MUSICIANS DIRECTORY: Promoting and Connecting Musicians!
Background…
You may be asking: “Why are we here?”
Excellent question! The answer is both general and specific. The general answer is that, unless we musicians are represented by agencies, there is no one to promote us. Even those of us who have agents are likely to be promoted only to entities with whom the agency has strong relationships. The MUSICIANS DIRECTORY will seek to promote musicians where they live. That is, member musicians will be promoted to hiring entities in and around their own communities. But, since the Directory will be accessible nationwide, anyone can search and find member musicians. So, promotion will not be restricted to any geographical area, because the site will be searchable by anyone in the United States.
The specific answer to why we are here has to do with connection. Two weeks ago, I was in a very familiar situation. For those of you who don’t know me, I am a classical singer. After 18 months’ effort in trying to secure an audition with a high-profile organization here in Columbus, I finally was granted an appointment with the maestro. I went through the usual back-and-forth email communications, setting up the logistics of the appointment with the Production Manager. All was fine — until a change occurred. Less than 24 hours before my audition, I was notified that I needed to bring my own pianist. My audition was set for a Saturday. So, on a Friday night, I was thrust into a situation of trying to find a collaborative pianist who was not only available, but could sightread my repertoire.
I began to panic, and to think this audition was not going to happen for me, after all. So — you know the drill. Many of us know the drill, as we have been down this road more times than we care to count. I began calling the people I knew; I hopped onto Facebook; and I emailed others whose phone numbers I didn’t have. When I didn’t have phone numbers of pianists, I contacted other people for their numbers. I contacted people who were three times removed from pianists. And this was Friday night! So, many people were not home, not answering their phones, or already three sheets to the wind for the weekend, and certainly didn’t care how desperate I was to find a pianist! Some people didn’t call me back. Some suggested pianists who would not be able to handle my repertoire. And other people suggested pianists who had already responded and turned me down.
Social media is wonderful. I mean that. Most of the time, it is a real asset. But it is a poor tool for an emergency situation like the ones we sometimes face. If, two weeks ago, the Musicians Directory had been up and running, with lots of pianists populating the membership, I would have had a much easier, less frenetic, time in getting my needs met.
If I had been able to simply go online to this website, I would have found a number of pianists in the area, their contact information, and some information about their areas of expertise. And if they posted calendar information, I might even have been able to tell whether they were available that weekend, before contacting them.
To cut to the ending, I did find a pianist. But it required considerable time and energy from me, which could have been used for focusing on my music and polishing a thing or two about my performance.
After floating the idea of a Musicians Directory to other colleagues for more than a year now, I have received much encouragement to pursue the project, affirming that such a thing is sorely needed. So, here it is! I have designed it to be affordable, and useful, with a constant eye toward how I would use it myself, as a member musician. As we move forward, I will be able to add more features, according to your ideas and feedback.
Marketing Approach…
I will be working to invite people to join by music communities. In other words, if you join as a violinist, I will approach others with whom you would likely work (violists, cellists, flute players, pianists, etc.) to help fill out the database, so that it is useful to members who would likely work together. I could use your help in this way. So, if you are becoming a member, PLEASE approach your closest colleagues to join, as well. Similarly, if you are a singer who purchases a membership, then please approach the other musicians with whom you would likely work, to also join.
Discount Codes…
Discount codes are available March 1 through March 31, 2018. They are for the Annually Paid BASIC and Annually Paid FULL membership packages, for the first year of membership. Upon the anniversary date, the price will revert back to the regular rate.
Use Discount Code MARCHBASIC for the Annual BASIC plan at $45 (regular price is $65).
Use Discount Code MARCHFULL for the Annual FULL plan at $77 (regular price is $97).
What we’d like from YOU…
One thing is very important: Please list only the contact information that allow your colleagues to be successful in reaching you. We want to eliminate the frustration of having to figure out which email address or phone number to use for you when you teach at three universities and two music studios. The Musicians Directory should hold the best contact information for you, and we want you to keep it updated.
Benefits to YOU…
If you have a website, use this site to drive more traffic to it by linking it to your site. We are not interested in competing with your website. We want to enhance it by getting more visitors to it. If you do not have a website, this site can serve as a wonderful, dynamic web presence for you. It is simple to maintain, and very cost-efficient. There is also a social media component to you, which we believe you will find to be fun and easy to use.
Musicians, this is OUR website. I created it for all of us. I hope you will embrace it with me, and make it your own. Come inside, look around, and make yourself at home.
Warmly,
Susan Schwarz, CEO/Managing Director
