Rolling The Ball – Preparing For Departure
Looking back, the only thing I regret about my L.A. experience is that I didn’t do enough processing beforehand to really prepare myself.  Before you consider interning in the music industry, it might be useful to sit down and brainstorm an action plan.  Strategically plan your moves in advance to get the best results. When you form that attack plan, it makes the transition all the easier and can plant seeds for your future success.

Right now you may be thinking, is there a point to this? Well, let’s get down to business. These are some tricks I’ve learned via experience that may get you thinking. (Thinking is always a good thing. ALWAYS take time to reflect. You’ll be surprised at how much you can learn about yourself)

Getting The Ball Rolling – Sharpening Your Creative Pretty Little Artsy Axe
First off, I advise you to consolidate your achievements, experiences and successes in an updated resume. At the same time, put together all of your best creative work in a bio, demo, website etc (whatever is appropriate for your goals). This way, when you interview for internships and jobs, you’ll already have a huge leg up on the competition. This material can put you on some of these industry folk’s radars very early. Do this before you even secure an internship and you’ll be well on your way into this business. You’d be surprised at how open minded and laid back a lot of these professionals are, even the big shots.

In today’s industry, you have to be willing to seize any opportunity because the value of music has diminished considerably. If there’s talent there, there’s money to be made and lots of people want to make it. Being prepared (and even over prepared in some cases) makes all the difference in the world.

Deposit one cent…

Secondly, you should really ask yourself what it is you really want do. I shouldn’t even be preaching this because I’m still at that crossroads myself, but having a clear focus and direction can help you maximize your internship experience. It will narrow your goals for your internship and give your supervisors an idea of what responsibilities you want. Internship supervisors can and will help you get your start. (So long as you do an A+ job, ask appropriate questions and build those relationships – no pressure).

And another thing. Don’t be afraid to make friends and have a laugh with people. This is a business and sometimes you gotta be shrewd, harsh and tactful. But if people like you, none of that will matter. After all, it’s just business and we all have to make the same living.

One more penny….

And that’s my two cents.

Wishing you all luck as always and see you on the flip

Best Regards, Paul Hartley

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Paul Hartley Margolin is a singer / songwriter and musician interning at redCola and Riptide Music via the Berklee LA Internship Program in his last semester at Berklee. You can contact Paul at pmargolin at berklee dot net or at 303.929.5283.

Read other posts by Paul:
Youth, Yearning and Interning (Part 1)
Youth, Yearning and Interning (Part 2)

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