Beyond Talent: Creating a Successful Career in Music

Shortly after his initial forays into alternative spaces, Haimovitz hired a former singer-songwriter to find and book appropriate clubs for more extensive tours in support of his latest projects.

As detailed in the recommended Musical Excellence: Strategies and Techniques to Enhance Performance, “The ten year minimum has been documented in every field of human endeavor that has been examined … This rule holds for musicians, novelists, poets, mathematicians, chess players, tennis players, swimmers, long distance runners, livestock judges, ra

Ultimately, your music is a form of communication, a way to contribute positively to the world. Your image and brand should be an extension of this positive energy.

on paper. These levels of relationship can be represented graphically: draw a set of four concentric circles, like the rings of a tree, with you at the center. Consider your existing relationships, the people in your life. Where would you place them on the chart?

Networking is investing in our own artistic community. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to build a music career. Nobody does it alone.

The history of the arts, after all, is a testament to the human drive to create. Musicians compose new works, invent new instruments, and develop music software. They launch new ensembles and performance series, and, in the process, they build audiences and transform communities.

Writing Prompts To generate material for your description, try answering these questions: • How would you describe your music to a new acquaintance, someone you wish to invite to an upcoming performance? • How have your mentors or colleagues described any of your particular works, or your work overall? • What you are reaching for in your compositio

Conductor and vocal coach John Greer, when asked what career advice he had for musicians, described the three keys to success he gleaned from the Canadian entrepreneur Edward Mirvish. These were to “fulfill a need; go against the trend; and keep it simple.” John Greer translates these tips for musician entrepreneurs:

Musicians create their own start-up projects for a variety of reasons. They may catch the entrepreneurial bug because of frustration with limited traditional opportunities or because they seek the satisfaction of being in charge of their own project. They may want additional income or the opportunity to perform certain repertoire with particular co