Musicians Are Taught to Lead Musically, Not Professionally

If you have a college music degree, did you feel the support structures and network drop out from under you the moment you graduated? Like you had to figure out how to do everything yourself (except play your instrument)?

That’s because you emerged with a tremendous amount of musical skills, but little on how to develop your professional career in music.

But instead of getting mad at your alma mater, realize that it’s your responsibility to constantly seek out opportunities for professional development in the real world, whether you are in college or a seasoned-performer. Here are some ideas on how to develop yourself professionally as a musician.

Some of the old-school professional development tools for musicians still work quite well:

• lessons with prominent players/teachers

• networking at gigs

• staying in touch with college teachers and colleagues

Some professional development tools are a mixed bag, target these w/ intention:

• taking auditions (stressful/competitive, but possible pay increase)

• applying for academic jobs (stressful/competitive, but possible pay increase)

• attending festivals (inspiring, but usually have an age cap)

But what about the other professional development tools? What is going to make you future proof in the music industry?

• continue to hone your musical ability (never stop learning)

• emotional intelligence (your purpose, your personality, how to deal with people)

• management skills (time, money, energy, goals, people)

• business/tech skills (income generation, promotion, automation, AI)

But overall, a ferociously growth-focused mindset is going allow the greatest positive change to happen with any musician. No…not perfection….GROWTH.

So here’s how to do it:

1. Become CONSCIOUS of what your career issues are.

2. Get clarity on WHY you do what you do.

3. Take stock of your SKILLS.

4. Create a PLAN.

5. MANAGE yourself/career towards the plan.

6. MANIFEST the future you actually want.

These are the steps of my new career coaching program COSM Conscious Self-Management for Musicians. Reach out for more ideas on how to create a more successful version of you.