It’s a dream for many Americans of all ages to make it as a musician. It’s the reason many talent shows exist, to help find talent no matter what age you are. If you are based around New York, then it may be easier for you to get started, due to the amount of local musical experts you could meet and have a collaboration with.
Attend Live Gigs Across The City
For you to have the best chance of making it in music, you need to understand what people will want to hear firsthand. That’s why you should attend live gigs across the city. New York has several famous venues that you could consider attending. It may be a good idea for you to attend gigs in a variety of different genres. This will give you more insight, and open your eyes to more taste.
Find Time To Create
You will need to find a time that you can create your music. You will likely have a job that you need to focus on to help pay your bills. Going broke and homeless will diminish your chances of making it musically, as you will no longer have the equipment and the resources to make this happen. Consider implementing a plan to set time aside each week to practice, this could be before or even after work.
Find A Place To Create
Once you know what time you have available to create, you will then have to think about where you create the music. Depending on where you are based in New York, that question could be difficult to answer. If you are thinking about doing it at home, you will need to think about how it could impact those around you, from family/housemates to neighbors and concerned public citizens.
If you are thinking of going somewhere externally to create, then you will need to think of how that could impact those around that place. It’s the reason many established musicians and those starting look to hire disused warehouses to create, as there won’t be any noise complaints this way.
Otherwise, they could always go hire out a studio of some kind. Some studios will be located in the heart of Manhattan, and others will be found further out, from Brooklyn and beyond. These studios are sought after because they not only have sound-canceling walls to prevent any complaints but because they also have high-end equipment available for users to use. This will include recording equipment, instruments, and mixing decks, which most people won’t have readily available at home, even the professionals use these.
Educate Yourself On The New York Music Scene
If you’re looking to crack your way into the New York music scene, then you will need to educate yourself on it. If you are trying to meet people and convince them to listen to your music, if you have no respect for what came before you, you may be ignored.
New Yorkers are proud people, which is why you see many buskers performing live music in the street to help gain awareness and brighten people’s day. If you’re looking for something more professional, then you will need to research that aspect of the music scene in New York, which local music experts Pirate can tell you all about.
Network Wherever Possible
Whilst we mentioned the importance of making connections with those in the music scene earlier in the article, it is still important for you to network in general. Of course, you will see more of a benefit if you are networking with industry experts of music, but you can still benefit. For example, you may network with someone who hires out chairs and tables for events. Whilst you may not think much of it at the time, you may realize that you are having an informal gig that requires seats at short notice.
Networking is the modern way of making friends. Consider attending networking events across New York to find more people you could work with, or at least keep in contact with. You never know, someone might pass on your details to a venue that needs a last-minute gig, and that could now be you.
Utilize Social Media And Go Viral
New York is not only a creative hub, it is famous. It is largely famous due to the media that glorified the city in TV and films throughout the 20th century. Social media is only the modern version of this, with it still playing the same role.
For that reason, amongst others, you should be looking to post anything you’re doing musically in New York on social media. This makes it more likely that those within the city will see your post, and it could even go viral across the globe. Many famous musicians can thank the impact of social media for their success. More recently, you have TikTok to thank for rising young stars.