Unsplash

This is my little series on the big move back to Australia. Perhaps I will look back in the future and laugh... or cry!
Part 1: Finding a Moving Company
Past 2: A Slight Travel Panic
Part 3: Comparing Crypto Tax Accounting platforms (Cointracking vs Rotki)
Part 4: A Week in Involuntary Stasis
Part 5: The Last Harvest
Part 6: Letting Go...

---

So, the flip side of letting go of all my work in Europe is the seeking of new work to replace it in Australia. As I had mentioned before, as a freelance musician, I have to be careful about when and how I let people know that I will be moving out to the other side of the planet. I don't want to lose work due to the perceived lack of future commitment, and I don't want to lead ensembles on either. So a careful balancing act!

As the historical music community is relatively small... I also didn't want to start sending out massed work seeking emails until I had solidly locked down a date for the move. On the other hand, I don't want to leave it too late, as ensembles will generally book their players quite a bit in advance... plus, at the moment Australia is in some interesting times... with many concerts cancelled, so it is a weird time to be dropping into inboxes seeking work!

Putting my name out there is something that I've dreaded doing... I always hated it as an necessary evil of being a freelancer. You could be the best person in your chosen profession and highly skilled... but if no-one knows you, then it won't matter. Thankfully, at some point, word of mouth and reputation can keep the whole ball rolling without too much cold-calling and emailing... but still, it can always be good to find new contacts and work leads. You never know what might lead to something else!

So, this past week and in the coming weeks, I have been writing emails to past contacts and new found leads... sending CVs and recordings as needed. From some ensembles, there was always a standing invitation to return back to work whenever I came back... which is really nice, but it is the sort of promise that I'm never really sure about until I actually get a contract! Plus, I'm the sort of person who is just surprised that anyone ever remembers who I am... I never really think that I'm that special enough to remember.

However, I have been pleasantly surprised and more than a little bit overwhelmed by the immediate response. Supportive and even offering work immedately... and people passing my name around as well! Really... I had never thought that this would be the case, I had hoped it would be... but my pragmatic side thought that it would be much more difficult.

That said, I know that after so long away... if I receive work, there is the distinct possibility that someone else that stayed around in the intervening time as LOST work. I always felt this in every ensemble that I joined as a newcomer. Sometimes you know who has lost the work, and sometimes you don't know... but you (well... some of us..) are all too keenly aware that this freelance work in music is mostly a zero-sum game. I weighs on my conscience but it is what we all have to do.... in time, it will surely happen to me as well. Actually, I could see it as freeing up job space in ensembles in Europe?... well, I could, but somehow that doesn't make me feel any better about it.

So... ideally, I would be finding work in my chosen specialisation of historical music performance, but I am more than happy just playing on a stage! So, modern instruments are fine and teaching is also a good option as well! I am working down a very long list of people and groups to contact... ordered in terms of specialisation and then by location. Unfortunately, Australia is quite big compared to Europe... with a much lesser density of work and people, so I'm going to have to come to grips with the different employment preferences there. However, I had done it once... and I will do it again. Plus, this time, I return with a few more years of experience and wisdom... and hopefully not at the cost of too much youthful joy in playing!

I can also be found cross-posting at:
Hive
Steem
Publish0x

Handy Crypto Tools

Ledger Nano S/X: Keep your crypto safe and offline with the leading hardware wallet provider. Not your keys, not your crypto!
Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
Kucoin: My second choice in exchanges, many tokens listed here that you can't get on Binance!
FTX: Regulated US-based exchange with some pretty interesting and useful discounts on trading and withdrawal fees for FTT holders. Decent fiat on-ramp as well!
MXC: Listings of lots of interesting tokens that are usually only available on DEXs. Avoid high gas prices!
Coinbase: If you need a regulated and safe environment to trade, this is the first exchange for most newcomers!
Crypto.com: Mixed feelings, but they have the BEST looking VISA debit card in existence! Seriously, it is beautiful!
CoinList: Access to early investor and crowdsale of vetted and reserached projects.
Cointracking: Automated or manual tracking of crypto for accounting and taxation reports.
Stoic: A USD maximisation bot trading on Binance using long-term long strategies, powered by the AI/human system of Cindicator.
StakeDAO: Decentralised pooled staking of PoS assets.