Thirty years ago, I was working as a salesperson for an electronics chain. One of my co-workers wanted to be a pro camera operator/cinematographer. He had a friend who was working TV soaps. That was his way in.
Another fellow (a South African, btw) was a songwriter/composer. He had a friend who was doing music scores for "Santa Barbara". That was big money because of the residuals (SB was syndicated globally). He also knew Trevor Rabin (a Yes guitar player, and also a South African) a little.
At another chain, I was working with a "struggling musician", a drummer. He was in a band and always kept a demo tape in the store with him. Because when you're working on LA's Westside, you never know who might come in. One day, a customer steps inside while the drummer is "practicing" rolls on his rubber pad. Because he wants to look cool. The customer asks about an item, the drummer puts his drum sticks down and they talk business. The long haired drummer, obviously, manages to work his musical ambitions into a conversation. "We played at this club and we even got a TV audition", etc. The customer happens to be a cool dude himself and says, "Oh, nice, I am also in a music business". So, the little drummer boy asks, "Cool, would I know any of your projects?' The guy, proving that he is cool beyond cool, says, "Uh, let's see, I produced the last six Rolling Stones albums". The little drummer boy probably swallowed his sticks on the spot.
