The Best Advice from Off The Record 2020
words by Ellie McLaren
Off The Record’s virtual weekend was jam-packed with brilliant panels and workshops, each containing a number of fantastic guest speakers offering their expertise on a range of different topics, relating to various aspects of the music industry. Additionally, 1-2-1 meetings and the chance to meet guest speakers were featured throughout the two days. Participants were also encouraged to submit their own music and receive feedback from the speakers – an incredible part of the weekend for many. The programme featured opportunities to learn about releasing music, getting media coverage, publishing, going freelance, branding, DJing, streaming, collaborating remotely, music photography, health and wellbeing, being played on BBC Introducing and making the most of livestreams. The weekend certainly provided participants with incredible advice, top tips and words of wisdom from experts in the field.
When listening to all of the different speakers throughout both days, I found that there were a few patterns with pieces of advice that were given. “You need to jump into deep water to learn” was an excellent piece of advice which applied to most discussions, given by Maciej Kawka during the Club Nights & Djing session. This was echoed by Phoebe Inglis-Holmes, “Put yourself out there, face that fear of being rejected.”, and Shereen Cutkelvin, “It’s easier to say – don’t be scared, just do it. You need to get the ball rolling, things will start coming in.”, both speaking on the Getting Played on BBC introducing panel.
A particular highlight for myself was the panel on health and wellbeing with Philippa Whelbe, Feena McKinnell and Adam Hunter. They discussed the common health problems, both physical and mental, which people in the music industry may experience, before talking about the steps to take to improve these. All three speakers mentioned the importance of routine and making healthy lifestyle choices, particularly during the current pandemic –
Adam (HYYTS) – “Lifestyle choices can affect your longstanding health. Listening to yourself is a hard thing to do.”
Philippa (Performing Arts Medicine Specialist) – “Sleep the same number of hours every night. Regular exercise, good food, having something which you do routinely for yourself, is key. Turning off your social media and taking a break.”
Feena (EHFM/Miss World) – “The up always comes with a down. Know your boundaries and know yourself. Have that awareness to make healthy choices for yourself.”
This particular session also emphasised the importance of taking breaks and time out, something which is often forgotten about when working in the music industry.
A lot of speakers emphasised the importance of social media, especially in this day and age. Robert Blair from Mill Magazine, speaking during the Getting Media Coverage panel, mentioned, “Having a strong social media presence allows people to enter the social media realm that you’ve created. Your presence can be whatever you want, as long as it’s defined.” This was mentioned by numerous other speakers across the weekend, Becca McLeish from Cousin who was also speaking in the same panel, said “Everyone’s scrolling Instagram, scrolling Twitter. For me, it’s more important to have a social media presence than having a website. For the younger generation, social media is more important.”
Speakers in the publishing and digitally releasing music sessions, gave more specific advice relating to the technical aspects of these topics. However, even in these more complex panels/workshops, the main points which were touched upon were about organisation, aiming to be unique, being sure of what you are doing musically and engaging with your audience when streaming and performing live. Toni Malyn from EmuBands encouraged people to be organised around playlists, “Algorithmic playlists don’t work unless your music is with Spotify 5 business days before the release date.”, and the organisation certainly applies to submitting your music to all streaming services, not just Spotify. This was just one of the great pieces of advice that he gave in his detailed workshops.
Reflecting over the two days, there is almost too much to write about from over the course of Off The Record’s virtual weekend. Every piece of knowledge from every speaker is valuable, and there were certainly tips and tricks which will inspire and boost myself and the rest of the participants. I would certainly recommend Off The Record events to anyone looking to start a career in the music industry, it certainly provides a wealth of encouraging, uplifting and invaluable knowledge. To conclude, a few ‘golden nuggets’ of advice which I took from the weekend of insightful panels, workshops and meetings, included:
“Amplify what makes you different” – Robert Blair, Mill Magazine (Getting Media Coverage)
“Learn as much as you can and get yourself out there. Keep working, don’t focus on the industry co-signs, focus on the work.”– Shauni Caballero, The Go 2 Agency (What is Music Publishing and How Can it Help You Survive? panel)
“You can’t necessarily finish your brand image, it’s always a work in progress. It can look finished, but if it’s not growing with you then it’s not accurate or authentic.” – Kathryn Dryburgh, Queens of Noise (How To Build Your Brand Online panel)
“As soon as you start investing more into something you enjoy, the more you’re going to put into it and the more you’re going to get out of it.” – Callum Johnston, Association of Independent Music (AIM) (How To Build Your Brand Online panel)
“Get good people around you, there’s always going to be stuff that goes wrong. Don’t stress yourself too much, relax and make sure you enjoy it.” – Chris Stillie, The Dojo Aberdeen (Club Nights & DJing: How To Get Started panel)
“Trying to stand out is difficult. BE really up front about what you want to do.” – Toni Malyn, EmuBands (Digitally Releasing workshop)
“Photographers job is to try and encapsulate artists’ music through a photograph. Always be overprepared rather than underprepared.” – Isah Shah, Isah Shah Photography (Everything You Need To Know About Photography panel)
“There is no magic formula, it’s about you managing the project and presenting a strong case. There will always be rejection, but it’s not personal and it’s not a judgement of your work.” – Jamie Houston, Creative Scotland (Free money? How to get funding for your work panel)
“Be yourself and be kind to everyone you meet.” – Rose Manson, Clyde Build Radio (Club Nights & DJing: How To Get Started panel)