One of the most common pieces of advice young composers receive is “just put yourself out there!” but there’s not too many in depth discussions about what that means or where “there” is. Many composers default to having a generic Instagram page, that they may or may not update once every six months. They also may have a website that acts as a resume or portfolio.
Even when they are posting regularly on social media, they may be getting likes or comments but for the most part it is from people who are already their followers (typically friends or family) or random people who the algorithm determined needed to see your content - usually the most obscure person in the world with a sketchy username and an odd profile that makes you question your sanity.
At this point, you may be asking yourself - “But oh, niche content internet blog, how can I truly put myself out there and find myself connecting with people who don’t already follow me?”
First off - I am not trying to contradict my previous posts on the importance of social media & content. There is nothing wrong with posting content on social media. It is an important part of a marketing strategy but too often I find artists think it is the only part. It is so easy to fall for the “self important feedback loop” of ”Oh I put something out on Instagram, it got X amount of likes, this is me working hard on marketing and I should do it again tomorrow!”. Likes feel good. The other forms of “putting yourself out there” where there is higher risk of rejection (and often without the safety of hiding behind a screen), do not.
Jim Koch, founder of the Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams), puts it bluntly: “The difference between marketing and sales is the difference between masturbation and sex. One you can do all by yourself in a dark room and fool yourself into thinking you’re accomplishing something. The other requires real human skills and all the fury and muck and mire of real human-to-human contact.”
Now personally, I wouldn’t go as far as to write off marketing entirely like this but I would say it’s very easy to fall into the trap of “feel good” efforts vs productive efforts - especially when the dopamine and “measurable” stats of social media come into play. For me, social media works best as a marketing strategy for awareness and staying on people’s radars once you’re already on it.
That being said, there are other ways of putting yourself out there that I personally find to achieve other goals such as meeting new people & building relationships (expanding your network), getting your work in front of the right people (getting leads), and more.
Attend Mixers - and not just artistic/film/video game ones!
One very beneficial thing to my career has been to attend networking mixers in a variety of industries. First off, there’s really no industry that you as a composer should not have connections with. You are human and a person after all. Just this week, I went to a mixer in the county across the river and met an Optometrist, a teacher, an acupuncturist, a web designer, and more. One of their husbands just happened to be a TV composer! You never know who you’re going to meet or who they’re going to know at these events. Plus, people are so interesting and you can learn a lot about a lot by getting to know a variety of people in different walks of life.
Secondly, if you’re in any major metropolitan area there are likely many composer, songwriting, musician groups meeting up. In NYC alone, I try to attend around 6 monthly. This doesn’t include any open mics, film festivals, conventions or anything of those sorts either. Even events that you might go to for work can be a great opportunity to meet people. Become a regular face in the community you want to be a part of. I did a lot of beer festivals when I did sales and marketing for a brewery and I made a lot of friends at those events with other breweries but also consumers that I still stay in contact with, and some have even rec’d me for gigs!
Another small tidbit on this - try to even PA or be an extra on set from time to time as well. Being face to face with people, even if you are not actively “selling myself as a composer” is such a great relationship builder and it’s always a great reminder of what the pipeline of a project is like before it gets to us. In addition, it gets you into the network of producers, actors, gaffers, PA’s and more who may or may not direct their own stuff, but are always working on projects with people who do.
Similarly, volunteering can be a fantastic way to meet people. Most people who volunteer are there because they all feel strongly about the same cause and have that in common. Besides the personal reward of a job well done and giving back to your community, volunteering is a great way to meet people and make friends with people you normally wouldn’t. I met a really great couple who worked in local law & politics while volunteering at a Christmas meal drive hosted by a local brewery a few years back, and I’m still in contact with them and have even join them for fight night. I never would have met them had I not volunteered, and due to the overlap of who was hosting the event, what the event was, and where it was located we happened to hit it off and became great friends.
My biggest piece of advice for attending any of these events though is don’t be “that guy” that’s going around shoving your business card in people’s faces and walking off. I was at one event in Manhattan where a guy even went around just handing people copies of his blu-ray and walking away. Nobody took it home. Instead, focus on building relationships and go for quality rather than quantity. You can’t meet everybody but the deeper you connection goes with somebody the faster your name gets through their network as well.
No matter how tired or busy I am, I’ve realized I most often regret not going to events but I almost never regret showing up.
Public Performances
As a composer or songwriter, there is no greater way to get your music directly in front of new people than a public performance of your work. This could be your movie playing in a theater (capitalize on this by being sure to attend and see if you can even do a Q+A afterwards), a concert of your music, or even something as simple as an open mic.
A good friend of mine, Jon Hatch (website/instagram), performed an awesome synth set in an art gallery in Hastings on the Hudson last summer. Afterwards, he was approached by a filmmaker in attendance about possibly working with them on their next film. This one performance landed him a gig and started a new working relationship for him, expanding his network and introducing his music to a whole new audience.
If you aren’t lucky enough to be part of an event like that, there is still nothing stopping you from putting on your own event. In fact, this was a huge benefit of the sonic tasting beer & music pairings that I hosted - that event series is even how Jon & I originally got connected in the first place! These events can be anything: a concert (most typical), sound installations, hosting networking events, songwriter’s circles, clubs, open mics, etc. Heck, I even called trivia and bingo at local bars (occasionally playing theme music I wrote for these events) and made many wonderful contacts that way.
And no matter what sort of event you put on, there is nothing stopping you from “going on tour” with your event. At one point, I seriously considered touring Europe on a “Bingo Tour” calling bingo at bars and nursing homes (and honestly because I thought it’d be hilarious and a fun way to get out, meet people, and even generate some interesting content), but you can totally do this and just keep it local too.
Depending on who you are trying to connect with - you can cater your event ideas to that specific crowd. For instance, a sound installation at an art gallery attracts a very different audience than a live performance in the woods. Try to find a way to overlap your event with the interests of the people you are trying to connect with and you’re golden.
Releases
Though I personally haven’t released any of my music on Spotify (currently working on changing that), there is a great benefit that comes along with it. Firstly, it “legitimizes” you as an artist to some people in the same way that I mentioned a “paper trail” of social media does as well. It also helps you stay on people’s radars as they listen to your music and spotify reminds them of it from time to time.
These don’t need to just be typical releases either: look at songwriters Barlow & Bear, they started with an unofficial musical version of Bridgerton on Tik Tok (an official release and legal drama eventually did occur) and they just did the songs for the Disney musical, Moana 2.
Collaborations
Combining the previous two areas, collaborations are one of the best ways to meet people, get yourself exposed to new audiences, and release music. Many people are happy to collaborate on projects and doing so cross promotes your work to each other’s audiences. It’s also a great way to test out working with somebody like an orchestrator or instrumentalist without it being in an intense deadline driven project.
Outside of collaborating strictly with musicians on musical releases, you can collaborate with an artist on an art project, a brand on an event, a dancer, game devs on a game jam, and so much more. The possibilities are endless, and it's really a fantastic way to build a new relationship and get something you can share out of it as well.
Similarly, it is an amazing opportunity if you can be featured on somebody else’s blog or podcast. This is a non-musical way to collaborate and have a “public performance” of what you do for a very specific niche of a market and be introduced to their followers who may or may not already know you. A public performance does not strictly need to be a public performance of a musical piece, but your work (whatever it may be) does need to be out in the world in some way, shape, or form.
Cold Contacting (but not as a sales pitch!)
I’ve mentioned in previous posts the importance of cold contacting in terms of sales, but it’s also just a great way to make friends and meet new people. I got connected with Apollo 11 composer, Matt Morton, because I shot him an email about how much I loved his music. I’ve done this a few times and have connected with a great handful of composers/directors/people etc. A lot will just say thanks and move on, but other times you can build it into a lasting relationship. I often end up talking with people for hours on the phone getting to know them and they regularly stay in touch afterwards. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and just message people from time to time, but remember to do this with the goal of being friends - not of finding work or making a sale.
On that note, don’t be afraid to reconnect with people in your past either. A lot of popular CRMs have features to remind you to touch base with somebody every couple weeks or months. Just because you haven’t talked to somebody since college doesn’t mean you can’t reconnect. And who knows, they may have been thinking about you but too afraid to take the leap themselves.
You can also reach out to local community colleges, orchestras, or more and offer your services or even offer to talk to the students and/or answer any questions they may have. Just make yourself accessible and people will reach out eventually.
In addition to reaching out in this manner, it also never hurts to ask for advice. In fact it can help! Dale Carnegie, author of How to Make Friends and Influence People, writes about this idea known as “The Ben Franklin Effect":
"...when we ask a colleague to do us a favour, we are signalling that we consider them to have something we don't, whether more intelligence, more knowledge, more skills, or whatever. This is another way of showing admiration and respect, something the other person may not have noticed from us before. This immediately raises their opinion of us and makes them more willing to help us again both because they enjoy the admiration and have genuinely started to like us."
So go ahead and ask people for help! It could be a great way to build rapport with the people you'd like to be closer with.
Talk to people around you
Become friends with your bartenders, your barista’s, the people in line while you wait for the bathroom at a concert. Anyone! Become a regular somewhere and get to know the people. I live just outside of NYC, and I am always amazed when I travel outside of this area how friendly people are and how willing to talk to you (and even help you) a majority of people are too. If it can be done here, it truly can be done anywhere.
Release content that isn’t about you
An overwhelming majority of social media content is personal: pictures of themselves at a beach, a picture in the studio, 100 posts captioned “Big things coming soon”, etc. There is nothing wrong with that, but for many these sorts of posts don’t help achieve their goals. When it comes down to it, what value does this really offer somebody who doesn’t know you? (but should!)
I’ve been very open that this blog has been one of my best career moves and about the doors it has opened for me. Though few and far between, people share the posts I make (when I make them, and I promise I’m going to be a lot more regular about it), and even message me questions or give me great positive feedback. People need help and they want it bad. Even if they don’t know exactly what they want to know. If you are an expert in something, don’t be afraid to share your expertise! If you’re not an expert, share what you are learning as you learn it. Youtube videos and reels are also a great option - whatever format works best for you is great.
Personally for me, my next content jump is podcasts. I love meeting people, I love chatting with and learning about people, and people love to talk about themselves too. Being totally open, I think it would be a ton of fun, helpful for other people besides myself, but also a great way to interview and meet people and build a connection. Like if I shot you a DM out of nowhere that said, “Hey, I have a podcast and I’d love to interview you, share your journey and your work with my listeners” (in a much more elegantly written manner), I believe a majority of people would enjoy the opportunity to do so. And full disclosure - yes, these are in the works and have been for a while. I’m hoping to start releasing by the end of February so stay tuned :-)
To Get more Work as a Composer, Remember to follow up!
Lastly, I would like to stress the importance of following up. A quick back and forth conversation is ok, but maybe a week or two later send them another message. Even if you just got written off with a “Thanks” only, it can’t hurt to try again. And if you got more than that response on the initial contact, a follow up message really starts setting the path for a relationship to form. It shows you are not just interested in chatting one time and helps you to build that relationship in whatever direction you feel like taking it.
Regardless, it’s always important to remember that this is a very relationship driven business - so there’s nothing more important than making friends and building relationships - which is why I believe that it is not just enough to be on social. You need to go out and meet people. Do the hard work. Put yourself out there and make new friends! In order to grow your network effectively, you must reach out to people long before you need anything at all. Don’t be afraid to just do it just to do it.
If you are feeling inspired by this post, feel free to give me a follow on instagram @Joe_Chris_ and shoot me a message. I’d love to connect with you! In addition, I am starting a discord server for artists to help hold each other accountable on the business end of things (stuff like marketing, sales, etc.) If you are interested, shoot me a DM for the invite link.