What they don’t teach you…

In her October “Grace Notes” column classical crossover contralto Grace Foley talks about the various hats independent musicians must wear in the lead up to her brand new album

What they don’t teach you…

Recently, I’ve found myself thinking about all the different roles I take on, on a daily basis. I am, of course, a mother, a wife, a friend etc., but I’ve noticed that I have an incredibly diverse array of roles to play, within my singing business.

Singing, itself, actually plays a very small part in my daily work. To be an independent artist these days means being your own manager, your own assistant, a sound technician, a website designer, a social media expert, an accountant, a promoter, a designer, a video editor and a YouTube wiz. This really does leave an alarmingly small amount of time for singing.

As I reached the end of my album creation, I got tired. I had done all the ‘creative stuff’, and was left with the more taxing end of the project. ISRC codes had to be figured out. Final mixes had to be signed off and this means HOURS of nit-picking through songs and finding every single flaw and fixing it. We then moved onto mastering which puts the final ‘polish’ on everything. Album cover photos had to be taken and then the shoot had to be reviewed and whittled down to the best shots. These photos then went to the album designer who put all the photos and text together to make a beautiful package. Every photo has been scrutinised and every syllable of cover text has been reviewed OVER AND OVER. Even now, I still hope everything is correct! The mastered tracks and cover art then made their way to the duplication company where the album is finally going to be made.

Next, I put the songs and all information onto an online platform, (where I will make the album available in both digital and physical form). This process takes SUCH a long time. Song rights were be paid. Songs were registered.

Now, it’s time to make a plan to promote the album during the run up to its’ release. This will mean constant emailing with very few replies. I used to find this upsetting, but, I’ve grown a thicker skin in the past few years. Pre-orders must be prepped and double-checked ahead of sending them out in November.

All this work became totally worth it when I booked the launch venue and grabbed a few minutes to practice the songs. This morning, I could have sat at the laptop for hours, but instead I grabbed my opportunity to just SING. This time, singing felt different. This is the first time since December 2019 that I am rehearsing to sing in front of a LIVE AUDIENCE. I am positively giddy with excitement! I am rehearsing moving around while I sing, and belting out the high notes without fear of distorting my phone mic! I have absolutely loved performing online, and will continue to do so, but the prospect of seeing an audience of faces looking back at me, is actually making me rather emotional.

And so, I will continue to do my best to be a manager, assistant, social media expert, accountant and all those other things, because, in the end, the hard slog will be worth it. I will sing and I will reach people. Every unanswered email and failure will fade into the background when I do what I was born to do. SING.