Hey guys before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to say thank you so much for sticking around and enjoying this show if you know a friend that would get some value out of this show, share it with them, you know, head to Apple podcasts rate and review the show. let others know what you think of it and share your experience. If you feel like you would be a good fit for the show or you know someone else that would be a good fit for the show. You can go to Envious audio.com slash podcast, I’ve got a form to fill out there. You can request to be on the show or mention someone that would be a good person to have on the show. Let me know. I’m very interested. I want to bring you guys some really good content. But without further ado, here’s Episode 36. Enjoy. Hey guys, welcome to electronic dance money, your number one business resource for making money as electronic
musicians and producers
Yo, what’s up everyone?
Welcome back
again to another episode of electronic dance money. I hope you
guys are doing well as I
am, as I usually am as I tried to be, we’re gonna be dropping some more knowledge
today on
this episode which is a solo one
and we’re going to be getting into some more networking stuff. I know I discussed this with those padres when they were on a couple of episodes they were on. And really we kind of discussed the benefits of networking now if you didn’t listen that episode or those the the two part series on That, go check it out. There’s a lot of really, really, really good information in that today, I’m going to be discussing now obviously, okay, you know the benefit, at least, hopefully, you know, the benefits. If you don’t know the benefits, it’s pretty basic. I mean, the more you network, the more you’re able to work with people that are higher up in the industry or have connections or can be a good resource for you, in general can help you out. And whether that’s connecting you with other people or actually providing some sort of job or service to you or anything, can be anything that’s really that can really benefit you. That’s why you want to network.
However, we didn’t really discuss
ways to network fees. I think this is something that’s very networking really is one of the most important things to do in general like regardless of what career path you take, this can be utilized in any career. So it’s important for you to understand the tactics that you need to utilize in order to be able to network successfully, and be able to connect with the people that you want to connect with. I’m sure you, you’ve all heard it before. It’s all about who you know. And it really does come down to who you know, the more people you know, and the better reputation you have with all those people, the more likely you are to be able to get specific jobs or provide value to those people and they return the favor providing value to you. And so there’s right and wrong ways to network. Let’s dive into
what
you don’t want to do when it comes to networking. Number one, which is really going to be number one for what you want to do as well as a donor Not provide value. Don’t try to establish a relationship, that you don’t really have any association with the person without first providing value to them. Now value can be whatever it is that they see as valuable or maybe even that you see as valuable. It could be your time and just talking with them. being interested in the things that they’re interested in actually being able to provide some sort of service or help for them said it numerous times on the podcast, a lot of producers just want you to share their music that in and of itself is extremely valuable to a lot of people. I’m sure a lot of you guys would see that as valuable. Someone sharing your music, you can’t expect someone to want to connect with you if you don’t bring something to the table. Some thing of value. Again, I’m not saying that you have to bring a service to the table or bring cash to the table or it doesn’t have to be it can be something as simple as simple as a conversation but don’t expect anything. When you’re providing that value you you cannot expect things when you provide value to someone. Because then you get in manipulative states and you you get in an egotistical state where you think that they owe you something because you have given them something. No, no, no, no, no. That is not how value works. You have to understand that when you’re giving you’re giving to give because you want to help someone out because you want to provide value. You know, I remember when I was when I first moved to Austin, Texas. This is when I was producing a bunch and trying to find some shows to play locally. And I I was the guy who would, you know, reach out to promoters and ask, Hey, when, you know, can I play a show coming up? And I just asked, and these were people that I hadn’t even built, or established and he sort of relationship with and these people would just ignore me. Because they’ve got a million people doing that, and why should they give me anything? And it’s true, why should they give me anything they shouldn’t, I have not provided any value. The right way to go about that would be to provide value to them, find out what they find valuable, what they need done, and find out how I can do it for them. That’s how you provide inherent value. And that’s how you provide value without expectations, just finding out whatever the fuck it is that you can do for them and doing it for them.
We have to do this
for a little while.
It’s like an internship. You know, if they’re A job that you really, really, really want that you want to be your future. The best way to get that job is to find whatever the wherever the company is. Go to whoever the manager is that you can talk to her hiring manager and offer to work for free offer to work for free for six months, and then kick ass kick ass at whatever position it is over deliver on that expectation that you’re going to kick ass and you’ll get the job you know, you’ll get a paying job. It comes down to how much you want it and it’s the same for whether or not you’re wanting to play shows or you’re needing to connect with someone at a record label or it doesn’t matter what it is, man, it This could be simply you wanting to get a job working for some entrepreneur and some field that you want to be a part of. Now obviously, you can’t do this with specific things that like you need a degree for. But there’s a lot of things you don’t necessarily need a degree for. And if you’re willing to just learn and gain knowledge,
that’s gonna
pay dividends in the long run. Now, the second thing that pretty much plays into the last one really is don’t ask, without, without having provided any, any sort of value and don’t ask for a while as well. Wait for opportunities to come to you. There is something about constantly seeking and searching for opportunities that
tend to drive them away in
there’s almost a desperate sense that comes from you when you’re constantly seeking and asking for opportunities
rather than
just helping and waiting for an opportunity to come for you, you know, we’ll use the example of me when I first moved to Austin, if I would have taken the different stance, and if I would have just
said,
Hey, I’m new in town, I am a producer, I want to DJ some local shows. However, I don’t think I’m ready yet. I’d really love to come and help out maybe, you know, promote some shows or do whatever I can to help you out and work for you. And you don’t even have to pay me anything. Just let me learn and meet people within the same I guarantee that would have received a response immediately
from someone
and they would be more willing to bring me on and help me out. And if not, they would at least see
that I’m looking to just learn
I don’t expect any Anything else? And they might say, Hey, you know what, we’re actually full with people who are working for us currently. But I’ll keep your name down and remember you and we’ll reach out when there’s an opportunity and boom, right there that’s already creating an opportunity there, you know, might not be the opportunity I would want, but it’s the opportunity that I’m being given and something that I can actually work towards and look forward on. And then you follow up on that opportunity, because it’s already been offered. You know, they’re already offering something if they denied it,
if they do,
you know, if they say, hey, not right now, but in the future, that means that something’s there. So you don’t want to just leave that that that’s low hanging fruit, you want to go pick that in a few months, go ask them, Hey, is this you know, opportunities still there? Are you guys freed up? Do you need help with anything? And I guarantee nine times out of 10 they probably forgot about you, but you following up, they’ll go, Oh shit, you know what we’re putting on this major event that we need to get all hands on deck we’d love to bring you on for this.
And then boom you’re in.
not asking is a is a surefire way of being able to actually move forward in the relationship and establish trust and establish a bond. You don’t want to give up on that because that is one of the most important things that you have to utilize. When you don’t have these connections established. You need to build that trust, you need to build that bond and the only way you can do that is by offering value. Now this third one that we’re going to be discussing on what not to do when networking
is going to be a one that I hope
you guys have definitely avoided your entire careers and that’s
pretty much just shit talking
publicly or privately, you know, I actually had a manager when I was working at a retail store. And this manager would talk shit about every single fucking person to me. And she do the same with other people. And I immediately I mean, within the first week, she was doing this that was working there. It was a major, major, major red flag for me. I mean, I was like, okay, and I would just kind of like nod my head and disregard whatever she was saying trying to like,
just not say anything about and be like,
Oh, yeah, okay.
But the red flag is well, what she’s saying about me when I’m not around because she did it to every she said shit about everyone. So obviously she’s saying shit about me and she’s She’s talking this shit to everyone else as well. So she’s
obviously saying something about me.
And the same thing. Again, this is why these things apply. These are this is really more so a life skill rather than a just a music industry skill set. This is a
life skill that you should remember.
Shit talking is one of the worst things that you could possibly do. Because when you should talk people, about people privately,
you can
almost guarantee that the other person is thinking, Well, what are they saying when I’m not in the room? And it’s even worse when you’re doing it publicly. And you’re doing it on Facebook because people don’t want to be around you. People don’t want to deal with that people don’t want to be surrounded by that negativity. This is actually one of the reasons why you know, and I was actually told this early on in my career, and I do believe this and I think every musician should follow this. I don’t think Musicians should be posting political stuff on, you know, especially on their Instagram or Facebook pages. Um,
and, you know, I
do think like if you’re posting political stuff that should be left to your private page. But even then, you know, if you’re connected with a lot of people in the music scene on your, you know, on your private accounts, I still don’t think it’s probably I still don’t think it’s a good idea to be posting political stuff. And the reason isn’t necessarily because I would disagree with anything anyone say or they would disagree with what I would say. It’s more so the divisiveness of politics and politics inherently are divisive, and no matter what you Say you’re gonna have you’re gonna piss someone off. Or you’re gonna upset someone, and you never know who you’re gonna upset. And there are bitter people in this world. And
they’ll remember that and people, you know,
things are politicized every single day now, at least in the US. And people remember that kind of stuff, and they’ll hold grudges against people for holding specific political views. And it becomes very nasty very quickly. And so this is why I think one of the reason this is one of the reasons why I think musicians should just not saying anything at all. I don’t really think any musician is in any sort of spot to be able to talk about politics. Granted, unless politics are your thing, unless you are creating music about politics, and that’s your whole shtick, then, I mean, yeah, that’s kind of your brand, but if it’s not RAM, you should probably just stay out of it.
they’ll save some headaches. I’ll save them,
Facebook or Twitter or Instagram arguments. So let’s move on to the things you should do in order to network. Now, networking is actually, I mean, networking is 1000 times easier today than it was 10 1520 years ago. Especially with social media. I mean, anyone can network. You could teach your child how to network.
However, it’s not as obvious until you’re taught.
So I’m going to teach you the secrets of networking. Which they’re not really secrets. You can do a quick, I’m sure a quick Google search can find you tips that I’m going to give you right now. If you’re wanting to network with someone, Facebook’s going to be your best friend for this thought. Find them whoever it is that you want to network, maybe it’s someone local in your area and add them on Facebook, if they don’t add you at least follow them. And make sure you set their following status. So you see their posts first. And what that does is they’ll start popping up in your feed. And when they start popping up in your feed, you want to start liking their stuff, start engaging with it, things that obviously you find engaging, you know, if it’s not a topic you care to discuss or give a shit about, then don’t you want to be real. But if there’s something that you’re actually interested in, engage in it, like it, comment, and keep engaging with those people for a couple of months. And what this does is this basically warms them up to you and your name and eventually they’ll start replying to you. I’ve told this story before, this is exactly how I’ve gotten connections in the past. This is what I teach all my clients, this is what I do. teach anyone who asks me about how to network. I’ve written about it on my blog before. So
you want to just keep building that
trust and that bond online. And eventually, if you see something that you’re actually both interested in a topic maybe you’re both into into cars, maybe you’re both into the same sports teams, maybe you’re both into video games, then that’s a perfect time to find something that you can bond over and build a relationship on and then you can message them after a couple of months. Because you don’t they’ll The worst thing you could do, like going back to the beginning, is just message someone
without them
ever knowing who you are, you know, the the liking and engaging in their stuff is what’s going to have them establish your name and establish a face and they’re going to be more comfortable with replying to you and DMS. So when you message them, they’ll probably reply back, and you can start a conversation. And then when that
conversation has been made, the floor is open,
you can message them
almost anytime you know you don’t want to.
It’s, it’s like, when you’re trying to get a girl, you know, if you’re if there’s a really cute girl that you like, you won’t just keep pestering her over and over again, at least I hope you don’t, that’s not the way to go about it. You want to message them and get an engaging conversation going, and then leave it for a day or two. And then send them another message and start another conversation and kind of go back and forth until you you’ve really established something in the relationship. And then you can start messaging them more consistently. And then eventually, hey, let’s go get lunch. Let’s go get dinner. Let’s go hang out. You know after four Five, six months of engaging with their stuff, slowly messaging them and establishing a relationship. You actually build a friendship and they’ll go Yeah, let’s do it. Let’s go hang out, and boom, you’re good now, with COVID right now it’s a lot easier to do that. When COVID in you know, hope COVID starting to slow down a bit, people are just stores are opening up more venues are opening up more. So what you want to do, you know, if you’re in a situation where,
let’s say, Your,
your, your goal here is to play martial shows locally and you’ve been talking to the local promoter or venue owner, well then go to the show and shake hands with them. That’s an even better opportunity, especially after you’ve talked. You can go to the show, meet in person, shake their hand, show that you’re supporting them by being there and bring some friends as well. That will do wonders in this scenario. And usually, you know, by that six month mark or so you’ll see that there might be an opportunity popping up
and even admits that within
those within that six month period, you can ask, Hey, what can I do for you? How can I provide value to you? I want to help you out. That does wonders, you know, with artists, like we said before, it really is as simple as sharing their stuff. You know, if you’re friends with them on Facebook, and you see, you’re trying to connect with an artist and you see they have a new song coming out, share it. It’s super simple to do, and they’ll appreciate that. They’ll probably like it and comment and say thanks for the support. And they’ll remember that because not even some of their friends are doing that.
But you are you know, a lot of this
has to do with applying the go giver mentality. The go giver method. If you haven’t fucking read that book, go read it. Because that’s gonna be how you network one of the characters in that book is called the connector and the connectors job is literally to connect people with other people.
It’s to network for other people.
And I know of a couple of connectors in my life and they’ve changed my life. And there’s there’s a handful of connectors not even there’s two connectors I know that have put me in touch with some of the craziest people that I never thought I would ever be in touch with crazy being good like the some of the some huge names in the industry. And so when you and this is I’m telling you this is all been the reason why I’ve been able to get the network that I’ve got and get connected with people that I’ve got
is because of the go giver.
It’s because I’ve applied these networking skills, and they’re so simple and they’re so easy. And everyone should be doing it especially now, especially with COVID I mean, if you’re not that this could be you know, if you if you can’t play any shows, if you’re struggling to produce go and network on Facebook just build relationships because that’s going to be huge when COVID is over and you’re not necessarily late to the party yet but definitely get on it. And that’s pretty much it. It’s a very simple tactic. There’s very simple steps that you don’t want to do you know, things that you don’t want to do and what you do want to do and you if you follow those guidelines, you’ll be said, thanks for checking out this episode, guys, head to Envious Audio comm slash Episode 36. To check out the show notes, join the Facebook group, electronic dance money community, head to Apple podcasts, leave the show, a review rate it let me know how you like it. And I’ll see you guys next time.
Take care