Working with other musicians is always fun and will give you awesome results most of the time. Undoubtedly, the most important thing in such collaborations is teamwork.
In this age of streaming and social media, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find artists to work with, the difficulty lies in making that collaboration a success. Here are a few things that you should remember for effective musical teamwork:
Work with them, not against them
When you’re working with other musicians, it’s important to understand how each of them works. Working together is also a lot about compromises so choose your battles well. If your teammates don’t agree with you on a decision, try to come up with something better but if you feel too strongly about it that you feel it’s worth fighting for, then do it. It’s important to work towards the collective good end result leaving behind your individual preferences.
Communicate: An Important Factor Working with Other Musicians
Make sure you have all the difficult conversations upfront. It’s better to have them first than to fight over them later. It’s imperative that all artists are on the same page. Set goals and ideas for the collaboration well in advance. Talk about what your partners expect from themselves, what they expect from you, how they want the final piece to look like, etc. You can even write all of this down so you all know what you agreed to in case of a disagreement later on.
Also Read: 5 Best Social Media Platforms Which Every Artist Should Use
Bring more to the table
You have to contribute more than just your immediate musical contribution. Discuss each other’s strengths and weaknesses to divide responsibilities amongst yourselves. Someone can be good at recording or mixing, someone can take care of social media, another can be in charge of BTS videos, etc. Whatever it is, contribute something beyond your talent and dependability.
Every team needs a leader(s)
It’s easier to make suggestions when it’s clear who’s in charge of what and who gets the final word. Each member can lead their area of expertise. This has fewer chances of chaos and misunderstanding.
Be clear about rewards and penalties
Decide beforehand what each person is going to get for contributing to the collaboration. Whether it’s upfront money, a share of the royalties, or just fun and exposure. Will, there be any consequences if anyone fails to deliver or the project doesn’t work out? If there are any contracts involved, read them properly before signing them.
Most importantly, don’t forget to celebrate and enjoy it. Appreciate each other, learn from each other, be thankful and it’ll be nothing but a fun ride together.
Are you an artist? Get paid and get your music discovered by over 4 billion audiences. Deliver your music at DMT now and get it distributed to over 60+ music streaming platforms within 48 hours.