Many of us musicians, especially online, rely on connections to help us expand our channels and experience. Very often, musicians will want to collaborate with each other. But what makes collaborations work well? Why might they not work well? Who would be a good candidate to work with? How should you talk to a collaborator? Let's dive in!
Preparing Ahead of Time
Do your research on the collaborator
Whether you're looking to work with someone new or someone you don't know approaches you, it helps to get to know who you're working with.
Get to know their background online. Do you feel comfortable working with and being associated with them? How professional is this person? Do they act professionally and maturely outside of their work?
Do they have the skills you're looking for? What service do you need from your collaborator? Someone to produce your songs? A guitarist? A singer? A composer? Why choose them specifically?
Is your project a good fit for them? Does the service they provide fit what you have to offer? Can they work with the genre or style you do? Do you feel they would be a good fit for you? Know what specific skills they have and check their content to see if they can provide for what you have in mind. If you're not sure, you can always ask them directly.
Do they work for pay? Can you afford their prices? Some musicians and artists online have been in their field long enough where they have the experience and skill that demands compensation. Do they have prices listed online? Do they expect payment for their services? Can you and are you willing to pay them? Are they open to collaborations?
Make sure you're ready
Check your availability. Will you have time to work on your project? When can you get started? Will you be able to fully commit to your project?
Check the collaborator's availability. Is their schedule open? How much time will it take them to provide their parts? Do they have other projects of their own that they're currently busy with?
Make a schedule for your project. When will you have your assets ready to send your collaborator? How much time can you give your collaborator to work on and submit their parts? When do you plan on finishing the song? When will you release the song?
Consider other parts of your project. Do you plan on putting your song on YouTube? Music stores? How long will that take? What other accompanying material will you need to make with your song (ex. video, art, album cover)?
prepare your song before sending it
In most cases, it would be ideal to have your project ready or close to ready right off the bat so your collaborator has something to work with and won't be waiting too long for you to provide updates or finish the project. Flesh out your ideas. Give them enough to work with.
Working with a singer?
Provide an instrumental that the vocalist can sing over and can follow easily. Make sure it's close to done if not complete so they don't have to wait on you to finish it.
Send your lyrics. What parts will the vocalist be singing? What can they use to follow along, rather than have to transcribe everything manually?
Record demo vocals or provide a vocal melody. To get the concise results you want, you'll want to send a concise draft they can work with. Are there any particular shifts in timing the vocalist should know about? Are they supposed to sing a part a certain way? How long should each note be?
Prepare other assets the vocalist needs. This includes the song's key and BPM. In some cases, you could also send isolated vocals or an isolated instrumental if they need to hear certain parts by themselves.
Working with a producer?
Have all your stems ready. Render out each instrument. If you need them mixed, make sure your instruments have no effects on. If you need your song mastered, send a full render of all instruments together with your effects on, unless they say otherwise.
List what you would like the producer to do with your mix. How loud do you want the song? How wide do you want the panning? What type of mix and/or master do you have in mind? What effects did you want on your instruments?
Working with an instrumentalist?
Record a demo. What parts do you want the instrumentalist to play? How did you want it played (ex. guitar strumming pattern)?
Send assets. Again, send your song's key and BPM.
Send an instrumental, if any. If the instrumentalist is playing a part of your song, you'd most likely have something for them to play over. Send it. If they're creating the guideline for your song, share a demo or describe your idea.
PROPOSE YOUR PROJECT
WHO ARE YOU?
Now that you have everything ready to send, you can officially reach out to your desired collaborator. But you'll want to make a good impression, especially on someone you're meeting for the first time. You may have never even talked to this person before prior to your project. Keep this in mind before you talk to them: This person will have no idea who you are or why you want to work with them. Give them all the context within your first few messages (rather than "hi, let's collab." Why? Who are you? How can you benefit them?) They don't know what sort of skills and specialties you have to contribute by working with them. Think of this like a job interview. This will be your first impression you make on a collaborator, so it will immensely help you if they get to know you first. Here's how:
Start by introducing yourself. Who are you? What experience do you have as a musician? What are your specialties that you have to offer? Share some examples of previous work you did so the collaborator can get to know what your finished projects sound like. (Ex. "Hi! I'm Liv. I'm a mezzo-soprano singer/songwriter and producer. Here is a recent project I did. Here's my demo reel(s).")
Explain your project. What is your song about? What style does it have? When do you plan on releasing the song? (Ex. "I'm working on a rock song called 'Insert Title Here' that needs a punk-rock style tenor singer.")
Why do you want to work with this person? Be professional. Don't let the barrier of numbers and fame intimidate you, but treat this person respectfully. What about their skills or abilities sticks out to you that you feel fits your song? (Ex. "Your timbre and vocal range perfectly fits the voice I had in mind for this song.")
What does your timeframe look like? How much time are you willing to give your collaborator to work on their parts? Or more ideally, how much time do they need? Work to accommodate their schedule. (Ex. "Does two weeks sound like enough time for you to work on your parts? If not, how much time do you think you'll need?")
How can you benefit the collaborator? Ideally it helps if you don't make the collaborator do all the work on your project. It's best if you contribute too, such as being the one to produce the song, make a video for it on YouTube, offer them a service in return, etc. Or more simply, compensate your collaborator for their services, unless they do not want payment or the project is non-profit. Offer to pay your collaborator if they work for pay. Collaborating is all about an exchange of services, after all.
Examples of compensation:
Flat-Rate Payment: This is the most common way of compensating a collaborator. Ask them for their prices and payment method (ex. PayPal, Venmo, Ko-Fi, etc.), and send them their payment. Flat-rate payments are done once, so once the payment goes through, that would be the complete exchange for their service.
Royalty Splits: Royalty splits only apply if you're releasing your song onto music stores using a distributor such as Distrokid, Soundrop, TooLost, TuneCore, etc. Splits can be made to artists on distributors based on a percent of how much revenue you earn from people streaming your song. Depending on how much the collaborator contributed to your song, they would receive a certain percentage. Some musicians may ask for both a flat-rate payment and splits if you release your song on music stores.
Exchange of Services: For example, let's say you're a singer and an artist looking to work with a music producer. If you both mutually agree to it, you can have the collaborator produce your song in exchange for you doing an art piece for them. Not everyone prefers an exchange like this, so it's best to wait to see if they are open to it first.
Talking to the collaborator
Understandably, we may sometimes feel a bit intimidated if we want to work with someone who we look up to. Maybe this is an artist you've admired for years and you're not sure they'll even talk to you.
Realize they are human too. We're all human. Everyone has their own lives to live with their own schedules, feelings, routines, and passions.
They are normal people. No matter how famous they are, they're not gods. They have their own normal lives to live. It's okay to admire their skills and their craft, but that doesn't mean you have to treat them like they're some sort of idol. Talk to them like they're someone you're meeting for the first time.
They have lives outside of music. Sometimes, people get busy. Sometimes they have a lot of projects they're working on, or they're busy with their personal/family life. Or they're balancing work and music, so they schedule may not be free. In some cases, maybe they're not open to collaborations for the time being. Most of the time, it's not your fault if they say no.
They are not automatically your friend just because you talked to them. Sometimes our ego can get to our heads if we feel special because we were "worthy" of the collaborator to actually respond to our dms. (I used to feel this way too so trust me, I understand the feeling.) That does not make you special. That does not mean you're best friends with them.
Understand the difference between "friend" and "collaborator."
Friends spend time with each other because they enjoy each other's company and trust each other deeply enough to share their true feelings. Friends talk to each other frequently to see how the other is doing and sincerely wants to be talked to and confided in.
A collaborator is someone who you work with on a project. You're essentially work partners, so it might be weird to drag them into some personal situation they have nothing to do with. Your relationship with a collaborator should be completely professional. You will be discussing your project. If the collaborator is open to talking about other things and feels comfortable around you, it could potentially become a friendship as well, but it's best to go at the pace they choose to.
Leave your fangirling/fanboying at the door.
Trust me, I understand this one. I get how exciting it can be to work with someone you look up to. But please, for their sake, if you get really excited if they say something to you or share something you're impressed with, try to contain yourself in front of them. Otherwise things could get weird, and they might not know how to respond.
Don't be intimidated.
Find the fine line between treating them like a friend and acknowledging their authority. I know this all sounds like a lot of scary things to keep in mind, but again, because we're all human, the collaborator won't be judging you harshly over every little tiny mistake you make when talking to them. They're just people too, and they want to get to know you if you're new to them. Everyone makes mistakes, and we all start somewhere. It all comes down to how you learn to talk to people.
If you come to understand how they want to be treated and respect that accordingly, the collaborator will have no problem continuing to talk to you. However, if you continue to maintain a behavior they're uncomfortable with, they'll probably be less likely to want to be around you. But that's only if you fail to see them as a normal human being who just wants to be treated like one.
Don't take it too hard if they don't respond or turn you down.
If they don't respond, it's best not to bombard them with messages or get mad at them. At times, people can get a lot of messages at a time and will have to sift through everyone's dms they receive. Maybe they're not very active online. Or maybe they're just not interested, but it's rare that it's because of you personally.
It can be various reasons why someone might not want to work with you, but more often than not, it doesn't have to do with you. Maybe they're too busy. Maybe they have personal issues they're dealing with. Maybe they're not open to collaborating. Whatever the reason, there's always others you can work with instead. You can always try again later if the collaborator is open to work with you again in the future. The worst they can do is say no.
Help them feel comfortable.
If they need more time than how much you give them, provide more time if you can.
If they have questions about your project, feel free to answer them. Transparency makes for a solid relationship.
If they have critiques, it's because they care about the quality of your project. Take them into consideration.
If they don't feel comfortable with a certain part of your project and you're willing to accommodate (ex. not comfortable singing a certain word), offer some alternatives.
Working with them
Waiting for their submissions
By now, you sent in your parts and you've discussed everything you and the collaborator will be doing. Now what?
Be patient. Understand that everything takes time, and that applies to the service you asked of your collaborator too. Checking in once in a while doesn't hurt, but don't get on their case too much about it. If they can provide a deadline, great. If they don't update you by the time that rolls around, there's no harm in asking if they're okay or if there's something you can do for them. Sometimes it could take a long time for the collaborator to submit their parts. but as long as you understand they are still committed, let them work at their own pace.
What if nothing happens? If it's been a while since you heard from them and they still haven't submitted their parts, check in with them. If they're not sure they can commit to the project, don't worry. Let them know that there's no pressure if they need to back out. Again, you can always try working with them again later.
What if they change their mind? If something comes up in their schedule or they no longer feel they can be a good fit for your project, don't take it personally. Things happen, and that's okay. You can always move your project to later or find someone else to work with.
Receiving their submissions
Now, you received their work. They sent it to you for you to listen to, critique, and implement into the song. So what do you do at this point?
Share your honest feedback. If you're committed to your project, you want it to be as good as possible. If you hear an issue in their submission, feel free to point it out if it doesn't sit right with you and it's something you can't fix on your end. Be patient with them, as you would like for them to be patient with you.
Keep them updated. If you do use their submission, or they submitted another version you're happy with, send them a render when you have something you can share with them. This shows that you're open with them and you acknowledge that you're using the assets they sent you.
Be open to critiques. Maybe the collaborator may not like the way you mixed in their submission, or they aren't sure they agree with your critiques. At times, they may have more experience than you, so it'll help to take what they say seriously, especially if they care enough about your project that they want to see it do well. Musicians often rely on each other to make sure a project is the best it can be!
Finalizing your project
When your project is finished, be sure to let your collaborator know.
Thank them for their work. It always feels nice to have people acknowledge something we worked hard on, so it'd help them feel better if they know you're grateful for what they did for you.
Let them know your plan for the project. When can they expect to see the project go public? Where can they find it? Who can access it?
Aftermath
Releasing your project
Now, your project has been released to the public. Be sure to credit your collaborator for the work they did on your release or when talking about your release. They deserve recognition for their effort.
Future interactions
If you and the collaborator choose to keep in touch, great. If not, don't worry about it. Again, they want to be treated a human being with respected boundaries, so if they're comfortable talking to you, let them approach you. If you're the only person to approach them each time, it might be best to give them some space. If you want to work with them again in the future, let them know. If they're okay with it, you should be free to work with them again.
maintaining humility
This is something I have a personal bias with, but I don't like seeing people brag about their friends or the people they interact with just to boost their egos and give them clout. I find it so essential that you act as professionally as you see the collaborator as. If you got to work with that person, great. If it helps your YouTube channel grow, great. Thank them for their time and service, but don't rely too heavily on them for their fame. That's exploiting someone, and that's not a behavior I can justify. Besides, people subscribe to your YouTube channel for your content, so they'd want to see you improve your work and evolve into a more skilled and professional artist.
SUMMARY
If you want a condensed form of everything mentioned above, here is is. In bulleted form.
Don't:
Don't just flat out message someone you don't know asking to be friends or asking to collab with no further context on who you are and why this person should trust you or want to work with you.
If this person isn't available, don't blame them or yourself. Be patient. If they are willing to come back to you later, let them come to you on their own time.
Don't send them too many messages if they don't respond.
Don't involve a collaborator in a project only to forget about it later. The collaborator will see you as unreliable and forgetful. Set reminders for yourself and keep them posted if you make progress on it.
Don't reach out to them without anything to work with. Have your project ready first.
Don't expect someone will want to work with you for free just because you talked to them in the past.
Don't send your assets at different times in different locations. It'll be hard to find everything. It's best to keep it all in one easy-to-find place.
Don't idolize them. Treat them like a normal human being.
Don't use them as your source of clout and fame.
Don't force them into doing anything they feel uncomfortable with.
DO:
Be professional. Treat your collaborator with respect. Don't worship them, but don't be too casual either if you don't know them well.
Be patient with them and be willing to work things out if you come to a disagreement with them.
If you approach someone to work with them, give them something to work with. Share your draft with them, or let them know when you'll have it done. Actually follow through with when you promise it'll be ready.
Offer compensation. If this person is someone with years of experience and does music as a full-time job, they will very likely expect payment. Knowing someone isn't always enough for them to want to work with you. If this is an informal project among friends and no one expects to profit off the project, you probably don't need to get money involved, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
Have a schedule. Set deadlines.
Have all your assets in one consistent place so it's easy for both of you to find.
Explain who you are and what you have to offer. Offer your portfolio, share your specialties, and what your project is about.
Think about what you can contribute to the collaborator and if your skills fit what this person needs or could benefit from in your project.
Hope this helps! Don't be afraid to branch out and work with new people, but remember to prepare ahead of time and to be friendly and professional. :)
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