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(i did a search but couldnt find this subject)im just curious if anyone could point me in the right direction. i really would like to know how i should go about getting myself out there so people (preferably those who pay well) will look to me for they're music needs. i dont wanna be another student who made it through 4 years of college only to find out i cant find a job. thanks.

Sept 23, 2009, 12:04pm, showdownmetal wrote:(i did a search but couldnt find this subject)im just curious if anyone could point me in the right direction. i really would like to know how i should go about getting myself out there so people (preferably those who pay well) will look to me for they're music needs. i dont wanna be another student who made it through 4 years of college only to find out i cant find a job. thanks.when you say, "look to me for their music needs" - how do you define that? Artist, producer, sound engineer, composer, seller of albums...? Just asking for you to define this so we can give better advice.

i think that question in itself begs another question. which of those individual fields is most likely to have work? my first semester of college i was asked what i wanted to use my music education for, and my response was "at some point i would like to score a film." i remember the professor that asked me that question gave me this look like i just said i wanted to be micheal jackson or something. maybe indecision as to whether or not he could expect nothing or great things out of me. either way, i dont wanna spend my time working towards something that wont pay itself off.

There are ways to maximise your chances in any pursuit and people here will have great advice on specific pursuits, but working towards something that may not pay off (in the short term at least) is a music industry signature.The thing is, you can't ever fail if you don't ever quit.

I see it like this:1) You need to be known and liked by a LOT of the people who are buying music for films.2) You have to be good enough to deliver a good-enough score in the required amount of time available, at the going rate.Simply being "the best" doesn't work if know one knows you exist, or if they don't enjoy working with you.

If you want to do movie scores, get to know a lot of P.A.'s. I attended a BMI session at SXSW in Austin and listened to a fellow complain about the sneaky tricks and bribes he would pay to get P.A.'s to bring him advance copies of films that needed scoring. He had over 50 scores in movies at that point and it was still a struggle to be in the right place at the right time with the right music.P.A.'s are underpaid gophers who know everyone. Get to know them.

I would ask, "What are you doing with your music now, aside from whatever's college-related?".

unfortunately, what im doing ends up equaling itself out to nothing. because of the obvious "if no one hears it, it didnt happen." but at the moment i've been recording alot of random ideas. getting good at making stuff up on the spot. which isnt really useful. my biggest problem is that the music i write is almost impossible for me to perform by myself, and if i did simplify it, then it would lack alot of the same spark it should have. maybe my real question is what should i be doing to get my name out there, and whats a good starting spot? for example, should i be setting a goal, like writing an ep and performing it once a week (whether by distributing a cd, or on a stage)? idk what i should do, which is what alot of times holds people back from putting any use to what they're learning.

Believe it or not, unless the posts in this thread are hallucinated, you're getting notice already. Keep writing the music you love and posting it here at TAXI for a start. I noticed. Dream your work and work your dream.

The reason I asked what you were already doing, in case that wasn't obvious, was to discover what you would do without any external incentive to do so; in other words, 'where's your passion?' It would seem that you're a songwriter, and have come to the right place. And now that's sorted, the rest is just details.