Success Beyond The Score

The two episodes that we will revisit today focus on the business side of music, a topic that many musicians find difficult to deal with, given that it is out of the comfort zone for creatives. Although they might look intimidating, running the numbers, writing the contracts and developing your plans are not impossible tasks, and you don't have to dread them.

Let's start with episode 4, in which Millicent explains what a business plan is, and three ways in which it will help you achieve your goals in music:

Moving on to episode 5, a critical topic appears: money. The vast majority of new and emerging musicians struggle with the issue of payments, feeling that they don't deserve compensation unless this or that happens, or until they reach this or that level. Listen to three reasons why you should not wait or hesitate before charging for your music:

There is an audio only version available on all platforms where you listen to podcasts. A transcript is available for both episode...

Episodes 2 and 3 of the third season of Success Beyond The Score address very different matters, although both are critical for the gigging musician: fanbase and sound.

There is an audience for every form of music, that is for sure. The real question is how to find them, reach them, and most importantly, how to show to promoters, labels and clients that you have the skills to pull a crowd. Listen what Millicent has to say about this topic on episode 2:

At first glance, episode 3 seems to be about something obvious. Music is sound, therefore low quality sound is detrimental to it. However, many tend to delegate this vital part of their performance to others, trusting that whoever said they'd be in charge of the equipment knows what they are doing and understand what the artist likes.

It's not so easy! Have a listen to Millicent's take:

Both episodes are available as audio only, and there are also transcriptions.

• Episode 2
• Episode 3

If you are a woman in music who would ...

Today, we start revisiting the third, and for now last, season of the podcast Success Beyond The Score. For it, Millicent changed formats once again, deciding to explore the world of livestreaming.

The biggest advantage of recording the episodes live with an audience was the interaction. As you will see, she answered questions on the spot, and also reconnected with listeners at later episodes to clarify things. It was a good experience that reflected on her later e-learning opportunities. Speaking of that, you can join the mailing list to learn whenever more of those become available.

Here is the first episode, which outlined the structure of the whole season. It explains the seven stages that every gigging musician goes through during their career:

Here is the audio-only version. As always, you can find it at most podcast streaming platforms. Shares are appreciated!

Here is the second season's finale of the podcast Success Beyond The Score. If you had to pick just one episode to revisit, this would be the one. Although it doesn’t include clips from the interviews with the wonderful guests who made the season possible, it has Millicent telling you what were the absolute best takeaways from her conversations with them.

Let’s hear, then, a brilliant summary of what we learnt from Tony Bean, Louise Dengate, Abigail Kelly, Anna Brooks, Dan Whitehouse and Ruby Turner MBE:

Here are two more "themed" episodes of the podcast Success Beyond the Score.

Episode 16 is all about the business side of music. It is an essential part of the journey to becoming a professional musician that intimidates many emerging artists, but it doesn't have to be that way! Listen to the guests talk about record labels, contracts, finances, networking, training and education, from their vast experience, and without keeping any secrets.

Episode 17 moves from the professional to the personal. Each guests tells us about their career highs and lows. What have they realised truly matters after decades of experience? What have they learned from difficult times?

As usual, the audio-only version can be found wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

The second season of the podcast Success Beyond The Score has two distinct parts. So far, we have revisited the first one. For it, Millicent interviewed brilliant people in the music industry about a variety of relevant and interesting themes. Now, it’s time for the second one, in which we propose a new dialogue format: instead of one person talking about many different topics, you will hear all guests’ opinions on a singular topic.

The opening theme of this part of the podcast is family. Listen about how the guests balance work and home life, what their families have meant for their careers, how they have supported their journey, among other things.

The next topic has to do with the ideas associated with the status of celebrity. There is a notion that famous people live a life of applause, lights, and luxury. That they live far above the mundane. The guests will tell you how it really is. They talk about glitz, glamour and the Monday morning musician.

If long interviews are n...

Interviewing the next guest in this recap of Success Beyond The Score podcast, season 2, presented a challenge in regard to timezone differences: due to lockdown and travel restrictions related to the containment of COVID-19 at the time, the British composer and songwriter Dan Whitehouse was stranded in Japan. Regardless, Millicent managed to have an excellent talk with him.

Dan has released five solo albums. He is a songwriting tutor and mentor qualified in the Sounds of Intent methodology, and he has extensive experience working directly with musicians or through facilitators such as Midlands Arts Centre or Company of Song, to create community through music.

In the first part of the interview, we learn how everything started, how it was going at the time of recording, his experiences of studying music, and everything about being signed to a label.

The second part explores the impact of COVID-19 on Dan’s life and career, after lockdown made a visit to Japan become an almost two ...

The next pair of episodes of the podcast Success Beyond the Score, season 2, bring us to meet and talk to the brilliant saxophonist Anna Brooks.

She is an international touring and recording artiste with the Brooklyn Funk Essentials and Joolz Holland Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. Additionally, she is a music arranger, music director, music preparation specialist and singer. She is also a teacher at the Birmingham Conservatoire.

In the first part, Anna describes herself in the musical world, and then comments on how she balances family commitments and touring. We talk about the pros and cons of having a music degree, and why being self-taught rocks! She also talks about her instrument preferences, dealing with mistakes, and what it’s like being the only female in a band.

In the second part, we delved into how we coped with COVID-19; tips for transitioning your music into a full-time professional career; how Anna started her music career just six weeks after the birth of her sons; mu...

On this Easter Sunday, let's continue revisiting season 2 of the podcast Success Beyond The Score, introducing the next guest: Louise Dengate.

Louise is an exceptional vocalist and coach. After finishing her music degree, she first became a receptionist, but realised that it was not for her, and set out to grow her music into a full time career. She now has a Gospel choir, does teaching, coaching and has a music agency. During the pandemic, she navigated by developing her passion about psychology and the stage, and worked together with her husband, who is also a full-time musician, to continue their careers while also growing their family.

Here is the first part of the interview:

And here is the second part, where Louise talks about her career highs and lows, the challenges of being a female director, how to make music your career, and some truths about reality TV competitions and their influence on success:

We hope you enjoy hearing Millicent and Louise's conversation again....

Once done with our revisit of season 1 of the podcast Success Beyond The Score, today we want to direct your attention to season 2.

First aired in 2021, and produced under the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, this season introduced two big changes: the presence of guests, and the video call format. The episodes, available now on YouTube on top of all the usual podcast streaming platforms, started with a brief intro:

The first guest of the season was Tony Bean, the CEO and founder of 5AM Records. He is an international artiste developer, songwriter and record producer who has worked with major record labels such as Polydor, Motown and Warner Brothers. Tony has worked with Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child, Usher, Christina Aguilera, Lemar, Beverley Knight, Kenny Thomas, Tyrese, Alexandra Burke, Freddie Kofi, Nu Life, Monique Thomas and Eternal, to name a few.

The first part of the interview, which constitutes episode 2, starts with Tony talking about what it is like being a se...