Author: DrewSorensenMusic
Date: 2012-09-02 02:42
I find that the Youtube videos are really useful when someone has need for you. But it is most important to find the need first. Now don't get me wrong, making Youtube clips is a great resource, and also a good learning tool when trying to get to that next level, but of course, to get a job there must be a need for your services. I personally have made what I consider a pretty impressive Youtube resume, but I still have not gotten a single job without a recommendation from someone in the biz, or finding a post on the local musical theater website posting a need for a Reed player. If you are trying to make money in the biz, in my experience, cold calling never works. (I could be wrong, that is my experience) You can always work for no pay, but I'm going to assume we're not talking about that.
A funny thing happened to me though, which led to me getting a musical gig. I have been cold e-mailing musical directors (and as I said this really never works, is relatively unprofessional, and I wouldn't recommend it) But I did, and a few MDs got back saying, I'll get back to you, yadda yadda, undertone of they've already got guys and don't really need me. Anyhow, I got a musical revue (A Grand Night for Singing) from an ex professor of mine, and it was a relatively prestigious production in the area. I had some free comps, so I offered them to some fellow Reed players and some Music Directors I wanted to work with/for. I figured, since I'd be doing them a favor by giving them free tickets to a show, maybe that would put me higher on their list. One Music Director accepted, I got him good seats to the show, and now I'll be doing Hairspray with him from the end of September till mid November. I got him the tickets 2 months ago.
I post that long story cause maybe there's a lesson in that. I think in the normal business world, people who want to work with each other take them to baseball games, or go golfing, or go on some trip or something. I guess this develops repoire with a client/coworker/employer and might be useful in our business as well. I will also note that 5 people did not accept my invitation to see a free show, but also these people probably won't hire me because they are too busy, have enough people, and are already setup.
I hope that will be useful to some of you. You can check out my Youtube resume here (there's new stuff since you last saw, but mostly new sax and flute):
http://www.youtube.com/user/DrewSorensenMusic
Sincerely,
Drew S.
"All reeds, all the time."
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