Helping Musicians Find Local Gigs - Q&A with Susie Winkworth
Introducing Susie Winkworth, the co-founder of Map a Muso - the online atlas of musical talent, connecting musicians to local gigs!
Hannah, our Head of Operations has a chat with Susie to find out more about her multifaceted career.
Welcome Susie,
Please introduce yourself to our readers!
I'm a cellist, arranger and composer - and co-founder of Map a Muso. Like many freelance musicians, I love variety, both in the music I get to make and the lovely people I get to work with.
As a cellist I've enjoyed the full buffet of string experience: I've played in your standard classical concerts with orchestras like National Symphony Orchestra and as continuo for Trafalgar Sinfonia; some chamber music both commercial (anyone for candlelight?) and classical; in West End shows like Frozen and Hello Dolly; for pop and film music sessions. I've worked on some great education and community projects run by orchestras, and done plenty of teaching and workshopping. I've also played for events - parties, weddings and funerals - which is an underrated branch of the UK music industry, in my view. It's always great to feel and see what music contributes to people's lives.
Performing and coaching fed into writing arrangements. I now run a small publishing company for off-the-shelf string covers and fun pop tracks for education that sound like the original track, which have been used by musicians and music schools all over the world. I write bespoke arrangements for ensembles and for education projects, like the one I'm writing now for United Learning with the Royal Opera House. I also love adding string magic to original pop and jazz tracks, writing arrangements for artists like Judith Owen.
During the pandemic I learned some extra tech skills, and started writing library music and trailers. I've written a few albums now and also remote record from home for other trailer composers and libraries like Evolving Sound and Gothic Storm.
For those who may not be familiar, what is Map a Muso, and how does it work?
Map a Muso is a directory of professional musicians, searchable by location. Essentially, anyone can look for a musician for a gig for free - whether you're a fixer or someone looking for a dep. The system shows you everyone with matching skills who works in the area nearby. You can view their biography, see photos and offer them a gig!
What inspired you to create this platform?
I was reading a book that said the things you most complain about are your reverse inspirations! I had yet another journey with a colleague who was sharing their frustration and exhaustion over how far they'd travelled for work in the previous week, and I thought that there must be a better, saner and greener way to do this.
Another friend shared a story of meeting a colleague at a service station on a busy Saturday. They were heading on opposite journeys to their gigs...
Many musicians don't live in big cities these days, so it makes sense to have a way of finding where they are. When you put everyone on the map, it makes it possible to take advantage of the amazing talent nearby, and for everyone to save time and money otherwise wasted on travel.
I spoke to my partner Tamás, who's a software engineer, and we decided to build what has become Map a Muso. As with all projects, it took a whole lot more work and thought to create than we expected, but we're proud that it's a great, low-cost tool for musicians and fixers across the industry.
How do the membership tiers work?
Searching for musicians is always free!
We have two membership tiers for performers who want to join the directory:
PIANO makes it risk-free to list yourself in the directory. There's no cost to add your biog and photos, and you can add four areas in which you'd like to work. You can receive offers of work, and if you'd like to reply to the sender you can upgrade to FORTE.
FORTE - for just £40 a year, you can list yourself and add biogs and photos. You can add up to eight areas in which you'd like to work. When you get an offer of work, you can see the fixer's details immediately, and get replying!
What’s been the most rewarding experience since launching the platform?
I think it's always a bit brilliant to go to a gig, and have someone come up to you to share a story of how it's been useful to them. In a green room, a violinist I'd never met before said she had been offered a gig with that orchestra through Map a Muso, and was so happy that she now had an ongoing relationship with them. Another time, someone rushed up to thank Map a Muso for coming to the rescue when a player was sick and had to be replaced very last minute.
We're also really hoping that Map a Muso can make a difference, long-term, to how the music industry works. Helping musicians make new connections, and make it easier to make sane, green choices!
