Rally Advice for those of us new to the business

[Paulie]

REALLY excited about attending my first rally.

I've got an outgoing personality and am a natural socializer, so meeting people has never been a problem for me. However, I'm new to this songwriting thing so my catalog is not extensive. I've got overt a hundred cues online in a variety of genres, so I plan on having a CD ready with about 5-6 tracksu But, I've not been signed with any libraries or music sup's yet. Am I at a big disadvantage when meeting decision makers and not having a business track record yet? Are they really interested in working with folks like me that haven't had a single tv/film placement yet? Any suggestions on how to respond if someone asks "where might I have heard your music?"

[TheElement]

That's what I thought.

They're not interested in your credits. they couldn't care less. They are more interested in your music. Do you have something they can use/sell? That's what they are interested in.

Concentrate on the music and it will all fall in place.

[Casey H]

They're not interested in your credits. they couldn't care less. They are more interested in your music. Do you have something they can use/sell? That's what they are interested in.

Well I wouldn't say that credits aren't very helpful. They are! But yes, the music is what matters.

If you meet someone and give them a CD, it's likely that the subject of credits won't even come up and credits aren't usually on CD's anyway. If someone asks you what you do, you can simply say "I write Film/TV cues, my genre is..."

Credits are helpful when you cold contact a library asking if you can submit or if you doing a follow up email after exchanging business cards with an exec. Without being an obnoxious braggart, it's fine to say in such an email, "Recent credits include..." The person reading the email would definitely be more interested in hearing the music of someone with credits.

But just be yourself and don't sweat it. Personality and professionalism matter a lot!

Casey