Social media is the next big way to connect, for all professionals. With the music industry, virality and a big follower count or chasing trends is sometimes the way forward to running up numbers.

Finding your big break can be hard, but Essex based producer and club DJ OJKANE believes that endorsing other artists as a paying customer to live events and collaborations is more important than running with the herd to build a network.

1. Start making connections that are worthwhile:

“Your network is your net-worth,” says Ore Kane, the man behind the house artist persona, OJKANE. He laughs to himself as he says it, appreciating that the phrase is often uttered lazily all over sites like LinkedIn. Yet for his story, it holds water, especially when referring to the early stages of his career. Recently signing his first record deal and being a consistent member of the music education non-profit scene, Ore often sees new artists using social media to get numbers, without making actual ground with their connections and networking.

Ore is a firm believer in supporting grassroots sound and the contacts from authentic meetings. Since playing his first house parties as a University of Reading student, Ore built contacts with local club promoters, starting to acquire his first paid gigs. For this, he had to show up, be there and most importantly ask about getting a slot or a place at the venue.  

The first hurdle is one of the hardest to overcome: “It was about a year of DJing before I got paid for anything.” But in that year, Ore was building validity as an artist, showing that he was worth investing into.

2. View time as an opportunity, not as a burden:

It’s easy to look at a long-term goal as a drawback, thinking you must wait and work to acquire enough followers, reputation, or funds to reach a certain target. This is another issue for early artists: delayed gratification.

“I’m in it for the long haul. I know it could be two years of work for me to be able to play regularly on a radio station, but I think its key to view that as two years of time to build, not two years of waiting time.

“It will never come instantly, it’s impossible. If you want to become an artist right now, make art, whether you’re being paid for it or not. It takes time for you to be recognised for it.

“If you want to make money quickly, don’t be an artist, because you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. You need to do this because you love it, not because you want to be super rich straight away”.

3. Use your income streams to fund your dreams:

Realistically, many artists will not earn direct profits from their music until they reach a certain threshold. With transport, software and equipment costs, licensing and for live music; venue, or sound engineer overheads, creating events and opportunities for showcasing talent can be an expensive endeavour.

“I would say a top piece of advice is not to quit your job too early. The income from music can be unpredictable and I know a lot of great artists who work in hospitality, in other roles, they have other ventures.

“Through that, people I know have been able to create opportunities for themselves and for others to meet people genuinely and work out their next move together. They put money into projects, as well as their time. Its not ideal, but is necessary.

“For me, I know I need to make ticket prices accessible, but even big DJs don’t set the prices, the promoter books the event but even with starting your own event, you do take the risk that there’ll be a cash loss, as do venues and promoters.

“Still, aside from the finances, if you wake up every day, make a song, work on something and build yourself up, then nothing can really stop you except yourself.”

4. Take care with contracts:

“I was picked up by management a few months after graduating from university. I admit I was quite fortunate to be in that position” says Ore. Reflecting on his time before this, he recalls receiving multiple offers, largely thanks to his history of social media promotion.

“I thought I might as well start posting, when I was first starting out, and some people took a liking to the songs. One of these labels approached me to get me to sign for an official release, which was quite alluring.

“I saw that the majority of these artists signed with them were full time musicians, so I knew they were going to help me move to the next step in my career.”

Being wary of industry contracts and being selective was important, not just taking an opportunity because it was available, was key for Ore.

5. Be an audience member yourself:

Despite the allure of social media’s connection opportunities and numbers, translating that into meaningful connection can pose difficulties. Ore takes inspiration from events that he attends, club nights, artist showcases and gigs:

“I think people are starting to wake back up to the idea that going to a gig, buying a t-shirt or CD or merch is so valuable, not just for them as an experience but also to the artist, to see people come out and show support.

“I’ve done it and thought, why don’t I do this more often? There are so many great, underground events out there that are so driven by people that its honestly heartwarming.

“I went to something called Plenty People which centres on black dance music and it was seriously one of the best events I’ve been to. Amazing vibe, the people there, just a serious community. I think more of these smaller events need people to take a chance on them, help them grow.

“The big events are great, seeing a huge artist is inspiring and everything, but these places often do free tickets, they’re run for the love of the music and the people. They’re often great chances for you to meet people too, its worth money spent for you to get that experience, as an audience member or an artist.”

Final thoughts:

Our main takeaways here, perhaps a TLDR for all: get out there, experience music and people, don’t be afraid to ask for an opportunity and keep creating because you love it. The artist world is a hard one, but it rewards consistency, hard work and appreciation for music.

If you want to hear more from artists, industry experts and connect yourself with our network, listen in to our fortnightly podcast, follow us on social media or contact us directly via email: contact@LineInNetwork.com

Check out music from OJKANE on Spotify or on Instagram.

Event Plenty People can be found on Instagram.