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GETTING A FOOT IN
THE DOOR
How to make your way in the Live Sound Industry

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 Getting a Foot in the Door
How to make your way in the Live Sound Industry

Copyright Darryn de la Soul © 2013

Cover Photo: Copyright Dan Korkelia © 2013

http://www.dankorkelia.com

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This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to
other people. If you would like to share this book with someone else, please purchase an additional copy
for each person. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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 Prologue
Before we start
This is not a very nice book. It’s not a very long manage to acquire comes at a price – usually
book. But, it is a truthful one. your own blood, sweat, and tears.

I am going to begin with this one thought: we live So, if you want a career as a Sound Engineer,
in a capitalist society – whether you like it or not best you don’t expect it to be handed to you on a
– and, in a capitalist society, NO ONE OWES platter; if you do, I suggest you go work in a
YOU A THING. Every single thing that you bank.

Fig. 1: Gary Curtis mixing Whitechapel at Groezrock, Belgium

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 Climbing the Ladder
Unlike many careers, such as banking and law,
there is no ‘ladder‘ in the Live Sound industry; it’s
more like a web, only a web that has a lower end
and a higher end.
Instead, everybody finds their own way onto the
web, and, once they’re in, they make those
important connections and relationships that will
enable them to build a career.

There is no clear structure, such as “once you’ve
got your internship year out of the way, you are a
fully fledged Sound Guy”.
Whatever happens, and no matter how you did
your learning, you will more than likely start at
the lower end of this web, coiling cables and
pushing boxes until someone trusts you enough
to let you get behind the board.

Fig. 2: Pushing faders is only part of the job; the rest

is manual labour and people skills

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 Qualifications – What Use Are They?
Pieces of paper v. skills
‘Qualifications’ is a troublesome area for the
industry. There are so many courses and
degrees out there now that claim to produce
“fully qualified Sound Engineers”; yet, my
experience has shown that the average
university degree in Sound Engineering
produces people who can write about sound, but
can’t really push faders around.
Indeed, this isn’t that surprising, as I have met
university Sound Engineering lecturers who don’t
know what the threshold setting on a compressor
does! This is a very sad state of affairs and
creates a difficult situation for employers (who
want to see what you can DO, not what you’ve
been TAUGHT).
One of the quickest ways to get yourself off the
potential employment list is to boast about your
degree, or to think that it puts you above people
without one. This is one of the worst side effects
of university: thinking that three years of studying
a little and getting drunk a lot somehow puts you
above hard labour. Saying “I don’t push
flightcases around; I have a degree” is the
quickest way to be shown the door (probably
with a steel toecap up your butt).
Remember, most employers in this sector do not
have qualifications in Sound – they were not
available 30 years ago – but know exactly what
they are doing and have 30 years’ experience of
doing it, which means a hell of a lot more than a
dissertation on acoustics.
Fig. 3: Prodigy at Brixton Academy, London
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Fig. 4: Keane at The Fridge, Brixton, London
As a result, no one will ever, ever ask to see
your degree/diploma; so don’t try and impress
people with it. By all means, mention it; but don’t
rely on it as the thing to get you in. What will get
you in are attitude (more on that later) and
actual, demonstrable skills.
So, if you are still studying as you read this,
make sure you take every single opportunity that
comes your way to get real hands-on
experience. If your course provider doesn’t help
you with finding real-life work experience, go get
it yourself; DO THIS WHILE YOU ARE
STUDYING, as those pesky loans will require
repayment at some stage – so you really do
need to know what you are doing by the end of
your course.
Strange as it may sound, those long ‘uni’
holidays are exactly when you should not be
having holidays. Instead, go and volunteer at a
venue somewhere. Keep your diploma, that
pretty piece of paper, framed on Mum’s wall, and
go out into the world with a willingness to get
your hands dirty and do whatever it takes to get
into the industry.
If you are not studying, it is still possible to get in
the old-fashioned way: sweeping floors and
making yourself useful around a warehouse.
However, this will need some good interpersonal
and negotiating skills, and is not very common
these days.
 Sound Engineering is not really an Academic
Pursuit
Some parts of the industry – electronics,
acoustics, etc. – might be, but being the bloke at
the back of the room, mixing the bands, is not
academic; it’s practical.
Engineer. You WILL start at the bottom, so don’t
pretend to yourself that you won’t; no amount of
classroom training is going to get you mixing
main stage at ‘Glasto’ right away.

• No standard qualification at the moment
There is no such thing as a “fully qualified Sound
Engineer”, like there is a “fully qualified
doctor/lawyer/teacher”.
All the courses, degrees and other training
available are different, and all trainers set their
own standards – some a lot higher than others.
The only thing you can possibly learn from any
course, however, is how to be an entry-level
The industry and the technology change so
quickly these days that by the time a subject has
made it into a degree curriculum, it’s probably
out of date. So, whilst I’m certainly not saying
“don’t get formal training”, I am saying not to
expect more from that training than it’s possible
to get. And don’t think that academic
qualifications get you any extra kudos on a tour
bus; the rest of the crew on that bus have been
doing it forever, and don’t need some 20 year old
‘giving it large’.

Fig. 5: Mark Dale, Jay Roome, and Nick Allen rigging

a Nexo line array for UEFA celebrations in Trafalgar
Square, London

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 There is No Substitute for Experience
Get as much experience as you can, any way
you can. Employers aren’t interested in pieces of • Be likeable
paper; they want to see that you can DO the job.
All Live Sound work and all live events are a
• Name it; be it team effort. If no one likes you, you won’t be
asked back, and you’ll develop a reputation for
As in any walk of life, you need to be a Sound being lazy/slack/disrespectful/cocky/a bit of a
Engineer in your own head. Call yourself an d*ck.
Engineer, and pursue it with all your heart and
soul. It doesn’t come easy; but, it will come. People TALK in this business; it’s a small and
close-knit community, and, sooner or later,
Many of you will everyone knows everything about each other. As
have to have a male-dominated as the industry might be, we’re
supplementary all really just a bunch of old ladies when it comes
job as well, to to gossip.
pay the rent
while pursuing Therefore, make sure that people are saying
your dream. This good things about you; sometimes this will mean
is normal. gritting your teeth and swallowing your pride –
Fig. 6: Darryn de la Soul at Village However, if just do it. Everyone will be watching you; so, pull
Underground, London you’re pulling your weight. It’s the gossip in the warehouse
pints three nights after your first gig that will establish you in the
a week, don’t think of yourself as a barman; think minds of the people who book you.
of yourself as an Engineer who needs a bit of
extra cash to get by.

It’s very easy to fall into those hospitality jobs –

where there’s a good vibe and you’re buddies
with everyone – and so, slowly give up on your
dream and become a barman or a waiter. Try
and find a job that doesn’t need your attention
once you’ve left the premises; this helps you
avoid becoming something you don’t want to be.

• Attitude is everything

The only things your first employer will see are

your attitude and your skills. As the saying goes,
“you’re only as good as your last gig”. If you
were liked and did well on your first job, chances
Fig. 8: Mark Dale rigging a d&b V Series, for Beirut, at
are your phone might ring again next week. If
the Hammersmith Apollo, London
you got sulky about being asked to do the menial
jobs, there is a strong chance that you will be
ignored in future. • Just say “yes”…

...to absolutely any opportunity that comes your

way, whether it’s paid or not. Don’t be a gig
snob. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like the genre
of music/type of event; go do it anyway.

Very few Engineers get to specialise in one

genre only. Even if you’re a hard-rock fan, you
still need to be able to mix jazz. Club nights
might bore the pants off you; but clubs are
regular employers, as are churches.
Fig. 7: Dimitris Gavalas and Roberto Pellegrino at the
Lambeth Country Show, London

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It doesn’t matter what the job is; there’s always
something to learn. You might know how to plug
in and set up a DJ kit; but, do you know how to
communicate successfully with a DJ who thinks
“the more red lights on my mixer the better”?
You might be an Indie kid; but, if the church
down the road is paying a wage, can you
understand how the choir fits into the purposes
of the church service, and so deliver the
experience required by your employer?
Do you know how to reason with an
unreasonable promoter? Can you stand your
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ground politely, and with facts to hand, in a
dispute with an Environmental Health Officer?
Learning to handle all of these situations is
critical to your success in this business. So, if
you have an opportunity to do work experience
at any event whatsoever, say “yes” and go do it.
Offer your services for free at any venue you
can, and go help out; this is part of the learning
process – learn from those who have been doing
it since forever.
It’s also a VERY good idea to make your
mistakes on someone else’s watch, with
someone around to correct you!
 Be Punctual, Reliable, and Pleasant to be Around
Naturally, this applies to all paid jobs; but, even if
you are volunteering, it doesn’t mean that you
don’t have to do the job properly from beginning
to end.
Stay till the end. Be there when the last
flightcase is loaded, EVEN IF YOU’RE
VOLUNTEERING. This will impress people
around you.

• Be punctual • Be reliable

This is absolutely critical. If the call time is Reliability is almost more important than
5:30AM, you must be there READY TO WORK anything else in the employability stakes. As an
at 5:30AM. This means that you have already employer, I expect that if you say you will be
had your three cups of coffee, and are ready to somewhere at a certain time, you WILL be there
rock. Time is always without fail. I also
limited on gigs – there is expect you to do your
never, ever enough of it best at all times; I need
– so being punctual is to know that I can count
important. on you to do long hours
in often-difficult
If you’re going circumstances, in the
somewhere you’ve heat or the cold, with
never been before, give less sleep than we’d all
yourself an extra half an like, with a smile on
hour to get there, in your face, and an
case you get lost. attitude that makes you
easy to be around.
If you are late, it means Everyone you’re
that your share of the working with expects
work is now being done you to do things the
by other members of the Fig. 9: Soulsound tutor Justin Grealy mixing FOH for Biffy right way, not the easy
team, which is no way to Clyro, in Germany way, no matter how
ingratiate yourself with small the gig.
them at all. And, if everyone seems to be okay
that ‘The Guy Who’s Been Doing This For 30 LAZINESS IS NOT AN OPTION IN THE LIVE
Years’ is late, it does not mean that it’s okay for SOUND INDUSTRY!
YOU to be late too. That’s his prerogative, and
he already has a career; you are just starting out, • Be pleasant to be around
so haven’t earned the same privileges.
Not much more to say, really. Be nice, and you’ll
be back.

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 Work Experience/First Jobs
Go the extra mile to stand out from the crowd
You and a million other 19-25 year olds are all
after the same work. On paper, your
qualifications are fairly similar; so, if you’re lucky
enough to be offered some work…
DO:
• More than is expected.
• Look good, as well as sound good. I
don’t mean your personal appearance
(although what you wear does influence
how people see you – black is always
the best option); I mean your work.
Chances are, in your first jobs, you won’t
get anywhere near the mixer – apart
from unloading it – so no one will hear
your work, even if you’re the best Mix
Engineer since Big Mick. What they will
see is how neat your stage is, how easy
it is to read the labels you put on cables,
how tidy the area is around your mic
stands and stage boxes. This is where
you can impress without even saying a
word – by being safe, fast, and effective.
DON’T:
Fig. 10: Soulsound tutor Marcel van Limbeek at the
Birmingham Symphony Hall with Tori Amos
• Keep in mind that almost all work comes
from word-of-mouth. So, make sure that
the words about you are complimentary;
these are the people that will vouch for
you in the future.
• Keep a discreet notepad to write down
people’s names and what their positions
are, so you can address them correctly;
it works a treat. I would suggest NOT
writing these things down on your
phone, as everyone will assume that
you’re on Facebook and think you’re
skiving.
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• Be helpful. If you see that they’re a man
short on a four-man lift, step in and grab
a handle.
• Stay alert and react quickly when asked
to do something.
• Be thoughtful. If you see everyone’s
getting tired, offer to make a round of
tea: write down the milk and sugar
requirements, and deliver nice, hot tea –
of the correct sweetness – to those
around you.
• Some research. Before you go to a job,
do a bit of ‘Googling’ about the
company/venue and people in it. We all
love being flattered; so, if you can say
things like, “I saw that you mixed Show
X last year; how did you deal with the
strings?”, then the person you’re talking
to will be more willing to open up. There
are few Engineers in the world who don’t
like to show off a bit to a young ’un.
• Show off all that lovely book-learning you
spent the last three years doing. Rather,
listen carefully to what people are telling
you, and ASK QUESTIONS AT THE
RIGHT MOMENT. The right moment is
NOT in the middle of the soundcheck, nor
when things are getting rushed, nor in the
middle of solving a problem, nor in any
circumstances where people are
concentrating. The right moment is over
dinner, in the pub, on a tea break, etc.
Again, write your questions down to ask
all at once. Most Engineers love sharing
their knowledge, and showing off a bit;
so, if you choose your moment carefully,
you are likely to get a good answer.
• Spend all day telling your Facebook
friends how cool it is to be backstage at
the Reading Festival; it will be the last
time that you are.
• Wait to be asked to coil those cables in a
pile in the corner; ask if this needs doing,
and, if the answer is “yes”, go do it.
Properly.
 Qualifications or Not, You Will Push Boxes
I cannot emphasise enough how much a degree
An aside for women
does NOT exclude you from manual labour.

Seventy percent of the job is pre-planning, hard Please don’t let this put you off a
slog, loading trucks, tipping trucks, pushing career in Sound. You will be
heavy flightcases around, and getting heavy expected to pull your weight on
loudspeakers in the air; 20% is dealing with other load-ins and load-outs, but no
human beings, often with over-inflated egos; and
more than your weight. Most lifting
only 10% is actually pushing faders on a mixing
desk. is about technique, not strength,
anyway; so, there is very little that
If you do not want to push boxes around, I hear women can’t do.
that bank tellers have very little heavy lifting to
do…

Fig. 11: Flightcases abound in this industry; you will be manhandling

many, many of them!

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 I Am Not “ur M8”
One thing which young people seem to forget is
that people who have jobs to give out are Sure-fire ways to be immediately, well, fired:
usually older than them. So, is the way you’re
approaching and contacting a potential • Sending a text message saying, “Hi
employer appropriate? mate, I hear you might have some work”.
I AM NOT YOUR MATE.

• Sending a text message at all. Asking for

work is a bit formal; use formal methods
of communication. Text messages are
not a formal method of communication.
Write an email. Make a phone call.

• Using teen-speak when talking to a

prospective employer. DO NOT use the
words ‘blud’, ‘bruv’, ‘innit’, or anything
else that you may have used when you
were at school. You are now an adult,
kindly speak like one. You can rebel
again in a few years’ time when you have
established yourself (in fact, I encourage
you to!); but, for now, play by the rules:
treat those with more experience than
you with the respect they deserve, speak
Fig. 12: Twiddling knobs is what we do best.
like a grown up, and maybe you’ll get
Yamaha M7CL
yourself a career.

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 CVs and Covering Letters
A CV is a sales document – make an effort
It is my firm belief that many young people are
unable to find work because their CVs aren’t up
to scratch. I get sent dozens a week, and I
peruse them all. The few well written ones, I file
for future reference (and send them an email
saying so); the ones which come across as lazy
(bad cut & pastes, poor formatting, incorrect
spelling) get binned without response (if you
can’t be bothered to present yourself well, I
can’t be bothered to respond).
The ones that have made an effort but present
themselves really badly (i.e. I can’t tell if they’re
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a Sound Engineer or a shelf-stacker at Tesco)
often get a reply from me telling them so, in the
hope that they might improve in that area.
Your CV is a sales document; it’s an advert for
you. So, make an effort when writing it.
If it looks lazy, then I have to assume that you
are lazy and will be lazy on my job; I will,
therefore, not even consider you. A CV is the
only way you have to introduce yourself to total
strangers; so, make sure it creates a good
impression.
 Writing your Covering Letter
A CV should always be accompanied by a
covering letter (email is fine), which is less
formal; introduces yourself to the recipient; and
is the first step in getting them to actually read
your CV.
Your covering letter should:
• Make people WANT to read your CV.
• Give the reader a small insight into your
character (answer the question: “who
am I?”).
• Give a broad overview of your skills
(answer the question: “what can I do?”).
• Catch the reader’s attention. This is the
ONLY contact that the reader has with
you, so make it count! You need to
stand out from the million other CVs and
emails that employers get every year.
Make sure that you spell things correctly
(especially the names of people and gear), and
present yourself properly. If you’re applying for
work in a language that is not your first, get a
native-speaker to check it.
Use spell-check, BUT beware of autocorrect.
We’ve all done it – autocorrect can often make
you say things you really didn’t intend to!
Once you are happy with your CV, print it out
and proofread it again; it’s astonishing how
many more errors you pick up on from a printed
page than from a screen.
Then, get your grandmother to proofread it and
check your grammar and punctuation (two
things which DO matter, as we shall see below).
Everything – including formatting – should be
neat, legible, and consistent.
Here is an example of a really poor job
application:
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I really like doing live sound going on tours, it would be
my pleasure if you replied.
I am an honest person and very hard working, I
do a lot of work in the media business and I love
to video and record and also to do the sound,
lighting. I do it at my church events also at the
convention centre; they have excellent
equipment and facilities. I have a lot of ambition
and faculties to work. I have a passion for Audio
and Visual, I use mixing desk at college in the
studio and live performance for bands.
I’ve work on the following mixer Allen&heat
mixer, Mackie, Soundcraft EFX12 12 Channel
Analogue. I would love to increase my knowledge
in digital mixing. I also love to go sound engineer
and touring.
Sound checking bands setting up drum kits.
Working with soundcraftvi6 mixer, and I would
love to develop my skills on the mixer.
So what makes this letter so bad? First of all,
there is no greeting, which comes across as
rude – he, apparently, can’t even take the time
to say “hello”. Second, the formatting is all over
the place, and it looks a mess: not only does the
font size change, so too does the colour and
typeface!
For the most part, I am not bothered by the
actual English; as I’ve said before, this isn’t an
industry that cares too much about academia.
However, here, it’s almost incoherent (I have
copied it in its entirety, except for the sender’s
name). Yes, there is passion coming through,
and the kid has obviously made an effort to get
work; however, I’m not too sure about the extent
of his experience. He says he would love to get
into Sound Engineering, and then mentions
something about soundchecking bands; “setting
up drum kits”; and “Working with soundcraftvi6
mixer”. Are they other things he wants to get
into? Or does he have experience with them
already?
Now compare it with the following example of a
very good covering letter that actually made me
call him back, even without a CV. (For
reference, “FOH” stands for “front of house”).
Hi Darryn,
I've just stumbled upon your rather nice looking website
whilst looking for agencies that specialise in the audio
industry. I'm an engineer with 20+ years experience &
I'm looking for new work opportunities. I appreciate that
you have expressed on your site that you only use
engineers that you know & I guess I don't fall into that
category but I thought I'd drop you a mail anyway to see
if you'd be interested in throwing me into your pool of
engineers.
I don’t really want to bore you with all this but as I don't
have a CV I think I should explain a bit of my
experience from memory, so here goes...
25 years ago (I'm 40 now in case your wondering) I
started off as a bass player in a band. Attended
Gateway school of recording etc. at Kingston University.
Cut my teeth at FOH with a local band.
Toured as FOH with;
Propellerheads, Ozric Tentacles, Electric Groove
Temple, Rythm-ites, N-Dubz, Cascada & Senser (who I
still work for, if only they had some gigs) I also Looked
after radio mic's & ears for a tour of Ireland with (hurts
me to mention it) Jedward...
PA companies;
Production Hire, Capital Sound & a few other smaller
companies.
Over the years I have looked after FOH on the following
festival stages;
Bestival Main & stage 2, Rockness Main & stage 2,
Jersey live Main, Glastonbury Avalon, Electric Picnic
Crawdaddy & dance tent. Creamfields main & D&B tent,
All Tomorrows Parties stage 3, Nass & too many raves
including One Nation D&B, Hardcore Heaven, Slinky etc
at venues like Birmingham NEC, Shepton Mallet
showground & Crystal Palace.
I currently look after FOH at the O2 in Bournemouth &
have worked at this venue since well before they took it
over. Nowadays I spend half the time doing monitors
there for supports as our monitor guy has ended up
becoming technical manager which means he has
towels to find & toilets to un-block instead of doing
sound...
I am experienced with most analogue desks including;
Midas XL3 & 4, H3000 & the little ones. Yamaha
PM3500 & my very own Amek Recall.
Digital desk experience is less extensive but I'm all over
the Soundcraft Vi range & I get on fine with the
Yamaha's. I can cope with Digico's But I've yet to get
my hands on a Midas digital or play with those silly
mushrooms on the Avids...
I'm a studio owner & I've installed a few over the years.
Phew, that must have been hard work to trawl through
so I thank you if you made it this far & please except my
apologies if I've wasted your time. I'm sure I've missed a
whole load out & I'm sure that's just as well.
I would be very interested to hear from you & I can
provide references if required.
Kind regards,
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As you can see, in terms of content, these two
letters are very similar: both provide me with a
list of what equipment they can use and what
they have done. However, what really makes
this second letter stand out is the presentation.
Forget the fact that this guy has 25 years’
experience; this is a friendly, yet respectful,
letter.
The writer introduces himself and compliments
my website, which he has clearly read and
assimilated (a little flattery goes a long way!).
His tone is charming and funny and, thus, easy
to respond to; he even gets away with bad
grammar because the email is so lovely and I
can understand exactly what he’s saying. This
guy has been working with me for over a year
now.
So, the real deal-breaker in cases like this is
presentation – particularly, how much effort
you put into presenting yourself. Just making
sure it’s fluid and legible could make all the
difference.
Remember, the letter will most likely be the first
contact an employer has with you; so you want
it to create a good impression. It doesn’t matter
if – like the first applicant – you’ve spent a lot of
energy getting experience under your belt; if it
looks like you haven’t put the same amount of
effort into conveying it coherently, you won’t find
much employment because you come across
as lazy, and frankly, a little bit sh*t. You need to
come across as excellent.
A final thought in this area: please, if you do get
a refusal, responses like the one below are
inappropriate and unhelpful; this particular one
has led me to blacklisting the little sod with
everyone I know in the industry (which is quite a
lot of people).
If I had my way I would stab you and everyone in
your proletariat company in the neck.
I’m not sure I deserved that – I had written back
to him (instead of just ignoring him) with advice
on how to improve his chances of getting a
favourable response. His application was
particularly poor and he really needed the help!
(Aside: I think he meant to say “bourgeois”.)
 Writing your CV
Your CV should make you stand out from the
crowd. It should be neat; legible; and well
written, and a maximum of two pages long
(except in special circumstances).
A CV should ALWAYS be written in the first
person; if you write in the third person, you are
selling someone else, not yourself, which just
doesn’t work. The whole idea of the covering
letter and CV combination is to give the
recipient an insight into who you are, and to
make them like you from the start. You need to
make that all-important connection; so,
speaking of “him” or “her”, instead of “I”,
disconnects the reader immediately.
In the same breath, try not to start every
sentence with “I”, either! Find other words to
start sentences with. “During my time at A
Sound Company, I mixed monitors at A, B, & C
Festival and looked after FOH regularly at A
Venue” is much more pleasant to read than: “I
did this; I did that; I did the next thing”. It’s good
to show humility whilst, at the same time,
presenting your skills well. Too many “I”s
sounds boastful.
Your CV should have the following sections:
• Start with your name and contact
details.
• Follow with a personal statement that
is like a mini covering letter. This should
give an indication of your character, your
general skills, and your ambitions.
Fig. 13: Being a part of making a show happen is where
the thrill of the job lies
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• Next comes “Relevant Experience”,
which is all sound/event experience
(whether paid or not).
• “Other Experience” is any other jobs
you might have done. Even a
receptionist’s job leaves you with some
skills, like how to answer a phone
properly; a sales job leaves you with
good client-facing skills; etc.
• Next list specific skills – what mixing
desks you can use, what software, what
gear? Do you know how to rig? Can you
do electronic repairs?
• “Education and Qualifications” – start
with your higher education. Unless you
did something particularly spectacular in
your A-Levels, and are within a year or
two of having completed them, no one
really cares; certainly, no one gives a
damn about your GCSEs (it also makes
you seem very young to list them, even
if they were all ‘A’s).
• List driver’s licences and other things
you’re licensed for (scissor lift, fork lift,
etc); but, be honest about any points.
• Two referees. Some people write
“references available upon request”; I
find this seriously annoying. Make it
easy for the employer! Give phone
numbers and/or email addresses, and
make sure you’ve asked your
referees if it’s okay to include them.
 Approaching Employers
Blind CV sending is often a waste of time;
unless you are extremely lucky, sending
unsolicited CVs to every PA company in the
country won’t get you any work. Jobs are not
advertised – bosses ask around amongst their
crew when they’re looking for newbies, and
they will always rather go with a
recommendation from someone they trust,
rather than sift through the 200 CVs they
received that week. For the most part, CVs are
only really looked at when your name has
already been put forward.
Fig. 14: Ed Thomas at work at Village
Underground, London
If you are sending out unsolicited CVs, make a
bit more of an effort than “Dear Sir/Madam”;
get the correct name of the person you are
writing to. Also, for Pete’s sake, get their
19
gender right too. I suffer endless letters
addressed “Dear Mr de la Soul”, even though I
am clearly a woman from my website – there’s
a picture and everything!
As I’ve already said, flattery will get you
everywhere – it always works to make the
people whom you are approaching feel good
about themselves. Compliment their website.
Mention something you have read about them
online – find some way to let them know you
have actually done a bit of research and are
approaching them individually, not in a mass
email.
Pay attention to detail – beware of ‘copy and
paste’. I don’t know how many times I have
seen gaffs like sending an email to Company X,
saying how much they admire and want to work
with Company Y. If you are copying and
pasting, make absolutely sure you have
changed all the names in all the places they
needs changing. Then check again before
hitting ‘send’.
Be likeable – a sense of humour can help. Don’t
tell a joke; but, a little something to bring a smile
to the lips of the recipient is helpful in creating
the personal human contact that is the first step
in getting a response.
 Persevere
As the old saying goes, “if at first you don’t in human interactions comes through the eyes.
succeed, try and try again”. Persistence pays Show respect for their superior knowledge, and
off. Give people a reason to respond to you – don’t show off; they really do know more than
be personable and pleasant. Everyone in the you do!
world is busy these days; we all have to be able
to stay afloat in a recession. So, if you want • Just say “no”…
their attention, give them something to attend
to. ...to drugs, sex, and rock ‘n’ roll (until after the
show, at least). Don’t think that ‘caning it’ at a
However, at the same gig impresses anyone. If
time, there is a fine line something goes wrong
between persistence and and you’ve got a beer –
harassment! If you or worse – in your hand,
thought you got a good people will immediately
response from someone, think: “he’s pissed; that’s
but never heard from them why my show just f*cked
again, a gentle reminder up”, even if it is your first
email is a way to make sip of your first beer. Also
them think about you once remember that just
more. Remind them of because the older guys
who you are: “Dear X, we can get away with it,
had a chat via email a doesn’t mean that you
couple of weeks ago, and can: you are still learning;
you mentioned that there you need your sober wits
might be a chance of Fig. 15: KJ Thorarinsson having a brilliant day at the about you; solving
Horniman Museum Bandstand, London
helping you out in the problems on the fly is not
warehouse for a week. I was hoping that the yet second nature for you; there are many,
opportunity might still be available. I am free to many problems you have yet to encounter and
jump in whenever you need me…”, etc., etc. need to solve for the first time.

If they still ignore you, try once more in two

weeks’ time. After that, it’s probably a “no”. If
you actually called someone, and had a good
response over the phone, don’t expect them
to remember you the next week. Follow all
calls up with an immediate email: “Hi, this is X;
we spoke earlier today. You said that you were
interested in my Y skills. I’m attaching my CV
for your records”. Then send the covering letter
and CV.
• Never say “no”…
...to a job without replacing yourself. If you are
unable to do a job, don't let it go! Make sure it
goes to someone you know and trust. This has
several advantages:
• You look good to the client, and have
made their lives easier.

In an age when it is possible to do a month’s
grocery shop without looking another human
being in the eye, personal contact means a lot.
If you meet people face to face, look them in the
eye; let them see who you are – so much trust
• You are looking out for your mates.
• You might actually get the job back
afterwards.

20
 Inner & Outer Circles
I always have what I consider my inner and
outer circles. The inner circle is composed of
other Engineers who are close friends and are
trustworthy – you know they will do a great job,
and are unlikely to steal your gig. These are the
first people you go to when needing to replace
yourself.
If all of them are busy, you then move on to the
outer circle: people whom you've met along the
21
way and who have impressed you. These are
generally not your BFFs; but, nor will they have
embarrassed you when you later hear about
their actions at the gig.
Either way, if you vouch for someone, make
sure they are good enough. If you vouch for
someone who then screws up, your reputation
will go down the pan along with theirs.
 What Work Is Out There?
• Warehousing pecking order,
probably ‘depping’
Working in the warehouse of a PA company (filling in) for several
might not fulfil your dream of front-of-house shows at the same
(FOH) mixing glory; but, it's the best learning time before,
curve you can get. If you can get in with a PA hopefully, getting onto
company, and do general warehouse work, you the staff of one. It
will be learning all those things it's impossible to helps to know
learn from college or books: the quirks of certain someone who can
bits of kit, how different companies do their line introduce you; but,
systems, how to test equipment, how to repair theatre work is
equipment, good practice with storage and sometimes
maintenance so you don't cause damage, and advertised, and can
how to get a show out of the warehouse door. be got by applying.
Many organisations will let people grow within Look out for ads in Fig. 17: Heels of Glory at the
The Stage. Vauxhall Tavern, London.
the company, and, once you've paid your dues, Fringe theatre has its own
you can expect to be put out on gigs as assistant special rewards!
techs; stagehands; etc. The warehouse route is • Touring
generally the way in for system techs, so still
may not lead to FOH glory anytime soon. Your first tour is likely to be what is affectionately
known as a ‘Toilet Tour’. As the name implies,
• House Engineer you'll be playing really small, somewhat-crappy
venues – which are often, in my experience, the
Another great way to start best gigs of them all! On ‘Toilet Tours’, everyone
a career is to get stuck in generally mucks in – band members included –
as a House Engineer. The and you’ll be expected to share driving, manning
House Guy of any venue, the merchandise stall, and anything else that
no matter how small, is the needs doing.
person responsible for More and more these days, with budgets
most tech-y things, and, in shrinking in direct proportion to how much
smaller venues, you'll also money you fail to spend on recorded music, the
be expected to operate Sound Engineer will be asked to drive and tour-
lights and generally be ‘Mr manage as well – so three jobs get done for
(or Ms) Fix-It’. This is the price of one. I personally think this is
Fig. 16: The glorious
Funktion One, Res 5 invaluable experience. outrageous, but there you go; it's a fact of life.
system at Often the pay is barely
Neighbourhood Club, enough to live on; but, you
London • Cruise ships and holiday resorts
get to learn everything
about the system you’re Unless you're familiar with ports in sunnier
operating – from the inside out – and learn how climes, you will be surprised to hear how many
to nurse it through the rough times on no budget. cruise ships sail around the world – there are
Strangely, venue owners who regularly service hundreds! In the US alone, the industry is worth
their cars somehow fail to see the need to $40 billion a year. And, if you think about how
service their sound systems; so, learning to fix boring life aboard a ship really is, they do need
stuff yourself is the best way to keep on top of to lay on a constant stream of entertainment.
things. One pitfall of House work, however, is the
human propensity for laziness and ‘can't be
bothered’-ness, and many House Guys fall into
bad habits after a while.
Fig. 18: Mix Position
• Theatre aboard the Carnival
cruise ship, Arcadia
Theatre work ranges from tiny fringe shows, to
proper West End-style musicals. Fringe shows
have low or no budgets; so, expect to do these
for love. Getting into musicals is more difficult,
and you will start at the bottom of the ‘luvvie’
22
This may start at 11AM, with singing by the pool;
cooking demonstrations; and suchlike. Then,
perhaps there’ll be art auctions; talks; etc. during
the day, and, finally, aerial displays; comedy
shows; full-production shows; intimate piano
shows; etc.; etc. in the evening. There is barely a
break in the entertainment during the day, and,
in the evenings, there are multiple events going
on at once. This means that ships are in great
need of technicians, as the entertainment tends
to be of quite a high standard. They often recruit
through their own websites or through agencies.
Keep an eye on The Stage for ads, or visit the
websites regularly. P&O, Cunard, and Carnival
are some names to look out for; but there are
many other companies, some better than others.
If you are young and carefree, consider all the
holiday resorts that Brits tend to flock to in the
Med. Again, people get bored; so, hotels lay on
entertainment. This is a fun way to make a living
in the summer season – you are housed and
largely fed and, once you've made friends with
the locals, your beers drop from tourist to local
price. The work can be a bit banal; but, if you’re
young and want to get in on the ‘shag-a-thon’
that is every holiday resort known to man, this
can be a fun summer, and many people make
long-term careers out of the holiday industry.
The pay isn’t great; but, if you’re not paying rent
at home, it’s enough to live on.
conferences is speech intelligibility;
consequently, you shouldn't just fob these jobs
off as easy. With this sort of work, there is also
a lot of money involved, and your part as the
Sound Guy is critical; the client is unlikely to
have any technical knowledge, so will not have
any patience with poor sound.
Corporate work also requires formal dress – a
collared black shirt, trousers, and proper shoes
(rather than jeans; a black, metal T-shirt; and
trainers). Some might even require a suit, so
have one handy – as well as a tie. Dress for
women is a bit more flexible in ‘corporate’, but
must be black and super-neat (and ironed!).
• Working with Promoters
Often you will meet promoters and event
organisers along the way. It’s a good idea to
forge a relationship, so that they call you direct
for any other events which they might do.
• Freelancing in general
There are very few actual, salaried positions in
sound. By and large, Sound Engineers are self-
employed freelancers who dip in and out of all
the various options available.

• Corporate

‘Corporate’ is a word that may strike fear and

loathing into your heart; but, it pays really well.
However, a whole different set of skills is
required. ‘Corporate’ is all about spoken word
(as much of it is conferencing); therefore, the
use of lapel/lavalier mics is common (these
have their own complication), as are handheld
radio mics. This often results in large numbers
of radio channels being used by people with
Fig. 19: Soulsound tutor Marcel van Limbeek with his
little or no mic technique. This is challenging, amazing rack of analogue outboards
since the most important thing about

23
 Once You Have a Job
• Be ready to work at the drop of a hat • Respond to messages and emails
promptly
Often those first opportunities come your way
because someone else has failed to turn up, or Just because you know that you have received a
all the usual people are busy. If you get a call message, doesn't mean that the sender knows.
asking you to be somewhere in the next hour, Always respond, even if it's just to say
say “yes” and get your butt over there! “received”; that way, no one has to worry about
whether you have all the information you need or
• Keep a diary not, and everyone gets a good night's sleep. It
also stops people from being irritated by your
It may seem obvious, but lack of communication and, therefore, by you;
almost everyone has irritating people seldom last long in jobs.
been caught out by this.
You say “yes”; forget to
write it down; then say
“yes” to another job on
the same date! You
MUST keep a diary. This
is not only to prevent
double-booking yourself
or – equally as bad –
Fig. 20: Susanna forgetting entirely and not
Bologna mixing The showing up at all, but
Wonder Stuff at also so that you can
Islington Academy, remember what you’ve
London
done so you make sure
you get paid for it! I highly recommend digital
diaries/calendars because, if you lose your Fig. 21: Hands in the air is what makes the job all
phone/iPad/whatever, you can always retrieve worthwhile!
the info from your backup. GoogleCal and iCal
talk happily to each other; so, you can use both. • Invoice regularly

• Turn up on time (which is really 10
minutes early)
I can't emphasise enough how important it is to
be on time; it just looks so bad if you're late. The
occasional lateness is acceptable if there were
genuine transport issues and you contacted
someone the moment you could to say you
would be late. Habitual lateness, however, is the
fastest way to a non-ringing phone.
Everyone has tight cash flows. Please don't
regard unsent invoices as money in the bank;
invoice as soon as you have done the job. Not
only do you get paid quicker, but – again – you
don't annoy employers. I hate receiving an
invoice six months late; by then, I've got used to
how much money is in my bank account, and
really resent having to pay someone who should
have been paid half a year ago. This also affects
people's year-end accounts and their quarterly
VAT returns; so, try not to annoy the hell out of
them by invoicing a year after the fact.

24
 Insurance and Making Sure It’s Up To Date
You MUST have public liability insurance.
I repeat. YOU MUST HAVE PUBLIC LIABILITY
INSURANCE.
As a freelance Engineer, you need to be covered
for damage to people; property; and equipment.
It is highly irresponsible to work without it, and
most employers will want to see your documents
before you are offered the job.
Keep tabs on your renewal dates! If you use
BECTU insurance, all policies require renewal at
the end of April. If you use other brokers, you will
need to renew on the anniversary of the date on
which you purchased the policy. If you have the
option to renew automatically, use it; this saves
you the nightmare of having to be turned away
from a job because you forgot to update your
insurance.
• Vehicle insurance
If you use your own vehicle for work purposes,
make sure you have the correct insurance.
Fig. 22: Nick Allen working on the UEFA celebrations in
Trafalgar Square, London
25
Domestic insurance is fine if all you are doing is
moving to and from your work site; but, if you
use the vehicle during work, for work purposes,
you may need a different policy.
• Personal protective equipment
Always have rigging gloves, steel-toed shoes or
boots, and hi-visibility vests handy. There are,
apparently, more hand injuries than any other
kind on live events, which makes sense when
shoving all those boxes around. Gloves are
inexpensive and will save you a lot of pain. Also
bear in mind that if you are injured, it will reduce
your ability to work and, thus, earn a living. Don't
be stupid; be safe. Accidents happen all the
time; make sure you don't get hurt when they do.
Having your ‘steelies’ all the way at your Mum's
house is not good if you get last minute work;
keep these things with you.
Hard hats are cheap and may be required; keep
one at home so you can accept work that needs
one.
 Audio Skills
No matter your qualification, you’ve only just
started learning. I mean that. Even the old boys
who have been doing it for 30 years are still
learning. The technology changes all the time –
even if the physics doesn't – and you can never
know enough.
Keep up to date; things change quickly. Ways
to keep up to date include the following:
• Manufacturer training. Most
manufacturers of audio equipment, and
most PA manufacturers, provide free
training on their equipment. Check their
websites for upcoming training events.
• Read trade press to keep up to date
with new products. Trade press is
distributed free of charge, and online
versions land in your inbox easily. These
kinds of ‘mags’ are generally vehicles for
advertisers; but, since everything you
are going to use is a product of some
sort, you will at least know what's new
even if you don't get an entirely
unbiased opinion of it.
• Attend trade shows. Not only is this
where new products are launched, but
also where you get to speak face-to-face
with manufacturers and distributors, as
well as attend seminars. Trade shows
are also good places to network and
meet other Engineers. PLASA is the
Fig. 23: One of six Funktion One stacks for an
ambisonic surround-sound show, Faster Than Sound,
at Bentwaters Airbase, Suffolk, UK
26
biggest relevant UK trade show, with a
major event in London and a smaller
one in Leeds: PLASA Focus. The
theatre show is ABTT.
Peripheral Skills
The more skills you have, the more employable
you are.
• If you haven't already got one, get a
driver’s license. Being able to drive the
warehouse vans makes you a much
better prospect for an employer. It also
means that you are able to help with the
driving on ‘Toilet Tours’; so, again, you're
increasing your chances of getting the
band job. Besides which, it’s a basic life
skill!
• Get as many other licenses as you can –
LGV, HGV, forklift, cherry picker, scissor
lift.
• Whenever you get the opportunity, gain
as many other skills as you can – rigging,
health and safety, first aid, Portable
Appliance Testing (PAT).
In short, be as useful as you can.
 Internet Presence
We've all heard stories of people being busted
on Facebook for being out partying when they've
pulled a sickie at work; the same goes for YOUR
prospective employers. First thing just about
anyone does these days is ‘Google’ you; so
make sure your Internet presence says only
good things about you.
• Make your Facebook photos private.
Seriously!
• Join LinkedIn. This is the ‘go to’ place for
professionals, and is a good way for
people to check you out and see if you
have shared connections (and so get an
idea of your professional reach).
• Get a proper email address. Stop using
your ‘bigpoodleboy@hotmail.com’
account for business purposes. Not only
does it make you look like a teenager, but
every single person I know who uses
Hotmail inadvertently sends me spam at
Fig. 24: Good, clear labelling is essential to a successful show
27
some stage; Hotmail is NOT a
professional address. The best thing is to
buy your own domain name, using either
your business name – if you have one –
or your own name; this looks much more
professional. If you aren’t up for that,
Gmail is the most grown-up, professional-
looking email address.
• If you don't want to bother with a whole
website, it's worth having a simple page
with your CV up; this way, you can keep
it updated and send out links to your
CV. Have something online that looks
good.
• Get good-looking business cards.
Cheap and nasty business cards are as
bad as a poorly written CV for putting
people off. Again, these are the things
people will remember you by, so make
them quality; they are not expensive.
 Keep it Clean with the Tax Man
As much as we would all like to, you cannot
avoid the tax man. You might be able to for a
few months, or even a few years; but, in the
end, he will get you. So make it easy on
yourself, and do your paperwork from the
beginning.
I KNOW it’s tedious, and I KNOW you really
don’t want to do it; but, as a Sole Trader
(freelancer), you are a business and need to
run yourself as a business. One advantage, of
course, is that, as a business, you can claim a
lot of things as “business expenses” – from
Sharpies, to mics; tape, to FX units; travel
fares, to a percentage of vehicle costs. The
costs of running your business are offset
against the income you earn, thus reducing
your profit and commensurately reducing your
tax bill (tax is payable on profit only, not gross
income). Throwing away receipts is like
throwing away cash; keep everything!
Fig. 25: Chuck Berry at The 100 Club, London
Do your books regularly – weekly, if you can
bear it, but definitely monthly at the very least.
This means that things are fresh in your mind
so you can remember what the receipts were
for and what rates you agreed for a job.
Keep your paperwork filed neatly so you can
find things. Use a spreadsheet, or one of the
many simple bookkeeping apps that are
available, to keep a running record of your
financial situation; it really helps with peace of
mind to know where you stand vis-à-vis your
money.
You MUST save money EVERY MONTH for
tax. In the UK, tax is payable by freelancers on
31st January each year.
In the UK, there is almost no work in January.
I repeat. THERE IS ALMOST NO WORK IN
THE UK IN JANUARY.
28
So, whilst December is a busy month with
Christmas parties, it is essentially only three
weeks long (as the bit between Christmas and
New Year is also a work-free zone).
(By the way, it’s a really good idea to get your
New Year gig booked-in early, as they usually
pay double and you still have a great night
without it costing you anything. However, New
Year gigs are gold dust; so get yours booked in
as soon as you can.)
December is also a very expensive month, as
you are surely aware; so, not only will you have
emptied the coffers on gifts and parties and
travel, but you will start January with a very
bleak outlook for earning anything over the first
4-6 weeks.
And then your tax is due on 31st January.
So, have your tax SAVED. Have January and
February’s rent SAVED; even better, have all
three saved, plus enough money in the bank to
go somewhere nicer for the month. January in
the UK is just awful, whichever way you look at
it. Make January your holiday month.
Although the actual tax percentage is
somewhere in the region of 23%, I personally
found that if I saved 10% of each and every job,
that equated – more or less – to the amount my
tax came to after I had offset my business
expenses. Start saving those little bits now.
Your first tax return has the added joy of an
extra 50% being payable “on account” (against
future tax bills) – which is, I feel, very unfair
indeed, but is nevertheless unavoidable. So, if
your first tax bill is £1,000, you will need to pay
£1,500, plus Class 4 NI (which is another 8%).
It adds up pretty quickly and, again,
emphasises the need to keep all evidence of
legitimate business spending: the lower your
profit, the lower your tax bill. Every pound for
which you have a legitimate receipt saves you
about 23p tax.
Another reason for keeping up with your
accounts is the fact that you actually get paid
that way. Many employers work on a 30-day
payment scheme; so, it is very easy to lose
sight of who has paid you and who hasn’t.
Good housekeeping will help you keep track
and easily flag up invoices that haven’t been
sent or are overdue.
 Entry-Level Work Carries Entry-Level
Remuneration
Dealing with debt
No matter how unfair it is, the fact remains that
entry-level work such as you will probably be
doing carries entry-level remuneration. This
could be as low as minimum-hourly wage or,
commonly, one-off amounts like £50-£80 per
night. This is not enough money to live off. You
might also find yourself working for free more
often than you would like, in order to gain
experience.
Many of you will likely have spent a lot of
money educating yourselves, and probably
have some level of debt. It is important to deal
with debt before it gets overwhelming. So, if you
find yourself in a position where you are earning
little but owe a lot, there are people who can
Fig. 26: Francis Gardner at Village Underground, London. A
good pair of headphones is an essential piece of your toolkit
29
help you. The very first time you find yourself
paying your electricity bill on a credit card, get
advice.
The best people to approach in the first
instance are the StepChange Debt Charity.
They are an organisation whose sole aim is to
help you cope with your debts, and to give you
peace of mind. They will set you up with a debt-
management plan, and can negotiate with your
creditors on your behalf to help you work out a
feasible repayment plan. Often, they can
persuade creditors to reduce or completely stop
charging interest – so you stop getting those
awful demand letters. They rock.
 Conclusion
Building a career for yourself in the Live Sound you keep at it and persevere and always do your
industry requires a combination of both audio best at every single show, you will be noticed
and people skills; it also requires total dedication, and those around you will help you.
balls of steel, and a real passion for what you do.
There will be times when you feel like giving up Be what you want to be, and good luck.
because you’re struggling to pay the rent; but, if

Fig. 27: Coiling cables can be fun! Tshari King at Village

Underground, London

30
 About the Author
Darryn de la Soul has been working in the Live Events
industry for over a decade, and is best known for her work in
live audio production and training young Engineers.

She started her career as a Live Sound Engineer at various

London venues, and quickly broadened her scope to include
the production management of live events, most notably:
Faster Than Sound, First Light Festival (the 50th-anniversary
show celebrating the Lovell Radio Telescope at Jodrell
Bank), and Long Player Live.

Her flair for organising, manifesting, and motivating others

led to her being asked to develop and implement the Live Sound Diploma for Alchemea College of Audio
Engineering. As Head of Live Sound, she spent four fruitful years creating a course which has fast
become one of the most respected qualifications in audio engineering. She is regularly quoted as an
authority on both audio education and audio engineering in general, and presents her talk (Getting a Foot
in the Door: How to make your way in the Live Sound Industry) at PLASA trade shows. This is aimed at
helping youngsters to get into a notoriously closed-door industry.

In early 2013, Darryn once again struck out independently, forming the umbrella company, Soulsound.
Soulsound is dedicated to improving the careers of Sound Engineers, acting as a resource centre and a
place in which to find inspiration as well as instruction on techniques. Soulsound also encompasses
Soulsound Agency – which manages the careers of a select number of excellent Engineers – and
Soulsound Installations, focusing on installing quality sound systems for clubs and venues.

In the past, Darryn has dabbled in filmmaking (winning Best Short Documentary at the 2008 London
Independent Film Festival with her guerrilla documentary, So You Shall Reap, shot entirely on a mobile
phone). She has also worked as a location recordist on numerous short films.

An ardent fan of London, Darryn annually researches and presents her own London History Tours for
friends and colleagues during the festive season.

August 2013

31