Diversify or Die: Build a Sustainable Music Career (Episode 151)

You learned how to make music. Nobody taught you how to make a living making music.

Episode 151 opened season five of The Career Musician in May 2022, Mental Health Awareness Month, with Nomad going solo. At almost 30 years in the business, he set out to share the industry secrets he has learned since playing six nights a week, 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., in a 12-piece cover band in Fort Lauderdale at 18. The big idea of this episode is the one he calls Diversify or Die: how to diversify your skills as a musician so your career lasts 30, 40, even 50 years.

Take action on your mental health

Nomad started with transparency. He has a therapist, and had one before the pandemic. His case for it: you want someone far removed from your circle, with no biases, who can give you advice from the outside. No shame in the game.

He drew a line between awareness and action. One action is to unplug, for real: phones, tablets, laptops, earbuds. Not Netflix and chill. Get outside. Hike, run, bike, walk the dog. When he goes out for a run or a ride, he leaves the phone and puts his watch on do not disturb. Another action is to talk about it, which is why he invited listeners to reach out.

Methods change, principles remain the same

This is one of Nomad's core philosophies. Recording went from reel-to-reel tape to laptops, tablets and phones. Playback went from cylinders and vinyl to eight-tracks, cassettes, voice memos and every DAW you can name.

"Methods change, principles remain the same."

Nomad, 9:40

The method changed, but the principle and the outcome stayed the same: capture sound and deliver a recorded product. Hold on to the principles and you can adapt to any method.

Make a strengths and weaknesses list

Here is the exercise. Take a pad and draw a line down the middle. On the left, write your musical strengths: the genres you play really well, the songs, scales, arpeggios, whether you can sight read. On the right, write your weaknesses. Then pick three from each side and write them at the bottom.

Lean into the three strengths. Nomad's are Latin guitar, from studying flamenco and his Cuban father, and R&B guitar. In Nashville, LA, New York or on remote sessions, people know to call him for those. Work on the three weaknesses little by little. His is sight reading, so he practices it five or ten minutes every morning. He is not ready to sight read a big film date at Warner Bros., and he says so. But put him on the hottest R&B or Latin track and he will crush it instantly.

Don't beat yourself up practicing bebop for three more hours. Then think about discovery: what do you enjoy most, and which artists do you love and why? Usually it is an identity. Artists need a unique one. A career musician playing for many artists needs to diversify, but still bring a sound and a stamp to every project. That is Objectivity from the ETHOS code: an honest inventory of yourself.

"If you don't diversify your skill sets in this business, I don't mean literally you're gonna die, but it's gonna be really hard to keep a career sustained."

Nomad, 14:40

Think like a CEO, and be the CYO

Nomad's father grew up in the streets and was a hustler, with grit, and made sure his sons didn't grow up that way. Hustlers get the job done and make money. But a CEO zooms out and asks how to build an infrastructure that lets that deal happen again and again. That is sustainability.

A CEO can't do it alone, so build a team. You probably can't hire staff yet, so invite people to be part of a collective. Think of how Berry Gordy built Motown: staff writers, arrangers, musicians and engineers, all starting from the ground up. Nomad started The Career Musician with just him and his wife Lola. If you don't have a team yet, keep thinking about it and saying it out loud. Who is the first person you need?

Then the challenge: be the CYO, the Chief You Officer. Whether you want to tour with a major artist, produce for a rapper or orchestrate a Bond film, it all starts with your talent, so you have to manage you. Put your tasks in a spreadsheet, organized by date, priority and category (admin, creative, content) and assign each one. If every task says "me" for now, that's fine. Zoom out, look at the calendar and push things over the finish line little by little. Make Music Your Business.

One move at a time, and keep moving

Nomad's example plan: say you are a trumpeter in Kansas City. Find every club in the area and their hours, and go sit in three to five nights a week to build a buzz. Collect names. During the day, post that you teach trumpet, beginner to advanced. Do that for a month or two until students and gigs bring in a few hundred dollars a week each, then add the next thing.

And if you're broke, go get a job and get on a payroll. That money subsidizes your music. Nomad worked in a Nashville bagel shop for almost three years. He was there by 5 a.m., worked until noon, recorded at home in the afternoon, then hit every club and venue at night. That is how he landed the gig as Kirk Whalum's guitarist for almost eight years, and then sessions for many other artists.

"When you do, it brings more doing. When you act, it brings more to act on."

Nomad, 27:00

Work begets work.

The takeaway

Take care of your mind. Hold on to principles while methods change. Know your strengths and lean into them. Manage yourself like a CEO and build your team. Then put yourself in motion, because motion brings more motion. The full code behind this episode is in Nomad's book, ETHOS: The Career Musician's Code. To turn your list into a plan, grab the free plan of attack (POA) worksheet.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

Watch on YouTube or find every episode on the TCM Podcast page.