I can't get ahead no matter what I do
I have been composing music for theatre, film, and TV for the last 20 years. Worked on Broadway a few times on music teams. But no matter what I do I can't seem to get any traction. I put out an EP for my new new musical a few weeks ago, I splashed it all over social media and no one is listening. I keep trying to pivot, keep trying to dig deep and be at my most honest with my work. This album/musical is the most personal I've ever been. I think it's pretty great and I am really tough critic on my own work. But it's just crickets. I ask the others involved to help get it out there. They mostly post it once. But it doesn't go anywhere. I'm been busting my ass for so long. I have tried quitting the business, but then something will come along (a job, a new idea, a small breadcrumb) and I get sucked back in. I don't think I'll ever be able to truly quit, but I also want to make money. I have a Masters in Musical Theater Writing from NYU and a kid. But I can't even get a teaching job in applicable fields. Submit resume after resume and don't even get an interview. Made it to the semi-finals for a musical theater development oppurtunity and got the kiss of death today. It's the 4th project I've submitted and the 4th time I've been rejected. Also my 20th year being rejected for a prominent award. I am at the end of my rope. No idea what to do. I'll take any suggestions that are positive in nature. Just quit or you suck just makes the suggester look small. #music #musicaltheater #theater Thank you for reading my doom and gloom TED talk.
Have you tried therapy?
14 years worth. Mental health is not something to be taken lightly. We all could use a therapist to figure our crap out.
Try to make short reels with your music and hope it goes viral… thats the way to get people search for your music online. Then if it’s good, you will start building your audience. If not, realize this may not be for you and change careers
No exp in your field mate. But IMHO, creative fields are really tough to make decent moneys in, combination of talent, luck, connections, timing, and god knows what else. And they are double hard to walk away from, because you may be thinking you are just getting unlucky but in truth you suck, or the other way around, and you keep waiting for that lucky break. That's why for myself I kind of decided that love or hate the field of work, it better pay for someone with an average talent. And went into tech. Even if you hate the job, at least you can like the paychecks. For your situation, I'd say keep music around your life as a hobby, and maybe you will catch your lucky break some day. But for now, find something that pays that you can do, so you can provide for your family. And I am not talking of waiting tables or uber'ing, unless you must. See if you are good at technology sales, or take a few basic comp.sci. classes at your local community college + follow that with a cyber security certificate and see if you can find an entry level job that way. You may have to ask friends/family/network to just give you your first job/internship. Come to think of it, first job is so hard... first find someone who can give you a job to get you started on a highly paid trajectory, and then go to some limited school to get bare minimum quals in 6 months or so. Definitely do NOT burden yourself with college debt in some loose hope that "computers pay". Specific areas do, and there is demand in some and not others, you know how it works. First find a landing spot, then aim for it.
This usually means the things you create aren’t that good. No one cares about your degrees or experience either.