A3 Explore local and national music networks

 

A3 Explore Local and National Music Networks Building your network

 

Your network is the way to promote yourself as an artist and make yourself well known in the industry. It can help make new friends and take advantage of gig, business, and open opportunities. Networking events, gigs. Online social networks, YouTube, Spotify, Social Media SoundCloud. Twitter is the best social media for me and Facebook as there are many artists on there I could collab with.

Different Types of Networking:

One way of networking is musician to musician, helping each other collaborate or get gigs. Musician to promoter, helps expand the audience and promote gigs. Musician to Music Love, spreads the word of music and the fans. Musician to Press, can write articles on it. For example, Loudwire. It can help build a positive reputation. Musician to businessman, legally experienced, come from a music label and can get you signed to a record deal.

 

Networking with a Promoter can get your music out there by promoting it on social media or creating posters and fliers for promoting your gigs. Networking with a promoter will help spread the word of your music and help build and audience to get people going to your gigs through their promotion.

 

Networking with an artist can help make your music if you cannot play an instrument. For example, I cannot play drums so I could collaborate with a drummer to play on my track. Collaborate with people to help each other write songs. Do it in social media or emails. Meeting people at gigs or at college. It is best to meet artists who play the same kind of music as you so you can collaborate easier. Can also help you play your instrument better being around other artist’s.

 

Networking with the media. Get promoted on social media by them. Get paid by media people. Work with music critics or journalism magazines like Loudwire, Martin Popoff or Rolling Stone. Go onto a radio station, a lot of people will be able to hear it. Can also get royalties from it being played if you have found a music publisher.

Networking with a Producer can record your music and get it sold. Can sell you to a label. Can teach you how to produce your own music.

 

You don’t have to do everything yourself you can pay someone to use their services, you would get more contacts and a decent follow up. Don’t over sell yourself and leave something back too. Under Promise and Over Deliver. Don’t oversell your services, be he honest and don’t disappoint people. For example, don’t say you can play drums when you can’t. Under promise by saying you’ll do something by next week but over deliver by doing it the next day for example. Be humble. Leave something back too. Meet expectations.

 

Networking relates to my career path because it can expand my audience and fans. It can get my music produced and get it out there by helping me get to know people in the music industry so we can help each other out in the business. 

Preparation

 

Bring a business card with a QR code and contact details or a track on a CD when going to a meet up. Make sure people can contact you on social media. Give something for people to listen to. Business card can be made from anything if it has the correct details. Going to conventions is a great way to meet people in the music industry and build your network.

 

Taxi A&R is a great way to network with people as it can also help get feedback from professionals and publishers. It can get opportunities for major record labels, it covers all genres of music, and you can send your work to them. It can also get job opportunities for video game or movie soundtracks.

 

I have met a few people outside of college to help expand my network. I have been going to venues such as Westgarth Social Club and Basecamp and met a few people in the bands like Louie from Undivine Telephone Line. Social Media has helped me build a network as I have been tagged in upcoming local gigs, this could help with getting my own gigs at these venues. I can also expand my network by going to Musinc at Middlesbrough Town Hall. Generator is also a good music agency to help fund me. Other local people are the Georgian Theatre, Tees Music Alliance, and the Northeast Volume venue.

 

 

Social networking can help create online communities of musicians and artists on things such as discord. I have already joined servers where people share their own work or covers. Soundcloud, Bandcamp and Spotify are great ways to present my music because anyone can listen to it. It is an effective way for promoting my work and getting to see other upcoming artists’ work. If I want to join Taxi online, and A&R website, I can submit some of my own music and hopefully get signed to a record label to publish my music. The Musician's Union can help me get a job as musician, like session musician for example, so I can get a stable income as a musician and to be able to buy better gear too. The PRS can help me collect royalties if my music ever gets played on the radio or in public like shops. The MCPS can protect my music from copyright infringement, so no one steals my work.

 

EPK – Electronic Press Kit. Needs to include a biography, music, promotional photos, videos, links to important and relevant social medias. It shows what you have to offer, you could build a website for yourself. Here is an example of a professional EPK About | The Official Geezer Butler Website

 

 

Intellectual Property

 

Intellectual Property is property that humans have created such as copyrights, logos, and trademarks. Copyright is an intellectual property that lets owners of creative works distribute and copy their work such as music, movies, books, etc. When someone uses third party rights use of samples and does not get clearance it can get copyright claimed as you cannot sample music without permission. You cannot use someone else’s intellectual property without permission, it is copyright infringement. This is an example of how copyright is shown on YouTube.

 

Song

Deceptacon

Artist

Le Tigre

Album

Deceptacon

Licensed to YouTube by

TuneCore, Beggars (on behalf of Wiiija); IMPEL, Terrorbird Publishing, BMI - Broadcast Music Inc., LatinAutor, Abramus Digital, Forward Music Publishing Co., Ltd., LatinAutorPerf, ASCAP, and 20 music rights societies