Success Beyond The Score

Everything in life entails a risk, even not doing anything at all. Assessing and managing risks is part of life, but it becomes critical in professions that involve large numbers of people, like live music.

If you've followed Millicent as an artist or as an educator for any amount of time, you know that she strongly advocates for musicians getting paid for their work. This is a position that she shares with the Musician Union, of which she has served as member of the Executive Committee and the Midlands Regional Committee. In a campaign called "Work Not Play", the MU offers resources to empower musicians so they don't feel pressured to accept unpaid jobs. This includes a list of fair play venues, a digital tool to define your rates, training to improve your negotiation skills, and more.

Millicent has also created her own resources to tackle this issue. In the free gifts section of our website, you can find the leaflet "Ten Reasons Why They Will Pay You Before Gig Day". In the store, the e-learning course "How To Work Out Your Gig Fee, Collect Your Payment And Manage Your Money" will walk you through everything you need to know in order to get paid as a professional musician.

Remember: b...

Preceded by two online performances, the ‘Time For My Music’ Evening Showcase was the first live concert offered by the women of the Time For My Music programme. The venue was the MAC Theatre of Birmingham, and the date, 29 October 2024.

For those who couldn't attend, and also those who attended and want to relive the experience, the full concert will be made available on Millicent's YouTube channel. Part 1 is already out, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy 50 minutes of music by the talented Angela, Angie Lee, Asharp, Melody, Michelle, Patricia and Tiny Sax:

Part 2 comes out on 23 March, just three weeks from now.

Many thanks to GL 360 Productions (@gl360media) for making a full coverage of the evening showcase, making it possible to share the art of these women with people all around the world. Be sure to play the video in full HD to get the best experience, and if you like it, let us know in a comment or by sharing with your friends!

Despite what some might think, working in music can be quite physically demanding. As a gigging musician, I have to travel to the venues where I’ll perform, often carrying my instrument and PA system with me. I bend, lift, shift and go up and down to set up my equipment. I move around the stage (sometimes off it and through the crowd, even) while performing. As a saxophonist, I really put my lungs to work every time I play, and I can’t run out of breath mid-concert!

Now, our bodies go through important changes during menopause that can have a huge impact on our energy levels and physical endurance. Menopausal people might experience changes in bone density, heart health, weight, body shape and mobility. This can affect our ability to keep working, so it’s important to exercise consciously and regularly in order to counter menopausal symptoms.

To be transparent, I didn’t struggle that much keeping up with physical activity prior to joining the SMART Rewind Metabolic Health 12 Week Pro...

No matter how experienced or learned someone is, how many resources they have, how many measures they take, accidents and mistakes are inescapable. What defines a good musician isn't the absence of hiccups or errors, but rather, how they react to them.

Take as an example this rendition of Queen's quintessential song, Bohemian Rhapsody, played during a concert in Caracas, Venezuela, back in 1981.

Even if you aren't a fervent fan of Queen, it's highly likely that you've listened to this song enough times to tell something goes wrong at the 01:40 mark. Brian May works around the issue to play the solo for that part, but by 02:04, he changes the melody completely. The image isn't that clear, but apparently he missed his cue and broke one of his strings immediately after.

Observe how he doesn't freeze, doesn't stop or reacts in a visibly panicked way. His fellow band members do look slightly confused while they understand what happened, but this doesn't prevent them from playing their...

Creative endeavours are, at the same time, energising and draining. Gigging musicians thrive on stage, but once they get off, they are hit with the exhaustion of having given their all to their audience, their clients and their craft. If, on top of performing, they are in charge of logistics, finances and/or organisation, as it was the case for the women who put together the Time For My Music's evening showcase last October, this fatigue gets dialled up to eleven.

If you plan to become a professional gigging musician, it's essential that you come up with mechanisms to rejuvenate after shows. There's only so much your body and mind can endure with no support, and if you force yourself to move forward despite signs of alarm like pain, sleep issues, and anxiety, you're going to burn out.

On one hand, there's the physical side of things: take care of your health and cultivate your endurance with an appropriate diet, physical activity and good sleep. Allot time specifically to rest, both ...

The Musicians' Union is cautious about the government consultation currently going on in regard to copyrighted material being used to train generative artificial intelligence (genAI). The consultation is a direct successor of a government-proposed exception that saw the light in 2023, and didn't go through due to strong opposition from the creative industry. The difference this time is that the government has outlined a way for right holders to prevent their works from being used to train AI systems. Alternatively, they could opt to negotiate a presumably paid licence for their use.

In the realm of music, the right holders are mainly record labels and publishers. However, musicians who signed their contracts and transferred their rights before the boom of genAI had no way to foresee the weight this technology would have in the cultural landscape and industry, or the impact its use would have in their revenue. For this reason, the Musicians' Union advocates for each creator having the...

Happy holidays! Regardless of how you spend this time of the year, we hope you've enjoyed it to the fullest, and that you've also caught some well deserved rest. 2024 was quite hectic for many, so let's give ourselves a moment to breathe and maybe give ourselves a pat in the back for the challenges that we overcame.

This is also a good time to remember the big, good moments. For example, the first live concert of Time For My Music at the end of October was a massive achievement for our community. We can't wait to post the professional footage in the upcoming months, but in the meantime—and to add some good vibes to your New Year's Eve preparations—here are two clips from Millicent's performance at the end of that evening:

Count on us for resources and support in your music journey this and every new year. We are dying to hear about what you've got in mind!

Originally, Millicent wasn't going to perform at the Time For My Music evening showcase. However, due to a suggestion by a member of the audience, and with the enthusiastic approval of the women who starred the night, she went on stage towards the end and played some fan favourites like "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)" and "Bridge Over Troubled Waters".

After the show was over, one of the women told Millicent that she was glad to have counted with her performance that night, because she could see first hand how Millicent applied everything she has taught them through the years. Seeing the theory put into practise motivated her, and she could project herself owning the stage with more confidence and ease in the future.

Performing music live is much more than just making up your mind and doing it. Everybody starts somewhere, and Millicent is no exception. She remembers that, when she first started, she stood on a single spot in front of the mic, fixed her gaze somewhere on the floor, a...