Are you a musician? Do you want to be a professional musician or one that tours with bands and is recognized by the public as an artist?
This article will give some useful tips on how to become a professional musician, whether it be a studio musician or a touring artist. Let’s get started.
Promote and Monetize Your Music
Social media is the easiest way to promote your music because it’s free, but also one of the hardest because there are so many people trying to do the same thing you are – promoting their music on social media. Facebook has more than 1 billion users, and around 40% of that number regularly use Facebook every day for an average of 39 minutes per day (Oberlo). If only a small fraction of those users come in contact with your post about your song (s), then chances are they won’t listen to it or buy it due to not having enough time. The good thing is Facebook is adopting a monetization scheme for songs, videos, and other musical content you post that are used by other users. This can motivate artists to be more creative in their craft and strive to attract more listeners, fans, or subscribers. Also, if you send out free copies of your song, which can be done via Soundcloud or email etc., you’ll have many more opportunities to get your song heard by people.
You’ll also have the chance to build up a fanbase if you send out free copies of your songs regularly – give them some incentive, like “Buy this track now on iTunes, etc.”, or “Listen to our new song here on Soundcloud”. Not only does this increase the likelihood of people listening and buying your music more often, but it also helps you develop a following which will help you (and other members of your band) when it comes to touring, merchandising, etc.
Start At The Bottom And Work Your Way Up
So many musicians think of themselves as rock stars from day one of their careers, but these people often never make it anywhere. You need lots of experience and skill before you can begin thinking about playing concerts for thousands of adoring fans across the world. If you already have chops and the right skills, then find low-paying gigs in small bars, restaurants, or pubs. These gigs are great for you to begin building up your list of contacts and audiences. Once you start gaining more recognition through these venues, you can slowly begin to increase the number of people coming to see your shows with only a few weeks wait in between engagements.
Prepare Your Tracks Thoroughly
You need to make sure that your tracks are 100% perfect before recording them. If they’re not ready, then what’s the point of spending all this time recording something that isn’t even good enough? Make sure that everything is cleaned up and sounds just right before hitting the record on any instrument. This way, there will be no residual noise or static on the track when it comes time to mix your tracks and master them. This will make it much easier for you to take that raw recording into the studio and turn it into a professional finished product.
Don’t Forget To Get A Lawyer
You might not think that this is something that’s necessary, but you would be surprised at how many musicians have regretted taking their chances without legal representation in court cases. If you find yourself in any kind of legal trouble involving copyright infringement, theft of music or plagiarism, then your lawyer can come in real handy when trying to resolve these matters with minimal consequences. Lawyers are also huge assets to have during contract negotiations before signing with bands, record labels, or any other entity out there looking to work with you.
Learn The Basics
A lot of musicians make the decision to skip on learning their scales and focus on more complex issues in music. This is a big mistake since it is the same scale patterns that will allow you to play any piece of music ever written in history. If you can master all 12 major scales, then you will have mastered 93% percent of everything that has ever been written about music.
This means that even if your band takes a break for seven years before getting back together to record new music, you won’t struggle when it comes time to write new songs because you already know all the basic building blocks upon which they are built. You can develop your own magical chord progressions by using these twelve scales and have a great time playing music to thousands of loyal fans.
If you’re a musician, then these are just some of the things that you need to master in order to stand out from the crowd. Being able to promote your music is essential if you want anyone to ever hear it, so be sure to have a plan for this before recording anything. If your tracks aren’t 100% ready when they go into the studio or onto digital recordings, then don’t bother until they are. Finally, mastering scales is something that every musician should do because it makes writing and playing music much more fun and rewarding.
