Mapping a Career in Music | Getting Started 101

Mapping a Career in Music

Getting Started 101

It’s common knowledge that most people who dream of living a creative life in the music industry, give up eventually and surrender to a life of working a 9 to 5. What no one really knows, is why. After 40 years of pursuit of this dream, I’ve developed some theories. This series “Mapping a Career in Music” is a journalism of those theories. I hope they help someone in their journey.

1 – WHAT IS YOUR DREAM

Probably the most important thing you can do in the beginning, what ever age you are, is to identify what your dream is? What do you want to do? Are you dreaming about singing in concert to thousands of fans like Beyonce or the Jonas Brothers? Are you dreaming of Playing guitar for your favorite pop icon like Lady Gaga or Michael Buble? Or maybe you dream about performing on Broadway… whatever your dream is, write it down and make it a real goal!

The more specific you get, the better. And there are a lot of living breathing examples you can look to as models for your plan. In the beginning, I always found a person or a group of people who were living a life I’d like to live and asked, “What did they do to get there?”, “How did they climb the ranks?”. It isn’t as if any of us have to invent the wheel. At first, it’s enough to borrow someone else’s experience and use them as a guide.

But this is where things get interesting. Because you’d think that this kind of focus would be all I want to talk about in this series. Planning and practice! Practice and planning! But it’s not. It’s only half of it. The other half is all about knowing what you’ll encounter. I want to set expectations. The thing is, if you can see it coming, setbacks or hurdles aren’t nearly as disheartening or troubling. They are just part of the plan.

2 – WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE OBSTACLES YOU’LL ENCOUNTER ALONG THE WAY

This isn’t difficult either. You can do the same thing you did with setting your goals. Study professionals who have survived the challenges to create a career in music. Read bios and books. Watch documentaries. Follow your favorite artist on social media. Learn, learn, learn. The more you approach this with eyes wide open, the better. So take it all in and try not to only see what you want to see.

Einstein used to do “mind experiments”. I love these. They really are little more than using our imaginations. You just take some time to think about your journey, where you might go, who you might encounter, possible career paths, etc. Then try to think of all of the things that might go wrong. Or things you might struggle with, or try to avoid. It’s often the things we aren’t paying attention to that take us down. So keep your mind and eyes wide open for possible kinks in your plan.

3 – ACTUALLY STARTING

So it’s time for the rubber to hit the road. I’ll do a mock-startup here and use being a singer as the dream. Here’s my sample first step in Mapping a Career in Music!

DREAM/GOAL –

1 – I want to be a singer! I want to sing for big audiences and be paid for it! I’d like to sing originals, but I’d also be ok singing cover songs. The thing is I want to be the lead singer! I can smell the faint smell of pot coming from those fans who just can’t go to a concert without smoking. I smell the food from the concession stands. The stage feels as big as a football field and I OWN IT!

2 – I’d like to live in a nice house with  wife and kids, and a dog! I know the neighborhood and the exact house I’d love to live in. Old, fully matured trees and a big back yard for my dog.

3 – I want to earn enough money that I don’t have to worry about money. I don’t think in terms of money, really, so I’ll leave it at that.

4 – I’m totally fit!! In peak performer shape! Just like my idols:)

STEPS –

1 – Take voice lessons and learn two songs to sing in front of people at a recital, talent show or other gathering

take 4 1 hour voice lessons a month from my voice coach, Brittany Mahoney, and rehearse 1 hr a day (30 min warmups, 30 min songs)

2 – Have my teacher and trusted friends or family review my progress monthly. I’ll ask my friend Kenton to listen to a song this month

3 – Read/Listen to one book about an artist I respect to learn about their journey. Watch a documentary this month (Tom Petty). Follow my favorite artist on Instagram and Facebook.

4 – Brainstorm my career path and possible obstacles – I’ll join a band and play some clubs to get over my fear of performance in the next year. I imagine that pay will be an obstacle. Also, performing in front of people. Also possibly having a bad PA situation.

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That’s it for Getting Started 101. But you can be as detailed as you’d like to be! List your favorite concert venues that you’d like to play. List artist you’d like to open up for or tour with. write down how much money you’d like to make for every show! The more specific your vision is, the more clear the thing is that you are heading towards.

If your career was a target, you’d have to see it to hit it, right? So really take the time to visualize your dreams.

Get your journal together, and write these things out in as much detail as you can. Take your time and understand that you can change anything you right down in the future. Nothing’s in stone! In fact, later in the mapping process I’ll describe that being flexible is incredibly important!

 

By Alan Currens

Alan is co-owner of DMI and it’s parent company Mannequin Productions, LLC. and CODA Entertainers, a Colorado entertainment company that owns and manages 3 full time private event bands as well as OSD, a local sound and light production company catering to live bands in the event industry.