Music Industry Networking – How To Do It Online (4 Easy Steps)
Not sure how to network in the music industry? Or wondering how you get into the music industry? I’ve got some quick tips on how to improve your music industry networking approach.
I would always encourage people to reach out and start networking in the music industry. It’s an important part of growing your network and your career. Below are 4 steps that I use to this day when I’m reaching out to people in the music industry.
How Not To Network
I would say 80% of the correspondence I receive is not addressed to me. It begins “Hi”
The first thing I do with any cold email which isn’t addressed specifically to me is hit DELETE.
I receive hundreds of emails and if the sender hasn’t taken the time to address the email, they probably haven’t taken the time to make sure that it’s relevant.
I’m talking about cold emails from people who either want an internship, want to work with me or just want me to give them all of my contacts and make their dreams come true.
You cannot send blanket cold emails and expect any kind of response. The music industry people you are emailing are incredibly busy and replying to unsolicited requests will be at the bottom of their to do list. This is relevant for all types of cold emails in any industry, not just music industry networking and music marketing.
So How do You Network in Music?
There is no rule book on how to network in the music industry, but you are better off sending five specific, relevant and well researched emails rather than fifty blanket emails.
Here is a cold email step by step tutorial which will tell you how to network and increase the chances of getting a reply. These 4 steps will help you.
Step 1 – Research who you are emailing
This is one of the most basic but important things to remember for music industry networking. I receive a lot of cold emails from people who want me to place their music on film and television. I’m not a music supervisor*. I write and produce music so that email is irrelevant. DELETE.
Do some research to find out the name of the person your are emailing and ensure they are the relevant person.
Step 2 – Reference their work
If that person or company is relevant, look at what they have worked on and reference that work in your correspondence. People like to be complimented but it also shows you have taken the time to learn about them.
This is where music industry networking can be slightly easier than other industries; much of their work is made to be shared. There is so much work from music industry professionals that is publicly available, make the most of social media. Make sure that you take advantage of this and talk about it in your cold emails.
Do musicians need social media? Read about the pros and cons of social media in music marketing in this post: Is Social Media Valuable for Your Business?
Step 3 – Get creative
Networking in the music industry is hard because most people’s inboxes are overflowing. Think of yourself not just as a person trying to network, but as someone in music marketing. How can you grab this person’s attention and make this email stand out from the rest?
Let’s say I receive 10 cold emails per day. Nine of them are a generic format whereas one of them is quirky with the subject heading “Let’s Eat Grandma”, which do you think I am more likely to read? Do your best to make your correspondence stand out and grab the recipients attention. There is still no guarantee that they’re going to read it, but you increase the probability.
Step 4 – Curate what you send them
If you send them a link, don’t send them to your website and expect them to have a look around. Send them one or two specific pieces of work which you think are the most relevant to them. If they like it they may look around or they may ask for more.
Now this 4 step approach does not guarantee a response, but if each step increases the likelihood by 5%, you’ll increase your overall chances by 20%
If you want to delve into how to structure your email a bit better then check out Criminally Prolific’s post on Cold Email
* If you want to pitch your music check out this podcast episode by the guys at DIY Musician Podcast 7 Tips For Pitching your music
For more info on how to network and networking in the music industry, check out these posts:
