How can you build a support system as a musician?

It's incredibly important to assess your skillsets and strengths before you look to build a team. What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? What do you need to take off your plate? What's keeping you from your goals? These are all important questions to ask yourself. From there you can align that with what your needs actually are. For example, you may have thought you need a social media manager, but if you love posting on socials, but hate creating the content, you may very well need a content creator instead to join your team.

I think it’s important to think about practical needs - in person vs online, what communication tools you like best (video/audio/written), when you are available to meet with these people in your schedule, your budget.

Also, you want to network. Social media is an effective tool, but there is something to be said for in person, face to face interaction. One way to do this is to join social groups in your area. Don't limit yourself to musician's groups alone. Try something else that interests you because you never know who you might meet. Toastmasters helped me to network like crazy, because I met people who came from various backgrounds. It definately helped me professionally.

One of the many overlooked areas when it comes to reaching out to your network is looking to universities, music programs, and fans. These are people that have a vested interest in you already or people very eager to get experience in the music industry. It's incredibly important to NOT take advantage of these people's time and skills but they're willing to take a chance on you in the same way you're willing to take a chance on them to have a mutually beneficial relationship.

Be authentically yourself, and aim for deeper connection over surface level connection. A support system comes from strong relationships, so choosing networking situations where you are likely to spend prolonged time with people and get a chance to get to know them will be more valuable than meeting someone once and exchanging cards.

This can sounds really daunting, because it is! But working with professionals who can coach you in these skills will help you build the skill set of being able to support yourself. Don’t expect to be able to do it straight away - like anything that is a learned skill, it takes time and effort, and guidance from someone trusted.

A key area to consider is how you'll compensate a team when you're very early on in your career. I think exploring different models that work for you is key. For example, a manager typically takes a percentage of all revenue from an artist. Would it make sense to compensate other team members in the same way? Are there only short term projects you need support on rather than on-going? Then project based or time constrained contracts could make sense. Also, funding exists to help musicians. Check what your local arts councils, and non-profits are doing to help. There's no one sized fits all solution to this, so be creative.