Cruise line talent agency seeking musicians

I just wanted to make CCSM and MW readers aware of this post I found on NYC’s Craigslist from Landau Music (a talent agency for cruise musicians).…

A Guide to Being a Successful Sideman

There are many levels of sideman work, from playing in a small-town cover band to backing up Sting, and lots in between. But there are some general guidelines that apply to just about any sideman gig you can get, and hopefully keep.

1.) Become a Stylist

The best way to ensure that you can get work as a sideman is to be competent in several musical styles or genres. The short list is: rock, pop, jazz, blues, R&B. You can also choose to build on that list with some specialties, like country, classical or funk.

Chances are, you’ll end up working in only a couple main genres with an occasional gig in another, but you want to start out with this mantra in mind: my specialty is not having a specialty. This leaves you open for many types of gigs, and once you get going you can steer yourself towards the genres you prefer. Keep in mind, however, that having a long list of styles on your resume doesn’t amount to anything on the bandstand if you aren’t competent in them. It’s better to play 3 styles well than to claim to play 7 styles but play them poorly.

This leads us to our next topic…

NEA funding lives – get on the phone!

A few days ago it seemed the $50 million that Barack Obama set aside for the National Endowment for the Arts in the U.S. stimulus package had been stripped from…

Some Thoughts on the Proposed Sales Tax on Broadway Tickets

New York Governor David Paterson recently announced a proposal to add a 4% sales tax to Broadway tickets New York City. Broadway officials quickly denounced the idea, saying that the tax would put undue strain on an already struggling industry and inevitably lead to more layoffs and closings.

We have a quest blog today from Ethan Fein, an executive board member of the Local 802, American Federation of Musicians, who presents the issues from a musician’s perspective…

New York State is proposing a sales tax which would be applied to, among other things, tickets for Broadway shows. We at Local 802 and the musicians who work on Broadway think this is a very bad idea.

Advice (My Two Cents) from a Freelance Singer

OK, so it’s more like ten or fifteen cents, or that many ways of making cents, or making sense, as a freelance singer.

Hi. My name is Erika Lloyd and I am a freelance singer living in New York City. To achieve a tad of credibility with you, let me quickly tell you a bit about myself: I have a Bachelors of Music in Voice Performance from Indiana University. I currently work in music as; the lead singer/writer/manager of the indie rock band, Little Grey Girlfriend, a paid section leader of a church choir, a member of the traveling Renaissance quartet with lute, The Good Pennyworths, a soprano in the choral ensemble, Choral Chameleon, a choral ringer (sub), an outside soloist, a wedding singer, and sell various recordings mostly through digital distribution. I also work outside of music for; catering companies, tradeshows, parents who need a babysitter, and people happy to commission my paintings, drawings, and logo work. It’s like spinning plates my friend, spinning plates and juggling at the same time, just a thrill, a real hoot!

Obviously, one of my biggest pieces of advice is to be as versatile as possible, and to not let your ultimate goals get in the way of making a living while on your journey. In other words, don’t shoot yourself in the foot by turning down paying or fulfilling work in music, because it wasn’t your main style or passion. When you get offered a job, singing the national anthem at a kids local swim meet, just know this- there’s no room in that parking lot for your high horse! Ho oh! No she didn’t!

Buuuuttttt I bet you’ve heard that advice before, so I’ll try to give you some more unique and specific tips.

Best and Worst Day Jobs for Musicians

Bad news about the economy streams out of the media like water from a bucket these days. As I talked about in yesterday’s article, it’s clear from the closings…

The Art (or Act) of Doing

The purpose of this website is to provide sound, pragmatic advice about making a living as a musician, written by people that have hands on experience. My experience has been as a freelance musician playing my own music, booking my own gigs, producing my own albums, and anything else that falls under the realm of Do It Yourself. I’ve also done my share of gigs as a sideman, accompanist, or ensemble musician. I also have a few years experience on the business side of the industry. What I haven’t done myself, I’ve learned about by reading other musicians’ contributions to this site and talking with friends of various musical backgrounds. I’m still trying to figure this out a little more each day.

My goal is to somehow magically sum up the secret formula on how to make it. I’m looking for the musician’s EASY button. What are the steps to being a successful musician? How many steps are there? Based on some of the things I’ve read in other blogs, it seems like nobody can agree on the answer, and I finally figured out why–the answer will kill your blog. The answer is only one sentence long. How do you keep writing a blog after you’ve revealed the secret?