Job Q&A
by Wendy Paris
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Susan McDonald is a classical guitarist living in Austin, Texas. She has performed throughout Europe and in North and South America, and has given concerts in venues ranging from community colleges to Carnegie Hall. She has also played for President Bush and performed on radio and television in Canada, the United States, Germany, Austria and Ecuador. She self-produced four CDs, two of which, "The Cathedral" and "Comfort," were nominated for Grammy awards. Susan will be touring Spain and the northeastern United States this June.

Monster.com: What do you do on a day-to-day basis?

Susan McDonald: I reserve morning hours to practice, and I try not to think of business at all. I turn the ringer off on the telephone and practice usually for about five hours. If I have a concert or a recording coming up, I'll be practicing specifically for that. If there's not a concert, I'll be learning new pieces. I'm trying to always expand my repertoire.

After lunch, I'll check my e-mail and attend to business. Either I'll make phone calls, or if I have an assistant at the time, I'll have her make phone calls. I'll write letters, send packages off to people and try to get more bookings.

Mc: Do you spend a lot of time dealing with the business side of performing?

SM: Absolutely. Especially now and especially in this industry. You used to get a manager and trust him to do everything for you. But there are so many artists out there now and so few slots available to perform. Trying to get a performance is like going through a whole job interview, and it often isn't worth a management company's time to do that work for you.

Mc: So you have to be entrepreneurial?

SM: Yes, and I think the Internet has really made it possible and easy to be entrepreneurial. It's a great leveler. I can have a Web page just as easily as a big corporation can. I don't have the budget to advertise in a big magazine, but with the Internet I don't have to. My e-mail is up there with that of the big management companies.

Mc: What is your musical background?

SM: I always wanted to be a classical guitarist; it's all I ever wanted to do. I studied guitar at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Then I left college to become a student of Pepe Romero, in the United States and in Europe. Pepe is one of the best classical guitarists in the world. I also studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Banff Center for the Arts. Now, I practice and play all the time, trying to learn more music and expand my repertoire.

Mc: Do you have a business background too?

SM: No. When I was younger, the prevailing wisdom was that you played very difficult music, you entered competitions, you tried to find a manager to handle the business and you tried to get a record label to let you record for them. There was no thought of being a business person. We all had the impression that if you practiced enough, some hand would reach down and touch your forehead and then you'd be famous.

What I've learned, through many years of struggling, is that no one's going to touch you on the forehead and make you famous. No manager's going to help you out of the goodness of their heart, and no one person is going to know the taste of audiences. The only people who know that are the people you're playing for. If you go out there, play in every situation you can, play a lot of stuff for people and see what they like best, you're essentially doing your own market research. You find out what they like and what you like to play.

It doesn't matter if management or a label is impressed with you. If people like you, if they want to hear you play, you can pretty much write your own ticket.

Mc: Has your career lived up to your expectations?

SM: I'm finally at a place in my career where things are coming together. It took longer than I thought it would, but because I did it myself, I feel like I own it. I feel really empowered and knowledgeable. I don't have any illusions and I'm not at the mercy of anybody. So it was slower than I thought, but ultimately better.

Mc: What are the skills or qualities that make a good classical guitarist?

SM: Talent, drive, ambition. Talent, by the way, is not the most important of these.

Mc: What do you like most about your job?

SM: People pay me to play the guitar -- isn't that absurd? And they usually feed me really well and I get to dress up. Also, I love putting the word out that you can do it yourself. So many people in this business just get crushed waiting for the big break. But you can make your own breaks.

Mc: How would you advise others interested in this field?

SM: They should understand that they're going to have to do it themselves -- even if that means taking classes in marketing. Though it costs more up front, you benefit from making your own CDs, rather than waiting for someone to sign you. Probably half of my income these days comes from CD sales -- over the Internet, mail order and at concerts.

Mc: Where can people get more information?