Moving to the Big City and Finding Work

Moving to a major music city like New York or LA is a exciting and stressful thing to do. It takes a lot of courage, confidence and conviction to make the move, and it’ll take more of all three to make it work.

Finding work in the big city starts well before you get there. While you probably won’t be able to land any gigs before you physically get to the big city, there is a lot of research that you can do prior to your arrival.

Finding a Steady Gig

The best way to survive as a freelance musician in a big city is to have at least one steady gig that doesn’t take all of your time, but brings in some regular money. When you first get to town, this job may need to be a non-music job like waiting tables or temping. For more thoughts on the best non-music day jobs, read the article, The Best and Worst Day Jobs for Musicians.

Music-based day jobs include teaching lessons, working at a music shop or playing for a church. In my experience, working at a church has been the most efficient way to make a steady income that doesn’t interfere with a freelance music schedule. Churches tend to pay more in big cities and the time commitment is very small – usually 3 to 7 hours a week. Sure, you have to get up early on Sundays, sometimes after a late gig on Saturday, but the financial security that the job brings will outweigh that inconvenience.

Before you even pack up for the big move, you need to start researching places that you could find a steady gig. Find the names and phone numbers of all the churches, music studios and music shops near where you’ll be living. Make an Excel spreadsheet (I’m serious) that includes the name of the establishment, the owner, the phone number and the email address. After you’ve contacted them you can add a column for the hourly rate they pay and who your contact person is.

Second, you should assess what kind of friends and contacts you have in the big city. The best contacts are most likely people that you have played with previously – be it friends from home or perhaps people you went to music school with. These people already know that you can play, and that is very important. It can be difficult in the big city to find opportunities to play with, or even for, new contacts. And how will they know you can play if they’ve never heard you?

One of the many pitfalls of moving to a big city, though, is to rely entirely on your friends and contacts for your survival. Even if your friends say that they have tons and tons of work for you, or even a steady job, you shouldn’t put all of your eggs in that basket. As well-meaning and generous as your friends may be, these kinds of things can always fall through, or turn out to be less than you expected. So make sure that you are doing your research, looking for work and continuing your hustle, even if you have a book full of what look to be perfect contacts.

Unpaid Gigs

Because it’s difficult to be heard when you first get to the big city, you should be willing to take any gigs that you can – even if they are volunteer or low-paying jobs. This is another reason why you’ll need a steady gig on the side – so that you can afford to take low-paying jobs for exposure.

That said, you also need to make sure that you are not taken advantage of when you first get to the big city. I cannot emphasize this enough. There is a limitless supply of vultures in the entertainment industry who’s only goal is to cash in on your hopes and dreams. Yes, yes, yes, you should take low or no-pay gigs when you first get to a big city, but no, you should not take just anything.

Here’s an example of a volunteer gig you should take:

A group of successful actors, all with Broadway or movie credits, are putting on a benefit concert for a worthy cause and need musicians for the band. There are 2 rehearsals and one performance, none of which are paid. You know that the event will be at a big venue and will be attended by a roomful of industry insiders.

This is a great opportunity. Here is a group of performers that are more successful than you, that are offering you an opportunity to play for the movers and shakers of your industry. Furthermore, the time commitment is very small and has an end date. Take this gig! And go to the party afterwards to network!

Here’s an example of a volunteer gig you should not take:

Some guy on Craigslist is putting together a band for a new and upcoming artist and is having auditions this week for musicians. If you get the gig, the band will rehearse 4 times a week, unpaid, and you’ll need to bring your own gear. Eventually you will play clubs in the city and up to 3 hours outside of the city, and split the door 6 ways.

Why shouldn’t you take this gig? This is way too much of a time commitment for someone you don’t know, who is not paying you. 4 unpaid rehearsals a week? And you have to bring your own gear? You’ve got to be kidding me. And in the end you’ll split the door 6 ways? You’d be lucky to make $20 a performance at that rate.

Furthermore, if this is truly and up and coming artist, why don’t they know any musicians? If they’ve had any success at all there would be any number of musicians waiting in line to play the gig. This gig will end up sucking all of your time and leading you nowhere. If you want to start an unpaid project with your friends or a frontman (or woman) you know and believe in, that’s one thing, but be careful not to volunteer unlimited amounts of your time to people that are less successful than you are.

Be also wary of any opportunity that claims that it will introduce you to insiders, give you much-needed exposure, put you on the fast track to money or fame – or worst of all – requires you to invest your own money in order to get these things. These are almost always some form of scam, even if the people running the programs don’t feel that way. Having to pay for a book of industry contacts, having to buy headshots or promo shots, taking a 3 week course on how to be successful in the music industry – you should be very cautious about these kinds of offers. In my experience there are very few shortcuts to success in this industry. If it was as easy as taking a 3 week course or buying a book of contacts we’d all be rich and famous by now. These kinds of programs and offers thrive on rookies that are just starting out, so be very careful as you navigate your new life in the big city.

What Did You Come Here to Do?

Throughout all of this, you have to stay focused on why you came here. There are so many things to worry about when you get to a city, and so many worthwhile distractions, and it’s easy for your main focus to get de-railed.

I’ve found this to be especially true for people that have trouble making money at first. Eventually they can end up in jobs they hate that take up all of their time and energy. just to pay the bills. It can be hard to make ends meet in a big city, and it’s not uncommon to find yourself, 6 months after your arrival, bogged down with 40 private students a week and no time to pursue your real ambitions.

The way to circumvent this pitfall is to really do your research on steady gigs before your arrival, and to never take your eye off the ball.

Let’s take an example. Let’s say, for instance, that you’ve moved to LA in order to become a part of the movie-score recording scene. You’re hoping to sub with the several of the regional orchestras, work as a copyist for composers, and eventually write jingles and scores yourself.

First, you should know every name in that industry. Musicians are not shy, and it seems like every one of us has a website, Myspace or Twitter page now. It is not hard to find people, in other words. Read the industry blogs and magazines and keep up-to-date on what movies scores are being recorded now, who’s playing on them, and who’s contracting the musicians for the studio.

Make a spreadsheet (again, I’m totally serious) that includes all movies that are in post-production in LA. You can find this kind of information at websites like imdb.com (for us Broadway-types in New York, you should bookmark ibdb.com). Document the name of the movie, the studio that is producing it, the record label releasing the soundtrack, the music supervisor, the composer, the conductor, the musician contractor, the concertmaster, the horn section – absolutely every name and title you can find.

Next, join the musicians union, or other organization that is involved in the scene you’re trying to become a part of. These organizations often hand out phonebooks of all of their members. Find the email addresses of everyone on your spreadsheet and write to them one-by-one. Make the email short and succinct – for example, try to make sure that the entire email can be displayed on a computer screen without scrolling. Introduce yourself, give a couple of your credits (I graduated from…, I toured with…), and ask for help. Tell them you are interested in doing what they do, and do they have any advice? (For a real-world example, see this post in our forums.)

This technique works. You just have to be polite, genuine and respectful of the person’s time. You never know what they will write back, or what doors this will open.

Make another spreadsheet for the regional orchestras in LA. Watch websites like MusicalChairs.info and MyAuditions.com for upcoming auditions. Contact the principles in the orchestras and request a lesson or a private audition. This is how people get these jobs. Cross-check your movie-score spreadsheet with your regional orchestra spreadsheet and see who is doing both. Contact them.

Conclusion

Getting gigs in any new city is difficult, and it can be even more difficult in a big music city like LA or New York. Nevertheless, if you have the courage to make the move in the first place, you likely have the courage to follow through once you get there. Be careful of the pitfalls, try not to get overly distracted, and never stop moving toward your goals.

This article is part 2 in a series about moving to New York City.