The Bizz Side of Things
by Dave Latchaw
Musicians spend countless hours focused on developing their craft, especially those that have chosen to make music their career. For many, the bizz side of things is tedious and a bore. They are correct, the business side of music making is tedious and a bore, but it is necessary to have your business chops together if you are going to have any economic success. A player has to be responsible for their economic well being, because no one else is going to. Musicians who avoid the bizz side of music can become disgruntled with music because they aren’t achieving what they are capable of.
When I decided to pursue music as a career I would never realized how much time I would have to spend on the phone. A lot of time is spent making and returning phone calls. Work on your phone skills. Make sure you know what you need to convey when you call. When calling someone, be sensitive to whether they have time to chat after the bizz is done. Don’t keep someone on the phone if they are busy, be sensitive to the person’s time when you call. It’s also necessary to have an answering machine, if it isn’t easy to get in contact with you, people will stop trying. Most musicians have dozens of things going all at once, and it’s easy to procrastinate about making the necessary calls. If you stay on top of making your calls, less things will fall through the cracks, which makes you seem more efficient and professional. The less time you keep someone waiting for your return call, the easier you are making it for that person, and the easier you make it for the person that is intending to hire you, the more likely you will be able to get their repeat business. You will find that most clients who are booking you for a musical event would rather be assured that you can play the situation appropriately and that you make it easy for them to hire you or your group, than with whether you can play “Giant Steps” in every key.
Business cards are always a good thing to have in your “doing bizz” arsenal. They are an easy way to pass on your contact information to a potential client, band mate, or student. The information on your card should include your name, contact phone number, e-mail address, website, and what services you provide. Keep your card current. If you have a new phone number or e-mail address, don’t do the “scratch off the old and write the new number or address by hand” number, just have new cards made. Present yourself like your business is important to you, and like you have your act together.
Booking gigs is not for every musician, but if you do book gigs, always use a contract. Design the contract in such a way that it is clear to the client what your expectations are, and what you expect from them. Make sure you include the location, time, and date of the musical event on the contract, and also things like the length of the sets and breaks, if food and beverages are part of the deal, and any other expectations you have. Make it clear how and when you are to be paid. When all of these things are in writing, it protects both you and the client from the musical occasion not going as planned.
A fax machine is also necessary for making your business time efficient and professional. If you book your own gigs, the fax machine is a very convenient way to send and receive contracts from your clients. Most people in business want things to be simple and quick. The fax saves having to address an envelope and mail the contract. It’s also a handy way to get charts to other musicians you are working with, which can make your rehearsal time more efficient.
E-mail and a web site are other tools one should consider using. For some people, e-mail is more convenient than using the phone, so try to include it in your business use. For example, if you need to get directions for a gig to your band, you could use a map program at places like yahoo.com, google.com or mapquest .com and save yourself many phone calls by sending the address via e-mail to everyone on the gig. A website that includes bio information, song information, a calendar of your performances, and any other information that will make it easier to hire you, saves you having to spend time doing the verbal hard sell to a potential client.
Being professional in all aspects of your musical activities is always important. Many are simple things. Be on time, don’t be skating in at the last minute before you are to supposed to start playing. Wear the appropriate clothing, for some gigs you may be able to dress arty, and for others you shouldn’t. If food and beverages are included in your contract, be reasonable about how much you eat and drink, don’t think of the gig as a drink and food fest. Taking breaks that are too long makes you look bad and also perpetuates musician stereotypes. Be aware of the musical situation and prepare accordingly.
Spend some time every day on the business side of your musical activities, be it making phone calls, sending out CD’s to promote yourself, making flyers for getting new students, contacting clubs, improving your promo pack, or any of the hundreds of things that it takes to achieve economic success at doing music for a living. Don’t be one of those musicians who has spent so much time developing their musical ability that they end up with a false sense of entitlement for work and success. Sheer heaviness is not reason enough to be hired or to be noticed in the competitive musical world. One has to differentiate between their artistic craft that they have spent years nurturing, and doing the musical job that is at hand. Every musician would like to be exclusively playing the music that they have spent years working on, but unless you are one of the lucky few in the right spot at the right time, you need to be professional and get all aspects of the job done.
