The fourth in our series of exclusive Freshers’ Week masterclasses at ACM Guildford was with none other than Paul Sayer, guitarist for hugely successful band The Temperance Movement.
Having, obviously, been aware of Paul’s work for a long time, we were very excited to have him visit us at our Guildford campus. Paul delivered an insightful and conversational class, frequently breaking into incredible solo guitar performances between Q&A sections.
Revealing that he also studied music at University, Paul spoke about his life as a session player before joining blues-rock band The Temperance Movement. Having performed alongside the likes of Adele, Leona Lewis and James Morrison, to name just a few, he got his first break into session playing when working with renowned producer Trevor Horn.
He urged the students to have a good think about the genres that they would like to pursue as musicians, and advised that they shouldn’t be afraid to turn down opportunities that aren’t right for them, so long as they take up the ones that are; “be known for your niche”.
As a band with a keen online following, there were plenty of questions about how The Temperance Movement promote themselves. Paul shared that one of the best promotional tools they used as a band was a live YouTube video; it really took off and propelled the band to the next level where they could make the group their main focus career-wise.
As the discussion naturally progressed into the use of social media, Paul emphasised how empowering it is, and how great it is for them to be able to get their music ‘out there’ without waiting for a record contract. He encouraged all of the students present to get in the studio at ACM and “really utilise their time here.”
Paul went on to speak about the different avenues artists can go down to make money from a career in music, sharing that merchandise sales are key and signing CDs after a show can really increase sales. He even revealed that the band make the same amount from their merchandise sales as the tour itself, and Paul encouraged the students to remember this when planning their own shows in the future.
Wrapping up the thoroughly engaging class, Paul told the students that if their music is good and they put it out in the world, something will happen.
We’d like to thank Paul for the excellent masterclass!
Keep up to date with The Temperance Movement on their website.
If you’d like to study at ACM and learn from incredible musicians like Paul Sayer, please call our Admissions Team on 01483 500 841 or visit www.acm.ac.uk/open-days/ to book a place on an ACM Open Day today.
