I graduated top of my class from a fine music school with a degree in theory/composition. I was promptly barraged with job offers from all sides! They just couldn’t wait to put me to work! Uh… not really. I had great instruction at the university, and studied under some top composers and theorists in the field. I had the opportunity to have my works performed by bands and orchestras, and had performed them with supremely talented up and coming opera singers and classical pianists. And on graduation day, it all ended. The university gave me some great experiences, but what they did not do is prepare me for reality. The guidance I was given on real-world application was almost nil, even when I specifically asked for it. Why?
Those professors still write and submit to publishers. Try asking a working musician to put you in touch with their contacts so you can work for them to. Let me give you a hint: you won’t get far. That’s like asking your neighbor to tell you where they go to get away for some peace and quiet, because you want to go there too. You’ll get some dodgy answers, and definite apprehension.
So, you’re thinking: “if your professors wouldn’t help you, then why would you be willing to help me?†Because my professors were from a different time. It used to be that way; that you made personal contacts, and you worked for them, and they were loyal to you. Not that it isn’t still that way, but things are also done much differently now. We have, DUM DUM DUM… the Internet.
The interesting thing about songwriting is that anybody can do it. You don’t need a degree to learn how to do it. But that means there are a lot of amateurs flooding the channels. Checked out YouTube lately? We have incredible resources as songwriters today that past generations would’ve only dreamed of. A service that is free, that can be accessed instantly, and is pored over by millions of people every hour of every day? What a valuable commodity! So the question is not where to submit your stuff, but how to make it stand out? It is not easy, and can be terribly frustrating having to watch mediocre singers sing bad songs, getting hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, and highly ranked in Google, selling their work on iTunes, etc. You’re thinking “how can I break into this?â€
In a way, the game still works the same as it did for my professors, and yet it’s entirely different. The music world (just like every other world) isâ€"and will always beâ€"about who you know. But the way that those individuals, groups, sites, fans, etc., are approached is completely different. Again, not that personal connections aren’t still madeâ€"of course they areâ€"but the internet is a powerful tool to access these influential contacts.
Bands from the 80’s made cassette tape recordings, printed up covers, and pitched them around to local venues. Nowadays if you go into a place without a professionally recorded CD and a website to back it up, your stuff is getting pitched, it’s as simple as that. While it’s so much easier to look professional and make high-quality recordings today, that also pushes up the bar and makes it a necessity.
So, what’s the secret? Well, if you’re looking for a silver bullet, a magic formula… STOP! There isn’t one. If there were, we’d all be famous by now.
Make professional recordings, get a website, and get search engine optimization! And, above all, use the internet to network. Create an online presence. Use social media, write articles, get into forums. You need to make yourself a force out there. Stop hoping and praying that you’ll get “discovered,†and make yourself unavoidable and unforgettable. Get in the trenches and dig. If you dig long enough and hard enough you will hit pay dirt, I promise you. It may not look like what you expected, or be all you ever dreamed of, but you will be somebody
