If you take the time to examine the models of successful businesses throughout the world—regardless of company size and location—you’ll likely find that beyond emphasis on the actual product or service they offer, there are key components they all pay keen attention to which play a major part in their success. Planning, Marketing, Financial Management and Customer Service.

The same applies in music business! After all if the only focus for an author (i.e. songwriter, composer or music arranger) is on music creation without thinking of marketing, promotion and distribution it’s very likely that their amazing music won’t be heard by many outside of their immediate circle. Certainly without key administrative functions the chances of their song being recorded by a mega artist or synchronized in a film or advertisement would be slim. Similarly, for a great performer who has no focus on branding, marketing, bookings, publicity and finance, the scope of reach will be extremely limited.

Simply put, many roles and jobs go into the success of popular musicians. So whether you are an author or a performer, if your aim is to successfully earn a living from your music and expand your career there are a number of roles you’ll need filled.

David Stopps, author of How to Make a Living from Music—a book presented by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to assist music professionals build a successful career in music—gives an overview of the makeup of a successful author’s and successful performer’s team.

 AUTHOR’S TEAM

Picture sourced from David Stopps, author of “How to Make a Living from Music”

PERFORMER'S TEAM  

Picture sourced from David Stopps, author of “How to Make a Living from Music”

The above roles outlined by Stopps are for authors or performers who have achieved a significant level of success, so all may not currently apply to you based on the stage you are at in your career.

It’s most likely that in the beginning stages of your career, you may find yourself filling most of the roles yourself, so understanding the importance of each role and some of the key functions will be necessary to propel you to the next step.

As your career grows and it becomes vital to enlist and build your team pay keen attention to the roles presented here by Stopps and of course do your best to ensure that those you enlist are passionate about your career and your success.

For more about building your music team; click HERE to read Part Two 

Reference:

David Stopps, author of “How to Make a Living from Music” Retrieved from http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/copyright/939/wipo_pub_939.pdf

Picture Sources:

http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/copyright/939/wipo_pub_939.pdf

https://www.asme.org/career-education/articles/team-building/teaching-teamwork-to-engineers