Before You Make It Big: Making a Living as a Singer

LAURA SUZANNE WRIGHT, student of Tricia Grey

“Act without expectation.”
-Lao Tzu

There are many ways to find streams of income in the music business while you are actively looking for the big break that will make you a star. Many of the singers you are familiar with such as Sheryl Crow, Jennifer Lopez, and Mariah Carey started out as backup singers for more famous artists. Jennifer Hudson sang on cruise ships.

Breaking into the session singer world means you might be doing backup work for more well-known artists who may choose to help your career along if they like you. Being professional and likable is the personality combination that will result in referrals to other jobs.

Here are some of the avenues that can provide income for you as a professional singer, and what you might need to do to prepare yourself for those gigs.

Party Bands: When I was doing this circuit in Los Angeles these gigs were called casuals. They are generally reasonably lucrative. Sometimes if you are a floating singer, there will be no rehearsal with the band; you just show up with professional charts (sheet music with chords only for the band, on one or two pages), and off you go. This can be very challenging, and the bandleader is assuming he is dealing with a total pro who has a great ear for harmony (you are expected to chime in on background harmony when you are not singing lead) and who has been performing professionally for a while and knows all the repertoire.

Or, you might get hired to be the lead singer in a well-established party band with a recognizable name. In this situation, you do rehearse with the band and you have time to work out harmonies and choreography. These gigs can be corporate events, New Year's Eve and other holiday parties, weddings, birthdays, bar mitzvahs.

You will have to know a variety of repertoire, from smooth jazz for the first set to Motown, country, blues, R&B, and rock & roll. You will usually also do some Top-40 songs that are currently on the radio, and you often have to take requests.

These gigs are fun because:

     • You get to dress up.

     • Everyone is there to party and have a good time.

     • Generally, it is a smoke-free environment

     • They always feed the band.

     • You will be working with some of the best musicians in the business.  This is what the pro’s do when they are not touring promoting their original project or out on the road with famous artists. It’s a great way to network.

The best way to prepare for these gigs is to check out the repertoire list that many party bands post online, and learn every song. You will find that many bands do a lot of the same songs because they always work to get the people up and dancing.

You will need to either have someone write professional charts for you, or learn to do it yourself on Sibelius or Finale. You don’t have to (and often should not) do songs in the key the original artist did them in. Set songs in keys that require you to use your mix, and you will find yourself way less tired at the end of the night, and your mix will get stronger too!

You will bring your microphone to the gigs along with percussion instruments like a tambourine, afuche, cabasa, etc. Otherwise, you are just standing around when someone else is singing or a solo is being played. Learn to play these percussion instruments well! You can get tips on YouTube on how to play these instruments.

Party band gigs are usually booked by booking agents. When you call these agents, they will want you to send (or post online, which is more the case these days) a demo, bio, and headshot. The demo they will want to listen to is not your original music but cover tunes in various styles, showing your versatility. Sometimes you can do a medley of a verse/chorus of many different songs rather than whole songs, which they probably won’t listen to anyway. They just want to know you can sound authentic in many different styles, including jazz, pop, rock, country, and R&B. Your demo should be professionally recorded in a studio, not something you do at home.

Present yourself in the most professional way; the competition for these gigs is pretty intense. It pays to have a professional website and facebook page designated only for business purposes. You need professional headshots. These should have your name on the front and all your contact information on the back.

A website designed for promotional purposes should include photos as well as mp3 samples of your singing, and your contact information. These days, many agents, bandleaders, and promoters only use the online method and only accept electronic submissions.

Reverbnation, Hostbaby, and Bandzoogle are sites where you can post your music electronically, and you can create an EPK or electronic press kit. Then you just send your potential agent, promoter, or bandleader to the link, and it’s all set up right there!

Cruise Ships

Cruise ship gigs run the gamut of musical styles, from Top-40 cover bands for the lounge acts to musical theatre and cabaret-type shows that will require dancing ability. You do need to be able to commit to being out of town for six to twelve months at a time, so that can be a drawback if you are also trying to get original projects going. But cruise ship gigs are a great way to see the world, eat like a king, and get lots of sunshine and rest!

The shows are often revue based (one song after another). There are lots of flashy sets and lots of costume changes. The shows are usually performed to pre-recorded accompaniment tracks, but the band often plays along with the tracks.

Cast contracts range from 6-12 months, with eight months being about average. One month of that time is spent in a rehearsal studio (often in L.A.) learning and rehearsing the show.

To find out about auditions go to the website for each cruise line and look under auditions. Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney, Princess, and Norwegian all hire vocal talent for their cruises. Do not use outside websites that require you to pay a fee to register or get job information or referrals; just go directly to the cruise line website.

Studio Singing and Session Work

Most of the higher paying session work is found in the major music cities of Los Angeles, New York, and Nashville, but recording studios abound in every large city. Session work can range from very lucrative to "I'm doing this for the experience", depending on the client and your reputation.

Breaking into upper echelon session singing can be a challenge, since these gigs are largely personal referral. But if you are willing to start at the bottom, you are a very quick study with a great ear for harmonies and blend, you have impeccable pitch, you can sing convincingly in many styles, and you are a team player that is easy to get along with, you can eventually earn a reputation that will get the referrals.

Everyone has a home studio these days, with Pro Tools and other software turning every would-be songwriter into a potential source of income stream for a willing vocalist. You might want to do a few of these sessions for free at first to get used to singing in a studio and to build a demo that you can use to earn better-paying jobs.

Studio sessions can include singing jingles (commercials), BGV’s (background vocals), or singing the lead line of the song. A professional singer hired to do a demo session is expected to be quick at learning the song or background vocals and must have excellent intonation (not singing flat or sharp) because studio time is booked by the hour.

Some session work will require you to be a great sight-reader, and other session work does not. The background vocalists are often expected to come up with great parts and arrangements themselves, and for that reason you often find 3 or more vocalists hiring themselves out as a group, particularly if they have worked together a lot and have a reputation for coming up with great arrangements. In a situation like that, everyone knows what part they will be singing, and knows what to do, with very little rehearsal. Producers like that!

Twenty Feet from Stardom is an excellent (though heartbreaking) movie about the lives of some very well-known BGV singers.

Church Singing

Most churches have paid soloists along with their non-paid choir members. These soloists are known as ringers. If you are a great sight-reader and sing classical music, some of the traditional churches would be a good place to find paid work. For these gigs, there is usually a once per week rehearsal. You are expected to learn all the music, not just the solos, because your job is also to augment the choir.

Churches also hire paid soloists for weddings and funerals. These situations usually involve one rehearsal with a pianist or organist, and you will often be singing music chosen by the bride or family.

If Contemporary Christian music is your passion, you can make a living by doing the church circuit as a soloist, particularly if you have a Contemporary Christian CD that you can sell in the lobby.

Cover Bands

Cover bands play in nightclubs and lounges, "covering" the latest radio hits of a variety of artists. These gigs can range from elegant hotel settings to bars to dance clubs where the band alternates with a DJ. You will usually be doing four or five sets per night: a real challenge for the vocalist!

Some cover bands do a specific genre of music and others do all styles. These gigs are where you become a seasoned pro. You have to learn to pace yourself, so you don’t burn your voice out; as a lead singer you sing many songs per night, you sing background harmonies, and the volume is usually incredibly loud onstage. In addition, you are dealing with all the other personalities in the band as well as the club owner and often intoxicated patrons. Many clubs are now smoke-free, unlike when I was doing this in Los Angeles, but not all are.

The keys to survival in cover bands are great monitors and an understanding sound engineer. If you can’t hear yourself well, you will tend to push your voice. If you are singing five or six nights a week, doing 30 or more songs a night and you don’t have good monitors, you will be extremely hoarse by the end of the week.

It is also important to not allow yourself to get sucked into the party atmosphere. People buy you drinks (and everything else), and you have to be able to resist all those kinds of temptations, remembering that these gigs are a way of making money, but you have higher goals too. Otherwise, you won’t ever do anything else!

If you play an instrument well, consider putting together a single, or teaming up with another singer/instrumentalist to be a duo. Single and duo acts perform at many restaurants and bars, and the volume levels are much more moderate. These gigs can often be booked without an agent by simply putting together a demo and contacting the manager directly.

Theme Park Gigs

Disneyland, Disneyworld, Six Flags and other theme parks all hire bands as well as soloists to be part of their entertainment team. The shows are usually choreographed. The environment is much more healthy than the nightclub scene. Go to each theme park's website and search under auditions.

Original Music Gigs

If your goal is to be a recording artist, spending some time in the cover band world can broaden your style skills and improve stagecraft. However, if your goal is to be a recording artist, you will also need to focus on building your original music career.

Every city has open mic nights where songwriters can play their original material in front of an audience to see how well the songs go over. Many cities have venues that are dedicated to promoting original music and songwriters, such as Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta, where I currently reside. At Eddie's the policy is that anyone can play a song (as long as you get there really early to sign up) on a Monday night. If you are really good and the crowd likes you, you may be asked back to do a set on another night, or even a whole evening if you have a following and can fill the room.

Original gigs usually don’t pay a lot, but artists can sell their CD’s and start to generate a following.

You can put together a small tour of coffeehouses, colleges, original clubs, and restaurants where you can play your original music. Call each venue to find out if an agent books the room or if you could speak with management directly. Then submit your electronic press kit or hardcopy kit.

Get a copy of The Indie Bible at www.indiebible.com. It contains contact info for press, radio, record labels, and other invaluable information for original artists.

Festivals

Music festivals are another way to start to make a name for yourself while making some money selling your merchandise. Music festivals are big in the summer and take place in every country. Websites like musicxray.com can help you get hooked into the festival scene, and they are a source for other kinds of touring as well. Most cities have a department of cultural affairs and special events that accept submissions for consideration for their annual summer and holiday festivals.

Colleges

College tours can be a great way to start getting some grassroots excitement building about your original music. Contact the Office of Campus Activities to find out about playing a concert, festival, party or other college function. The NACA (National Association for Campus Activities) holds annual and regional conferences where you can perform at a showcase to be considered for college gigs. Contact them through their website at www.naca.org.

College gigs are one place you can get paid very well to play your original music while still an unknown artist. College gigs can also be done by cover bands or singers covering other artists music.

House Concerts

House concerts have become very popular in recent years for singer-songwriters whose music sounds good in an acoustic environment. They usually happen in someone’s living room or a community hall and are hosted by someone who loves the artist's music.

(This person usually doesn’t make money on the event). The host invites their friends and neighbors to come over, the guests pay a fee and enjoy an intimate evening of music, and the artist can also sell their CD’s and merchandise.

Websites like www.houseconcerts.com and www.houseconcertconnection.com are ways to get connected. Start local and encourage your fans, friends, and family to host house concerts for you!

WATCH THE WEBINAR:  MAKING A LIVING AS A SINGER- PERFORMING ON CRUISE SHIPS

https://youtu.be/zbpoe4hlKQ0

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