Chloe Carroll

Some of it was luck. I happened to go to school in the same city as one of the best internship programs in the country. I was lucky when I moved to New Orleans that my predecessor operated very similarly to the way I do. But beyond that, it is a lot of hard work, and it's never giving up. Once I found myself in the right spaces to meet my goals, I never stopped asking for more advice, more connections, and more opportunities. I also made sure to always bring my best game face and to be the hardest working person in the room. Any recognition or advancement I've achieved in my career is the result of being the best version of myself and the best worker in the room to the full extent of my abilities. The live music industry is a brutal scene; you compromise your body, your relationships, and your sanity. You commit yourself to working nights, weekends, and holidays on a regular basis. But you also know that you are a part of something important, and as long as you stay passionate and hard working, the sky is the limit.

Never, ever give up. A mentor of mine said once, at some point in your life, it's entirely possible that you will be living out of your car, your boyfriend will have just broken up with you, and it will seem like your best bet is to quit. He said that is the most important time to stick to your goals. The only difference between the people who succeed and those who don't is whether they gave up or not.

Never stop working hard, and never compromise who you are. This was advice given to me by a sound engineer who was in the LA scene for 40 years. I was expressing interest in moving there, and he said, just whatever you do, don't lose yourself. It is a viper pit, and it is really easy to get wrapped up in the scene. The best way to succeed is to always be yourself, and always be the hardest working person in the room.

It's a weird time for the music industry at large right now. Live music is special in that AI is not taking anybody's jobs anytime soon, but modern technology is affecting the way people discover music and the type of music that is being produced. People don't discover new artists at their local dive bar or concert hall anymore, they discover them on social media. As a result, there is a worldwide decline in ticket sales. The industry is compensating for this shift by making live shows a boutique VIP experience, and unfortunately this is pricing out the young and the curious. There are lot of people who are in high school and college who have never been to a show before. This is partially because their favorite artist on TikTok isn't touring in their area, and even if they are touring the tickets are just too expensive. Why pay $100 to see your favorite artist from the back row when you can watch an intimate video of them performing in their own living room for free? As a result ticket prices are rising, and job opportunities and pay rates are shrinking. But this trend is temporary. Live music is never going away, and we all need to just ride the wave together until it passes. Entry level opportunities may be low pay and kind of crappy work for a while, but when the dust settles and you're the strongest pillar in what's left, any opportunity can be yours.

For me, a lot of my professional success comes from exceptional communication and customer service. Artists are a special breed, and learning to work with them productively is the foundation of a positive professional relationship. Artists are dreamers and creators, and the more successful they become, the less they hear the word "no". Learning how to effectively work with an artist means doing whatever you can to see their vision come to life without compromising the integrity and limitations of the spaces they're performing in. I very often do not say "no" outright, but I do take the time to explain the pros and cons of a request. More often than not, as long as the artists feel they're being listened to and understand that I am doing everything I can, they don't even mind being told no.