By: Heather McDonald (The Balance Careers)

Networking is a must in the music industry, even if you hate the idea of it. It doesn't have to be anything more than meeting fellow musicians or music lovers and brainstorming ways to work together to produce great music—don't make it anything more than it is. Networking can be easy if you find the right avenues and follow some advice.

Attend Music Industry Events

There are tons of music industry networking opportunities: from music industry trade shows to local musician meet-ups. If you're not especially comfortable networking or don't have a lot of experience doing it, then start small.

Instead of jumping into the conference hall at Midem right off the bat, try visiting a local event and meeting musicians there. Mingle, talk to everybody that will talk to you about whatever they want to talk about. You should be patient when networking, and establish relationships before trying to pitch anything to anyone.

While this approach may take some time, it will pay off more than introducing yourself and starting right into your plans to take the industry by storm.

Get used to mixing in a room of strangers and making small-talk about your own projects. As you continue going to these networking events, you'll see familiar faces and be able to catch up on their projects as well as let them know how yours are going. People will remember you as someone working hard to make it, not someone trying to leech off of their successes.

Do Your Research

Confidence is key when you are networking, and doing a little homework before any event will help you feel ready to conquer the room. When possible, try to find out who will be attending an event (for instance, before a trade show, check out the attendee database).

If there are some people you know you want to make a connection with, find out what you can about their business and current projects, so you sound knowledgeable when you're talking with them. Knowing a little something about them will also give you some conversation starters.