Here's how you can successfully navigate the music industry as a beginner and avoid common pitfalls.

There is now better way to say this! Know your craft bloody well. No amount of window-dressing will help you last beyond the first few minutes when talking to a real professional in the field. On one of my early job searching days I walked into a company director's office for a tech-support engineer role, proudly flaunting my degree certificate that states graduated with first class. He never opened the docket, asked me to take a seat, keeping my credential docket aside, and very calmly told that once I start the job, in 2 weeks time he will know what I can do and what I cannot, regardless of what my resume says or I say during that interview. And that he will decide whether I will continue in that job depending on what I could really do.

¡Así es! Tienes muchísimo ganado si conoces el oficio. Es importante formarse y aprender de los mejores. Aprovecha para seguir a profesionales expertos en lo que necesitas aprender, pregunta, observa... Descubre todo lo que rodea a la profesión y prepárate para aportar tu visión particular.

La meilleure publicité pour faire connaitre votre activité est de réaliser chaque projet avec la maximum de vos capacités, bonne humeur et le soin du détail qui est une conséquence de l'amour du métier.

Conoce tu oficio, sí, pero primero conócete bien a ti mismo. Revisa tus expectativas, lo que te motiva a realizar aquello que te gusta, si obedece a expectativas propias o ajenas del tipo ser famoso, buscar reconocimiento o imitar a alguien, más que desarrollar un talento propio. Si lo que deseas es desarrollar un impulso interior más grande que ti mismo, entonces llegarás más allá de donde quieras, porque estarás aportando tu autenticidad, que es lo que atrae al público. Si hay otros elementos ajenos a eso, será más difícil.

One thing that has always helped me is meaningful connections in the industry. Music industry is an insanely networked (and small) world, and building a meaningful network means access to a broader set of opportunities. It is important build genuine relationships, and be reliable whenever an opportunity is presented to you from within your network, no matter how small that opportunity is. Often, such opportunities may not have an immediate or significant financial benefit, however the reputation and goodwill you create by being reliable and delivering during such instances will go a long way. Imagine if you were 100% reliable and committed in a low stake situation, how much that speaks for you when it comes to high stake opportunities.

En mi época como estudiante vi claramente cómo funciona el sector de la música. - Compañeros de clase me llamaban para sustituirles en algunos bolos. - Los que organizaban los bolos quedaban contentos con mi trabajo y comenzaron a llamarme directamente (sin intermediarios) - Se corre la voz de que era buen músico y hacía bien mi trabajo y otros promotores me llamaban. Aquí, tenía que comenzar a pasar bolos (los menos interesantes para mí) a otros compañeros. - Cada vez los proyectos eran más interesantes y coincidía con artistas más importantes. Aquí gané unas audiciones en una orquesta sinfónica profesional y comencé a colaborar de forma asidua con ellos, dejando de hacer muchos bolos.

Acudir al Conservatorio o alguna academia de música te permite formar conexiones con muchas personas que te pueden servir de trampolín a que otras te oigan y empiecen a contar contigo. Estos centros son lugares donde mucha gente acude en busca de artistas para sus proyectos. También incluirte en alguna banda u orquesta, dependiendo de tu trabajo, hace que las conexiones con otras personas empiecen a fluir. Pero si haces lo que verdaderamente tu interior te dice, las oportunidades no tardarán en llegar.

Mentorships and mailing lists! These have been extremely helpful to me in finding opportunities and build my network that are designed for smaller artists. Without experience and an existing network, it can be really difficult to approach venues for performances, or obtain financial backing to release and promote your music. There are so many organisations that are designed to help early stage musicians and can put you in touch with people that are more than willing to stay in contact to support you.

You are more likely to succeed in the Music Industry by growing your brand people will show high retention. It has been always the way, that the brand commitment makes it easier to offer new products to the existing audience and convert leads into your clients, which you may compare with unique listeners and those, who will definitely purchase a ticket to your gig. It is crucial to understand how you will market and promote your music before spending months on its production. Consider each stream a sale, and each studio-hour spent on production - the manufacturing process. The absence of sales seems a detrimental business. Understanding this basic will save you years and help build your music career much more efficiently.

Crear una marca es como mostrar qué te hace diferente al resto, cuál es tu autenticidad, qué te hace único. Esa es tu marca personal. Habría que trabajar bien eso antes de lanzarse a redes como marca comercial.

As my dad used to say " it's the music BUSINESS. We all love to just focus on the music, which is why artists get devoured. You must understand every aspect of the business. Read sample contracts, communicate with music supervisors, understand publishing, sync licensing, masters, royalties, and here's the big one ACCOUNTING! Understanding administration is so important. You don't just " Get your royalties". Collecting overseas? completely different. I remember one time getting burned in the industry. I was upset and told a mentor. He said " you played football right? I said " Yeah". he said " Did you get upset when someone hit you" I said "no because I was playing football". He said " business is football, learn to block!

I feel there are two types of artists and musicians. The ones who are successful and the ones who aren’t, financially speaking of course as this can be subjective. If you want to be a successful artist then get to understand the business and take it seriously because many budding artists are taken advantage of due to the promise of “exposure”. So master your craft, know your worth and learn the business. You need to think of yourself as a small business if you would like to be financially stable as an artist and wether you become and international superstar or not at least you make an income from doing what you love.

Hoy en día las plataformas digitales forman parte del pan nuestro de cada día. Pero su importancia dependerá del tipo de carrera artística que lleves. Todo el mundo te pedirá si tienes colgado algún video de ti mismo en youtube, instagram, facebook, etc, porque será tu carta de presentación para gente que no te conozca. Incluso hay algunos teatros que te piden una grabación en video previo a admitirte en una audición. Por lo tanto, haz grabaciones y sube aquellas de las que estés más satisfecho/a. Te puede ayudar a lanzarte en algunos lugares.