The Music Industry Networking Tips You Need to Know

With these helpful music industry networking tips, anyone can become an industry infiltrating, music professional with a long list of hot contacts. Take a look, and let us know your own tips and advice in the comments section below.

How to network in the music industry

Music industry networking is all about meeting the right people at the right time, and getting to know the folks that can help to develop your career. Whether that’s by attending industry events, signing up to music societies or heading to local gigs, your music career is in your own hands, so take every chance you get.

Start networking on social media

Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram offer an easy way to network with music industry figures. You can make sure they're familiar with your name just by following and engaging with them online, whether that's by simply liking their Tweets or starting a dialogue by replying to their comments. Try to get involved in music related discussions too - especially on engaging industry Discord servers and well-known Reddit subreddits.

Make sure not to go overboard though. Don't spam them with links to your music or come on too strong. You want them to remember your account in a positive way and look forward to your communications, rather than see you as just another spammer.

Attend music industry events

If you’re a beginner in the music networking game, you’ll probably want to start small. You’ll find hundreds of music industry networking events of all sizes taking place across the country, from small-time gigs, to massive conferences with thousands of attendees.

If you’re not completely confident or comfortable speaking to new people, a local band meet-up or showcase event is a great place to begin your networking campaign, working your way up to bigger events and industry conferences and making plenty of connections along the way.

Always have your info on-hand

When an important potential contact asks for your details, you don’t want to be fumbling around or forgetting your info. Always carry your business cards or similar with you at networking events, to demonstrate your professionalism and show that you mean business.

Prepare and go with a plan

It’s always best to know what you’d like to achieve from any networking events you attend and do your research beforehand. Whether there’s a certain person you’d like to meet, or an agenda you’d like to pursue, setting yourself a goal is a great way to get results. This point however, leads nicely into our next one…

‍

Don’t push a hard sell

There’s nothing worse than an excessively hard sell when it comes to networking. You're there to start and build relationships with other like-minded people, not shove your music or product down their throats.

Be smart, be subtle, and you’ll be more likely to come away with a contact who’ll reply to your emails and answer your calls.

Give before you ask for favours

This is a very important point. Remember, you can very rarely expect to receive without giving anything first. Show your value to a potential contact and demonstrate how you can help them, preferably without asking for anything in return at first. Then further down line, you can ask them to return the favour.

Always be honest

Whatever you do, don’t promise anything you know you can’t deliver. Always be honest about your capabilities and experience. Embellishing the facts is sure-fire way to burn bridges when you’re networking in the music industry. Treat every new challenge as a learning experience, but don't oversell yourself.

Manners matter

This straightforward, but invaluable piece of advice may seem obvious, but simple manners and an amiable attitude can work wonders.

Introduce yourself politely, listen to other people’s opinions, and make sure you make a great first impression. Nobody wants to talk to the overly arrogant music exec, and if you go to a networking event with the wrong attitude, you’ll find that out the hard way.

Don't forget to follow up

Once you've made an important connection and exchanged details, it's might be tempting to just sit back and wait for your new contact to get in touch with you first.

Often, however, music industry professionals have busy schedules and you might slip their mind. Don't be afraid to follow up with a polite email or phone call to remind them of your previous conversation, and make sure you're not forgotten.

‍