We recently connected with Chris Dodson and have shared our conversation below.
Chris , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
Back in 2006, I worked a full time job at the local newspaper and played three to four nights a week at the local bars. I accumulated enough clientele, bar managers, musician friends, wedding planners, agents, and internet music services to go full time eight years later. During that eight year period, I networked, took lessons to learn my instrument, learned to do a business from nothing. The minute I went full time, I purchased a website, made promo videos, and held meetings with the best wedding venues, agencies, and party planners in Charleston, SC. Overtime, my business grew into what it is today, working five-six days a week, playing the finest restaurants in town, and working mostly private events.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I started playing guitar at age 13, singing at 14, and just stuck with it. Each year, I progressed, and as trite as it sounds, I never gave up. I stuck with it and didn’t know until I was in my early twenties that I could actually make a living doing what I loved. I work with local agencies such as OtherBrother Entertainment, Lowcountry Music Services, Ear For Music, GigSalad, the Bash, and my own search engine optimization that generates work on a weekly basis. What sets me apart from others is I’m polished, I take my work extremely seriously, I’m constantly delivering content on my social media, and I’m always staying current with what’s popular. I take care of myself physically and mentally. I hire business coaches, take voice lessons, and take care of my craft in ways other musicians may take for granted.
My brand is being a polished musician. I work well with everyone, easy going, I can work with anyone in any setting. I’ll always be professional and get the job done. I’m easy to work with bottom line and I’ll always get to back to you as soon as possible.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
During the shutdown at the beginning of the pandemic, I hosted neighborhood parties and did singing telegrams to pay the rent and my bills. I never stopped hustling. I came every close to getting a day job, but the idea popped in my head one evening while hanging out with some good friends and they encouraged me to go with the idea of bringing up peoples morale for a low rate and I ended up getting bombarded with emails and inbox messages asking for my services. It was such a miraculous idea that I’ll never forget surviving the shutdown when so many other musicians were struggling. I hope I inspired people.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I’d like to give up performing for the most part and do nothing but tv and film placements as a producer. Working with artists and songwriters, I’d like to do sync licensing and music placements full-time in the next ten years. I’ve been performing since I was fourteen years old and I think I’ve pout my 10,000 hours in and I’m ready to take my career to the next level. I don’t necessarily want to stop performing cold turkey; I’d like to travel more playing weddings and private corporate functions, but what I’m doing during the day in my studio is what I’m preparing myself for for the next chapter of my career. Learning from the best and I’ve hired the best mentors to help me get the job done. Music producer is my next goal.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chrisdodsonmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisdodsonmusic/?hl=en&__coig_restricted=1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCssgD1ou461UBRIzzmPSloA