Success Beyond The Score

Are you a gigging musician, singer, rapper or spoken word artiste with big dreams but unsure of how to make them come true? If so, this is for you.

Learn how to get better quality gigs, ensure the longevity of your career and the energy in your performances, build your image and increase your income with Revealed, a free booklet where Millicent Stephenson, a multi-award winning saxophonist with a successful career that spans decades, condensed her experience and insight into 25 key secrets.

As you read, it's a free booklet, no catch! All you have to do is to provide a valid e-mail address. You won't receive spam and your information isn't going to be disclosed to any third party. As easy as that!

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'...

It's no secret that the cost of living rises have affected everybody.  It may be that you have to cut back on the amount of holidays you take, or figure out how you will make £1 stretch to purchase necessary items.  Well, here are Millicent's 12 tips to help you manage your money worries.  Don't forget to do you due diligence and seek professional advice to see if these will work for you.  

1.  Sell stuff you no longer need!  Maybe you have an extra instrument, or two, or three, or four in the corner gathering dust.  Do you need it?  Could someone else benefit from it?

2. Cut back on ready meals and takeaways, and cook from raw ingredients.  

3. Call in any I.O.Us. 

4. Look through your insurances, utility bills, bank charges and see if you can switch to a provider who is offering a better deal.  Of course, read the small print!

5. Cancel any subscriptions for services you no longer need.

6. Become more energy efficient.  It takes more electricity to boil a full kettle when you o...

There are some musicians who go for many years without really knowing how to earn consistently from their music, or how to turn their music into a successful and enjoyable music career. 

Here’s the good news, this Monday, I start 11 days of amazing FREE live sessions, on YouTube covering a variety of ingredients to help you on your journey. Feast your eyes on the topics:

1. Mon 4th July, 1pm: Welcome and what to expect. 
2. Tues 5th July, 1pm: Does your music have the juice to pull a crowd?
3. Wed 6th July, 1pm: Why do musicians get killed by sound?
4. Thurs 7th July, 1pm: I’m a musician. Why do I need a business plan?
5. Fri 8th July, 1pm: Three reasons why you should charge for your music starting today!
6. Mon 11th July, 1pm: Is playing for free a contradiction for musicians?
7. Tues 12th July, 1pm: Do you have a music hobby or a music business?
8. Wed 13th July, 1pm: This is why you should video record your Gigs.
9. Thurs 14th July, 1pm: Stop! Don’t record until you’ve done these!
10. Fri 15th July,
...

When talking about going on stage, there is a fine line between excitement and anxiety. The thrill of being able to share what we have with the audience fights against the fear of freezing under the spotlight and forget everything. We want to prove ourselves and we are afraid of failing ourselves at the same time. There is a bunch of butterflies in our stomach, and we are not sure what they are doing.

Every person feels this differently, but we all feel it. Some have developed strategies, little rituals to do right before the show starts. Others have taught themselves to disregard anxiety's insideous comments by actively turning all their thoughts into positive ones. Some more throw themselves to the heat of the moment and trust that the sight of the audience will shatter the insecurities right away. Whatever the case, you are not alone, and by communicating with your peers, you can learn, advise, and gain the confidence to face an audience eager to hear you.

How do you deal w...

The brand name “Success Beyond The Score” started as a podcast back in 2019. Since then, it grew into the this website full of different resources for emerging musicians. The podcast itself has two seasons with 50 episodes in total, covering all kind of relevant topics for artists who want to achieve their goals in the music industry.

Usually, people stick to the latest content of shows that have been airing for a while. In the case of the podcast "Success Beyond The Score", doing so would not be advantageous. Have you never listened to it? Or maybe you did so long ago and don't remember much? Go to episode one of the first season and start, or restart, your journey into the secrets of the industry.

If you want all the episodes with their respective info, so you can choose what to listen and in what order, you can do it in this link. Share and discuss with your colleagues, and of course, be sure to contact Millicent if you have topic suggestions or questions you’d like to see address...

Are you interested in setting up your own YouTube channel to widen your music reach, but are not sure what to do? Do you worry about breaking it, and feel step-by-step instructions by a musician would help you to understand the screens and get it working?

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’ to address all these concerns and answer your questions.

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

The course fee is £35 and you can book your place on this website.

See you on Wednesday!

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. 

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 ...

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...