4 Essential Tips For Young Musicians

Have you made your decision? If you've chosen a career as a musician, you're in for one heck of a ride. Sadly, it is not a steady stream of stadium gigs and platinum albums right off the bat. Competition is fierce, and the work is long and tedious. Don't let that disuade you! Being a musician is one of the most fun and rewarding jobs out there! If you are thinking about becoming a career musician, or are just starting out, here are 5 very useful pieces of advice. 1.  You Have to Treat Your Band Like a Job Your music is your job. Though the gig might only be from 10pm - 2am, the true hours of operation are far longer. Being a musician is a full time job if you want to make it work. It is so easy to be dropped by a booking agent or band if you can't handle sending press kits, or showing up on time. The rockstar lifestyle still requires a calendar and follow up emails. Regardless of how amazing your music is, if you can't treat music like the business it is... you will go nowhere fast. Its a small industry, and word travels fast. Be a pro, and you will be treated like one. 2.  You May Need Physical Product What are you selling? Though so many people get their music digitally, it has been proving to be difficult to monetize these online music streams. Some of the biggest money makers for up and coming musicians are physical CDs and merch. Setting up a professional looking booth at all of your gigs will make a huge difference to the cash in your pocket at the end of the night. Thinking about getting your song on the radio? You need a CD. A hard copy CD also gives people a physical memento. That album is going to get a whole lot more plays when its sitting on their kitchen table rather than sitting in their browser history. 3.  You Have to Walk Before You Can Run These things start slowly. Yes, you do hear about the bands that posted 3 videos on youtube, and got picked up by a big star. This is a severe exception. This is very rare, and if you count on this happening... you will be disappointed. It takes a lot of hard work to make it even medium big! Playing those small time bar gigs is a necessity when you're starting out. It will take 10s if not 100s of those small shows before someone thinks you're ready for the big leagues. Don't worry, thats a good thing! Those shows will whip your band into shape. Your set will be polished, perfected, and stadium ready by the time you get out of the small venue circut. It is essential for building a fan base. It is also something that big record labels and radio stations look for. "Are these guys hustling? If we give them this deal, will [...]

The post 4 Essential Tips For Young Musicians appeared first on Merriam Music - Toronto's Top Piano Store & Music School.