Please email sevensky@seattlecomposers.org if any of the below information becomes out of date or you have any additional resources to add!

The more I learn about Seattle/Washington’s music scene, the more I realize that a lot of organizations are doing: A. A lot of work that should be recognized and known by more people and B. So many things that it’s difficult for an individual to efficiently learn what they want to know/meet the people they should meet/get to where they’re going. 

To address the former point, SCA has had a Local Resources Library to increase awareness of who local community partners and orgs are, in the hopes that the scene will become more connected. To address the latter point, it feels like something more needs to be done than to simply have a repository of resources, videos, etc. Especially as SCA grows, we will simply experience more and more content/informational overload. This article is part of a monthly effort that aims to combat that.

Some of the greatest impacts I feel I’ve had in the scene is in, well, doing what SCA’s mission is: Connecting Seattle’s music creators to Community, Education, and Opportunity. The way I’ve best been able to connect people has been: I meet them at an SCA event like our Monthly Meetup series, I learn what their goals are, and I share resources I think will help them along in their journey.

But this idea that you have to personally know me to access these resources is, in itself, a form of inadvertent gatekeeping. I hate the thought of that. 

So I’ve aimed to write this article as though we are at an SCA event and I am speaking to a group of local peers. So you want to get dialed into the music scene? Let’s dive in.

 

Photo: Whitaker Gray

OPEN MICS

When I first moved to Seattle from southern Oregon about 8 years ago, I made many initial connections through the open mic circuit. If you don’t know, an open mic is a type of open performance setting where musicians sign up to play 1-3 tunes in the presence of other musicians and venue visitors. If you’re under 21, check the venue’s rules ahead of time as many of these are held in bars.

Open mics are where I met many current collaborators, students, singers and instrumentalists. Even if you aren’t there to play music, it’s a great way to quickly meet many faces in the scene.

These days, I’m definitely out of loop for what the best open mics are, but a couple top-of-mind are the Skylark Cafe (they might be closing soon so check out their site and visit sooner rather than later!) and Conor Byrne Pub. Not quite an open mic, but another event to be aware of would be the Fremont Abbey’s: “The Round”. Oh, one more I haven’t personally been to but that has a lot of notoriety in the scene is the Tuesday Night Jams at the Owl ‘n Thistle.

EMAIL NEWSLETTERS

The SCA newsletter is something everyone reading this should be on. We release it twice per month and it’s a regular snapshot into the programs and opportunities for all local music creators. Outside of our own though, I would highly recommend getting on the King County Creative Connector. This newsletter includes a slew of events, opportunities, and even jobs for all sectors of the creative economy — music included!

SEATTLE MUSIC COMMISSION

This one is arguably the least known and most important to know about. The Seattle Music Commission is a group of 21 Commissioners who represent and advocate for the future of the music scene, specifically at a city level. The Commission also advises city leadership (city council, the mayor, etc) on the issues impacting music creators and spearheads initiatives to combat them. SMC meetings (usually held on 3rd Wednesdays at noon) are open to the public, and you may be able to tune in/attend virtually as well. 

In terms of getting dialed into the music scene, I’d recommend just checking out who the current Music Commissioners are, as they come from different sectors of the industry: managers, artists, venue owners, radio reps, etc. The Music Commission is also how we, as music creators, get our voices heard by city politicians.  

Read more, make your voice heard, and get dialed into the Seattle Music Commission here.

THE RECORDING ACADEMY

The Recording Academy (aka home of the Grammy Awards) has several parts to it: MusiCares, Advocacy, GrammyU, and of course, the Grammy Awards. This is an immense organization so I’m sure my description of it will miss many details.

MusiCares exists to help music creators in need. I recall when one of our SCA members had part of his house/studio burn down due to a fire and MusiCares helped him with new equipment and recovery. Personally, I’m thankful for a small grant from MusiCares when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and so many musicians were struggling to get by (even more so than usual). In fact, some of their support you may not even have to be a member of the Recording Academy to receive. Don’t quote me on this.

The Recording Academy pours a lot of resources into Advocacy and lobbying on Capitol Hill to support music creators through law. I’ll touch more on this in a moment.

GrammyU is dedicated to uplifting the youth (defined by their program as ages 18-29 or actively in college). They have numerous opportunities, including their mentorship program where GrammyU and professional/voting members of the Recording Academy get paired up as mentor/mentee.

The Grammy Awards are the Grammy Awards. It’s commonplace to say: Grammy-award winning producer John Smith or 3-time Grammy-nominated saxophonist Linda Fakename. The Grammys are the Grammys. Voting members (basically the default membership) are able to vote on the Grammys.

Another important note to touch on is that there are a number of Recording Academy chapters within the U.S. If you’re reading this, chances are you would fall into the Pacific Northwest chapter. Funny enough, this encompasses not only Washington and Oregon and Idaho, but also Alaska…and Hawaii. Yep, New York, LA, Nashville, and even Atlanta get their own chapters, but not Seattle unfortunately. 

What are the benefits to the Recording Academy?

The more you learn about our music scene, and I’d suspect, most cities’ music scenes, the more you come to realize there are many disparate pockets of music creators. There are people you will only meet through the Recording Academy, and for that, it is completely worth it to get involved. Their mentorship program is also valuable, whether you are paired with someone as a mentee or a mentor.

Advocacy Day is a special day to all chapters of the Recording Academy, and it’s an opportunity to make our voices heard to legislators at the state and federal levels. Being able to unite with an organization like the Recording Academy to fight against the rise of generative AI, lyrics being used against artists in court, etc, is one of those pieces of artist empowerment that we never get to experience as individuals. In other words, to my knowledge, it’s only through the Recording Academy that state and federal legislators will really listen to music creators because the org represents ~15,000 national music creators.

How do you join the Recording Academy?

It’s worth noting that there are two types of membership: voting and professional. If you are an instrumentalist, singer, producer, artist, etc: you would be applying as a voting member. If you are a manager, talent buyer, etc (someone on the “business” side of the industry): you would be applying as a professional member. 

Read the full details here, but simply, you need two people to recommend you to the Recording Academy, then you receive the application, then you submit your application (before March each year if I’m not mistaken), then you wait. It’s important to note that the people who recommend you should be the two individuals that can best hype you up, as it pertains to the music industry. They do not need to be current Recording Academy Members. Plus, those members only get two recommendations per year, so they may not even be able to recommend you by the time you’ve asked them.

There are more details like: you have to have 12 commercially released credits in a single creative profession to be eligible. Breaking that down: you have to use an official distributor like Distrokid (I and many local artists use this one) to have released music on streaming platforms (not just bandcamp), and you have to be credited on 12 different tracks as the producer, or songwriter, or guitarist, etc. They don’t want you to have 4 credits as each of those roles I just listed. They want 12 as a producer, for example. 

CRUCIALLY, if you’ve already collaborated with artists who’ve released music with you on it, MAKE SURE they have credited you! To check, find the song credits on whatever platform you listen to music on. Personally, I use Tidal. It’s pretty good about showing credits on tracks. You don’t even need to be logged in to see this info. Here’s an example from one of my tracks. Going one step further, you can also find all registered credits for a particular contributor! 

MAKE SURE YOU ARE ALWAYS GETTING CREDITED. Make sure your collaborators know how to do this. It’s normally simple and easy to find when uploading a track (and the releasor can add this info after release), though be warned that some distributors like CD Baby (I've heard) may not have this functionality beyond the primary songwriter and producer. Try not to support distributors that don’t let you add arrangers, keyboardists, backing vocalists, etc. Their credits matter, especially if they want to join the Recording Academy!

The last thing I’ll say about the Recording Academy is that there is one event that is a great way to meet people and is open to the public. Each year in December the PNW chapter throws a Holiday Party. This is a great way to meet people, learn about RA, etc etc. RSVPs are required and I am personally happy to forward anyone reading this the RSVP form when I receive it. If I were you, I’d set a calendar reminder for mid November to email sevensky@seattlecomposers.org asking for the RSVP form (if I’ve received it by then). 

FACEBOOK GROUPS

You can never be too connected to the scene, and what better way to increase your rolodex of contacts and opportunities than by becoming a lurker on some Facebook groups? I’m sure there’s several I don’t know about, but personally, I recommend: Seattle Musicians, Seattle Musicians Seeking Musicians (Seattle) (a bit redundant if you ask me), and Seattle Musicians (yep, this is another one).

MEETUP, CRAIGSLIST

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention how effective browsing Meetup and Craigslist for opportunities and networking can be. As with open mics, I no longer have the time to cast a wide net and browse for upcoming events, opportunities, etc, but I’m not the only one. What this means is that, generally, if you are a good person and a good musician casting a wide net and browsing the events and opportunities on these platforms, you’ll find it easier than you think to get a foot in the door and get connected with different pockets of the scene. 

Especially if you’re just starting out in a new community, say yes to as much as you can, though without letting people take advantage of you. A good general goal is to get to the point where you don’t have to say yes to everything because you already have so many gigs or jams, or whatever your personal goals are.

LIVE MUSIC

Although open mics and jams are usually more effective ways to network and hear more people’s artistic voices with a lower barrier to entry, I do feel the need to mention that many bands and ensembles really appreciate your attendance at their events. Want to collaborate, network, etc? Attend their upcoming event and show that you can come out and support the work they’re already doing. It means the world to them!

Photo: Hannah Flores

SUMMARY 

Whew, this feels good to get off my chest. Now when I’m talking to people at our Monthly Meetup and I know I’m forgetting a resource, I can just say: “Find my guide on the SCA site!” 

So you want to get dialed into the music scene? Go forth and do so! 

Please email sevensky@seattlecomposers.org if any of the above information becomes out of date or you have any additional resources to add!