So, you want to be a singer . . .
Brace yourself. You might be primed with the best pipes and vocal chops. But if the marketing skills you harbor don’t resonate much beyond those glorious money notes you have learned to hone in your college program and studio lessons, chances are your dreams of achieving the vocal success you want might never become a reality.
Astonishingly, this is because although colleges, universities, and conservatory vocal programs might offer the goods on voice training, many don’t arm aspiring singers with the knowledge and how-to’s of marketing themselves and becoming business savvy in order to find a job in what has evolved into an ever-growing, ever-saturated, and ever-competitive industry once degree is in hand.
“There are a variety of reasons why college programs lack in this,” said Dorothy Byrne, a vocalist whose specialty is in business and who teaches masterclasses on marketing for singers. “For colleges and universities, programs are geared toward preparing students for a master’s program. People who go to college to study music are generally interested in a well-rounded liberal arts education. For conservatories, there is a very specific, narrow approach aimed at the specified area the student wants to work in.
“It’s all about the profession from the get-go. But over and over again, what we’re seeing is each [institution] not providing marketing and business as part of its regular curriculum. It’s one thing to know how to sing well. It’s another completely different thing to know how to market yourself.”
Byrne, a mezzo-soprano who has sung principle roles in top opera houses, joined the ranks of the opera world later in life after getting a master’s degree in business from the University of Chicago. The lack of knowledge singers had about the business side of the industry was evident to her early on. She believes strongly that undergraduate programs should include specialized business and marketing courses as part of the curriculum for voice students.
“I came to realize that very few young artists knew how to promote themselves or find a job once they were out of school because they were never given this knowledge as part of their college studies. They were flying blind,” Byrne said. “You can get the perspective of business only if you know how a business works—where to go, what to do—you need a strategy and to develop a method. But if you don’t know how, it’s hard to connect A, B, C, and D.”
Byrne said the same also can be true of Young Artist Programs, which many young singers flock to during and after college.
“They can be really dicey,” she said. “A lot of times, even they don’t provide enough information about the market’s current needs and wants. The problem is that colleges are producing more and more singers, and the demand in the business is getting lower and lower. So, the importance of knowing how to self-market is even greater.”
Getting the Know-How
So what are aspiring young singers to do if their college programs are not providing the business and marketing resources they need to prepare them for the “real” vocal world?
“Each school handles its curriculum differently and has different requirements for students to meet,” said Angela Beeching, the director of career services at the New England Conservatory of Music, a school internationally recognized as a model career office, providing professional development resources. She also is the author of Beyond Talent, a book aimed at students finding work in the post-college years.
“Unfortunately, certain curriculum requirements and obstacles, such as budgeting, can pose as challenges for schools in providing business and marketing courses tailored toward vocalists, which is a very specialized and unique profession,” she continued.
“Many schools facing this dilemma will offer masterclasses dealing with career topics to students. But if a student’s particular program doesn’t include a course in business or marketing, and since most voice students’ contact is coming directly from people like their voice teacher and other music faculty, it’s great to pick brains and tap into these individuals as resources. It’s also wonderful for students to continue working with a teacher or coach once they have graduated. This will give them someone to continue checking in with to help set goals.”
However, Byrne said it can sometimes be an extra challenge for a student’s studio teacher to provide this.
“Some feel it’s not their job to provide career counseling,” she said. “Other times, they just might not know how to do it themselves. But if teachers are preparing them with the ability to use their art, I believe strongly that students also should be prepared for the environment in which they have to use it. For students, they need to think of themselves as a product they are selling. And they have to know what to do to sell it.”
Byrne suggested that students whose programs lack in a set business and marketing curriculum should take a course in business and marketing as an elective.
Dan Ebbers—assistant professor of voice at University of the Pacific, managing director and instructor at the Pacific Opera Institute, and critically acclaimed tenor—agreed. And while many of the top schools for voice offer career counseling, Ebbers is stumped as to why many colleges fall behind in this area, despite the evident need.
“It’s a crucial part of any curriculum if the school expects its students to succeed,” he said. “The two things we talk about at Pacific are that it’s not good enough to prepare the students in becoming the best musicians possible. We also have to train them to create their own opportunities and find ways in which they can promote themselves and increase their audience.”
Ebbers suggests voice students begin thinking of themselves as an entrepreneur, developing a business model that clearly outlines their goals and describes their objective in meeting those goals, as well as setting development organization charts and a mission statement.
“Once you put the model together, it’s very simple to get a clear concept of what you need to do to achieve what you want to rather than wallowing around with no clear definition,” Ebbers noted. “You have to think of yourself as a business because, really, all vocalists are their own enterprise and are independent contractors.”
Redefining Success
In the midst of focused study, acquiring an abstract idea of success is an all-too-common ailment that singers can suffer. While aiming for the Met isn’t necessarily a terrible thing, it can somewhat skew the definition of a successful and fulfilling life as a singer.
“Most enter the business, and it becomes a combination of a love of music and being star struck,” Byrne said. “Realistically, there isn’t much money in it unless you are a celebrity. What success entails is different for everybody. If people view anything other than classical singing and the Met as beneath them, they probably should get out of this field because the market is saturated with competitive young singers. Most coming out of college might not end up at the Met.
“Others will find success and joy out of wanting to sing for church groups in their hometown. Whatever you believe and define success to be will decide what it means to be successful as a singer to you.”
Beeching described a young male student/singer groomed for a promising career in opera who gave it all up for what he felt to be a more fulfilling career—singing with a church and starting a family.
“When you are dealing with things like career and money, it can be easy for students to lose sight of why they even got into music in the first place—money and career probably wasn’t the first thought,” Beeching said. “It’s important to revisit what made them connect with music and why they are doing what they are doing.
“Sometimes, students who graduate with a degree in classical voice will think of church jobs, musical theatre, and other local, community work as beneath them. The reality is that all careers start locally. There are way more opportunities to work with more musicians. There is emotional support, too.”
And not all music success will come in the form of performing.
“The focus should be how students can incorporate music into their lives and, if they choose, make a career out of it after college,” Ebbers said. “The perspective throughout college changes this a lot. They think, ‘I’ve got to be a performer.’ But there are several ways to successfully integrate singing as a part of their livelihood in a way that they view successful and will find fulfillment.”
Mark Stoddard, a renowned marketing consultant for music schools and opera companies across the globe and author of his self-published book, Marketing Singers: Creating a Perpetual Job Machine, credits the mental idea of success as a pivotal point in a singer’s personal marketing strategy.
“You have to decide what your goal is,” he said. “Whether it’s at La Scala or the Met, many steps must be taken depending upon what your goal is to end up doing. The key is to think, ‘How about if I get paid while I’m getting ready for my opportunity?’ And when the opportunity arrives, and you are ready for it, do it. You have to be honest with yourself and what you want. The honest answer is always the right one.”
Echoing Ebbers, Stoddard recommends that voice students approach singing and their own career aspirations as a business within itself.
“You always need to know where to go and what to do, and keep doing things along the way,” he said. “That way, you are performance ready and can continue moving on to other things as they come your way.”
But, like Beeching, Stoddard also warns of a skewed view of success.
He shared the story of one talented singer he consulted. In her 30s with a family, and knowing what it would take to sing in top opera houses full time, yet still wanting to perform, she found the most joy in singing at retirement centers and gated communities.
“She was able to find and audition for a couple of different communities that paid well,” Stoddard said. “Now, she divides her time between California and Florida singing in these communities. She’s got a strong network of places she entertains, she makes very good income, and she loves it. So, use your talents the way you want to, and do what makes you happy. It’s your life. It’s nobody else’s business but yours.”
