Year in Review: The Top 10 Music Career Tips of 2025 (Episode 198)

Everything you do is an audition.

Everybody gets an end-of-year wrap from Spotify. In Episode 198 of The Career Musician, Nomad gave the show its own. With the 200th episode just around the corner, he looked back at 2025: the growth, the guests, the pivots, the pitfalls and the wins, then pulled together the top 10 music career tips of the year, each one tied to a pillar of ETHOS.

It is a short episode and a good one to bookmark. Here is the recap.

A year of growth, and it's because of you

The numbers made the team smile. The audience grew 132% this year, with a 99% increase in total listening. The show reached 30 countries, with the top five being Germany, the UK, Canada, Australia and the US. Nomad was clear it is not about bragging. It is about the community, and he thanked every listener for subscribing, rating, reviewing and sharing.

He also gave a shout out to the TCM Pro Team: new co-host Joel Meza, drummer and playback engineer; Lola, TCM's chief strategist and a singer; and Emily Lauren, who runs the graphics, keeps the team focused and plays piano. All of them are in the TCM house band too, along with Andy Bond on guitar and Max Diaz on bass.

Know your value, and build a brand

The first clips were about value. In one, a player explains how they pitched an awards show gig: here is the value I bring, here is why I do this at this level, I build the playback for shows like this. The answer that came back was "When can you rehearse?"

Then came the brand lessons. Drummer Bryant Wilson, The Beatqualizer, asked himself what he could do that was different from everybody else, and ended up putting out his own cereal. And from our episode with Ron Paul Perry came the John 5 story: the gig went to John 5 because he is not just a guitar player. He is a brand.

Prepare like the last gig doesn't count

You're only as good as your last performance. You could have done it right a hundred times, but if you show up and mess up, they will start looking at other people, because the people at this show deserve a perfect show as much as the last ones did.

Preparation includes the boring stuff. One clip was all about load-in: find out ahead of time where you load in, whether there is a loading dock, whether you need credentials to get past security. Do it in advance, not on the day. If you are the band leader, push for a map with arrows. If you are a band member, push your band leader. Luck = preparation + opportunity.

Play the long game, and protect the rates

One story was about a song placement where the music clearance attorney did not get involved until the movie came out, four years later. Imagine giving up after year two. You never know.

Another guest made the case for range: he could not be a career musician without books, courses, teaching and sessions. If he had only played fusion in one band, he would need a day job too. That is Diversify or Die, the Biz pillar.

And on money, the message was blunt. Paying musicians $300 a night for a huge arena tour isn't good. When you undercut the standardized rates the players before you worked so hard to get, you hurt all of us. It's a race to the bottom. It takes business savvy not to go there, and that is the S in ETHOS: Savvy.

Clients, alliances, and the big audition

A composer's three tips: clients, clients, clients. Build alliances. There may not be a show this week, but a producer you connected with might call in a year because something just came up and they need a music director. That is how this business works. Work begets work.

Another guest framed it gently. It is not a pressure thing. If you keep doing you, keep getting better and keep showing your community what you love and what you are good at, that is the big audition. When something comes up, someone says, "You know who's really good at that?"

Three things that make a pro

Nomad closed with what separates a career professional from a musician who can play. Number one is dedication.

"We don't wait for motivation. We get up and do the things we know we're supposed to do, no matter what."

Nomad, 8:18

Number two is communication. Don't blow people off. Don't ghost people.

"Sometimes the simplest thing like 'heard,' 'understood,' 'copy that,' 'yes'... means the world."

Nomad, 8:43

Number three is showing up. Not the trendy version. Show up prepared and ready to do the work. Period.

The takeaway

Ten tips, one thread: know your value, prepare for everything, think long term, protect the profession and treat every interaction like it matters, because it does. Before you ever hit a stage or a studio for a new act, you have to get through the audition, so Nomad's year-end gift is the free Audition Secrets guide, three proven steps to nailing the audition and getting the gig.

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

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