Maybe you are a musician looking for a lyricist to add vocals to a track? A vocalist looking for a producer to work with. Or a producer looking for a session musician? Today there are a number of options for finding someone, whether it’s online in person. But it can still seem daunting. And once you do find someone, will you gel with them?

The right collaboration can turbocharge creativity, enhance your skills, and unlock new ways to approach songwriting, and of course - make incredible music.

In this article we look at some places to find collaborators, and what to look for to increase the chances of finding a match that results in a fruitful partnership.

Where to Find Collaborators

In Person

Your Local Music Scene

Your local music scene can be a great way to find people to collaborate with. Going to live gigs can be a fantastic way to experience new talent, and network etc. Especially Jam nights! As you get the opportunity to collaborate live, in an improv setting, giving you a chance to test drive potential partnerships in real time!

Education Courses

A great way to learn new skills and improve existing ones, but also a prime opportunity to network with other musicians, and people with different skillsets. Your course may have a message board already set up to facilitate this.

Music and Instrument Shops

Keeping it old school with this one. If you are lucky enough to have a local music shop with a good community you may find someone there. There are sometimes noticeboards in guitar, drum, and other instrument shops.

Online

Maybe there is no music scene where you live, or not in the genre you like. Or there isn’t anyone that you think would be a good match for you. Maybe you don’t want to work together in person, or logistically it’s not an option for you. Luckily you can connect with talented musicians online from across the world. And you can work with them remotely too.

Freelance marketplace sites have listings of musicians you can hire to work on your songs.

Collaboration platforms like Verse-Chorus bring together musicians looking to collaborate in one place, with reviews and rating systems to see what people could be like to work with.

Verse-Chorus has a variety of features to help you find what you are looking for, and increase the chances of a collaboration going well:

• Filter songwriters by genre, location, and skills with unlimited searches.
• Build your own profile - as well as looking for potential collaborators, people may come to you. Describe your style and goals. Create your own personal music and lyrics portfolio to showcase what you do.
• Post adverts - Supercharge your search for a collaborator with ads tailored to your requirements to attract a great match.
• Access friendly, supportive and responsive support - Verse-Chorus prioritizes customer service. You can contact them anytime for a quick, courteous, and professional response to your queries.

What Kind of Collaborators?

Maybe you know that you would like to work with someone, but you aren’t sure what skillset could match yours? Here are some ideas.

You could work with:

• A pianist to play a version of your synth chord progression
• Another singer or group of singers to record harmonies
• A producer to make an acoustic song of yours into an electronic music track.
• A string section to take your track to the next level.
• A guitarist to make an acoustic version of an electronic music track.

How to Find a Great Collaborator

Finding someone to work with is the easier part of collaboration, finding the right person is a different ball game.

What makes a good collaboration:

• You make incredible music together
• You gel. A good collaboration isn’t just about results. It can be someone that you work well with, your personalities gel, and you get things done easily. Someone that makes the process enjoyable, and cultivates a good environment for creativity
• Your skillsets compliment each others - You don’t need completely different skillsets, but maybe one of you is stronger in one field than the other.
• You learn from each other

Some questions you could ask potential collaborators:

• How do you like to work? A broad question that can cover - how do they approach songwriting. Do they like to work in person? What tools do they like to use?
• What are their goals?
• What is their style?
• What is your skillset and experience?

Bonus Tip: Matching Commitment Levels Are Important

For me personally, the same level of commitment is an important part of a successful collaboration. Some people want to make music casually and can’t spend much time doing so, others may want to take things more seriously and work on something often and for long periods, and others are professionals doing it as their full time career. Knowing what collaborators goals and expectations are in advance can save you a lot of time in the future, and decrease the chances of you feeling frustrated.

Written by Nick Stephens, a music production tutor, music marketing writer, and down to his DNA—music obsessive. When he isn’t making music you can find him at live music events, DJing up and down the UK, including Glastonbury, and the gym—sometimes.