Saturday, September 29

Something Outta Nothing




A few weeks ago, I was randomly looking through Twitter to see if anything interest was going on in the world when I came across a tweet from Hip Hop legend 9th Wonder.  He posted: 

Basically, he was looking for an assistant to go through all the tweets he receives from aspiring artists and producers asking him to check out their work.  This got me to thinking of how this could lead to a career.  Think about it, how many artists, producers, and other music professionals are on Twitter?  How many of these people receive countless tweets and DM’s asking for a chance to be heard in hopes of becoming the next big thing?  I’m guessing many of these people would be happy to pay the right person to take on this task.  In an industry that is all about making yourself indispensible, staying innovative, and getting a jump on the next man, I further began to wonder about how easy it might be to create a career out of seemingly nothing.  Doing a little internet research, I found some these tips on how to create a career.

1: Look For Problems
In the case of 9th Wonder, his problem is that he doesn’t have enough time to listen to every person that asks for a chance.  The solution is to find a volunteer A&R to take on the job.  When creating your career in music, pay attention to any complaints, issues, or opinions you hear from those around you.  Also, read about what is going on in the industry behind the scenes.  Maybe you can discover the solution to something that everyone is too busy to see.

2: Think Small
Don’t focus on the industry as a whole; start with your town or city you live in.  Maybe local bands are having trouble reaching out to radio stations to get airplay or they simply need better marketing materials to reach their friends.  Eventually, this small idea could take the industry by storm.

3: Get To Know Your People
Once you have found the problem you plan to solve, begin networking with those who could use your help.  Understand exactly what solutions they need and what makes them tick.  Build a trust with them and they will always think of you when telling others of how they fixed their problem.

4: Get To Know Yourself
What are your strengths and weaknesses? What makes you happy? What do you want? Even if what you want is completely different than what you are doing now, embrace it. There is a way to harness that tension to make you, your job and the company better. The magic is in figuring out what that way is. (Forbes.com)

5: Be Flexible
The entertainment industry is constantly moving on to the next one.  If you can’t be flexible, you stand no chance of being successful.  You may think you have the perfect idea on what kind of career you want to create, but there may be opportunities on the horizon to shift the direction you intended to go.  Having an open mind about the possibilities could boost your career higher than you originally thought.





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