North Texas has given rise to renowned musicians like Erykah Badu, Norah Jones and St. Vincent.
But how do emerging musicians launch careers in North Texas today? That’s top of mind for Matt Winn, a Dallas native and founder of Independent Recording Arts Society.
Winn often helps young emerging artists in North Texas navigate the music industry. He also advised at a funding fair for artists that Arts Access hosted in April.
Here are Winn’s tips on how young, local musicians can grow their careers:
1. Don’t just stay in the studio
Winn said musicians often want to skip connecting with the community and jump straight to working in the music industry. But, he said, it’s essential that musicians are able to put themselves out there and build support where they’re at.
“I think [musicians] have to recognize that the people that work in the industry are from a community, and a lot of times are from your own community,” he said.
That’s why he said emerging artists should focus on building connections.
2. Tap into the right audiences
Once you’ve made music you’re passionate about, Winn said it’s time to find the right audiences for it. For example, one of his artists is an alumnus of the University of North Texas and was about to put out a project.
Winn suggested the musician tap into UNT college students given how the album’s themes might resonate with the group.
“Usually it’s just evaluating where you’ve already existed and trying to reconnect with people that already support you or believe in you,” he said. “It’s getting them to first become the evangelists for getting everybody else to galvanize around your art and creativity.”
3. Understand how your music resonates with listeners
Providing value to listeners means artists have to “kill the ego a bit,” according to Winn. He said too often artists focus on what they’re trying to say as an artist versus learning how their music makes people feel and think.
“It’s about you doing the work to understand what you created and how that can resonate with others,” he said.
That’s why he encourages artists to reflect. One way is to use live performances and tours as a way to gain information about how people are reacting to certain songs.
4. Don’t hide your talent behind big production
Winn said it’s easy these days for artists to hide behind highly-produced content like recordings and music videos.
But, it’s important that artists can show who they are, whether that’s singing or rapping without all the bells and whistles.
“You don’t need the big, fancy production, especially early on, in order to get recognized and to go wherever you want to go,” he said.
Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.
This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, The University of Texas at Dallas, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access’ journalism.
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