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anyone with leads that work in the music industry around Austin?

1,729 Views | 16 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by Zobel
jorgerr96
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Just graduated from Mays with a Marketing degree in the Spring. My ideal industry is the live music industry and my experience comes from it, but getting a job seems very hard. Have applied to C3 Presents and Live Nation multiple times and have gotten nothing in return.

I wish there were more opportunities to do internships and jobs while on school in CS for those interested in the arts field, but can't go back anymore.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks and Gig Em.
Chipotlemonger
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AG
Have you considered Nashville? Lot of music out of there (and not just new country)
JamesPShelley
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Have you considered Seattle... West Coast? I've a friend deep in LN, and could pass along your information.
Prophet00
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AG
You might look at the Texas Music Office in Austin. Looks like you missed their cutoff for internships, though.

https://gov.texas.gov/music/page/fellowship

Brendon Anthony is the Director there. I grew up with I'm in CS, awesome guy,. He played fiddle for Pat Green and knows everyone in the industry. Would be a good contact to reach out to. I'm sure he'd let you pick his brain.
jorgerr96
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I'll start considering it now. That's right as Nashville has a lot of record companies out there.
Matsui
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AG
Nashville is a lot more than country music now. A lot of music folks have moved from Los Angeles to Nashville.
AggieOO
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Good luck. Very difficult industry to be successful in. Lots of people working for free, even after graduation. It's all about who you know, so hopefully you've been networking your ass off and brown nosing.

I did it for a while before realizing as much as I loved music, a career in music was not for me.
ThunderCougarFalconBird
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AG
I have a contact that is pretty high up at AEG Messina Group in Austin. Might be worth exploring. Don't know if it will be much help but it's someone i know.
jorgerr96
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Messina Touring would be amazing if they have any entry-level positions. Would appreciate any lead.
HollywoodBQ
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AG
Matsui said:

Nashville is a lot more than country music now. A lot of music folks have moved from Los Angeles to Nashville.
HollywoodBQ
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AG
My Austin info is 20 years old but, I can give you some insight into the modern rock scene in Los Angeles.

The music industry by and large is pretty dead compared to the Motley Crue era in the 80s but, there are still a lot of concert tours so there is definitely a need for tour management, booking agents, etc.

About 12 years ago, I had an opportunity to manage a very good band in a niche genre but, it would have been the kind of thing where on a good day I'd probably make $60K. Meanwhile, I was making more than twice that in information technology. If I was looking to make a living in the Rock 'n' Roll scene, I might have gone for it. But, I was already well established in my career and had a wife and two kids so, it just wouldn't have worked out.
  • Working with artists is different than working with regular humans. Most of these guys are one-dimensional, great at what they do but, don't plan on having a serious conversation about science or politics with them.
  • Artists are by and large very insecure. Be prepared to take the blame for lots of stuff so that they don't have to. They'll usually reconcile later after the situation has been defused.
  • Drug and alcohol usage - this can be all over the place. Artists can behave and perform much differently depending if they're on their 2nd drink or their 15th.
Probably the single biggest piece of advice I can give you is, "It is much easier to be a fan than it is to be a friend". I came to this conclusion after many shows and getting disappointed in a few behaviors that would have been unknown to me back when I was just a fan.

My recommendation for getting in is that you need to spend time in the scene. If that's Austin, you need to become a fixture. If it's Los Angeles Rock, that means frequenting the clubs on the Sunset Strip, the Rainbow and Paladino's in The Valley. Remember that you're there to work and make connections. Not to get drunk and party.

If you have specific skills like guitar tuning or drum setup, you could find work as a guitar tech, or a drum tech. Those guys go on tour with the headline acts.

Eventually, you'll make enough connections that you could transition from unpaid, to paid work. But, it's going to be a hard slog. You'll be broke a lot and often times work your butt off for very little pay or appreciation/acknowledgement.

But, on the plus side, I can tell you that when you're "with the band", the rules that apply to regular people don't apply to celebs (or pseudo-celebs).

Also, in music, you will be surrounded by unexpected tragedy. I've lost several friends and I'm a nobody. Here are a couple of examples:




AggieOO
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Hollywood BQ nailed it. Almost my exact experience, both in Texas and NYC.

I would add that the networking piece can be difficult sometimes bc, especially initially, as you are making the "lower level" connections, many of those people like to party, either with the bands or on their own. They may not remember you or have a completely different reaction the next time they see you.

I'd also reiterate Hollywood's point that you need to be prepared to "look the other way" A LOT and have thick skin when transitioning from fan to friend or business "associates."

I had a hell of a lot of fun, but it's a tough gig. I did everything from show promoting to tour managing to sitting in the office at a record label. I will say that although I never worked with any huge acts, I did work with several very successful regional bands, that did extensive touring across multiple states. Things change/compound as you work with bigger bands, but the money can get better. However, its highly unlikely you are going to get rich.
AggieOO
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Fyi- - not trying to crap on your dreams. Just want to give some insight so you know what to expect. If you are young and single, it's a lot of fun. I wouldn't change my experience given the chance.
GBMont3
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AG
Look up a guy named Clark Nowlin. He's be good networking if nothing else. Talented musician who has built some kind of business out of it. I have no details - lost touch with him a few years ago but know he's in Austin and reasonably successful.
HollywoodBQ
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AG
I was thinking more about this thread yesterday and I remembered this weirdo who just wanted really badly to get into the music scene. He got to be friends with the drummer in the band and wound up doing merchandise for the band at their shows. Many of the shows were in LA but they did tour a fair bit during the summer.

My friend's band was very popular at motorcycle rallys (including Sturgis) and Indian Casinos. The guys in the band like playing the Indian Casino gigs because they paid well and paid reliably.

So anyway, this weirdo winds up working out a deal to travel with the band for the summer. They're flying back and forth (Economy Class, frequently on friends and family tickets on Frontier Airlines) to shows and this maniac is on a bus. He took advantage of some sort of deal Greyhound had where you could ride unlimited across the USA all summer for something like $269. So the band flies out, plays a show and this guy is on a bus from LA with the merch. After the show, the band flies home and he's on a Greyhound back to LA for several days.

Now I'm not saying you have to go all-in like that but, that is something that I have seen work. And if you do a good job with the merch, maybe other bands want you to do their merch too. Trust me, when a drummer sells out of all the signed sticks he brought, it's a good day.

https://instagr.am/p/BPk-2-SAWfD
ThunderCougarFalconBird
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AG
received

Let me know when you've sent an email so I can edit this post.
jorgerr96
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done
Zobel
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OP hope you don't mind my jumping on your thread, but I'm in the early stages of a boutique gear startup. Didn't know we had so many music types on here...but it shouldn't surprise me. Any Ags interested in custom, all discrete analog gear?
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