This guest post was written by Shaun Letang (@imusicadvice) of Music Industry How To.
What if I told you that changing one aspect of your personality could do wonders for your music career. That it could make people a lot more open to working with you, and that you’d most likely get a good amount more opportunities due to this single characteristic trait. Well, all the above is true, and today we’re going to look at what this trait is and how you can use it to forward your career.
The trait I’m talking about is being reliable.
While this may sound basic and something that everyone should already know (Mumzy did teach you that afterall), if you’ve been working in the music industry for any amount of time, you’ll soon realize you’re surrounded by unreliable people. People that will tell you they’ll do something with no intention of actually following through. People that say they’ll be somewhere, but simply not show up (And ignore your calls when the time is near). I could give more examples, but that’s not the intention of this article.
Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a rant or anything. People like this will always be in the music industry, it seems like it’s become the norm and won’t change anytime soon. While not ideal, it does however spell a big opportunity for you.
Due to the lack of reliable people in the music industry, by simply being reliable yourself, you’ll find it’s easier to stand out from the crowd in many situations. And as we know of the music industry, standing out from the crowd for the right reasons can only be a good thing.
As we go on I’ll give specific examples of how the reliability factor can work for you and your music career, but first let’s look at what being reliable actually require you to do.
What Does Being Reliable Entail?
So what exactly do I mean by being reliable? Well, I think in it’s simplest form, I’m basically recommending you to do what you say you’re going to. Don’t let your mouth say one thing but your actions do something else. You need to get your words and actions perfectly in sync, and live up to your word. Make your word mean something to others.
Of course though, we’re all human. And at times, due to circumstances out of our control, we may not be able to follow through with one of our promises. In this instance, be sure to let the other person know as soon as possible. Apologize genuinely, and let them know when you can next do what it is you were supposed to (If applicable).
The key is not to intentionally make promises you can’t keep. If you try and live up to that standard, most likely you’ll come across as a largely reliable person.
Important: What Being Reliable Isn’t
Now I want to make this clear: You don’t have to be a ‘yes boy’ or ‘yes girl’ to be a reliable person. You don’t have to agree to do anything you wouldn’t normally do, you just have to be straight with people.
For example, let’s say you get asked to play at a very small venue which you know will have a practically non existent crowd. For free. If you’ve already got shows under your belt and have a busy schedule, chances are you’re not going to want to play this gig. So what do you do? Simple, be honest!
Instead of saying yes you’ll do the gig then just not turning up, you can simply turn around and say:
“Thanks for the offer but I won’t be able to make it. I’m currently working on *project name* so am dedicating a lot of time to that. But I hope your night goes well; I’ll have a look out for the pictures once they’re up. Let me know if you’ve ever any paid gigs in future and I’ll see if I can free up some time for them. 
”
”
Not only is this better then saying you’ll come then not showing up, but it’s also better than simply ignoring the request. After all, this person has reached out to you as they think you have something to offer; they think you’ve got talent!
By being honest and letting people know what you can and can’t do, and you also keep relationships open instead of killing them off. Who knows, that same person may start running big events a while down the line, and think to get back in contact with you now they can afford to pay you to perform. Yes you couldn’t free up the time to work with them before, but you wasn’t rude, and you still came across as a likeable person. You didn’t burn any bridges.
How Can Being Reliable Benefit You As A Musician?
Now onto the good stuff. How is all this going to help you in your music career? Well there are a number of ways, including:
1. Your Relationships Will Last Longer
When networking, you’ll find that not everyone you get contact details for will be a good match for you. While not the only reason, many business relationships fall through because one of the two sides isn’t as serious about an idea as the other. You may get in contact with a Dj for example, and they tell you to send them your song via a certain means by a certain date. If you say you will but then don’t send it till 2 weeks later (If at all), do you think they’ll take you as seriously next time around?
If on the other hand you was to get the DJ the song that they wanted when they wanted, chances are there would be a possibility to work more with them in future. This could include getting them more songs, possibly exclusives this time. This’ll benefit them as no one else is playing these songs, and it’ll benefit you as the DJ will push you more to their listeners.
Let the DJ down at the first point of contact however, and the relationship between you will more likely fizzle out before anything else.
Multiply this by all your potential contacts, and you’ll have a lot more opportunities on your plate. Some will be long-term relationships in which you can continue to benefit each other over a number of years.
2. People Will More Likely Recommend You
So you’re playing a monthly gig at this local bar. There are two other acts who also play alongside you, and all of you are equally as talented as each other. But one of the other acts has had to pull out last minute a couple of times without a good explanation, and the other regularly turns up later then they say, messing up the show schedule each time.
Now if the event organizer has to recommend one of you to a partner who’s going to be holding a one off festival event in the summer, which one of you do you think they’re going to recommend? That’s right, the person who’s always there when they say they’re going to be; YOU!
No one wants to recommend someone who’s going to let everyone down, that then looks bad on them for making that recommendation. By being easy to work with and reliable however, you make it a lot easier for people to recommend you.
3. People Will Be More Open To Working With You
As well as being recommend more, being reliable will also open your doors in terms of who will actually work with you. Record labels, event organizers and the like will very rarely work with people who don’t carry themselves in a professional manner. For them, it’s a business. It’s how they make their money. It’s because of this that most of them wouldn’t even consider working with you if they feel you’ll affect their business in a negative way. And by not living up to your promises, that’s a negative way.
Don’t let a lack of reliability get in the way of working with the big boys and girls, because that’s exactly what it’ll do!
4. Your Fanbase Will Increase And Your Money Will Grow
The above three points will mean working with more people, working with a higher quality of people, and being exposed to more opportunities. All of these things will have a positive effect on your fanbase and generated income.
Conclusion
So there you have it; why being a reliable musician can help you stand out from the crowd. I hope you can see how this one trait will be beneficial for your music career, hopefully you’ll apply it if you haven’t already. Feel free to share this guide with anyone else you feel could benefit from it as well.
Are there any other ways you can see being reliable can help you in your music career? If so, please let me know how in the comments below or via my Facebook page.
If you want to read more of my guides, your best bet is to check out my music industy blog which has a load of guides covering business, marketing, and all other aspects of the music industry. I’m sure we’ll speak again soon.
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