大象传媒

Choosing the right person

Finding a new person to work with can be difficult. There are lots of people around, but finding someone who has a similar outlook and who you can work with is usually a challenge.

If you advertise successfully for a musician or a songwriter, it's a good idea to get to know a bit about the person and ask a few questions before you dive into collaboration.

I really think you should be involved with each other on most parts of the process.

Here are a few ideas:

• Do you want to make the same kind of music? If not, you won't get very far.
• Do you all want the same thing? Talk about your ambition for your songwriting, no matter how silly and far away it might seem. It's no use one of you dreaming of stardom, while for the other it's just something to do on a Wednesday.
• Do you have similar lifestyles? It's no good arranging writing and studio sessions, and people cancelling at the last minute due to work pressures or other commitments.
• Do you live in the same city or town? Can you all meet up easily?
• Do you have all the equipment for gigging that you need, and if not can you get it?
• Do you all understand exactly what is required? For instance, how often do you want to write, gig and record?
• Are you both/all in a similar financial situation? If not, will you be prepared to put in the same amounts of money to keep everyone happy?
• Do you have the same amount of writing and musical experience? If not, are you prepared to wait for someone to catch up?
• Do you all have a similar ability on your instruments and can you sing if you need to?
• If you've established the level of your ambitions, are you both/all prepared to put in the time for other activities like promotion?