists that smaller producers follow, songwriting and ghost writing is a big thing;
5. Collaborate with production and sound engineering students, FREE PRODUCTION, FREE STUDIO TIME, one hand washing another.
As a musician, you should also rack up a repertoire of cover songs and start doing gigs. In the beginning a lot of work will require you to do it for free or spend more than what you will make. Also opt for free work in the beginning but ask if you could have a tip-jar and sell merchandise. Merchandise do not have to be T-shirts, it could be a cheap flash-drive with your EP/ Album on it or a journal with song lyrics that you can create with Amazon KDP.
If you're good at writing background music or jingles, reach out to indie/ student film writers/ cinematographers and publishers once you have somewhat of a catalogue. Sync licensing is also overlooked but has the most benefit, you can earn a lot of money, royalties and the possibility of blowing up is also big if your music get placed in a huge movie/ series (Look into publishing and stock music).
The most important question to ask yourself on this journey is: INDEPENDENCE OR LABEL? These are two different paths. Independence generally focus on talent over image, label, the opposite.
Remember, "Getting in the door" is only "getting in the door", it does not guarantee a career. Once you enter that door, the hard work begins, the more you'll be contemplating between creating music that sells/ trend or creating music that you want to create and take a huge risk at failing.
In conclusion:
If you're aiming for a record deal, the modern music industry is a 50/30/20 split (50% brand/ image, 30% network, 20% talent). You do need some talent but being able to sell a product or image and having the right connections are far more important due to the rapid rise in 360- deals and social media impact.
Hope this helps
Joey
Thomas O'Shea
Live Sound Engineer, Music Producer, Musician
60
Answers
Madison, Wisconsin
Updated
Thomas’s Answer
What do you want to do in the music industry? Do you want to be a performer, producer, audio engineer, live sound, session musician, DJ, composer, Manager, songwriter, A&R, Label Exec, Band Member? Are you more on the classical side of music? Literally the ONLY thing you can do is START working. Download a Digital Audio Workstation and start making beats- keep in mind the first songs you make will be utter garbage but with practice you WILL get better. If you want to do more behind the scenes of music then start contacting musicians on instagram, Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Soundcloud, and elsewhere. Obviously you have to start with smaller artists in order to get a response that will lead to work but you can work your way up. If you want to work as a session or performance musician then practice. practice. practice. and practice some more. Same thing if you want to be a DJ, songwriter, audio engineer music producer, or basically anything else that involves playing or creating music.
STARTING is the only thing you can do. Without STARTING nothing will ever happen.
See above
Practice
Practice
Practice.
Thomas recommends the following next steps: