Career Guides

A comprehensive range of music career advice, case studies, contacts and a series of valuable ‘how-to’ features, all designed to assist musicians in developing their career within the music industry.

Guidance packs

Finance

Getting Funding

Learn where to look for funding your music business and useful organisations that can help.

Marketing and Promotion

From maximising opportunities of your online presence to taking advantage of ‘word of mouth’ recommendations and offline marketing.

Working Relationships

How to work with agents, managers and other players in the music industry and what you need to look out for.

Freelance Musicians' Pack

Advice on managing your work as a freelance musician.

Guide to Auditioning

A guide to preparing for an audition.

Professional Growth and Creativity

Musicians' Wellbeing Pack

Latest career features

Marcelo and another busker in yellow M U campaign t-shirts holding pink cut out guitars at a demo last August.

Protecting Amplification in Busking

One year on from the Leicester Square busking ban, MU member Marcelo Cervone reflects on how amplification shapes public space, challenges misconceptions on busking volume and makes the case for protecting performers’ pitches.

Published: 08 May 2026

Bags, flight cases, gear piled in the boot of a small van.

Car and Home Insurance for Musicians: New MU Partnership Gives Members Access to Specialist Cover

How a new insurance initiative from the MU and its partner Howden could help level the playing field for working musicians.

Published: 30 April 2026

Small music venue, a band are on stage in front of an audience, all in silhouette against purple lighting.

LGBT+ History Month 2026: Being a Trans Man in the Music Industry

Multi-instrumentalist, freelance events manager and MU member Asher Hoang reflects on identity and presentation in the music industry as a trans man, exploring personal challenges and the power of diverse musical communities.

Published: 19 February 2026

Close up of an acoustic guitar in a meadow at sunset.

LGBT+ History Month 2026: Navigating Top Surgery as a Freelance Trans Musician

To mark LGBT+ History Month 2026, folk musician, activist and MU member Maddie Morris reflects on getting top surgery while freelancing — from fundraising and touring to recovery, music-making, and mental health.

Published: 05 February 2026

Two hands outstretched, each holding a jigsaw piece that will fit together.

Lessons from the MU’s Courageous Conversations Workshop

The music industry can be a difficult environment in which to have the conversations that you want and need in the workplace, but a one-day course hosted by the MU has offered a way forward.

Published: 18 December 2025

Last chance to book

A finger following a music score on a sheet of paper.

14 May 2026

Workflow and Score Appearance in Sibelius

An online workshop exploring workflow efficiency in Sibelius and suggestions for improving the speed with which you input your music. For members based in Scotland and Northern Ireland as a priority (limited places available for members outside the region).

Online (Zoom)

Last chance to book

15 May 2026

Feldenkrais: Move Better, Feel Better, Perform Better

Free up your playing and singing using the Feldenkrais method, a sensory-motor learning system which looks at our mind and body holistically.

Online Member only

Last chance to book

A row of miniature wooden blocks on a table. They show the outline of three people, one is an image of a head with a heart in the brain area to represent good mental health.

19 May 2026

Managing Stress and Burnout in the Music Industry

Join the MU and BAPAM for a one-hour online session with Dramatherapist Heather Turkington, exploring stress and burnout, their signs and causes, practical coping strategies, and when and where to seek support, free for MU members in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Online

See all events

#WorkNotPlayMU

This is not a hobby - it's our profession

No-one should feel guilty about turning down unpaid “opportunities". Have you been asked to work for no fee?

Tell us about it See all Campaigns

This is not a hobby - it's our profession

Cookies on Musicians' Union

Popular searches

Career Guides

Guidance packs

Getting Funding

Marketing and Promotion

Working Relationships

Freelance Musicians' Pack

Guide to Auditioning

Professional Growth and Creativity

Musicians' Wellbeing Pack

Latest career features

Protecting Amplification in Busking

Car and Home Insurance for Musicians: New MU Partnership Gives Members Access to Specialist Cover

LGBT+ History Month 2026: Being a Trans Man in the Music Industry

LGBT+ History Month 2026: Navigating Top Surgery as a Freelance Trans Musician

Lessons from the MU’s Courageous Conversations Workshop

Upcoming events

Last chance to book

Workflow and Score Appearance in Sibelius

Last chance to book

Feldenkrais: Move Better, Feel Better, Perform Better

Last chance to book

Managing Stress and Burnout in the Music Industry

This is not a hobby - it's our profession