Can You Really Make a Living Out of Music?

If you have a financial stake in the event then promoting it will be high on your list of priorities. You will need people to buy tickets so getting it wrong can be disastrous. To make sure you advertise in the right places you need to consider who your audience are.

Some obvious traditional routes include press advertising. Depending on the type of event you need to be very careful about where you choose to advertise. There are specialist music magazines and newspapers such as the NME that are great if you are trying to capture a national audience. If you are just promoting a local gig then the local paper makes sense. Press advertising can be expensive though so consider if your target audience will respond to this kind of advertising.

Posters and flyers are another great traditional way of promoting events. They are reasonable inexpensive to print but you will need to put the time in distributing them. You could hire a promotions company to do this if you are working on a larger scale. Remember you cannot just put posters up anywhere. It is illegal to fly poster so be careful where you put them. You may decide to mail them out to music shops/recording studios/rehearsal rooms to target music fans or you may decide to target a larger audience.

Another option in 2011 is the internet. There are thousands of music websites and forums where you can post free ads. Some sites charge for advertising but if they receive a high amount of traffic then this might be very worthwhile. Social networking sites also plays a big part in promoting music these days so don't overlook them.

Radio advertising is also much more affordable than you might think. Local radio stations will allow you to promote your event with 30 second ads that they will create for you. If you are working on a larger scale and need to sell several hundred tickets or more this might be a good option.

Whatever you decide to do to promote your event consider your budget! A good mix of all the above should work but it can swallow all your money. You may be limited to a few of the above but don't have too many worries your promotion can still be successful. There is a lot to consider when promoting an event but get it right and you'll be on track for a successful event.

For Manchester wedding bands visit Music Live UK.

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How to Make a Living in the Music Industry

Can you really make a living out of being a musician? Let's face it we're not all going to be rock stars so what are the options? When you start to investigate the music industry you will discover that there is a wealth of information out there on a whole range of jobs.

Of course you can still perform. There are many venues that are looking for live music entertainment. In fact the live sector has grown more than any other area of the music industry in recent years. You could play in a cover band at local venues and as you build up a reputation you may find you are able to scale it up. Themed bands are also very popular so you may decide to start a tribute band! You could even sign up with an entertainment agent. Remember you will pay a commission to them though for any work they find you. This can work in your favour though if they are getting you lots of gigs.

If you are not a performer then you could look at careers in recording. Music producer and sound engineers still hold very creative roles however they are more limited. A great place to start is to set up a home studio to learn the skills on your own. Alternatively there are many courses you can enroll on to learn the ins and outs of music production.

Many musicians also decide to go into teaching music. You can teach music privately one to one or you could decide to teach in schools/colleges. Many of them offer one to one music lessons as supplementary activities. You should be able to demand around £25 an hour for teaching music. You may decide to do a teaching qualification which will mean you could teach on courses in schools and colleges. This has the added benefit of regular income and is seen as a 'real job'.

As you can see there are lots of options to investigate. If you are serious about making a living in music then it is very achievable. You may have ambitions to become a rock star but you can still have an enjoyable career creating and performing music.Or you could just have music as a hobby but let's face it we all want music to be a huge part of our lives. Get out there and get that music career!

For Glasgow wedding bands visit Music Live UK.

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Some Ideas on Ways to Make a Living With Your Musical Skills

Of course change being the only constant, the music industry has changed into a new landscape of opportunity for independent music. Independent artists can now use the internet to share and sell their music, making them an enterprise in themselves. And being enterprising, it may be worth considering how your musical skills could generate more income for you. There are many transferable skills you are not even aware you have and you could be paid for.

There are many opportunities working as a creative facilitator working in mainstream primary and secondary schools and in schools with children with special needs. This may entail writing a song or learn to play an instrument and often leads to a performance or recording. This work is really interesting if you enjoy working with kids and young people and find it rewarding to watch them learn, express their voice and be creative. Other creative facilitator or community musician projects can be working in other contexts such as prisons, community centres and in theatres.

Being a musician you may also be able to teach others one to one how to learn and instrument. This can generate considerable income and you can advertise locally in shops and online for free to find new pupils. Again it helps to be patient, remember what is was like to learn your instrument/craft and be able to break down the steps of development into manageable tasks for your students. You may use a computer to make music, and passing on how to use music software can be much in demand.

You could advertise your musical skills as a session musician - playing music for different musicians and producers in recording studios or for live shows. This can also be a lucrative hourly rate. Contact local recording studios and rehearsal rooms and tell them of your enthusiasm and ability. Be sure to be reliable and friendly and you may get called in on a regular basis - I know of studios who always call on the same drummer and string quartet because they like working with them and they get the job done well.

You may have been recording your music for years to an acceptable standard to sell your independent music at gigs or concerts. You could then offer to be a recording engineer for other musicians you know - especially if you have the equipment and a recording space already set up. This could easily become a nice form of income if word of mouth recommendations come your way. You can also do take an intensive audio engineering course to make sure your skills as a recording engineer are up to a professional standard. If you enjoy engineering it opens you up to so many more musical styles and approaches so you can be expanding as a musician too.

Collaborating can also be rewarding and fruitful financially. You can advertise for and find other musicians to collaborate with, and their complementary skills or style may make music that is more likely to sell as independent music or mean that you may get paid for performing live. I know vocalist friends who work in cover bands that do very well on the wedding and functions circuit. Again it is all practice and you may just get to play and/or sing your favourite music. You could also consider building a portfolio of making music for dance, theatre and film.

So if you are a skilled musician or one of the more independent artists making creative music, you could find other avenues of income to allow you to be making music and learning about music part of your career.

Caro Churchill aka caro snatch is a female solo producer of creative music. She is also a creative facilitator working in school and community settings enabling others to make music.

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