I’ve been working so much on all the other networking stuff, facebook, myspace, email, that I am soooo rusty when it comes to real live networking.
Honestly? I despise it. It’s so freakin’ personal. Yeah, I know, I know. Hey, give me a stage and I’ll show you what I can do, but me telling you face to face…well….My biggest issue? I don’t want to be like a lot of musicians I’ve come across over the years. They’re so great they tell you, they really rock, they’re the best thing since a remote mic, and then you finally hear them or see them live and they SUCK. Or they go on and on about all their accomplishments and all about themselves and oh my god, enough already! I just don’t want to be like them EVER! So I do the opposite. If it comes up in conversation that I’m a musician, great, if not, I don’t go there. Yes, I know, and I’ve paid for it, believe me.
Looking back on many seminars and workshops I’ve been to for networking over the years I would really like to send certain people I’ve met, musicians, and industry people alike the things Ariel has to say. Most musicians pounce on you and it’s all about them. Boring. If they had something interesting to say, like about their next album or tour, I would be very interested, but no, it’s usually about how great they are. Aaaahhhh! I’m screaming inside. So I guess secretly I’ve made this inner vow it’s better to not be like them in any way at all, because all musicians are like that. I know, it’s stupid, and it’s not right to paint us all with that brush.
Looking back, I think those are the wanna be’s anyway. Another thing that bothers me is how when I do finally tell the person I am talking to that I’m a musician, before I can say anything else, they then proceed to tell me how their niece, best friend, second cousin twice removed is a musician and is sooooooo amazing. So, politely, I’ll ask, oh, do they have a website I could check out? Mostly the response is oh, they don’t have one, or they’re working on it, or they always sing karaoke in their bedroom… what’s a myspace?…it’s exhausting.
For networking with people who aren’t musicians or industry people, I’ve developed a system…they ask what type of music I do, I give a short description, and they ask what my web address is. So I then give them my business card with my email and websites, or a sticker with my website address on it (I’ve since run out of stickers; people love them) that way you’re giving them something (a sticker or two) for free, and they get the information for the websites, and even though they may forget about the card, when they go searching through their wallet or pockets next time, they will remember and check out the site. The only drawback to this, is followup can be a bit of a challenge, by not getting a business card in return…most people in regular life that I may be adding to my email list, don’t typically carry business cards. So I do my best to follow up in some way with facebook or maybe a friend knows their email (if I meet them at a party).
Even though I’ve been in the music biz for quite a while, I know that networking face to face is a big part of it, and Chapter 8 gave me some really simple but effective tools to use next time I’m in any real live networking situation.
