Did you miss our self-promotion seminar? Not to worry, we will be uploading footage of the workshop at www.musicnsw.com within the next couple of weeks, thanks to Sydney TAFE Music. In the meantime, here are 5 tips we learnt from our expert panel yesterday.
1. Make sure you have a concise biography, high-res press shot contact details and links to your music online so fans, record labels, managers, radio presenters, festival bookers and blogs can easily get in contact with you, promote you or learn more about you as an artist. If they struggle to find out basic details about you after doing a google search, they might give up and you’ll miss out on an opportunity, like getting radio play or being booked for a show.
2. Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer! Many of our panelists credit their entry into the industry to the years of volunteer work they did in their early days. Volunteering for events like music festivals or lending a hand at community radio stations like FBi Radio paves the way for you to make new contacts and get invaluable practical experience in the industry. Plus it proves you’re a passionate and hardworking go getter – and passion goes a long way in any industry!
3. Keep a finger in every pie. Or more than one pie at least! Get experience in a range of different areas within your field of choice. Whether you are a musician or an aspiring industry professional, learning and developing skills in a variety of areas is not only great for your CV, but for your confidence too. It opens up many doors, and many skills overlap and compliment each other in this industry. All of our panelists have skills in multiple areas such as publicity, management, production, journalism and radio. If you are a self-managed musician, learning how to write a good press release or how to promote your EP are handy skills to learn. We offer free workshops every month on a variety of music industry topics – so come along and learn some stuff!
4. Enter lots of music competitions! There are many band comps, initiatives and songwriting mentorships that are available to Australian musicians every year, which offer great opportunities for emerging artists. Josh Pyke and The Hilltop Hoods have ones open right now in fact! Sign up to our free newsletter by heading to www.musicnsw.com to keep updated on when competitions and funding opportunities arise.
5. Be true to yourself, on the inside and out. Your fans and the broader industry will respect your authenticity as an artist. Never compromise your identity, creativity or integrity just to get yourself out there and sell more records.