Do music industry jobseekers need a personal website?

It is well known that the music job market is hyper-competitive, so it is absolutely essential that you do everything you can to distinguish yourself from the hundreds of other applicants.  One fairly simple way to do this is to create a personal website. The industry is forward thinking and creative in it’s nature and so a CV on 2 sides of A4 is no longer going to cut through in most cases. Musicians, bands, producers, sound engineers and other creative professionals in the industry are way ahead in this regard, an online presence being nearly ubiquitous and essential in these fields. Yet there are many professionals in the wider industry who still rely on the traditional CV.

Click to read more ...

Is the future for audio professionals in games?

Finding paid UK music jobs as a creative audio professional has at times been an uphill struggle. Just like musicians, audio professionals (sound engineers, sound designers, mix/mastering engineers etc.) are often highly skilled and highly under paid. It is difficult to think of another industry in which highly educated and skilled workers are routinely expected to work for free or in unstable or very low paid positions. Audio professionals are usually highly passionate and driven about their work and often take on unpaid projects or jobs, especially early on, in the hope of building a portfolio strong enough to find regular income. Getting a well-paid UK music job is tough and demands patience and determination to succeed.

Click to read more ...

Do bands need PR? An alternative strategy for bands and the importance of PR

How many times have you read about a cool new band who are about to change the face of music forever, usher in a revolution in popular culture and destroy everything we thought we once knew about art, style and ideology? How often does excitement fade to envious bemusement upon hearing the band’s EP and realising that we haven’t finally discovered the next Velvet Underground or The Clash, but rather a new King’s of Leon, if the King’s of Leon came from Hertfordshire and the singer’s mum writes for The Guardian. Sometimes, the hype machine is turned on before a band has even played a gig or released a demo. A band can have created less musical output than an average 7 year old with a new recorder, yet can still command the attention of the music press. Many new, undiscovered bands quite rightly wonder why they remain unknown while other, equally shit bands are showered in praise and press coverage. The answer, of course, is PR.

Click to read more ...

Is it ever OK to work for free in the music industry?

Picture this: a busy Friday night in a trendy city venue. An up and coming band plays a beautifully-crafted and well-rehearsed set to a delighted audience, at least half of whom are the band’s loyal fans. The bar is busy and the night is energised. It’s a scene many of us are familiar with and is one of the great things about life in a city with a vibrant and exciting music scene. As the night draws to an end the various members of staff who have made the night happen congregate in the back office to collect their pay check. The frazzled bar staff collect their well-earned cash. Door staff are handed their envelopes with wry smiles and pats on the back, ‘Thanks guys that was a tough one tonight’. The school kid who collects glasses excitedly pockets his £20, and the cleaners, who have just arrived, take their wages in advance, their eyes diverted though the gap in the door at the alcohol stained apocalypse that awaits them. Now it’s the turn of the band. The guys and girls who rehearsed solidly in expensive studios for months; who promoted the show for weeks; who arrived at 3pm in a hired van after a 2 hour journey; who lugged all of their gear in the pouring rain to the sound check; the band that entertained the revellers and made the night awesome; in what giant envelope will the 5 of them receive their remuneration they quietly wonder? ‘AMAZING set guys, you were great… er we didn’t take as much as expected at the bar though, so obviously we won’t be able to pay you. Really sorry. I think we have a few bottles of beer left over that you can take’.  The band saunter outside into the first rays of sunrise, 2 warm beers between them, full of defiance and resignation.

Click to read more ...