Make Friends – Your Peers Are Your Best Resource

Think about it. It’s only human nature to recommend a friend for a job. Putting aside the fact that if you recommend him or her, he or she may reciprocate one day, it just feels good to help out a friend, provided they are a good fit for the job. Even though music is a highly competitive business, it’s best to put rivalries aside. You and your buddies may be going for the same type of work, but the pie is usually big enough to accommodate the good players. I have often joked that I’ve made a career of collecting the crumbs off the table after everyone has left. I’ve had some good composition and arranging commissions based on recommendations of others who were either too busy or not that interested in accepting the work. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Who said that?