Being reliable in the freelance world is a key point. It is
important to be consistently good in performance for people to be able to trust
you. If you don’t show up to gigs or events that you have promised to attend
you could lose an audience and give off the impression that you do not care.
Justin Bieber turned up to his own concert 2 hours late which caused havoc amongst
the crowd of teenage girls, since then he has been known as ‘unreliable’ which
has chased off many of his fans unlike most artists who attend every concert on
their tour and are on time. As a professional touring musician it is important
to be reliable so others can see that you care about your job and fans instead
of taking them for granted.
It is also important to be committed to your job. By
devoting more time to your musical career you will be able to feel more
confident and prepared before performing. Another example would be getting a
part time job so you will have more time to play music. This means you will be
able to practice and attend more gigs as you will not be working. Such bands as
All Time Low and Tonight Alive have worked part time in cafés and shops so they
were able to gig and practice with the others in their band. Beyoncé also
commits a lot to her performing as she not only has to sing but also dance. She
meets with her dance choreographer who goes over dances with her as well as her
vocal coach. As a professional touring musician you will need to dedicate a lot
of time to your performing so you can be committed to your job and reach the
best of your abilities.
Preparation is key in succeeding in the freelance world. It
is important to have everything planned out before a show especially if you are
unfamiliar with the process as it will make you feel more confident. Many
musicians will have spare equipment such as jack leads and guitars/guitar
strings in case something breaks on stage. Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys had
broken a string at one of their shows and had a different guitar for the next
song. This showed that they were prepared and didn’t want to have to cancel the
show due to a broken string. However as freelance musicians it will be
difficult to have 2 guitars ready, so make sure you have had enough practice
when it comes to stringing so you will be able to continue the show without a
huge delay. Every well-known artist is successful due to their preparation as
it shows professionalism and indicates that they are able to plan for the
worst.
Being a member of PRS will help protect your songs from
being stolen or played without your permission which is important for a freelance
musician. PRS is the UK’s leading collecting society to help protect musicians
against plagiarism. They have had the opportunity to work with many musicians
such as Bjorn Ulvaeus from the world-known group ‘ABBA’. It is only £50 a year
to join and you can also sign up to the sister company MCPS. MCSP is focused solely
on performers and song writers. They collect royalties whenever music is reproduced
for products such as CDs, DVDs and digital downloads. This also another £50
which adds up to an annual expense of £100 which could be difficult to maintain
if you don’t have a lot of money. However both of these companies are important
for performing musicians as it will cover them from any plagiarism which may
occur so you will feel safe performing your own music.
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