Eminem - Mockingbird - O-Generator Urban

How To Make a Successful Living in Music – Maintain Good Relationships

Part 3 - Create your circle. What goes round comes round. A cliché I admit, but it’s true. The music industry is bizarre. Frankly, there are no criteria for being involved within it. Whilst that’s quite liberating and there are some very cool people, to find them you wade through all sorts of inadequacies, ruthlessness, disloyalty and poor, poor communication. But it doesn’t take much to be cool to everyone, whatever the role, level or profile. Goodwill and humility goes a long, long way.

A little AC/DC story ‘When I was kid I met the guys from AC/DC. They were staying in a small hotel in the heart of the UK countryside preparing for the Donnington Festival. No one knew they were there. But a mate of my sister worked at the place. She had no idea who they were. But mentioned she was sure they had said they were in a band called AC/DC. I cold-called  asking to speak to Brian Johnson. He came to the phone. I nearly passed out. But he was cool and simply invited me round. When I took out my programmes for them to sign, the hotel staff ( they obviously held them in great affection), were astonished to see that they ’played music abroad’. They’d been there for weeks and had never made a big deal about their stature. Brian Johnson, Malcolm and Angus just laughed. They invited my mate and me back for dinner with the crew later in the week. They were curious, humble and treated us with a genuine respect.  I got the sense that’s how they treated everyone. It was for me a huge lesson.

O-Generator - Someone Like You - Adele

O-Generator - Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz

How To Make a Successful Living in Music – Take a Chance

Last week I looked at Obsession & Professionalism in a very unscientific guide to Making a Living in Music. Here’s the next instalment.

Part 2 - Take the Chance:

You make your own luck. I know, another cliché, but it’s true. When we reminisce, we often recount on how we met, or what the significant turning points in our musical lives have been. There’s an element of luck, but equally it’s because you have put yourself out there and taken that chance.

A Painful Story – A television producer called me up out of the blue. They were doing a new series and someone had mentioned me. Really! At this time I had no TV experience. But somehow I’ve said ‘yeah I can do that’. Next minute the producer and director have arranged to come to my small flat to sample some of my work. Now I had some samples, but the sound quality was poor and my set up really meagre. As I write this I shudder. I’ll never forget them both squeezed up on my couch straining to hear my music on these pathetic speakers. As much as I felt the embarrassment, and that feeling of being out of my depth I was aware we had made a personal connection. Maybe they saw the potential. They took me on and guided me through the process, giving me a chance and opening other opportunities for me.

The next part to Making a Success in Music is ‘Maintaining Good Relationships’

O-Generator - Clocks - Coldplay

Learn to play Clocks by Coldplay on O-Generator Acoustic App.

How To Make a Successful Living in Music

This is part 1 of 7 factors that I feel you need to have or do to make a success in music. I’ve been asked the question countless times by aspiring musicians and students and will add further parts weekly.

My Circle of Musicians used as inspiration for the ‘How To Make a Successful Living in Music’ feature are as follows:

Cassell ‘the Beatmaker’ (Producer/Drummer) – co-writer on No.1 and BRIT nominated album, ‘The Defamation of Strickland Banks’ by Plan B. Drummer with The Streets, Plan B, Keziah Jones and many more. Composed with Bassistry Music for television ITV & BBC, multimedia. Premier drums and Zildjian endorsed. www.thebeatmakers.com

Sam Blue Agard (Drummer) – Drummer with Paloma Faith, Plan B, Professor Green, Corinne Bailey Rae, Bassistry. Yamaha drums and Promark sticks endorsed.

Josh Breslaw (Drummer/Producer) – founder member of hugely successfully Oi Va Voi www.myspace.com/oivavoi Also manages pop/rock band Dallas Guild. 

Katy Seath – Vocals with Bassistry. Manager/Musical Director of West London Rock Choir www.rockchoir.com

Eric Apapoulay (Producer/Multi Instrumentalist) – Producer of No 1. Album ‘The Defamation of Strickland Banks’ by Plan B. Guitarist for Yusuf Islam, Plan B, Craig David, Nitin Sawhney, Natasha and Daniel Beddingfields www.thesantuarystudio.co.uk

Philippe d’Amonville (Drummer) – drummer with Bollywood Brass Band, Natasha Atlas Emperors New Clothes, Laika and Bassistry.

Marcel Pusey (Song-writer, bass player, educator) Manager of Bassistry Music and Director of O-Music. Co-creator of O-Generator Music Software. Composer for children’s television BBC, ITV, and Channel 4. Composer/producer for Bassistry and education programmes. www.bassistry.com and www.o-music.tv

Part 1. Obsession & Professionalism - Healthy and sometimes an unhealthy obsession of playing, creating, practising and listening is a common trait. Now, I’ve pretty much always been an employer of musicians. The one thing I can definitely spot when I meet a musician is that look of obsession. You realise very quickly that some people are in for the long haul. You are merely a vehicle that helps them go the way they want to go. Having their talent in your orbit is good for you, and hopefully good for them. The other thing is the professionalism from the word go. Being professional no matter what the job, no matter what the money (or lack of), it then becomes a habit.

A drummers story - Mr Sam Blue - ‘Sam is one of the hottest drummers in the UK. He has toured with Corinne Bailey Rae, Paloma Faith, and is currently touring with Plan B and Professor Green. The interesting thing is in the early days when I met Sam there was no doubt he was going to do well. We met at a jam night. You know when you meet a fellow obsessive. His timing was perfect (not just drumming-wise). He stepped up when the night was starting to heat up and some killer players were on stage. This is a man who carries his own snare drum on his back. What a statement! We all looked at him with total fascination. He looked like he was 15 years old - "You choose the groove" - and could the boy groove. That was it. I started working with him, and to this day he’s maintained the same standard of obsession and professionalism.


The next part to Making a Success in Music is 'Taking A Chance'