Young musicians can still start a career in 2013!

Helped along by LastMinuteMusicians.com, singer & guitarist Charlie fights back against the recession!

Charlie’s Story:
“Last September I decided to do something crazy and move to London to pursue a career in music. A sensible person would have gone to Uni, trained to be a lawyer, doctor, pilot and investment banker all at the same time and made lots of money… but since when were musicians sensible?

I was already starting to make an okay living in Bournemouth, playing covers in pubs, restaurants and the odd wedding, but even though I wasn’t working a day job, this was still essentially beer money. I was living with my parents, eating home cooked meals every night (thanks Mum!) and enjoying all the other luxuries that come with earning money and being able to spend it.

But I knew I was pretty serious about music, so when the opportunity to move to London came along, I couldn’t turn it down. I wanted to play my own songs, which I do, but as the money isn’t really there for that kind of thing, I had to subsidise it by playing covers some nights. I moved in with some friends and after we got over the initial excitement, two problems became apparent. I had to pay rent, and I had to buy my own food. And for this I needed some regular money!

As to not break with my main philosophy in life of never doing any real work ever under any circumstances, I had to find a way of turning the occasional function gig into a consistent income. This was pretty difficult at first, as in Bournemouth I mainly relied on pubs and restaurants booking me, which would sometimes lead to a wedding or two, but this was all done through word of mouth, and was more of a bonus when it happened.

Firstly, I tried to get in a few pubs around where I live. I spent a couple days going round and handing out promo packs, CDs, and business cards, following up with emails and phone calls and everything else I could try, but had no success. I quickly learned that while pubs make more money up here, there are so many musicians that they don’t have to pay anyone to play.

So I decided to start looking for function work closer to London. And that’s when I found lastminutemusicians.com, which has been a life saver. I was reticent at first as there was a small sign up fee, but I eventually took a chance on it, and it paid off ten times over within a week when I got my first gig. I just put a little page up, advertising myself as a function singer, and now I’m able to support myself, work as a full time musician, and put the majority of my time into song-writing.”

Managing Director of LastMinuteMusicians Adam Hughes is confident that 2013 will be the busiest year on record for LastMinuteMusicians members.

“Around 2000 people use LastMinuteMusicians every day to plan entertainment for a huge range of events. We are continually getting great feedback from our members and are especially thrilled that Charlie has found our site so useful starting his career.”

Now 10 years old, LastMinuteMusicians gives musicians a chance to ditch the ‘traditional agency approach’ and instead pay no commission. This allows musicians keep 100% of their performance fees!

Versatile wedding and party singer AJ Lewis was thrilled when he joined recently.

“Just wanted to say that your website is great, I have already secured 4 gigs and only been on your website for a few weeks!”

Live Lounge, an acoustic trio based in West Yorkshire commented:
“Just a week on Last Minute Musicians and we have our first booking!”

From just 67p a week you can start your own story today - for details visit: www.LastMinuteMusicians.com