A career as a jazz musician

Professional Jazz Singer Rosie Brown answers your questions on the career of a jazz musician.

1. Where can I get a list of jazz promoters /clubs in the area?

There is a fantastic site http://www.jazzservices.org.uk/ which has a great database of promoters across the UK. You can also look in their magazine Jazz UK which has a comprehensive listing of gigs. There will also be other local gigs which are not listed and you probably need to visit local venues and ask around to find out about these.

2. How can I get funding for recording?

The Arts Council will generally not give funding for recording unless it is to document a specific project/for marketing and is non profit making. You can download forms from their website. You can get funding for new music from the PRS foundation.

3. I am new to the area: how can I meet other jazz musicians?

The obvious answer to this is to "hang out" at gigs and see who you like the sound of. There is also a Yorkshire wide jazz development agency who are collating a database of Yorkshire musicians. Contact their development worker Nigel Slee at Nigel@yorkshirejazz.org

4. How much does a jazz gig pay?

There is no standard rate. Expect to be paid anything from nothing at all to anything up to £200 per musician for a function gig. Strictly speaking you should not be working for less than Musicians' Union rates if you are a member (http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/). It is not in musicians' interests to play for less than MU rates and you should consider what your minimum rate should be for a gig. Going on CIDA's Survival Skills helped me work this one out. We were given a formula for working out your hourly survival income rate and it is surprisingly much higher than you would think. The message is do not undersell yourself.

5. I have no money for marketing and am wondering if it is really necessary?

Marketing and jazz have never been easy bedfellows but it is necessary. At the least you need a contact card. If you do not have money for a website yourself you could at least get an entry for yourself and or your band on the jazz services website. It is free.  Gigs should be an opportunity to build a database. A lot of marketing can be done for almost next to nothing, email is a great way to get people to your gigs but make sure you cover the data protection angle and get permission to use their address. Don't forget to make the most of free listings websites: www.digyorkshire.co.uk, the jazz services site, your local press free listings, the Guardian Guide, local BBC radio What's On listings. I found that just doing half a dozen posters for each gig also helped to raise my visibility and profile.

6. I don't have a record deal but want to put out my own recordings. How can I do this?

You just have to register with MCPS if you are recording other people's material and pay a royalty for the copyright of the tunes you are using. http://www.mcps.co.uk/.

7. Is it worth doing a video/DVD?

Definitely.  Venues increasingly ask for this and it's great to have some live footage on your webpage too if you have one. It needn't be too expensive. Try contacting the South Yorkshire Filmmakers network as they can help you find filmmakers with interest and experience and maybe you can strike a deal with them that will benefit you both.