These connections will alert and lead you to these opportunities in your goal area. Those of a more introspective bent, however, may need to work at developing those social and interactive skills so useful to networking. There are actually courses and workshops offered to help with this. Check out continuing and non-credit education programs at your local college. These courses are often great confidence boosters.
Time constraints are another barrier to networking.
Networking is a high-time, low money marketing strategy. That's why it's important to set realistic networking goals. I suggest trying to meet and interact with just two new people a week. This can mean anything from talking to a booking agent on the phone, to visiting a recording studio for a tour, or writing a promotional letter to a music publishers. Two contacts a week is manageable for most of us.