Are you an introvert? Yeah, I am too. Do you get the sense that success as a musician is all about “who you know”? You’re right. Does the thought of networking send you burrowing into a tunnel of social anxiety and nights at home with Netflix? Yep, been there.

Here’s the deal with networking. People freak me out. If you’re the introverted type, people probably freak you out, too. Conversations are awkward. Handshakes are awkward. Remembering names is both panic-inducing and awkward. We chose the musician life to communicate through MUSIC, not through elevator pitches at industry events.

Thankfully, there is another way. It’s called Not Networking. Networking is a worn-out concept that gets you nowhere. When is the last time you felt compelled to do favors for some random person with a business card and persistent friend requests?

If success is all about “who you know,” then think about what it really means to know someone. Think of the people you would do anything to help, and vice versa. Your friends. Your bandmates. Your support group. These are the relationships you want to develop. Who cares about an extensive contact list of unknowns? You want people you can trust. People who care about you. People who are invested in your success.

Don’t forget… To build good friendships, you must also be a good friend. Are you trustworthy? Are you dependable? Are you invested in the success of others, as well as your own?

No matter how terrified you are of social interactions, you have one thing to take confidence in: your skills. When someone needs your particular skill set, you want to be the first person they think of. Not because you’ve sent them 23 facebook invites in the past week, or because you have supercool hair, but because they KNOW you and depend upon you to do a kickass job.

Guaranteed you will find yourself in more than a few uncomfortable situations as you navigate the music business. Take comfort in the fact that there is definitely at least one person nearby who is more awkward than you, and that ultimately the only thing that matters is whether you can make music and make it well.

- Neara Russell
Vocalist & Keyboardist (Bridgit Mendler, Lili Haydn, Duke Dumont)