Beyond Talent: Creating a Successful Career in Music (3rd Edition)

Pan - Journal of the British Flute Society

This review first appeared in Pan, the journal of the British Flute Society and is reproduced with permission. Join the BFS: membership starts from £20 a year.

This is is the third edition of Angela Myles Beeching’s excellent book about creating a successful career in music. Designed to help musicians identify goals, create a plan to implement them and ultimately to succeed, there is a vast array of invaluable advice and tips which draw on practical experience and encourage the learning of “success habits”.

This is edition is revised and updated from the original 2005 publication, reflecting the changing marketplace we currently find ourselves in.

A broad range of topics is covered, including setting goals, finding opportunities, building contacts, marketing, managing finances, applying for funding and creating a portfolio career. Each chapter includes real world examples and carefully considered tips, from pre-performance checklists to advice on creating press kits, making demo recordings and organising tours. The book is supported by a workbook, which can be downloaded from the author’s website.

Designed for musicians embarking on their careers, the tone of the book is positive, encouraging and also realistic—Beeching makes it clear that successful careers require a good deal of hard work, business skills and intelligent decision-making, and that being a highly capable instrumentalist is not enough on its own. However, the advice presented here is likely to help to fill in gaps in practical business knowledge, and empower and steer players into the career path they are aiming to follow. For musicians with already established careers, this book will also be useful in terms of keeping up to date with recent developments or providing suggestions of new avenues to follow.

This is an essential item for any early-career musician’s library—highly recommended.

Carla Rees

From the Publisher

Widely considered a classic, Beyond Talent is the "go to" guide for musicians. This newly revised and updated 3rd edition cracks the code of how to build a creatively fulfilling career in music. With key insights into the mindset issues that often plague musicians, veteran career coach Angela Myles Beeching provides a wealth of strategies, examples, and real-world solutions. Step-by-step instructions detail how to design promotional materials, book performances, fund your projects, and cultivate a community of support so you can manage your career like a pro-without losing your soul. And this edition goes further: it unpacks how to deal head on with the typical "inner" challenges musicians face. From getting past perfectionism and fear, to sustaining motivation, finding your artistic voice, managing projects, time, and money, and setting achievable goals. With her straight-shooting, energizing approach, Beeching presents a wealth of practical solutions to help musicians take charge of their careers and get past the obstacles that have held them back. Whether you're an emerging artist or a mid-career professional, this edition offers the inspiration to transform your music career journey so you can get more of your best work out into the world and finally become the artist you are meant to be. Includes a free downloadable companion workbook.

Contents

• Chapter 1 Map your future
• Chapter 2 Identify Opportunities
• Chapter 3 Get It Done
• Chapter 4 Connect with Others
• Chapter 5 Convey your authentic self
• Chapter 6 Record Your Best
• Chapter 7 Cultivate Your On-line Community
• Interlude: The Fundamental Questions
• Chapter 8 Book More Performances
• Chapter 9 Tell Your Story
• Chapter 10 Make Meaning
• Chapter 11 Perform At Your Best
• Chapter 12 Turn Pro: be a working musician
• Chapter 13 Manage Your Money to Fuel Your Artistry
• Chapter 14 Fund Your Projects
• Chapter 15 Get It Together: Your Career Portfolio
• Postlude: Your Journey Home

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