One of the most important parts of the music industry is Networking! It’s not as scary as it sounds, it can be as simple as meeting fellow musicians or music lovers and having brainstorming sessions on ways to produce terrific music.

A few tips to help with Networking are:

• Attend Music Industry Events- you can start at smaller local events just to start meeting people and creating relationships.

• Do Your Research- before an event try to find out who may be there, who you may know and do a bit a of research on their current or future projects to engage in conversations about.

• Practice Your Pitch- rehearse what you want to say about your plans so that you do not get caught off guard and unsure of what to say about your work.

• Be Prepared- be sure to have a business card to hand out or possibly promotional material but do not spend too much on things like this.

• Be Yourself- if you’re properly prepared you should feel confident and you should always just be authentic. Some people you will jive with and others you will not.

• Do Not Fake It- pretending you know more than you do about something is a sure-fire way to become embarrassed if called out. Everyone has to start somewhere and this can be a learning experience.

• Relax- networking is just talking to people so relax and try to enjoy getting to know people.

• Work the room- try to meet at least three new people when starting out and grow from there.

• Provide Advance Notice- especially for large events if there is someone attending you would like to meet maybe drop them and email and to say hello and you are looking forward to meeting them.

• Be Open-Minded- every connection could prove valuable so do not limit yourself to the people you think you want to talk to.

• Follow Up- the most important thing is to follow up the next day with the new contacts by letting them know you enjoyed meeting them.