Jennifer Truesdale has made many achievements over the course of her 20 year singing career. Aside from the standard club gigs, Truesdale has composed songs for film and television, performed at resorts, colleges, convention centers, and owns a voice training business. For her latest venture, Truesdale has written a book called Get Paid To Sing, a manual of sorts for singers who are unaware of the possible gigs and jobs that are available to them. Based on the feedback she’s received so far, Get Paid To Sing is turning out to be quite a helpful guidebook.
“The book really came about as an extension of my work as a vocal coach,” Truesdale said. “I work with a lot of semi-professional and professional singers of all ages and in the course of their vocal coaching sessions, inevitably the questions would come up.”
The questions went something like: “How can I make more money with my singing?” Or, “How can I get my music career off the ground?”
As a result, Truesdale started coaching these singers on career development, using her own experience as a professional, working singer as well as her 10 years at Rounder Records, working in marketing and promotion.
“As I worked with them, I also tried to find them helpful resources, books that would help guide them,” the singer-vocal coach said. “As I looked, I realized that there really weren’t any high quality resources out there that would help these singers figure out how to simply make more money with their music, right here, right now.”
“There are tons of books about the music industry and increasingly there are resources to help guide the DIY Indie musician who’s looking to expand and grow their careers,” she continued, “but what these folks needed and wanted was a practical guidebook that showed them how to make a living as a singer, no matter where they live. I couldn’t find it, so I wrote it.”
Truesdale has spoken on a number of panels at Berklee College of Music and currently offers a workshop through her private coaching studio. “This workshop will soon be offered as an online course as well, which I’m very excited about,” she exclaimed.
Truesdale’s publisher is currently talking with all of the major music schools about incorporating Get Paid To Sing in their programs and in their bookstores. Aside from being on college bookstore shelves across the country, Truesdale’s tome will be highly visible in other places.
“We’re getting the word out much the way I would for a CD release,” the singer-author revealed, “directly to singers through gigs, workshops, and via my website, social media, and other online tools, as well as through the more traditional book and music outlets, both online and brick and mortar stores.”
Truesdale has received great responses from singers all over the world, including the UK, Argentina and Japan, and, of course, the United States. I’ve also contributed to a huge project for singers that will be coming out of the UK this summer, which will help to get the word out, and in the fall I’ll be launching an online program for singers.” Readers might want to stay tuned for more news on that.
When asked how long it took her to accumulate the amount of knowledge that is in her book, Truesdale answered: “Hah! If I told you that then everyone would know how old I am,” laughing. “Seriously though, the information in this book was learned over the course of a 20 plus year career. Much of it was learned through a lot of trial and error, failures and successes. I’ve worked in so many different areas of the music industry and have done all kinds of gigs, club gigs, theater gigs, corporate gigs, wedding gigs, cover band gigs, original band gigs, studio gigs. I’ve written songs for film and TV. I’ve worked in music marketing, and I’ve loaded and unloaded a lot of gear. Through it all, though, I’ve watched and listened and learned and am so happy to be able to share what I’ve learned with singers of all ages and stages in their careers.”
Some very talented people get stuck trying to figure out how to get work while others know of cruise ship gigs, college activities gigs, studio work, and other avenues toward a paycheck. It’s all in the knowing, and that is where Truesdale’s Get Paid To Sing comes in handy.
“Really,” she began, “I think that a lot of singers just don’t know that these types of gigs even exist, and if they do, they have no idea how to go about getting them. Again, there are so few resources out there for singers who are interested in this kind of work that I think they’re just not sure where to turn.”
Truesdale, like everyone else in the industry, doesn’t quite understand why some singers and musicians make the connection between music and marketing while others seem to wait around for the gig fairies to get them work.
“Being a professional, working singer, or any other type of artist for that matter, requires a real entrepreneurial spirit. It’s about much more than being a great singer-musician. It’s about learning how to turn this passion, talent, and skill into a viable profession. It’s about creating work, not just finding it. Unfortunately, I find that this entrepreneurial approach generally isn’t taught in music schools or by very many music teachers. Many music schools teach Music Industry or Music Business classes, but in my opinion, it’s not enough. Learning about the music industry is really important, but it’s not the same thing as learning how to be an entrepreneur.”
Readers of Truesdale’s tome keep coming back to her feeling informed and inspired once they have learned more from her book
“One comment I keep hearing from singers is how inspired they feel after reading it,” the author exclaimed. “Look, there’s no reason that a “how to” book needs to be dry or read like an instructional manual. My goal with this book was to inform and inspire my readers to reach for their dreams. The feedback has been really fantastic. Singers have written to tell me how much they’ve enjoyed the book, how helpful they’ve found it and how much fun it was to read.”
Truesdale’s book is targeted at singers with all levels of experience, beginners to veterans. She has found throughout her career in music that even people who have been at it for a while still don’t know a lot about where to market themselves as vocalists.
“I think that singers who have been in the business for a while can benefit as much, if not more, from this book than singers who are new to it. Often, experienced singers find themselves stuck in a rut, or pushing so hard in one direction that they completely forget about some of the other possibilities. Because they already have so many tools and skills developed, they can act upon the points in the book relatively quickly. They sometimes just need reminders or a fresh perspective.”
Get Paid To See is not a teaching book. The book assumes that Truesdale’s reader have got talent and can sing well. In the book, she emphasizes the importance of having a vocal coach, not just someone who can help the singer to become a better singer but also “someone who can act as mentor and give the singer honest feedback about what he or she is really ready for.”
Truesdale grew up in the Boston area and loves it there. During her time at Berklee she got a lot out of her music education and not just about music but about the importance of having a community.
“I know so many musicians, many of whom are fellow Berklee alums, and it’s this network that has opened so many doors for me,” she explained. “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of building a strong musical community.” Truesdale, In fact, has for several years served as an alumni liaison, helping to create a strong community of Boston area alumni.
Truesdale remains a busy working musician with many coals in many fires.
She’s the Director of Chick Singer Night Boston, a performance series for women currently heading into their 10th year with several events planned. Truesdale is also working on a new CD, scheduled for Fall release. She gigs with GB bands, her own band, and she continually writes and records songs for film and television.
“All of the work that I do is a result of applying my methods, or more to the point, the methods in my book are a direct result of my experience with what works,” she said.
Truesdale gave a clear example of a gig she landed by employing the kind of knowledge she shares in her book.
“In Chapter two, I talk a lot about the importance of building and cultivating a strong network of musicians and others in the music industry,” she began. “I really can’t emphasize this enough. At this point in my career, I would say that most, if not nearly all of the gigs that I get, come about as a direct result of my musical network. People call me for gigs because they either know me or because someone they know referred me. For example, I got a call last week from someone I know very well who needs a singer for a great gig in a few months. Done deal. A few months ago, I got a call from a booking agent that I worked with years ago who needed someone to put together an outdoor show at a high end beach resort. Great gig, done deal. So developing your network is huge. Now that said, this also includes the fact that I’ve created a very solid reputation for myself. People not only know me, but they know that I’m reliable, easy to work with, and that I will nail the gig. So many of the tips I give in Chapter three regarding what to do so that you’re hired again are also very key to this.”
Truesdale also used to work in marketing and promotion at a record label, Rounder Records in Cambridge. That work experience also informs her book Get Paid To Sing.
“I worked for Rounder Records for about 10 years,” she said. “During that time, I did lots of different things. I answered phones, worked in A&R, marketing, promotion and advertising. I learned so much, I could probably write another book. But what I specifically learned from that period of my life and career that contributed to this book, as well as my music career coaching program, is what it takes to market and promote an artist. While the industry has changed a lot since my days at Rounder, and the outlets used to market and promote an artist have changed radically, the principles are really the same.
Truesdale also mentions in her book that she writes for television. Producing, performing, and recording songs for soap operas and other television shows is another vehicle singers must learn about when seeking jobs.
“Multiple streams of income are crucial for singers and musicians who are building their careers,” the singer-author said. “Let’s face it, until you reach a certain level, club gigs really don’t pay much, so other types of gigs, including songwriting and production for TV and film, are really essential. When I got into this area of the industry, it was still relatively new for indie artists, but now sync licensing is a huge source of revenue for independent bands and singer-songwriters. Fortunately, because this area of the industry has grown so much, there are now a lot of resources to guide new artists.”
Truesdale concluded the interview by saying her book is not a magic wand and that singers will still have to work hard and apply themselves.
“I think that the main thing I’d like to add is that a successful career is not a one size fits all kind of thing,” she said. “There are many, many ways to create a successful, fulfilling career, and these are as varied and unique as the artists themselves. It just takes some imagination and a whole lot of elbow grease to get it done. I would never lead anyone to believe that it doesn’t take hard work and that it doesn’t come with it’s share of frustrations. But it can also be really, really fun. And when music and singing are your passions, is there really any other option?”