1. Advice on Music Careers
2. Competitions
3. Entrepreneurship
4. Festivals
5. Finances
6. Funding
7. Insurance Issues
8. Job / Audition Listings
9. Legal Issues
10. New Music
11. Online Presence
12. Orchestral Opportunities
13. Performance Health
14. Presenter Information / Booking Performances
15. Publicity / Marketing Issues
16. Recordings
17. Singers
18. Stage Presence / Performance Issues
19. Teaching
20. Unions
1. Advice on Music Careers
- Chicago Artist Resource — career articles and artist interviews, searchable by discipline
- Music Business Solutions — Peter Spellman’s terrific site for resources, links, articles, newsletter
- Navigating Music Careers — the Shepard School of Music at Rice University offers music career tips on a wide range of topics
- NEC’s Entrepreneurial Musicianship Department staff contacts — email us your questions
- NYFA Business of Art articles and interviews — useful information for artists in all disciplines
2. Competitions
- Bridge: Worldwide Music Connection — NEC's online database of opportunities in music including 900+ competitions
- World Federation of International Competitions
Competitions that lead to pre-professional management:
- IndieBible — directory of resources for independent musicians
- SCORE — advice for small business owners
- Seth Godin — DIY marketing guru
- Springwise — explore entrepreneurial ideas
- StartupNation — connect with and learn from other entrepreneurs
- Ycombinator — venture funding for entrepreneurs to realize their ideas
4. Festivals
- Alliance of Artists Communities — information on Artist Retreats/Residencies
- Bridge: Worldwide Music Connection — NEC's online database of opportunities in music including 400+ festivals
- Musical America — international directory of the performing arts
- Res Artis — more information on Artist Retreats/Residencies
5. Finances
- American Consumer Credit Counseling — a nonprofit credit counseling agency, call for a free consultation
- Artrepreneur — includes financial advice and tax information for artists
- Fractured Atlas — services include fiscal sponsorship for individual artists/ensembles
- Mint.com — online money management tool
- National Endowment for Financial Education — a national nonprofit promoting financial literacy, check out their publication, 40 Money Management Tips Every College Student Should Know
- National Foundation for Credit Counseling — a national nonprofit credit counseling network
- SmartyPig — online piggy bank
- Suze Orman — financial guru
6. Funding
- The Foundation Center's resources include webinars to help those seeking grant funding and a proposal writing tutorial
- Fractured Atlas — services include fiscal sponsorship for individual artists/ensembles
- Local Arts Agencies — search Americans for the Arts' database to find your local arts agency
- NYFA Source — a comprehensive searchable database of grants and awards for individual artists
- State, Regional, and Jurisdictional Arts Agencies — find your state arts agency
Crowdfunding Tools:
- ArtistShare and Microfundo are tools for artists to connect directly with fans and share perks and exclusive access in exchange for financial support
- Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, ChipIn and Feed the Muse can be used to raise any amount of money for any type of project
- Consider putting a PayPal Donation Button on your web site
- SlicethePie and SellaBand are specifically for musicians seeking money to record
7. Insurance Issues
- Artists’ Health Insurance Resource Center — choose your state and find out what your health insurance options are
- Clarion Associates, Inc. — musical instrument insurance
- eHealthInsurance.com — get quotes and compare individual and family health insurance plans
- Freelancer’s Union — offers health insurance its member depending on location
- Future of Music Coalition’s Health Insurance Navigation Tool — make an appointment to get advice from musician-friendly health insurance experts
Check health insurance rates for members with service organizations such as:
- American Federation of Musicians
- ASCAP
- Chamber Music America
- Early Music America
- Music Teachers National Association
- Percussive Arts Society
Specifically for Massachusetts Residents:
8. Job Listings / Audition listings
- Bridge: Worldwide Music Connection — NEC's online database of opportunities in music including auditions and teaching jobs
- Chronicle of Higher education — for college-level teaching jobs
- International Musician — the union paper
- College Music Society's Music Vacancy List — for college-level teaching jobs
- Musical Chairs — for overseas & U.S. audition listings
- National Association for Music Education — for K-12 music teaching positions
9. Legal Issues
- ASCAP — performance rights organization
- BMI — performance rights organization
- Harry Fox Agency — for licensing issues
- U.S. Copyright Office — all about copyrights
- Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts — free and discounted legal advice
10. New Music
- American Composers Forum
- Chamber Music America
- The Composer's Site
- Gaudeamus Foundation
- International Society for Contemporary Music
- Meet the Composer
- Society of Composers, Inc.
Domain Name Registration
Webhosting Services
Free Hosting and Design Templates
Blogging platforms
DIY Web Resources
12. Orchestral Opportunities
- American Federation of Musicians — the musician's union
- Civic Orchestra of Chicago — professional training orchestra
- Conductors Guild
- Boston Symphony Orchestra bass trombonist Doug Yeo’s website has a wealth of info on auditions
- International Musician — the union paper
- League of American Orchestras
- Flutist Leone Buyse speaks about orchestral careers and stage deportment
- Musical Chairs — for overseas & U.S. audition listings
- Polyphonic: the Orchestra Musician Forum
13. Performance Health
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Music Injuries Web Page
- About.com article on Musicians' Injuries
14. Presenter Information / Booking Performances
- Association of Performing Arts Presenters
- Chamber Music America
- Early Music America
- International Society of the Performing Arts (ISPA)
- North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents (NAPAMA)
- Sonicbids — create an EPK (electronic press kit) and connect with promoters
Regional booking conferences:
15. Publicity / Marketing Issues
- Cyber Music Publicist Ariel Hyatt — great articles on how to take your music to the next level
- Music Business Consultant Bob Baker — tips on marketing and self-promotion
- FanBridge — build and manage your mailing list
- Music Biz Academy — for straight-talking advice on on-line self-promotion, recording
- Seth Godin — DIY marketing guru
- Bandcamp — sell digital downloads from yourband.bandcamp.com
- CDBaby — sell your CD online and get your music distributed to iTunes, Amazon, and other digital music retailers
- Disc Makers — press and package your CD
- IndieBible — directory of resources for independent musicians
- Nimbit — sell recordings and merchandise direct to fans
- ReverbNation — digital distribution and other tools for independent musicians
17. Singers
- American Choral Director’s Association
- Early Music America
- Backstage — publication for Broadway/Musical theatre work
- ChoralNet — online resource center
- Chorus America — networking resource
- Classical Singer — magazine/website, career info
- National Association of Teachers of Singing
- Opera America
- Opera News — magazine
18. Stage Presence / Performance Issues
- Breathing Out Stage Fright; Yoga breathing techniques to calm moments of stress and anxiety
- 10 Tools for Dealing with Criticism and Rejection
- How Cluttered is Your Creative Life? The Clutter and Creativity Quiz for Artists
19. Teaching
- Post your availability as a teacher on PrivateLessons.com
- Useful articles on MusicTeachersHelper.com
- Resuscitating Art Music — an article by John Steinmetz
Networking Organizations:
- American String Teachers Association
- College Music Society
- Music Teachers National Association
- National Association for Music Education
- National Guild of Community Schools for the Arts
- National Association of Teachers of Singing
- Suzuki Association of the Americas, Inc.
Teaching Artist / Residency work resources:
- Information for Teaching Artists from the Arizona Commission on the Arts
- Toolkit for Teaching the Arts from the New York State Alliance for Arts Education
20. Unions
- Actors’ Equity Association — aka Equity
- American Guild of Musical Artists — for vocalists
- American Federation of Musicians — aka AFM or AF of M, large union, primarily instrumentalists
- American Federation of Television & Radio Artists — aka AFTRA
- Screen Actors Guild — aka SAG
2010-04-08
JOHANNES BRAHMS