how to start a "career" in music...

[locussst]

Hey,

My name is Ben and I check these forums from time to time because I am a DP user and have been for the past few years. Basically I was just fishing around for some advice on what I should do after college. Right now I am in my last year and I'm about to get a degree in English Lit. but of course my real passion is in the singing/song writing/synthesizing I do almost every spare moment I have apart from school and friends and my band. So I just wanted to know what some of you more experienced people would do after college if you really wanted to pursue a career in music?

So that's the basics right there but if you want more detail I'm including it here. I've been considering getting a master's in London (so that my parents will continue to support me, plus they only take a year) because my style of music is very Coldplay/Radiohead/Keane-like and I figure the kinds of other musicians/popular appeal in London would make it easier to succeed. That's just an idea, but then again I can think of several American bands (the Killers is one) that plays a style very much like mine and has still been able to make it in England and to some extent America. Basically, I just want to try to move somewhere where my chances of finding some fans and some good musicians who are interested in my kind of music (pop/rock with some 80s and British influences) are highest. Any ideas?? I've heard you don't necessarily have to move to LA/London/NYC but I'd really like a more experienced opinion on that. So if anyone has any books/articles/insights of their own please let me know. And that would cover anything like ability to find other jobs in music in certain towns or whatever would be useful to a college student willing to move anywhere and resign himself to poverty to pursue a dream. Feel free to e-mail if you think it is more appropriate. Thanks.

Ben.


btw, I live in Columbus, OH where the only musicians I seem to come across are interested in punk and hard rock.... certainly not 80s or British melodic stuff.

[jgest]

Just don't move to the BAY AREA CA. I came here for graduate school thinking there would be a music scene........... The joke was on me.

[David Polich]

Ben, us "old farts" could write books and books on a "career" in the music business. There's an old joke, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" answer - "Take the bus".

30 plus years ago, I moved to L.A. to do the same thing you aspire to - get a career going in the music business. Two weeks after I moved to L.A. from Denver, I was working in a copier shop making two bucks an hour and sleeping on a band member's couch. I lived that way for about a year, then I got a job working in the tape dupe room at Screen Gems Music Publishing.
Then it was on to cover bands again, blah blah, no need to bore you with everything else. But if I had to boil things down as concisely as possible, here's some advice (and again, you know how advice is, everybody has some).

1. You will need three things wherever you move to - a car, a job, and a place to live. Do not move anywhere without enough money in the bank to cover six months of living in wherever you're moving to. San Francisco, L.A., New York, these are all very expensive places to live. Do some research about rents in the cities you're looking at.
It's a myth that you have to move somewhere to get a career in music going. You can do it all via the internet these days. Hundreds of musicians move to one of the "music cities" every week. Ask yourself if you really want to move someplace else where it's much more costly to live and you're just one of thousands and thousands of other musicians.
You may want to consider an extended "visit" (like a month or two) to cities that you're considering moving to.

2. A degree in music means absolutely nothing at all as far as success in the music business. Period. If you want to do session work then being able to read music is a good idea. Being likable, proficient on your instrument, reliable, and a willingness to keep learning are what you need, not a degree.

3. Don't follow what's trendy. I can't emphasize this enough.You said bands like Coldplay, Keane, and the Killers have a style like yours. You know that's not true - you're following their style. Which is okay, but at some point you have to ask yourself what you're all about.

I was in enough bands in the 80's that sounded just like Journey or Van Halen. You can't keep up with trends, no matter how hard you try. The most important thing about your music is that it has to have emotional impact, sound good (sonically), and groove. That's why a four-piece rock band still works today - it's nothing new, it's basic, but if the music grooves and has impact, it works.

Always keep in mind this - when a "new" CD is released commercially, the music on it is already one to three years old, maybe older. It's not "new" to the band or artist, creatively they've already moved on.

4. Enjoy the ride up - even if you never "get there". A record deal isn't something to strive for. Enjoyment of what you do on a daily basis is what matters. You may end up never getting the elusive "deal" or making any significant money in music. People obsessed with "making the big-time" usually end up miserable (and alcoholics, druggies, or even dead) because their "happiness" hinges on a specific event. Even if you sign a deal with someone, the exhilaration of that moment only lasts a short time.

5. Find a significant other who believes in you. It's no fun going it alone. And you'll be healthier.

[31flies]

Hey David, I disagree with some of the aforementioned advice. I moved to L.A. with a little less than a grand, an old Honda stuffed full of clothes, a guitar, and an EPS sampler. No job. No money. A B.A. in Business and some experience as a waiter. I slept on the living room floor of the only guy I knew in L.A. and took a job as a waiter in Santa Monica. A little more than a year later I was under conract with Sony (publishing) and Immortal/Epic (recording) and released a solo album, charted, video on Mtv, tour, all that. In the end it didn't work out, but the most important thing to know is that the business isn't as scary as it seems. It's just people and all the doors aren't shut. In fact, most of them are open.

The single most important thing, or things, rather, are relationships. Finding the right ones. Building them effectively.

Don't be:
1. greedy
2. selfish
3. pompous
4. arrogant
5. too self-assured
6. dont be afraid to ask for help when you need it
7. Don't be afraid to go it alone when you're sure you can't.

Be:
1. Greedy
2. selfish
3. pompous
4. arrogant
5. self-assured
6. be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
7. be afraid go it alone.

If that paradox makes sense to you, you're probably ready for NY, LA, London, or Nashville. If not, you might want to give yourself a little more time before making a move.

Good luck. If you have any specific questions, ask away.

[David Polich]

31, I don't think we're really in disagreement. Timelines are different for different people. I'm glad you had the success you did.

Your story doesn't negate any of things I said. You moved here with a little bit of money and had to take a job, right? Well, that still supports what I said - you need money of some kind to pay your rent and food and driving expenses. The less money you have on hand, the more difficult it will be for you if you make a move to a city like L.A. (mileage always varies, as the saying goes).

I'm not sure if "greedy", "arrogant" and "pompous" are correct adjectives. No one likes assholes. Assholes only get so far. I could rattle off several tales of pricks I knew who rose to the top of the heap and then crashed and burned. Being a {censored} always comes back on you in the end. No matter how big-time you may get. Can dickheads get deals? Sure. Doesn't mean they'll stay at the top. If you stepped on a lot of people on the way up, don't expect them to be there when you fall back down. And unless the true luck of the Gods falls on you and you enter the top 20 of superstardom like U2 or Sting, you will always come back down. Anyone remember the band Lit?

It's more a matter of having very astute "antennae" and knowing when to plug the right behaviors in during a given situation.

[monkey man]

Pure gold as usual, Davo.

Your comments, in my mind at least, help vindicate my choice of "career".
Without fear of becoming a Prolich-tarian, the monkey eagerly awaits the next tidbit.
M

[Atardecer]

Without fear of becoming a Prolich-tarian

Sorry Monkey Man but that was a shocker! LOL! I agree with 31flies, its all about building relationships. Unfortunately, a lot of it IS about who you know . No need to suck up to people because that wont work, but ingratiate yourself with them. One thing i was amazed at in starting out in trying to get studio or live work was how many free gigs/work i did for people before getting paid. Not a habit you want to keep for too long but you find that people in the music industry dont forget things like that and when the next paid work comes around that they cant do, trust that you're the first person they call. Of course, there is also the case of just being in the right place at the right time and totally fluking it, which more accurately describes what happened to me!

Regards

[monkey man]

Good points; I whole-heartedly agree, A.

FWIW, I thought the "Prolich-tarian" thing was pretty funny.

Cheers
MM

[Atardecer]

How about "Polich-tician"?

Ok, i should go...

[monkey man]

The context was that of a poor, stuggling musician's situation.
It was also my "blind" faith in awaiting David's next morsel.
Proletarian stuff, really.
From mac dictionary (no, not a new dish!):

proletarian-mid 17th cent.: from Latin proletarius (from proles ••˜offspring••™ ), denoting a person having no wealth in property, who only served the state by producing offspring.
working-class, plebeian, common, blue-collar, commoner, man/woman/person in the street.

Get it, A?
If not, that's cool; I'm a monkey's uncle anyway, and it matters not what I think!
You should come visit; I've yet to meet a fellow Unicorn in the flesh.
Nicky