#030 : Anne Roos – How to Make Money Playing Weddings
Making a living as a full-time musician is a dream-come-true for most of us. But many artists are so busy looking for their ‘big break’ they forget to consider the more common and obvious sources of income in their own community. Anne Roos is a Celtic harpist who has made a successful career in playing weddings. She entered the field as a novice and learned a lot along the way. She’s recently wrote a book called “The Musician’s Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings” published by Hal Leonard. You’ll be surprised at how much there is to know about this profession. Join Kevin and Anne as they explore the ins and outs of playing and profiting in the wedding business.
Anne’s book is available on Amazon
I have recently become familiar with an absolutely lovely Celtic harp musician. She has some wonderful CDs that I listen to often. I have downloaded them to my iPod and I carry the CDs in my car. I listen to her music whenever I get the chance.
Christine Buffaloe
This is such a great podcast series! And responding to musicians other than bands is really useful – thanks! I got some great advice from this podcast and others. Cheers guys.
Thanks Pete! We appreciate your feedback and compliments!
Robert
It seems like a lot of musicians in my area consider a wedding a terrible gig. They would rather go hungrey waiting for that big break you mention than spending some time playing a wedding for some money (and having a good time and free food in the process).
Yeah, unfortunately, musicians tend to think that unless they are playing shows that they consider to be “cool” that it’s not worth doing. Just because you play wedding on the weekend so you can eat doesn’t mean you can’t have a great record and be relevant musically. Beats making coffee!
One thing that she didn’t mention that new ceremony musicians should be aware of is the appropriateness of the music in the context of the faith of the ceremony. All music used in a Catholic Ceremony needs to be approved by the priest or music coordinator. Wagner is a big no-no at a Jewish ceremony.
Can’t mention everything in the interview, but I certainly cover the appropriateness of ceremony music for different faiths in my book, “The Musician’s Guide to Brides” (published by Hal Leonard).
Thank you CD Baby Podcast & Anne!
That’s some really good information considering my band might be playing a wedding this fall. Thanks for the tips.