Summer NAMM Public Day Offers Networking, Retail, and Educational Opportunities

The Summer National Association of Music Merchants convention took place in Nashville, TN July 12-14. NAMM conferences are member-only events to show off the latest music retail and technology, but July 14th was open to the public.

NAMM Public Day is well worth the $15 price of admission for independent musicians. Make no mistake: this is a trade show focused on music manufacturers. Musicians can still benefit from plenty of networking opportunities, gear sales, and educational sessions.

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How to Begin a Career in the Music Industry: Advice to the graduating class of 2012

So the big day is fast approaching. You are leaving the ivory tower of college in a few weeks and are about to enter the work force. Most likely the only thought on your mind is how to get a job.

The ideal is to have a job locked up and waiting for you before you graduate, so you can enjoy your last month at college. This is what all your friends in other majors are doing. The computer scientists are getting flown across the country and eating lobster. The engineers are meeting with on campus recruiters. The management and business students have already found a good position at the bank where they interned.

The music industry does not work this way. Very few companies hire in advance. Music companies are not structured to wait several months for an entry-level candidate to graduate college.  They hire when they need a body, not because there is an influx of new talent every spring, like some other industries. While this is frustrating, it actually creates a new opportunity.

Your goal as you enter the music industry should not be to find a job, but rather to develop a career. Getting your first job will be a byproduct of this process, but jobs are temporary and a career lasts a lifetime.

Think of your career development in four levels

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How To Talk To Strangers

Networking online or in person (eventually it is necessary to do in person) involves talking to complete random strangers. People you don’t know, people who might be untrustworthy, people who might have an agenda, people who might take from you, people who might steal from you, people who might harm you. We don’t like talking to strangers. Strangers are bad. Strangers will hurt you. Strangers have negative associations. Yet we are all strangers to other people.

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