Success Beyond The Score

After years operating online due to the conditions of the pandemic, Time For My Music will have a meeting in person! We are very excited to finally see each other in the flesh and share some quality time. In addition, we want to use the occasion to hopefully introduce more emerging female musicians to the community. If you are a woman in music who can attend an event in Birmingham (UK) this Saturday 10th June between 2pm and 4pm, please know we'd be delighted to have you there!

How to know if this event is right for you? Well, if:

• You are a female musician (for example: pianist, guitarist, drummer, percussionist, wind player, singer, rapper).
• Your music is your hobby, or side hustle, but you are not making much money
• You are stuck with how to take your music forward
• You are looking for a space to discuss situations that affect women in music, without cynical or negative feedback.
• Knowing about mics, and what the buttons on an amplifier/PA system do, will help your next performa...

Songs are a big thing for me. I guess, maybe for you too.  As a musician I spend time thinking about what to play to suit the occasion.  I spend time listening to new songs.  Learning them.  My ears are sensitive to music wherever I go. 

This week I finalising my set for my live performance with the Not Just Jazz Band. 

It's been a while. Lockdown got in the way, then it was about navigating obstacles and finally rebuilding my music business.  I'm currently inundated with work, but I could not pass up the opportunity of this invitation.  Playing at Wednesday Mic Fever meant I could get the Band together. Although everyone is working on various projects, we have not played together in, I think 4 years, so this for me will be a treat. 😊

When are we playing? Wednesday evening 7th June.  I know it's a Wednesday, a mid-week brightener :-)  

Where are we playing? The Legacy Centre of Excellence, 144 Potters Lane, Birmingham B6 4UU,

What is the event? ‘Wednesday Mic Fever’ night.  A ...

Here is the transcription of episode 4 of season 3 of the podcast "Success Beyond The Score". Happy reading!

- Watch the video of the episode here: YouTube

- Listen to the audio of the episode here: Kajabi

PODCAST INTRO:

Today is day four of season three of my podcast, Success Beyond the Score. And if you haven't already watched the first three episodes, one's about "The Seven Stages Of The Gigging Musician", the other was about, um... oh gosh, I can't remember all my titles now! Look, just go back, there's a playlist. Getting old, haha!

Anyway, today is about: "I'm A Musician. Why Do I Need A Business Plan?" And this is a topic most musicians just say: "No, I really, really, really don't need this at all. You know, I do not need this at all. I just want to play!".

By the way, if you can't hear me, drop a message in the chat so that I can make sure you can all hear me 'cause the last thing I want is to, is to be —I think that seems to be working— is to be talking and you can'...

Here is the transcription of episode 3 of season 3 of the podcast "Success Beyond The Score". Happy reading!

- Watch the video of the episode here: YouTube

- Listen to the audio of the episode here: Kajabi

PODCAST INTRO:

It's kind of a strange title, really: "killed by sound". But in my experience going through music and watching other people, the sound system, the PA (public address) system, microphone, stuff like that, really gets in the way of our playing. And let's face it, you put in a lot of time practising. You learn the notes, you learn the chords, you learn the rhythm, you learn what you're gonna say, all that kind of thing. And then, it's just time to go and deliver. And when it's time to deliver, what lets you down is a PA system. 

EARLY EXPERIENCES:

Well, my experience —oh gosh, going back a few years— I sort of started playing, um, certainly for my sax, I was in my late teens, early twenties when I started. And that's sort of back in the eighties. And what I did ...

Creating content for social media is a lot of work, but if you know your tools and platforms, it becomes way easier. To help with that, the course "Mastering YouTube for Musicians" teaches you exactly what is available in YouTube and how to use it.

Guided by Millicent Stephenson, who speaks from experience and in an accessible way, you'll learn:

• How to create your login.
• What is where in your YouTube channel.
• How to upload your videos.
• Security tips.
• What to type in the boxes of the form for your uploaded videos.
• Things to say at your performance or post for attracting subscribers.
• 3 tips for maintaining your channel.
• 9 tips for sharing your videos and getting views.
• 6 tips for growing your subscribers organically.
• 6 ways to get work through your YouTube channel.
• Why some videos are in the thousands and others not so.
• A challenge to help you set up your channel and gain views and subscribers.

Get your course following this link and see how you get a channel up and run...

Here is the transcription of episode 2 of season 3 of the podcast "Success Beyond The Score". Happy reading!

- Watch the video of the episode here: YouTube

- Listen to the audio of the episode here: Kajabi

PODCAST INTRO:

Today, the topic is: does your music have the juice to pull a crowd? This is so important. I think this is a really, really good topic because, um, I think it was just about a couple of weeks ago, a promoter contacted me and they said: Look, I am looking for someone to headline my show. Do you know anyone? And I was like: What type of musician you're looking for? And they described the kind they were looking for. I thought: Mm interesting. Who do I know -apart from myself- who do I know that they could book, that people would want to see. Because that is what they were looking for, they wanted to put someone on their flyer, someone local, someone in the West Midlands, they didn't want to travel too far. Yes, they could go abroad. Yes, they could go to London. B...

Happy new year 2023! I wish this new beginning brings you a lot of energy to continue with your projects, and also the motivation to start those others that you've been storing as dreams in the backburner.

As I've mentioned before, I tend to write my yearly music business plan around this time. While planning an entire year sounds daunting, I've found that doing it helps me achieve more without compromising my health or wellbeing. It allows me to distinguish between the urgent and the important, and know which actions take time because they need to and which do because I'm not being efficient. With a plan, I can also tell what opportunities align with my goals, which prevents distractions.

If you don't know where to start with your own yearly plan, have a quick model I use to write mine: 

1. Find the time:  We often think there is not enough time in our day to plan, but there is when we decide something is a priority. Time will present itself for us to get it done. Obviously, we have
...

As a musician, having a presence on YouTube can make all the difference. Every year, the platform adds new ways of interaction that benefit music creators, like the brand new "YouTube Recap", a customised summary where users can check the musicians and songs they listened to the most during the year and share them with their friends.

Managing online platforms and social media websites can look daunting, but don't let that stop you from sharing your music and build your career. Getting started with YouTube is easier than you think! To learn how to do it, you can get the course "Mastering YouTube for Musicians" right in this website and learn:

• How to create your login.
• What is where in your YouTube channel.
• How to upload your videos.
• Security tips.
• What to type in the boxes of the form for your uploaded videos.
• Things to say at your performance or post for attracting subscribers.
• 3 tips for maintaining your channel.
• 9 tips for sharing your videos and getting views.
• 6 tips for
...

Here is the transcription of episode 1 of season 3 of the podcast "Success Beyond The Score". Happy reading!

- Watch the video of the episode here: YouTube 

- Listen to the audio of the episode here: Kajabi

PODCAST INTRO

This is “Success Beyond The Score”, a podcast giving insights and tips to help you learn how to build your music career, from the best in the field, by Millicent Stephenson. Millicent is a multi-award winning saxophonist and endorser of Harry Hartman's Fiberreeds who is currently serving on the executive committee of the Musicians Union. With over 40 years of experience in the creative industry, Millicent has honed her performance and business skills. She provides personal development, training and coaching via her online platform: www.successbeyondthescore.com.

EPISODE INTRO

Hi! I am Millicent Stephenson and there are three things I absolutely believe in (apart from technology, which would the fourth thing). Number one, I believe every musician, whether you ...

Gigs! I’ve had the opportunity to play so many this year that I can’t do nothing but feel blessed (and a bit exhausted, haha!). No matter if big of small, I bring everything to the stage and I have the time of my life, as you can see in the header photo of this post. It was taken during the Birmingham 2022 Festival by Laurence Stephenson. The event was incredible! If you want some specifics on how it went, I wrote a little recap on my personal website.

Such occasions would not be possible if I was not confident in my ability to pull a crowd and make the experience unforgettable for them. It is incredibly rewarding, and that’s why I want you to be able to do the same: to appear confident and get people’s attention, to make them remember you, look you up after the gig and talk to their friends about you. For this reason, I put together a course called “Showtime! The best ingredients for giving a great performance“, in which you can learn:

• How to get comfortable with your music and pe
...