Networking for music producers in 2021 [3 actionable steps]

Actionable tips about networking for music producers in 2021

It’s happened to us all before.

You find an artist that sparks your interest on either Social Media or while you’re listening to music.

And then you think to yourself, “Man, I’d love to collab with them.”

But then you either send a DM and never get a reply back, or you have a quick conversation that leads to nothing but exchanging each other’s tracks and some small talk.

Maybe you even get as far as sending some stems, but then, in the end, the collab ends up falling through, and so do your hopes for another release.

If this is in any way relatable, then try these three tips to increase your networking game and to finally get more songs released.

NETWORKING FOR MUSIC PRODUCERS

TIP #1: UNDERSTANDING VALUE.

The best way to collaborate with bigger artists is through mutual artist connections. Tip #2 will discuss more this.

Another great way is by catching their attention with your music.

You might not think of it this way, but an artist is also a business after reaching a certain level.

They may have PR, management, videographers, and a whole team behind their artist brand.

This means that your music’s quality will have to be very decent, including your mix-downs and mastering.

It should also sort of fit the vision or brand of the artist you are trying to collaborate with.

If they have a record label, try sending a demo in and getting a release.

Check for contests going on by the label, and make sure to participate and really take the time to showcase your best skills.

If you are having a hard time finding how you would add value to someone’s artist project, then a collaboration with them may be too early for you in your career.

Keep putting in your 10,000 hours, and with time, you will get there! Try looking for artists in the genre or subgenre you make and see who their followers are.

You can find other producers you may like this way.

If an artist you are trying to collab with is around your skill and experience level, then making a collab will be a little easier.

These usually are the best tracks made because they are often good friends and the creativity just flows differently.

Making music for fun vs. making music to get plays are two different things, and your inspiration will come from two different places.

So how do you find out your overall value as an artist/producer?

Years producing/music quality + Who you know x Brand Equity = “Your Value”

When you can get a sense of where you are at, you can also see where your weaknesses are and tackling those directly. For example, say you have trouble mixing and mastering your tracks.

Try finding someone you know who mixes well, and when you collab, ask them if they can do the mix down in the end while you focus on your specific expertise(s) like for example sound design, drum programming, vocals, or composing.

This way you can learn as you go and help a producer with one of their weaknesses that they may have like their sound design or music theory skills.

TIP #2: SOCIAL NETWORK FOR MUSIC PRODUCERS

In the music industry, it is often preached, your network is your net worth.

This means that you should be smart with how you use social media.

The best way to optimize your social media is to unfollow everything that you see on your feed that is not music-related or something that is providing your value. 

Keep your entertainment platforms separated from the ones you choose to motivate and inspire you.

Now, finding producers and others to collab with has technically never been easier to do.

Before you’d have to know someone in your family or friend group who also makes music.

Maybe you knew people through school and then spread your circle like this.

But now finding musicians in your area can be as easy as checking Facebook Groups and setting the location to wherever you are.

Another app that is underrated for networking is Fiverr.com.

Tik-Tok is one of the best places to find collaboration with people all over the world. There are both a large number of producers and artists who duet and listen to each other’s videos and start a friendship off like this.

If you want to work with an artist, try by making a remix of their track and posting it on Tik-Tok. This platform is the best to use this strategy with because their copyright rules and policies aren’t as strict as other platforms currently.

Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp, Discord, and Skype all have direct messaging which means you can message just about anyone you want. This should be used to your advantage, however, only in a respectful way.

It is recommended that if you want to collab with someone that you do not know yet, you should get to know them first through conversation and time before you jump right in and ask them for anything.

Nothing is more annoying than receiving a DM from some random producer with 5 pieces of content who says, “What’s up bro, wanna collab?”

Build rapport with them first and show them value. Maybe send them some drum packs if that’s your expertise or offer that you know a singer who could sing on their track.

There are things that artists and producers are always looking for. See where they may have a weakness and see if you could help with it.

TIP #3: HAVING COLLAB ETIQUETTE.

This is probably the most important, yet simple tip of them all.

First off, apps like Splice, WeTransfer, and Google Drive have made sending stems easier than ever before.

Make sure to label your files and arrange them so that they are not a mess when your co-producer drops them in their DAW. 

Having good collab etiquette is as easy as being timely, communicating, dedicating time and committing to the project, and giving it your all creatively.

Set aside sometime every day or every week when you will specifically work on something involving the collab. The assures that you will have some sort of accountability towards the project.

Have some goals set for yourself to reach weekly.

An important piece of advice is to not get attached to anything in your track.

Trust the person you are collaborating with and their creative process.

A collab is a creative free-flowing project, and arguing over a melody or certain groove is going to waste your energy that could be going towards something else in the project.

Any time you can release a collab it proves that you can work creatively with another person, and put commitment towards something.

This will be a great thing to see when people you may be wanting to collab with check out your profiles.

Networking can be the most effective tool when doing it correctly.

However, it can be hard, so using these three tips in your social media strategy will help you build more genuine connections with artists and producers, release more music, and build brand equity.

We know the importance of networking in the modern industry and this is exactly why we made the Noface Academy.

Noface academy is an online music school by Noface Records which helps producers to get to the next level in the career. It is a platform where producers with similar interests collab with each other.