By Cari Cole
Superstars know the power of collaborating. Last week I tweeted about celebrity duet performances between artists from widely different genres who seemed to have little in common: Beyonce with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Jewel with Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Taylor Swift with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and again with Rolling Stone’s Mick Jagger. All sharing new audiences. Ryan Adams just did a whole record of Taylor Swift covers. What a great tactic to get media attention and to grow his audience by riding the wave of Swift’s fame. Smart.
Collaborations can make for interesting creative results too, plus lead to valuable long term benefits. And you don’t have to be a well known b(r)and, to benefit exponentially. Example of great collabs would be performing live with other similar artists to grow your fanbase (and have fun, do a duet in each other’s set) or record and unexpected duet or mashup with a Youtube star. Collab videos are a great and easy way of sharing audiences and gaining fans or try guesting in another band’s live set or sitting in with another band for some semi-regular gigs like a musician’s residency (or sharing bookings where you guest in each other’s sets). And don’t forget about the all mighty co-writing as the ultimate collaboration. Getting your name on as many songs with artists who are ahead of you or rising up with you will grow your audience and name in the business. If it worked for Bruno Mars, Jesse J, Sia and legends like Prince and Sheryl Crow, it can work for you.
Some of the Benefits of Collabs include:
- increased visibility to a new fan group
- exposes you to new musical influences and genres that can refresh your sound and help you develop an unique edge
- exposes you to new ways of writing and creating. May uplevel your craft and open doors in the industry
- may open doors to a new venue not previously available to you
- could strengthen your social platforms with cross-promotion between bands
- could build your community of artists, strengthen your experience of you local scene and help you develop a network of musicians you can rely on when you
- need someone to fill in or back you up at another show
- will expand your resources when you need a referral you can count on
Collaborations are some of the best experiences I’ve had in music. The truth is music is better together and WAY more fun! A recent co-write, “Born in the Desert”, with artist Robyn Cage, won Best Alternative Song in the 2015 Utah Music Awards (not too shabby!)
Another co-write (the song “Silver Lining”) penned with Rolling Stone’s Top 10 Country Artists to Watch, Rainey Qualley, ended up in the movie “Mighty Fine” with Andie MacDowell. I had the pleasure of producing the song and got the infamous Chop Horns (Alicia Keys) to pump up the track. Rainey’s rich, velvety alto belts out how “you can’t give what you didn’t get” – a hard won line from both of our independent life experiences making the collab all the sweeter.
You can also collab on your career. No one is better to advise artists, than artists who’ve already been there before you and who can offer resources and referrals to avoid costly mistakes. Or industry pro’s who give a s**t about you and your career ;).
Matter of fact, I believe that music amongst artists should NOT be a competition but a community experience that is shared together. For the past 30 years in NY I’ve been pulling artists together in Master Classes and Circles to help them grow faster, gain the inside wisdom from pitfalls and common mistakes other artists have made, and get the super accountability and support that comes from connecting with other professionals to move them forward in their careers with more confidence and precision.
Matter of fact, I’ve just put together a killer music mastermind circle this November. I’m keeping the bar high with only artists with broadcast quality records (or about to release new projects) so that it keeps the mastermind producing big results. If you’ve got broadcast quality music in the marketplace and are ready to experience the velocity that only comes from working with a group of dedicated handpicked professionals and experts who believe in you, apply here.
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