Success Beyond The Score

On Wednesday 30th March, 7.30pm until 9pm on Zoom, Millicent Stephenson will be running a Zoom webinar called ‘Mastering YouTube for Musicians – Part 1’. The session is directed towards musicians who want to increase their reach online through YouTube, but aren't sure of how to navigate the platform and use its tools to their favour.

The content of the session will be:

• How to login
• Understanding your Channel layout
• Steps to upload your videos
• What to put in the boxes (fields) and what tags to use
• How to share your video to get views
• How to grow your subscribers organically

Interested? The course fee is £35 and you can book your place following this link. 

Help Musicians UK and Musicians Union have helped funding the PiPA (Parents in Performing Arts) Classical Music Survey, which aims to identify patterns in job and working environments in relation to work-life balance, and develop practical strategies and resources for Classical Music organisations to better support parents and carers, and the wider workforce.

You can take the survey clicking here.

The survey was developed in partnership with Association of British Orchestras, Liverpool Philharmonic, SWAP’ra, Black Lives in Music and UK Music. It will investigate the impact of caring responsibilities on career progression as well as wider worklife balance and wellbeing challenges in Classical Music.

The survey will provide data driven insights to enable PiPA to develop a range of strategies and resources for the Classical Music sector to empower organisations to better support parents, carers and the wider workforce.

PiPA wants to hear from people from all backgrounds and circumstan...

Time For My Music, the online project to empower women in the music industry, is currently open for subscriptions, but not for too long! In fact, there’s only a few hours left, the system will close at 11:59pm today, UK time.

If you are a female musician who wants to step up your game and advance in your career, this is the perfect chance to join a community of like-minded women and receive all the tools and support that you need.

In this cycle, we are going to focus on how to grow your brand online and build a loyal fanbase. On top of that, you will have access to all the materials of our previous cycles and to live forums with the other women. You will also be able to participate in the next T4MM concert and have your photo and bio exhibited in Birmingham City Centre.

Sounds good? Then head to the T4MM website before midnight and join us! We can’t wait to meet you.

Hey ! Are you a female musician? Would joining an online community of female musicians, who meet twice a month, help you to take your music to another level?

If you are struggling with:
· Getting gigs.
· Promoting yourself effectively.
· Identifying the type of tech you need to amplify your sound at your gigs, and getting tips on how to use said tech.
· Acquiring equipment , within a budget, to perform online from your home.
· Meeting likeminded women in an online space, who are also working towards their music dreams.
· Being part of a safe group where you can bounce ideas, ask questions, talk about your hurdles, and receive support.

Well, you are not alone! Once upon a time, I was a struggling musician too. I did not know how to get gigs; I did not know the best way to present myself on stage or to engage an audience. I did not have a following but dreamt of having recordings. Over the years, I’ve learnt so much and now I am a multi award-winning musician and my accolades are a very long...

Last time, I mentioned that we get work through our connections. I hope my words helped you identify the people who do that for you.  But how do you maintain the work you get through your connections? Today, I want to discuss one aspect of that.  

In the early days of my music, I was on my own. I arrived to gigs on my own, I set up and pulled down on my own, I handled my gig enquiries on my own and sorted out my tax return on my own. I did everything myself, making decisions and only seeking advice when needed. Does that sound familiar?

This way of working was fine for some time, but as my music grew, it became unwieldy. I couldn’t keep up with everything. I worked long days and into the night to balance family commitments and work. I felt stressed with missed deadlines, keeping up with admin requirements was a nightmare and personal practise on my instrument was deteriorating. I felt like I was on burnout.  It dawned on me that, in order to advance, I needed to create a team.  

If ...

The season 2 finale of the podcast Success Beyond The Score is available now! Listen to Millicent Stephenson highlight the best from the interviews she held during the season, comment and add on the advice by the guests and thank every one of them for their fantastic advice and contributions.

Click here to watch the episode on YouTube.

Click here to find your podcast platform of choice to listen to the episode in audio format.

Don't forget to leave comments and to share with friends that are also working their way into the music business.

Also, let's take this chance to confirm there will be a season 3 of the podcast. Stay tunned!

Did you know that, without being clear on your motivation, you won’t achieve your music targets or complete your plans?

During lockdown I, like many, had my live music work restricted, postponed or cancelled. I was depressed for the first two weeks of our first lockdown.  Although I was worrying about my income, I was mostly sad not to be able to meet people and do my thing. Why? Because I enjoy the fact that my music makes people feel better and it takes them to another place. It’s one of the reasons why I go on stage. Realising this helped me to adapt the way I work during lockdown so I could continue doing what I do. 

 The other thing about motivation is that it can change. In the early days, I just wanted to play because I felt this is my talent and I must deliver. Later on, it was about earning through my music and making it my full-time career, which I did. Nowadays, it’s about making a difference by imparting my experience to help others to grow. Irrespective, there is always ...

For quite some time, like the Frank Sinatra song, I thought ‘I did it my way’ with my musical achievements.  I believed I developed my music hobby into a professional music business all on my own steam.  I felt I carved my path and forged my way with no input from anyone else.  That I figured it all out, through epiphany.

But, while I was compiling my music business plan on a course I attended 10 years ago, I learnt something quite significant.  I learnt that although there were moments of revelation in my journey, I did not achieve half of what I had without someone else’s input.  

The people who point the way; those who offer a shoulder to cry on; individuals who pass on opportunities; fans who take it upon themselves to be my ambassadors; colleagues who make the time to explain concepts so I can do my business better; and so on.   

By the way, your own connections are not too far away.  

Everything you do or achieve has a connection to someone else. 

Maybe you think your connec...

What do you think about this word, ‘Plan’? What does it conjure in your mind?  Hard work that you don’t want to do, or glee because you relish identifying parts and their connections, and seeing if they work?

I’m a planner, but not everybody is.  Don’t get me wrong.  Some people are more holistic, top-down, see the bigger picture.  I’m the opposite. I see the big picture but I get down to the detail of how to make it happen. Actually, it doesn’t really matter too much which approach you prefer, as long as things are achieved.   

How does this relate to your music? 

Well, when you move forward, you are moving forward to something: your targets. How you move forward has to be decided. This is planning, deciding what, when, why, how, etc.  

Most of my music life, pre-42 years old, I just ambled along. I performed when invited. I had dreams of what I wanted to become, but no plans on how to get there. At 42, one of the significant things that made a difference and propelled me forward was maki...