Beyond Talent: Creating a Successful Career in Music

by Angela Myles Beeching

This second edition of Beyond Talent provides user-friendly real-life advice, examples, and perspectives on how to further a career in music. Understanding the unique talents and training of musicians, veteran music career counselor Angela Myles Beeching presents a wealth of creative solutions for career advancement in the highly competitive music industry. Step-by-step instructions detail how to design promotional materials, book performances, network and access resources and assistance, jump start a stalled career, and expand your employment opportunities while remaining true to your music. Beeching untangles artist management and the recording industry, explains how to find and create performance opportunities, and provides guidance on grant writing and fundraising, day jobs, freelancing, and how to manage money, time, and stress. The companion website puts numerous up-to-date and useful internet resources at your fingertips. This essential handbook goes beyond the usual "how-to," helping musicians tackle the core questions about career goals, and create a meaningful life as a professional musician. Beyond Talent is the ideal companion for students and professionals, emerging musicians and mid-career artists.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Self Help

394 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 16, 2004

Reviews

[Kyla Squires · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes. This was very good. It's written with the classical musician in mind, but most of the advice is applicable to any genre. I particularly appreciated the focus on entrepreneurship, the awareness that every reader will have different values and aspirations, and how frequently she mentions the things classical musicians can learn from singer-songwriters.

The chapters on recording and promoting a CD, designing your promo-materials and networking were particularly good. There is a brief chapter on stage-presence that mostly just reminds you to think about this, and then there are a number of chapters about grants, fundraising, and music admin/education jobs.

This was published in 2005, but I was surprised by how applicable much of the online promo advice remains, as well as by how many of the online resources she gives are still active.

Side-note: Reading about music school and classical norms makes me very thankful that I did not pursue a career as a classical guitarist, but it has made me want to release a classical guitar album and start the strangest concert series.

[Dan Graser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is probably my 5th full read-through of this fantastic work from Angela Myles Beeching simply because I found it to be of enormous value as an undergraduate and have had it on my own studio required reading list for 6 years now. Having had the chance to work in-depth with Angela for a week in NYC with my quartet I can say that she truly practices what she preaches and continues to refine and adapt her work with the changing landscape of music performance and promotion. If you are considering a career in music performance I highly encourage this book as a starting place. Just as a quick personal anecdote, I read about the idea of being managed as a musician in this book for the first time in 2005 (upon recommendation from my teacher Tim McAllister) and various competitions that provided management as a prize. It was 8 years later that I decided to pursue the only one of these that is open to saxophone groups, Concert Artists Guild, and as a result of this have formed a (very multi-faceted) career because this idea was planted in the back of my mind long ago by Angela Beeching. Read. Enjoy. Learn. Repeat.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of good, practical advice about how to make a living doing music. This edition is dated (there's a long section on how to make and market CDs that is no longer relevant, as well as how to create a website, for examples), but there are other things that are perennial, such as how to budget time and money, and effective ways of networking. A more recent version (2020) is out there -- I hope that the author continues to publish updates to this book, and I hope that aspiring musicians make good use of them.

[Jason Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epically useful book!

Angela knocks it out of the park with this outstanding contribution to the careers of aspiring musicians. She covers every aspect of the profession, from resume building and networking to mapping out career goals and practicing effectively. Highly recommended!

[Natalie S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains wonderful and accessible resources that are incredible useful and I would love to be able recommend to others. This book would have been 5 stars for me if the section on women's wardrobe was not so demeaning.

The section on attire features some practical advice, then derails in the outdated "Just for women" section– where women with "jiggly upper arms" are told to hide their arms, and are also told to "make sure your audience can concentrate on your music-making and not on the knees, legs, or thighs you may be flashing—or the bodice out of which you may be falling!"
I appreciate the idea that the music should be at the center of importance in performance, but the specific mentioning of only larger women needing to hide their arms and negative talk of women "flashing" body parts is incredibly derogatory.

There are so many topics in this realm that as a budding musician I would have loved to be given advice about, including the following just at the top of my head that were not mentioned in this book:
– Advice for different seasons of the year! This can include temperature of the venue, what fabrics are breathable and which ones will keep you warmer. Seasonal colors if we are getting fancy!
– A mention of ensemble concert black vs. concerto soloist attire vs. chamber attire and etc.
– And the one I was shocked to not see, BREAKING IN SHOES. It is so important to rehearse in your shoes especially if they are new, specifically if they are heels or flats.

Literally every other part of this book was really informative and encouraging, but in my opinion this section could have focused a lot less on women's bodies and more about being prepared with clothing, being comfortable, and being suited to the setting and venue.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to have....best to get it before you're done with musical studies at the university! I just got this last year (2010) and wish I had something like this long ago. This is more like a manual as to how to network, putting together promotional materials, getting gigs, etc. This has real practical advice, plus some "real life" examples of people that Beeching has worked with in the past. This is a book to come back to again and again.

[Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect starter for anyone looking to become a freelance musician of any kind. As a musician myself on the brink of finishing college, I felt really nervous about how I was going to go about my career. I had absolutely no idea how I could get myself known and heard as a musician. This book gave me all the basics I need and now I feel more comfortable as a freelance musician.

[sab]

I'm ashamed I haven't read this all the way through yet; Besides the fact that Angela has always been so helpful and supportive of me and my work, she actually sites me and my website in it. Thanks again to Angela!

[Joe]

This is my second reading of the book. I consider this to be a "must read" for any working musician, whether they are a seasoned professional or an an amateur ready to step up to the next level!