Ways Professional Musicians Market Themselves
In the modern and technologically-oriented world it is not that hard to market oneself as a professional musician. The main purpose of a musician marketing himself or herself is to gain more audience and consequently participate in festivals, go on tours, sign a contract with a label, and others. Thus, these are the top five ways for professional musicians to market themselves:
- Social media. For example, the band Red Hot Chili Peppers have six hundred thousand followers on Instagram. Through sharing on social media, the band is able to market its new concerts, projects, and albums.
- Merchandise. For example, Belgian artist Stromae has its own clothing line Mosaert that sells shirts. By offering the audience the unique merchandise, Stromae is able to market himself not only as a singer but also as a brand.
- Charity work. By doing charity work, musicians like Jack White from the White Stripes market themselves as members of a community, gaining the public’s attention.
- Friends and family. In the early stages, musicians involve their friends and family in promoting their music through social media and other sources.
- Advertisement. The most common way of marketing. Through advertising concerts on billboards or on social media, a musician is able to bring attention to his work.
Top Guitar Players
In the world
• Jeff Beck. Played and plays blues-rock, progressive rock, and jazz fusion.
• Jack White. Plays blues, folk-rock, alternative rock.
• Richard Thompson. Plays folk, alternative rock, and folk-rock.
• Ernest Ranglin. Plays specifically jazz, ska, and reggae.
• George Benson. Predominantly plays jazz, soul, and funk.
In Los Angeles (all of them are jazz guitarists)
Chuck Bramlet, Payam, Rico Espinoza, Donovan Raitt, Michael Edon. These musicians are available for hiring through the Gigmasters website that provides all contact information.
Organizations to Audition for
The Lacoste Band is the first band I would like to audition for because it plays 80’s and 90’s jazz and blues hits. The second band that would be interesting for an audition is Felix and Fingers is another Los Angeles-based band that plays music on request at various events. The third that has interested me to try my chances in an audition is the Ed Barrett Trio, which plays a combination of traditional jazz and funk.
The fourth band I would like to pass an audition for is the Ginger & Hoosier Daddys that specializes in playing 1920s-40s-inspired music and wears authentic for those period costumes. The last band I would like to audition for is the Apollo trio that plays their own remixes of famous jazz artists like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, and others. Auditioning for these bands will be a beneficial experience, even if no one takes me to their band since jazz music is about being free of any boundaries. All bands have a social media page where it is easy to contact them.
Mission Statement for the Musician’s Career
Not every musician, especially a jazz musician, has a particular mission statement or purpose. Musicians simply played music because they wanted to transfer their feelings into it, not to influence others with it; thus, most of the jazz masterpieces come from improvisation – a musician expresses his or her feelings through music, without being afraid to sound messy.
For example, when the Cape Verdean jazz singer Cesaria Evora was singing, even people that did not know Kriolu could understand what she sang about because she put her entire soul into the song.
Thus, my mission statement as a jazz guitarist is to evoke emotions in my listeners, hoping to make their day or week easier since the music can be a major supporter. Making the world better with the help of music is not a mission statement, it is the way of living, which I would like to aspire to.
Guitar Aptitude Assessment Criteria
Technique
All world-class guitar players are often praised for their technique of playing. When practicing the guitar, a musician is able to develop a technique of playing that in some aspects will be unique to this particular musician. I can’t say that I have a unique technique of playing jazz yet; however, with time, practice, and patience, it will definitely come.
Patience
This criterion is important when learning anything. If you don’t have the patience to sit and learn the notes or just practice, in general, you won’t become a world-class guitarist. Sometimes I lack enough patience to practice my guitar – when something goes wrong, I give up. On this matter, I would like to ask for the advice of a much more skilled guitarist that plays a lot of time and has already gone through the ups and downs of guitar practice.
Time
When it comes to finding time to practice, I am always able to find some, even if it’s late at night. Dedicating more time for practicing is vital for becoming a professional in any film, a hypothesis supported by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers: The Story of Success.