How To Break Into Commercial Singing!

As a professional jingle singer, I have had the opportunity to work with some of the best singing talent in the business and I can tell you that there is a range of work and talent out there. Even as a former talent booking agent with the William Morris Agency, it became common everyday work looking for that special someone who would be the next star. Finding individuals with the unique quality, look and drive was, and still is, a relentless pursuit. As founder of ReelMusician.com, we are always amazed at the lack of both professionalism and preparedness that singers try to engage their singing careers on. I am a firm believer that talent does rise to the top, but the packaging and marketing behind the talent are key - And that still holds true for session singers as well. What does it take to break into commercial singing and obtain jingle work? How can you accelerate your singing dreams and catapult your talents into a real money making career. These are great questions - Let's spend a few minutes and look at some opportunities and answers to these questions.

As a singer, you are undoubtedly inundated every time you sing at your church, in a wedding, the school choir, etc with compliments and the "You should try singing commercials." While the thought has crossed your mind, you really wonder if you have what it takes. Quite honestly many who think they have the ability are fooled by either the lack of "real" competition surrounding them or are good enough to have some individuals close to them support them by being benevolent with confidence and compliments. Your first task will be to identify your real gifts and passions with your singing career a distance away from friends and relatives, figuratively speaking, and figure out if you really have the talent. Breaking into commercial singing can be accomplished, but there are a few areas that need attention and deliberating before you venture out. Your first assignment is to be honest with yourself and start asking the question, "Am I a commercial singer?" "Could I really deliver the singing goods in the studio?" Starting right here will eliminate a few who are reading and are honest, but there will be a number of you who will take the challenge and answer the question with an overwhelming yes. This leads us to our next question.

Are you willing to take the time, energy and financial resources to obtain the best possible singer reel or jingle demo reel? I'm not talking about the "home studio" singer reel, I'm talking about a top-notch, knock your socks off singer reel, sure to grab the attention of producers and other industry professionals. At ReelMusician,com we are amazed at the scope and in reality the dishonest frame of mind of singers out there trying to further their careers with a demo reel that would be considered by most as embarrassing at best. Now there are many extremely gifted singers who have proven themselves even with fair to poor demos, but with all of the competition out there, you can't afford to be trying to play the game in the major leagues with a substandard demo. Your best bet is to have an incredible jingle singing demo - For any questions at all about this, you may contact ReelMusician.com for an evaluation and ideas.

Your next item in your game plan in becoming a commercial singer is to develop what I consider one of the most critical pieces of the game - Your ability to develop, cultivate and befriend other jingle singers, producers, writers, and a host of music industry professionals to start submitting your demo to. Thankfully, as a general rule, many singers, like a lot of musicians, have a natural innate ability with people skills and are good at developing those friendships and relationships. You will start looking at album covers, talking with other singers in your area, and locating the major music recording venues in your geographic surrounding and getting your reel out. I would start with other session singers who you are not going to be in direct competition with and ask them for advice and where you would go with your reel and maybe ask if you could meet over a cup of coffee. This will give you more than enough contacts and strategies to start dropping off your reel. I would keep a very detailed log of who, when, what was talked about along with contact numbers and any other misc info that will be helpful in your singing career track.

You will want to develop a CD cover that is not obnoxious but is eye catching and remember able. On the front of your CD will be your name, telephone and email along with the year and season the demo was released. You will include all contact info on anything going out. The inside sleeve will include what we just mentioned along with the order of jingles and with overall length. The actual CD should include your name year and season, telephone number and length of reel. Don't get so artsy fartsy with fonts that nobody can read it. Better to have simple fonts like Arial or Times New Roman than something that is frustrating to get through. You will want to submit your demo via snail mail. I am aware that email is more affordable, but you don't have permission to send your material via email and seeing your reel actually cross their desk and coupled with the ability to be put into their car to be listened to on the way home is significantly more effective.

In closing, your success in breaking into studio and commercial singing will lean heavily on the actual talent, your incredible demo reel and your ability to connect and more importantly follow up with individuals. Most singers don't have a problem finding the key players in the music arena, but don't have the discipline and follow up that is needed like in any sales to develop relationships, follow through and get the deal done. Don't hesitate to contact us should you have any questions. We always like to hear about your singing success and we'll try to help in any way possible to further your career!