The value of Networking

Many times, I had been asked what do I think is the secret of succeeding in the rugged music business. Always, my answer is the same: Networking. Not only in music, in any business. It’s not that I’m a guru of the music industry. I’m not even close to being one. The most successful people in the business world say so.

It may seem very obvious. In theory, it is. But in practice, it has certain connotations making expanding your social or professional circle is not always an easy matter.

Let’s do an analysis, starting with the most traditional: attending events and meetings. This can be very productive, especially when we want to make new contacts or strengthen old relationships. Each event is an opportunity to make yourself visible and appear on the radar of others, which is something essential at the beginning of our career when few people know about us.

For extroverts, lovers of parties, bars, and clubs, this activity use to be something easy and fun. But it can be uphill for the timid or early risers since, in many cases, events involve late nights and excesses that can be exhausting. But in practice, the big deals are closed in bars and restaurants, not in offices. So, if you aren’t partying, you will have to make an effort sometimes. Try to filter and attend to those events that you think can be more interesting or profitable but above all, try not to fall into excesses.

On the other hand, there are social networks. We can’t ignore that these have completely revolutionized the world and have opened a range of opportunities for artists. They allow us to enter the spectrum of many people, in moments and places unreachable in person. But the most useful of them is to get feedback and opinions from people that we would never even have the opportunity to meet. However, they can become so absorbing that you become something more like an influencer than a singer or musician.

When I say this, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t positive to have a legion of followers on your Instagram account. On the contrary. They are the livelihood of your business, the ones who will buy your music and attend your concerts. Simply put, those who are going to pay your bills. The point is, we must provide quality content to keep our audience engaged and satisfied, but this in practice involves a great effort of both organization and resources.

On this point is when relationships beyond networks gain value, having direct contact with people who support, help you grow and improve as an artist and as an individual. A great way to accomplish this is by collaborating.

The process of collaborating involves openness, respect, empathy, analysis, discussion, among many other things. This nurtures us as people, forcing us to look beyond our opinions and points of view. 

As an experience, it uses to be enriching and materializes into results that exceed our highest expectations, not only materials but also personal. Great friendships emerged around a hit made in collaboration.

But in numeric terms, the powerful thing about collaboration is we can reach different audiences with only one music production. This can help us not only to increase our number of followers in social networks. Also saving in promotion costs, splitting the expenses between two or more parts.

As you prefer to do it, Networking is undoubtedly something we have to reap if we want to be successful. But we must always do it with honesty and reciprocity, bearing in mind that, just as we expect the best from others, others also expect the best from us.

It may seem very obvious and, in theory it is. But in practice, it has certain connotations that make expanding your social or professional circle, is not always an easy matter.

Let’s do an analysis, starting with the most traditional: attending events and meetings. This can be very productive, especially when we want to make new contacts or strengthen old relationships. Also, each event is an opportunity to make yourself visible, to appear on the radar of others, something essential especially at the beginning of our career, when few people know about us.

For extroverts and lovers of parties, bars, and clubs, this activity will be something easy and fun. Not so for the timid or early risers, since in many cases, the events involve late nights and excesses that can be exhausting. But in practice, the biggest deals are closed in bars and restaurants, not in offices. So, if you aren’t a party lover, you will have to make an effort some times. Try to filter and attend to those events that you think can be more interesting or profitable, but above all, try not to fall into excesses.

On the other hand, there are social networks. We can’t ignore that these have completely revolutionized the world and have opened a range of opportunities for artists. They allow us to enter the spectrum of many people, in moments and places unreachable in person. But the most useful of them is being able to get feedback and opinions from people that we would never even have the opportunity to meet. However, they can become so absorbing that you become a bit more like an influencer than a singer or musician.

When I say this, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t positive to have a legion of followers on your Instagram account. On the contrary. They are the livelihood of your business, the ones who will buy your music and attend your concerts. Simply put, those who are going to pay your bills. The point is, we must provide quality content to keep our audience faithful and satisfied, but this in practice involves a great effort of both organization and resources.

On this point is when relationships beyond networks gain value, having direct contact with people who support you, help you grow and improve as an artist and as an individual. A great way to accomplish this is by collaborating.

The process of collaborating involves openness, respect, empathy, analysis, discussion, among many other things. This nurture ourselves as people and forces us to go beyond our opinions and points of view, making it an enriching experience, which in most cases materializes into results that exceed our highest expectations, not only material but also personal (great friendships have emerged by collaborating). In other words, we grow as artists and as people.

But in terms of numbers, the most useful thing about collaborations, is the fact of being able to reach different audiences with only one production, which generally affects increasing the number of followers on our social networks.

As you prefer to do it, Networking is undoubtedly something that we have to reap if we want to be successful. But we must always do it with honesty and reciprocity, bearing in mind that, just as we expect the best from others, others also expect the best from us.