How To Give Better Interviews As A Musician

As an artist, interviews are a part of the game. Although they can seem intimidating at first, they should be an exciting way to get your thoughts out there, give your fans a deeper look into who you are behind the music and make new connections along the way. Making sure you’re ready for any question thrown your way isn’t as hard as you think. In this post, we’ll give you some tips for giving the best interviews you can, every time. Here’s the rundown…

How To Give Better Interviews As A Musician

Master The General Questions

No matter who is interviewing you, you can always expect the basics of your personal lore to be thrown your way. How do you describe your music? What made you start your journey as an artist? Who are your inspirations? I’m not saying to prepare a cookie cutter answer for these every time they’re asked, but having an idea of your answers for these will make you more confident starting the interview and keeping a calm head before the more unique questions come out.

Avoid One-Word Answers

The whole point of taking interviews is to give your fans a deeper look into who you are as an artist. Answering with robotic, one-word answers takes the fun out of the whole thing. Listen carefully to the interviewer’s questions and respond thoughtfully. You’re an artist, a dynamic creative, even an inspiration to many fans out there, so let your responses show that.

——

Feed yo’ brain…

How To Reframe Negative Thinking Patterns

5 Spotify Features You Should Be Taking Advantage Of As An Artist

How To Organically Grow Your Spotify Monthly Listeners

How to Optimize your Songwriting for Sync

——

Be Open

I understand many of you thrive within your mysterious, aloof niche. However, no matter how mysterious you want to be, your fans will always want to know more. And don’t you want to give them that? There’s a difference between curating a mysterious energy as an artist and coming off cold and rude. Be open; let the interviewer in. If you don’t want to answer a question, change the direction of the conversation to something you do want to talk about. Although it seems like the interviewer has all the power, it’s quite the contrary. You can steer the conversation any way you like, sharing as little or as much as you’re comfortable with. As long as you open yourself up to the conversation, you’d be surprised at what magic comes out naturally.

Stay On Topic

It is important to keep the conversation flowing, but it’s also just as important to stay on topic. A very common nervous counterpart is rambling on and on, but keep in mind this is ultimately supposed to be about the music. Whenever you can, try to tie in your personal experiences to your musical journey. The marriage of these two is the sweet spot of the ultimate interview magic.

Do Your Homework

If you just dropped a new album, expect it to be asked about in your upcoming interviews. Is there some online drama surrounding you right now? It’s probably going to come up. Preparing yourself for these scenarios ensures you’re ready with a good response, even if it doesn’t end up coming up at all.

The key to remaining cool, calm and collected is preparation. If you really want to go the extra mile, do your homework on whoever’s interviewing you. If a lull in the conversation strikes, you can shoot them a personal question. You never know what you may have in common that will bring you closer, and in turn bring upon a better, more genuine interview.

Relax…

I know what you’re thinking… the dreaded “Just relax!” advice. If you’re like me and suffer with anxiety for literally everything, this is way easier said than done. Before you skip this section, there are in fact some very easy steps you can take to curb your anxiety before walking in to any situation. My favorite way is to practice mindfulness. If you start to feel overwhelmed, take a second to take in your 5 senses. Identify something you can see, something you can hear, something you can touch, smell, and taste. Take a deep breath. Remind yourself it will all be okay.

We wrote a whole post that breaks down some of our favorite holistic methods to manage anxiety that I use almost every day. If you have something extra stressful like an interview coming up, things like aromatherapy, limiting your caffeine intake that day, and even bringing along a little CBD rollerball are all great ways to calm down and move forth with confidence and clarity. To learn more about these, check out this post.

To wrap it all up…

The whole reason you’re being interviewed is because people like you so much that they want to learn more. Be confident in what you have to say and trust your instincts. It’ll be over before you know it, and you’ll be excited for the next one.

Good luck!