Agents Judge Musicians in 30 Seconds — Here's What They're Actually Looking For — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00There's one thing agents look at before anything  else, and most musicians completely miss it. In
2. 0:05this video, I'm going to show you exactly why most  applications fail, and it has nothing to do with
3. 0:10talent. The four years of experience that I've  had on cruise ships as a piano bar entertainer,
4. 0:16as well as the multiple direct conversations I've  had with agencies, really helped me understand
5. 0:21why so many musicians never hear back from cruise  lines, and what truly makes the difference between
6. 0:27musicians who get hired and those who don't.  And so the idea is that by the end of the video,
7. 0:31you know exactly what is the thing you need to  fix before sending your applications because
8. 0:35the truth is that agents, they spend 30 seconds  deciding whether they will send you to cruise
9. 0:41lines or not. And most musicians spend zero  time on that part. And what I've seen is that
10. 0:46a lot of musicians think they're not getting hired  because they're not good enough. But it actually
11. 0:51has nothing to deal with that a lot of the time.  And that belief can really keep them stuck. So,
12. 0:56you might be wondering, what do agents actually  look at first? So, the first thing they really
13. 1:00look at is your promo video. They'll literally  just click on it, look at the first 3 seconds,
14. 1:05then scroll to maybe the first minute, then  to the fifth minute or however long it is,
15. 1:10and make a decision based on this promo video.  That's the first main thing they're going to look
16. 1:15at. And the funny thing is that they don't  look at your technique so much at how good
17. 1:19you are as a musician, but it's more about how  diversified you are. So, can you play different
18. 1:25genres? Can you create different atmospheres? And  is your repertoire plus the way you play and sing
19. 1:32diversified enough so that it won't always sound  the same when you play on cruise ships? And the
20. 1:37second thing they really look at is is there  any audience interaction? Is this musician,
21. 1:42this performer able to interact with the crowd to  build an atmosphere where people feel like they're
22. 1:48connecting to you? Or is this musician just  performing in their corner and waiting for people
23. 1:54to clap at them? And so, how do you actually show  in a video that you can interact with an audience?
24. 1:59Well, the first thing is to really make sure that  there is an audience in the video, that you're not
25. 2:04just like talking to the camera, performing to the  camera just like I am right now. You really want
26. 2:09to be in an environment where there is already an  audience. You know what? It doesn't matter so much
27. 2:14if the crowd, if the people who are in the video  are interacting with you. If they are, great.
28. 2:19Like that's the best scenario. But what really  matters is that you are talking to them. So my
29. 2:24first ever show reel, if you go back on my YouTube  channel and check about it if you want, you will
30. 2:29be able to see that I am talking to people, but we  can't even see the people. So that's not the best
31. 2:34scenario, but it still shows that I'm able to say,  "Hey, come on, sing along." I'm literally talking
32. 2:39to the audience and I have this ability and I'm  showing this in the first few seconds in my promo
33. 2:46video and so the agents will be able to see that  part. And so what's really funny is that I have
34. 2:50three show reels. The first one from 2021 before  I applied, the second one was halfway through
35. 2:56my cruise ship journey and the last one was in  2023 towards the end of my cruise ship journey.
36. 3:02And the first one I was just trying to interact  with the audience. The second one I was playing
37. 3:07in beautiful environments on the ship. It was a  very very professional show reel. But the third
38. 3:12one I was really hosting a party. I had people who  were on fire around the piano. And the third show
39. 3:18reel got me so many more offers than the other two  because I was literally demonstrating that I was
40. 3:24able to create a party. And who wouldn't like to  hire a musician who can not only play really well,
41. 3:30who can not only play lots of different genres  and take requests, but also host a party and
42. 3:35get people on fire so that they're going to have  the best time of their lives on their cruise. So,
43. 3:40you might be wondering what else apart from  the video might kill your application. Well,
44. 3:45that's a really good question. and a repertoire  list that's too narrow. Like for example,
45. 3:50if it's just 40 or 50 songs, you're not even going  to get an answer because if you have to play a
46. 3:56couple of hours every single day on cruise ships,  you're going to run out of songs pretty quickly
47. 4:00and agents do know that. So, always make sure that  your song list is big enough and that it's sorted
48. 4:05by genres or eras. Another thing that really kills  your application is not being professional enough
49. 4:10when you reach out to agents. An agent once told  me, "If a musician is not even able to write a
50. 4:16professional email to make it look like they  really care and to send me their material in
51. 4:23the proper way and to really look professional as  they're going through the process, how are they
52. 4:28ever going to be professional on a cruise ship  where they have to follow rules and these kind
53. 4:32of things? And so if you send your application to  an agency and that it just looks like copy paste
54. 4:38from other agencies that you might have sent this  to and it doesn't look polished and professional,
55. 4:44then the agent is just going to think, "Hey, this  person is not going to be reliable and so they're
56. 4:48not going to waste time with you. If you want  to get this right from the start to understand
57. 4:52exactly how to be professional, how to smash your  promo reel and make sure it will get watched. How
58. 4:58to build a repertoire that is right from the  start and not learn 100 songs before realizing
59. 5:04these were not the right songs you needed to  learn. I've created a course specifically for
60. 5:08you which is called How to Become a Cruise Ship  Musician. It puts it all together. How to apply,
61. 5:13which agencies to apply. I'm even giving you my  full song library so you don't have to format all
62. 5:18the songs when you're learning the 150 songs. And  I'm giving you all the insider knowledge that's
63. 5:25available nowhere on the internet. And that might  save you months and maybe even years. And so if
64. 5:30you are interested, the link is below. There is a  special launch prize for the first 20 people who
65. 5:36enroll. So go and have a look and if it suits you,  I'd be really happy to have you in the course. But
66. 5:43first, we need to talk about what you actually  need to fix. Like what do you actually need to
67. 5:47do right now so that you fix the one thing before  sending your application to agencies. If you had
68. 5:54to put all your energy in one thing, in fixing one  thing about your application, I would put all this
69. 6:00energy in your show reel. making sure that the  first 3 seconds are compelling, they're engaging,
70. 6:07they're showing the right side of you, that the  video is no longer than 5 minutes, that it shows
71. 6:12different styles from what you're playing, that it  shows that you are playing in a live environment,
72. 6:17that it shows that you know how to dress well,  and that you are a performer. I would really,
73. 6:22really focus on this one thing if I was you,  because this is the video that will get you
74. 6:28a job or that will get you rejected and ignored.  And the truth is, if you smash this, if you get a
75. 6:34good video, then you can get your first contract.  And if you get your first one, it's going to be
76. 6:37much easier to get a second one or to even get  professional opportunities on land in beautiful
77. 6:43venues in high-paying environments. And so after  having watched this video, you probably understand
78. 6:48that the number one reason why musicians don't  succeed in this world is not so much about talent,
79. 6:54but it's more about the fact that they don't  understand so much how it works, how they need
80. 6:58to show up, and how to show the right side of  their personality. If you want help fixing that,
81. 7:03I would really recommend you check out the course  How to Become a Cruise Ship Musician. Module three
82. 7:09specifically is about creating your show reel  in the best way possible. And even if you are
83. 7:14a cruise ship musician right now, the information  that is in there is sourced from agencies. And so
84. 7:19it will allow you to create the best possible  show reel so that you can get the best possible
85. 7:25contracts and not waste your time. Now, if you  enjoyed this video, I would really recommend that
86. 7:29you subscribe down below because I post videos at  least once a week and that the content I create
87. 7:35should be helping you making this career happen  for you. And now I'm curious to hear if you have
88. 7:40ever tried applying to agencies and what happened  if you did. Let me know in the comments. I'll
89. 7:47definitely read your answer and reply to you.  Thank you so much and I'll see you next time