9 TIPS FOR NAVIGATING THE INDUSTRY

Each week our NSAI Membership Team meets songwriters from all walks of life and musical interests! In this blog post, Andi, Kalee, and Erin share their tips for fostering industry relationships, staying familiar with music trends, and setting attainable goals. 



ANDI GILBERTI 

  1. Be a student of the industry. If you get a meeting with someone in the industry, make sure you know their background, artists they have worked with in the past, etc. Use social media, industry publications, and internet searches. You will be able to ask them more thoughtful questions in your meeting and show that you respect their time! Music Row Magazine is an awesome resource for building the Rolodex in your mind! Memorize faces, names, companies, and job titles if you can! 
  2. Attend industry conferences, writer’s retreats, and camps! You will form a strong bond with the other attendees over your shared experience. Boom – you have a new group of co-writers for life!
  3. Build your team, no matter what your goal is! Anyone that takes an interest in you or your music can be a team member. Work hard and show people that you appreciate them, and they will want to keep advocating for you.

KALEE REEVES

  1. Take everyone to coffee. Be friends with everyone! Possible co-writes, industry connections, musicians, etc. The quickest way to have a lot of contacts is to ask a lot of people to meet for coffee or lunch to pick their brains.
  2. Be everywhere. Go to shows, support your fellow writers and be a genuine fan of others! There is no other way to get more support than giving it back to your music community. 
  3. Stay in touch with your connections. More opportunities popup for people who are staying in touch with their connections in the industry. The more you reach out, the more you will be reached out to!

ERIN KIDD

  1. Be open to writing with lots of different people at first. You can always learn something. As you progress in your writing, be more selective and strategic with your co-writes. Think hard about who compliments your strengths and brings something different/fresh to the table. 
  2. Have songwriting goals but give yourself grace. ‘Success’ does NOT happen overnight…in fact it takes 5-15 years at least. Take small steps each day and don’t get discouraged. In fact, celebrate small victories because THIS is the fun part… getting to write songs with other creatives. You’ll likely get where you want to be by displaying persistence, patience, politeness, and genuinely enjoying the journey.
  3. Industry executives are normal people. Be confident in yourself and what you have to offer. You are worth their time.

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