Beyond Talent: Creating a Successful Career in Music

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

“Can’t I just pay someone to do all this for me?”

thinking of a bio as a “call to action—

A further reason to network is the simple fact that you need a fan base, people who will come to your concerts, buy your recordings, contribute to your projects, introduce you to other influential contacts, and either hire you or refer you to those who can. But on a more philosophical level, the best reason for networking is to help build a communi

fulfilling a need means offering something that others want and will value enough to pay you for. Your music needs an audience; think about what you have to offer and who might want this in your community. Think creatively about where in your community you can perform, use your musical skills, and be paid for it. As for Ed Mirvish’s second tip, “go

your bio should not be in chronological order.

Here’s an example of an elevator speech I’ve used: “Hi, I’m Angela Beeching; I run the Career Services Center at New England Conservatory of Music [1 and 2 above]. I just wanted to introduce myself because I heard your performance last month at the X club and I’m a big admirer of your work!” [The other person responds favorably, so I go on with:] “

Oxingale has also launched a YouTube channel featuring his performances and on the label’s website (http://www.oxingale.com), fans can download free ring-tones of Matt’s signature cellistic pyrotechnics.1

If you have an elevator speech at the ready, it makes it much easier to meet people. It should be short: about 30 seconds and no more than four sentences. It should be conversational and personal, not a sales pitch. And it should give your conversation partner something to talk with you about—it should have conversation “openings.” To break it down