Being a musician is a rewarding and, at times, exhilarating career. You are, after all, earning a living from something worthwhile, something you believe in, something you enjoy. But there are easier ways to make money! The overriding motivation therefore has to be job satisfaction, rather than remuneration. Moreover, being a professional musician is very different from being a student or an amateur. When performing becomes an obligation it may cease to be a pleasure. A one-off major concert may be very exciting but three three-hour recording sessons in one day can be arduous.

Because a solo performing career is an attractive option for any highly talented musician, the competition is fierce. Technical proficiency is essential, but so are creative and personal qualities. Successful musicians are driven by artistic zeal; they are obsessive about music. Many admit that they simply could not help becoming musicians. Single-mindedness, an imaginative approach to problem-solving and a determination to succeed will help you overcome the frustrations of an insecure existence and give you confidence as a musician.
 

Getting Started

As a music student you are aiming for musical excellence. You spend many hours practising technique, working on interpretation and learning repertoire. Having achieved this, you must face the transition from student to professional, when your energies become directed towards getting work. You become, in effect, a one-person business operating in a market in competition with many others.

The first step is to identify who is going to give you work. The employer’s side consists of promoters - music clubs, choral and orchestral societies, festivals, venues, local authorities; musical bodies - orchestras, choirs, opera companies, producers and ensembles; and fellow performers, who may be seeking colleagues to form an ensemble. Later, the market may extend to recording companies and broadcasters.

You should get to know this market. Most promoters and orchestras are listed in the British & International Music Yearbook and further information can be gleaned from the Musician’s Handbook. Making Music (formerly National Federation of Music Societies) has about 2,000 members - music clubs, choral societies and amateur orchestras. In addition, the Arts Council England Regional Offices have a wealth of information on promoters in their area. Try to see things from the promoters’ perspective. A promoter’s view of you as a musician (and the reasons for booking you) may be different from your own.
 

Becoming Known

Getting work in this market depends on being known, and being respected by the right people. It is a cumulative process which usually starts with the contacts you have as a student - your teachers, your fellow students and those who know you at home. At this stage it is important to seize every opportunity and apply your creative talents to generate openings. Every engagement, every performance, every audition is a chance to be heard; they can all lead on to other things, even if indirectly. It is obvious that you should keep in contact with those who have offered you work, but it is less obvious that audiences and audition panels contain other potential contacts which should be fostered wherever possible. Every performance matters.

Competitions, awards, bursaries, young artist schemes and the media can help you get your name known. Competitions and awards are listed in the British & International Music Yearbook and in Music Journal. Some are advertised in the music press. The Arts Council England Regional Offices have information on support for musicians in their own area, and some promote their own young artist schemes. Whether or not these activities are seen as promoting ‘musicianship’, they can provide valuable performance experience, an opportunity to be heard, critical assessment and publicity for the successful entrants. Most valuable are those which offer performers some promotion beyond the event itself.

Live Music Now! promotes concerts in community venues such as day centres, hospitals and Adult Training Centres. They select musicians who have communicating skills in addition to musical excellence. Young Concert Artists Trust was set up to bridge the gap between early successes and being taken on by a commercial agent. YCAT takes on musicians who are ready for a performing career (usually between one and six each year) and promotes them for two to three years.

All these schemes, awards and competitions are steps in a performing career which you can use to generate future work. A prize which includes 40 engagements also includes 40 opportunities to gain other engagements. In addition, you should seek out opportunities (such as lunch-time concerts) where relatively unknown artists can perform.

There are also listings and registers of musicians such as the British & International Music Yearbook and the ISM Register of Performers and Composers. Get your name in all of them (listing is usually free). All help to get your name known.
 

Follow Up

Getting your name known is clearly just part of the process of building up a reputation as a musician. Potential promoters and booking managers also need to know who you are and what you can do.

A brochure can be an easy way of supplying standard information such as biographical details, repertoire, sample programmes, press notices, engagement lists, booking arrangements and any other information which might persuade a promoter to book you. A single printed brochure is unlikely to suit all your requirements. Different situations - answering enquiries, providing information for programmes, accompanying applications for auditions, general mailing - will require different approaches. Retain as much flexibility as you can, for example using inserts, and tailor your approach to the situation.

Particular care should be taken in planning any general mailing. Promoters receive hundreds of unsolicited approaches: most end up in the bin. Target your mailing carefully so that only those who are likely to book you receive it and you don’t waste valuable time and money. Typically, you have about 10 seconds in which to make an initial impression. An imaginative approach is essential. A good photograph, a catchy headline, even an unusual fold, can persuade the reader to read on. Extracts of reviews in the national or specialist press can give a mark of your standing and help build up a picture of you as a musician. Local press notices may have only limited influence. Your teacher and those you perform with may also be a measure of your musical abilities. Try to take an objective view of yourself, and design your brochure so that it conveys that image.

The same advice applies to photographs - a valuable tool when visual imagery is so important. Use a professional photographer, preferably one who is experienced in working with musicians and who understands them. That way, you are unlikely to end up with an image which does not accord with your personality. You will probably need a range of pictures to suit various uses. Therefore, if you are hiring a photographer, it makes sense (and shouldn’t cost more) to ask for a variety of formats. Take along a selection of formal and informal outfits and balance ‘studio’ shots against neutral backgrounds with location shots in a non-clinical context. Photographers like being asked to be creative, so discuss the shoot in advance. An interesting picture will have more impact than a boring, clichéd shot. For press use, eye contact works best. The misty, ethereal look has little appeal in today’s media.

As well as having a good image on paper, you have to make a good impression at every engagement. Obviously you interact with the audience while you are performing, but every other contact you have with the promoting organisation contributes to their impression of you. For the audience, your performance is a great occasion and may have been preceded by considerable effort in promoting the concert, fund-raising, and providing you with hospitality. Responding to the sense of occasion and showing appreciation of their efforts can pay dividends.
 

Being Noticed

Media coverage is an effective means of becoming known, but the media does not exist to promote musicians. The primary responsibility of the press, radio and TV is to their readers, listeners and viewers, and they aim to reflect what is going on in the world.

For the musician, there are five relevant types of potential press coverage - news, listings, features, reviews and photo opportunities. Major newspapers have separate editors for each area. Small local and specialist publications have an editorial team of just a few people who cover all these areas between them.

Newspapers and magazines receive far more information than they can print, so they can afford to be selective. Their choice is determined by the attractiveness of the material to the reader. You should therefore try to develop an objective viewpoint and assess the material from the editor’s perspective.

The opportunities for coverage on radio and TV are fewer. Radio 3, even, with 5,000 hours of music per year, has a rigorous selection procedure. Young musicians are unlikely to be sufficiently newsworthy to attract general TV or radio coverage. The most realistic option is an interview on local radio in a magazine programme. Even here, there has to be some point of media interest. Classic FM has interview/performance slots for young artists.

The standard method for approaching the media is via a media release. Media releases should be clearly presented and brief while containing all the necessary facts. They should be typed on A4 paper, ideally double-spaced on a single side. An eye-catching headline and a creative writing style will help to get your release noticed amongst the competition. (Classical Music and the ISM's Music Journal receive 100-200 press releases each week!) Because the competition for space is so fierce, it is worth targeting your approach. There is no point in asking a newspaper to review a concert if they don’t print reviews. Equally, it is worth evaluating the likely type of coverage (eg news or features) and sending the media release to the appropriate editor, journalist or critic. A follow-up phone call can prompt publication and is especially valuable for press events requiring an entry in the diary, such as photo calls.

BBC Radio 3 has its own audition process for selecting artists who may be invited to broadcast. It aims to reflect what is going on elsewhere in the music world, so looks for an active performing career when selecting artists.
 

Running The Business

Your success as a professional musician will be heavily influenced by how well you run the business side of your career. Promoting a concert has enough problems without the added burden of a disorganised or unreliable musician.

Firstly, the promoter needs to be able to contact you, usually by phone. Fixing for some concerts or session work is done at very short notice, but even for a concert some months ahead a quick response is highly desirable.

Oral agreements made over the phone should, wherever possible, be followed up with some form of written confirmation. You may need to take the initiative and confirm the arrangements in writing. A contract, even if made orally, is legally binding but may be hard to enforce if there is no supporting written evidence. The ISM has a Standard Artists Contract which covers most eventualities. It is simple to complete, with all the details which the artist and promoter normally require. There is also space for special requirements.

As with any business, records have to be kept for the effective running of the business and to fulfil legal obligations. Maintaining a list of contacts is vital. It is also worth keeping press cuttings, programmes (with a record of what you wore if you want to appear in a different frock next time!) and some notes on what worked and what didn’t. Of course, you need to keep your diary up to date and make sure you have all the necessary details for each engagement.

As a soloist, you will be self-employed and will need to contact your local tax office to register for taxation under Schedule D. You are then responsible for making your own tax returns and paying the income tax due. You will need to account for all your income and any expenditure ‘wholly and exclusively’ incurred for the purpose of your profession which you wish to offset against income. Financial records should be retained for seven years. The ISM publishes an Information Sheet on Tax Allowances.

You can obtain advice on legal matters, taxation and insurance from the ISM. The Musician’s Handbook also contains useful information on the business of a musical career.
 

Needing An Agent

An agent is not the answer to an empty diary. In fact an agent won’t take you on unless you have a promising engagement list and so are likely to be commercially attractive. Moreover, you probably don’t need an agent until you are so busy that you no longer have time to manage your engagements yourself. At that point an agent can provide a contact point for promoters, plan tours and schedules and handle contractual details.

Before approaching an agent, establish which agent would be most appropriate for you. Look at the agents’ artists’ lists and seek as many opinions as possible. The International Artist Managers' Association publishes a Directory of Classical Music Artists listing musicians with exclusive representation. Your approach should then include your CV/brochure, a photo, a list of engagements and, if possible, a tape or a video. You should write to the agent (or artists' manager within a larger agency) by name and follow up with a phone call in order to begin to establish a relationship. The agent will want to hear you and see you perform to an audience before taking you on. It is important to remember that an agent is legally empowered to act on your behalf, so a good working relationship is essential. If you wish to seek legal advice on an agency agreement, the ISM can help.
 

Help!

Anyone embarking on a musical career has to be prepared to cope with hard times, particularly early on. But don’t be too despondent, there is help available.

There are many private trusts and charities which help young musicians especially while studying or trying to build a career. Many are listed in the British & International Music Yearbook and the MBF's Handbook of Music Competitions, Awards and Scholarships. There is also the comprehensive Directory of Grant-Making Trusts published by the Charities Aid Foundation, which can be consulted in your local library.

As a business you may be eligible for assistance from one of the Government schemes designed to help small businesses. The Local Enterprise Agency and Trust Directory which may be found in your local library is published by the Government Business in the Community Scheme. It aims to help unemployed people start up in business. The criteria vary according to area, but a typical agency would require the applicant to have been registered as unemployed for at least 6 weeks. The ability to invest some capital in the business would be an advantage, but is not always essential. The scheme offers a flat-rate taxable allowance of £50 per week for up to a year.

Finally, the ISM offers a complete range of services for its members, so that you will be fully equipped for a musical life from your student days to retirement (and beyond).
 

Useful Publications

Advice on Music Careers for People with a Disabiltity (National Music and Disability Information Service)
Approaching An Agent (ISM - members only)
British Music Education Yearbook (Rhinegold Publishing)
British & International Music Yearbook (Rhinegold Publishing)
Classical Music (Rhinegold Publishing)
Directory of Grant Making Trusts (CAF)
Handbook of Music Competitions, Awards and Scholarships (Musicians Benevolent Fund)
First 2Years: Establishing an Orchestral Career (ISM)
Musicians’ Handbook (Rhinegold Publishing)
Music Journal (ISM)
Opportunities for Musicians (BBC)
Organists: Rates (ISM - free to all), Organists' Guide to Employment & Rates, 2004-05 (ISM - Members only)
Register of Musicians in Education (ISM)
Register of Performers and Composers (ISM)
Register of Professional Private Music Teachers (ISM)

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