Who's a clever little freelancer?

Musical training, whether formal or informal, rarely incorporates the business skills required for long term operation as a freelance musician. A few make up for this with formal business study, some learn on the job, and I suspect a lot hope that it will all somehow just take care of itself.

I certainly know that’s what I thought for a long time. At least until it became apparent that odd jottings on the back of old envelopes was no longer going to cut it as a business model.

Now, after 20 plus years on the freelancing circuit I find myself with a business name, an ABN, all kinds of insurance, plus the full social media set up of a blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest etc. And I’m actively working towards diversifying my business so I’m not reliant upon the shifting sands of itinerant gigs.

But why bother to think like a business when the phone is still ringing and the gigs are still coming in regardless?

This blog is the start of a whole series that explores that question, stemming from my recent presentation ‘Facets of Freelancing’ at the 5^th Australian Harp Festival. (You can read more about that here and here.) It’s a topic which I have a real passion for, but no formal education. I’m not trained in business management, accountancy, marketing, booking keeping, IT, arts management or tax matters.

But these are all skills which I use every day as I work as a freelance musician. My 3 music degrees taught me how to play all the dots on the page and developed in me a deep appreciation of all kinds of music, but never ever did anyone mention how to survive in the real world. I studied my Grandjany, Godefroid and Glanville-Hicks but never actually got told how to write an invoice. Which is a kind of helpful skill to have if you want to get paid.

So everything I know I learned on the job.

But before we dive into this series let’s check out some definitions. Just what is a freelance musician? Here’s something I prepared earlier:

A freelance musician takes on a variety of short term work according to demand and works for a variety of employers including working for themselves.

I like this one too:

 Freelancers must be highly adaptable, creative problem solvers, and expert networkers, and they must have the ability to deal with dozens of separate information channels and collate them together, minimizing conflicts and allowing enough time to make it from venue to venue. Too little work, and they’ll end up in the poorhouse. Too much work, and they’re headed for the madhouse. It’s a delicate balancing act!

(http://doublebassblog.org/2008/06/twelve-survival-tips-for-freelance-musicians.html)

So where do you work? My 4 main areas of work are:

1.       Music Industry gigs- orchestra, television, recording work.

2.       Background gigs- weddings, functions etc

3.       Teaching- for me that’s in a private studio, but can be in schools/studios outside the home

4.       Self-run concert performances

If you’re a freelance musician I’d guess your job description would look something similar. But have you ever really stopped to think about all the skills involved with making it all happen? It’s mindblowing! (And I think kind of impressive!)

So take the time to have a think- it’s often worthwhile to actually write down everything that you do beyond playing the dots on the page- chances are you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much you can do! This could form the start of a business plan, something we’ll talk more about next time!