M One Studios

Our clients tend to prefer acts with professional-quality promotional materials; often times a small investment in a videographer or video crew for your video can be a deal breaker. Keep in mind that our clients receive hundreds of submissions and inquiries each week – they are likely to give their fullest attention to the videos and other promotional materials which look the most sleek and polished. This is not to say the ensemble’s performance isn’t also valuable to them, however. Yours definitely must stand out above the rest. Some of these gigs are very competitive, with many groups submitting promo kits – your best bet is to emphasize your group’s unique personality and strong points (musically and visually), while still fitting within the parameters of the job description. Also remember that you are being hired to put on a show, so clearly demonstrate your ability to do just that. In other words, if you have one player (say your 1st violinist) who is significantly more musically proficient than the rest of the members of the ensemble, make sure they are featured in your video! Also, our clients have a very difficult time finding groups that not only are extremely well versed in classical music, but can also turn around and play something fun that would get their audience to stand up, clap, sing, or even dance! If you can show versatility, you’ll be all set. Our clients tend to opt for ensembles that have a clean-cut and classy, yet fun appearance - so be sure to dress as if you are performing for a wedding reception or other high-end function as opposed to a bar or club in your video. Basically, stay away from untrimmed facial hair, tattoos, multiple piercings, and outlandish hair styles and you should be OK. The bottom line for the cruise lines is that the ship’s atriums are not the most common place for clientele to sit and purchase drinks and hang around, but if the classical ensemble is entertaining enough, passengers will stick around to listen and therefore make the bar more money. That’s why this gig is about 70% classy background music and 30% entertainment. If you’re able to find that happy medium and display it in your video, our clients will love you! Of course, do not take the advice in this section too literally. Before you do anything else, it’s most important to identify and develop your group’s “shtick” (or that of the individual members), then sell it, sell it, and sell it some more.