Creativity Excitement Emotion

Do you have an email list? Are you actively building it? Is your email list continually growing, are you building your community, and is your customer experience as good as it could be? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Download the PDF Transcription Podcast Highlights: 00:31 – What David learned from James Schramko’s course on email marketing 00:58 – How are you capturing your prospect’s email addresses? 02:40 – What happens when someone joins your list? 05:38 – How are you communicating with your subscribers? 08:59 – How our learnings have changed our email communication at Music Entrepreneur HQ 11:42 – Episode summary 12:33 – Closing thoughts Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Advanced Email Marketing Strategies Leadpages ClickFunnels Music Money Machine Transcription: Hey, it's David Andrew Wiebe. In this episode, I wanted to share what I recently picked up from James Schramko's course on email marketing. I'm not going to summarize the course or give you a step by step or share templates with you. We're not about plagiarism. I'll be sharing my own discoveries from taking this course. And then I'll be sharing a little bit about what we've been doing at Music Entrepreneur HQ to improve our email process. 1. How Are You Capturing Emails? What lead magnets do you have? A lead magnet is something you give away for free in exchange for an email address. It might be a single, it might be an EP. Are you giving anything away? If you're not, then you don't have a lead magnet. But if you do, you're going to want to identify your assets. Where are the signup forms on your website? Do you have email opt-in boxes on your site? Where are they located? Are they on your homepage? Are they in your internal pages? Are they in the sidebar? Header? Footer? Where are they? Do you have any sales funnels set up? Because typically those capture emails as well?. And are you capturing emails in person at gigs and conferences and wherever you go? What you want to do here is identify all the touch points and preferably log them in a spreadsheet or maybe in a tool like Notion, so you can look at all of them from a bird's eye view. Now there is sort of a pros and cons of having more opportunities for people to sign up to your email list. On the one hand, when you have more opportunities, and more lead magnets and more opt in boxes, you can tailor your communication to specific segments of your audience. Let's say for example, they download your free single. So, your first email might be delivering the goods that you promised them, right? But then in the future, when you have a new music release, and they are interested in your single, they might be interested in your EP or album or whatever your next release is. But like I said, there's a con. More isn't always better, because it can add complexity. And you'll see why that is a little later in this episode. 2. What Happens When Someone Joins Your List? We have a few more questions to ask here. Does everyone get added to the same list, or are they tagged the same way, it's not a problem. If everyone is being added to your same list. It's not even a problem If you're not tagging them immediately. In fact, if you're just getting started, and you don't have a lot of products, and you don't have a lot of offers, then maybe adding them all to the same list is a good idea. But by the time you've started incorporating more lead magnets, and more offers on your website, you may want to start adding them to different lists. Or as the case might be with certain ESPs or email service providers, you're going to want to start utilizing tags to track the behavior of the person who joined the list. Do they receive the same automated welcome sequence from you, no matter how they get on your email list? Again, that's not a bad thing. You definitely want to have an email sequence. You want to be able to introduce yourself, maybe share about your community, maybe share about your latest release in maybe three emails or so. But depending on the action they took, or whatever behavior they last exhibited, you may want to tailor your communication to them. Do you even have a sequence set up for when people join your email list? Or do you just send out emails ad hoc? Now, we're artists, and although we're quite smart, and we're usually on the cutting edge of marketing, sometimes we're a little lazy. And sometimes we're a little afraid to put more emails in front of the people who are interested in us. You know, if they signed up to get emails from you, even if it's just a newsletter, they're obviously more interested in you than you even realize. They want to see what you have coming out. They want to see what's next. So, I wouldn't recommend sending ad hoc emails only. That could absolu

Have you ever suffered a crushing, embarrassing, infuriating defeat in your music career? Look, you wouldn’t be the only one. It would be quite unusual for a musician or music entrepreneur to go their entire career without encountering some serious hardship. I’ve been there myself. But when do you give up and move on? Most people quit after the first defeat. And after a long, hard road with a second, third, and fourth offense, the crowd tends to get thinner and thinner. It’s not that you can avoid failure. It’s what you do with it that’s going to make all the difference. And that’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:59 – The Police’s former manager, Miles Copeland 01:33 – Two Steps Forward, One Step Back 06:42 – Why examining your failures is essential 08:58 – Following your passion and being honest with yourself 12:58 – Being authentic and transparent in your writing 19:17 – Mile’s thoughts on how the music industry has changed 22:12 – Effective artistic branding – getting noticed 28:46 – Fighting for something you believe in 32:57 – Telling your story as an artist 37:26 – Are there any books that have helped Miles on his journey? 42:31 – Closing thoughts Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back by Miles Copeland The New Music Industry by David Andrew Wiebe Music Money Machine Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment Releasing music today is like putting your CD in the deepest, darkest, and most cluttered corner of a Walmart and expecting random customers to discover it, don’t you think? Well, if you’re doing what everyone else is doing, chances are you’re going to end up a music commodity. Just one product in a huge store with shelves that keep getting fuller. I’m not saying you should reinvent the wheel. What I’m saying is you need a strategy. And that’s why I put together a free training called the Music Money Machine. If you’re tired of earning a pittance of streaming royalties and would like to create offer stacks that separate you from the crowd, go to davidandrewwiebe.com/Machine to claim your free training now. This has been episode 252 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

Every marketer says you’re supposed to define your target audience. Make up some names, find some stock photos online, paste them onto a board along with everything you know about your prospective fans. Have you ever had a disconnect with this process? Were you stopped at any stage of developing your customer avatar? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:37 – Returning to a critical music career topic 01:03 – The “mind-reading magic” of target audiences 02:38 – Dipping into the Brunson well 03:40 – Target audience vs. dream customer 06:21 – Episode summary 07:18 – Closing thoughts Resources Mentioned in This Episode: DotCom Secrets by Russell Brunson The Music Entrepreneur Code by David Andrew Wiebe Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. In my continued exploration and investing in my ongoing self-education, there’s a topic I wanted to return to and share on newly. And that’s on the topic of defining your target audience. If you’re anything like me, you’ve rolled your eyes any time anyone brings up the subject, because you’ve heard it before, and you’re not sure how this mind-reading magic is supposed to work. The Mind-Reading Magic of Defining Your Target Audience I started calling it “mind-reading magic” last year because of the books I was reading, which would talk about the importance of defining your target audience, but not offering concrete steps on how to do this. Or it was just the same things I’d always heard: Demographics – age, gender, location Psychographics – what they read, where they hang out online, what they’re interested in, what matters to them Customer interviews – talking directly to your audience about what they want (something I’ve done this year) Setting up customer avatars – the process I hinted at, at the top of this episode And even after I’d gone through that process, it was all kind of nebulous to me and didn’t make a tangible difference in my career or business. If I can share something with you, it was really the same thing with trying to learn the pentatonic scale on the guitar. I’d figured out the basic box pattern and could play it, but when I wanted to be able to play across the entire fretboard, I was stuck. I assumed that I would somehow have to memorize every note on the fretboard, which felt daunting, and even impossible to me. I read multiple resources, but none of them added up for me. It wasn’t until I watched an Eric Johnson video that it finally landed. He talked about shifting between the patterns, and then it clicked. There are five patterns to the pentatonic scale, and having learned each, you can shift between them. That was a big “aha” moment for me. So, all this to illustrate that sometimes we can understand something as a concept, but not have it make much of a difference in our lives because some part of it hasn’t fully landed. Sometimes we can understand something as a concept, but not have it make much of a difference in our lives because some part of it hasn’t fully landed.Share on X Discoveries in DotCom Secrets So, what I’m going to share here comes from Russell Brunson’s DotCom Secrets. Now, as a disclaimer – I have friends who noticed I’ve been dipping into the Brunson well and have been cautioning me against it. And trust me, I get it, I’m quite familiar with the culture it has bred. And I’m not excited about the culture or the hype machine snake oil sales. I’m just excited about the discovery and the information that I’m getting, and how it’s connecting the dots and filling in the holes for me. You can’t have a book the size of DotCom Secrets and not have some powerful takeaways in it. Last year, I made the decision that I would keep an open mind to learning from everybody, because frankly you just never know what might connect with you and leave you with an instant awakening. And as a further note of caution, I’m not here to plagiarize, and simply recite what I’ve read, so if what I’m sharing connects with you, I’d suggest picking up a copy of the book for yourself. I’m here to share what I’ve been in discovery of, and how the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together for me, which in turn should make a difference for you. Is “Target Audience” the Right Framing? So, this is what I’ve been discovering. First, “target audience” is perhaps the wrong framing. I’m finding “dream customer” to be a far more powerful way of thinking about it. When we say, “target audience” we really get lost in the minutiae of it – age, location, gender, interests, things like that. And that’s all helpful, it just doesn’t tell the full story. You can find most of that data online in about an hour or less. Like, I can tell you right now, if you’re listening to this podcast, you’re my age plus or minus 10 to 15 years, you live in US, Canada, India, UK, or Japan (although I know I have listeners in other countries), and you’re interested in music and building a music career. And I’m

What happens when all your plans fall apart because of circumstances unfolding in the world? What do you do next? What could you do? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:28 – Introducing Brendan Jeannetti of Music You’re Missing 00:58 – Why start a podcast? 03:43 – Launching and helping artists get exposure 05:19 – Wait, David wrote five books!? 07:01 – How did Music You’re Missing become successful? 07:46 – A level playing field for independent and signed artists 08:55 – Best tips for new podcasters 11:39 – Branding forms the foundation of your marketing efforts 13:03 – What is something surprising Brendan has recently learned? 16:16 – Is TikTok valuable for artists or podcasters? 17:28 – Brendan shares a few artists he thinks you should hear 21:04 – Is David always cool, calm, and collected when he’s interviewing others? 22:05 – What’s the next big step for Music You’re Missing? 24:40 – What’s the last YouTube video Brendan watched? 25:23 – What is Breandan’s daily routine like? 26:29 – What’s the greatest challenge Brendan has overcome? 28:31 – What’s the greatest victory Brendan has experienced? 30:22 – What books have helped Brendan on his journey? 31:18 – Brendan’s closing thoughts Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Music You’re Missing The New Music Industry by David Andrew Wiebe Stephen Day B’z Winger Harem Scarem Atomic Habits by James Clear Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment So, if you enjoyed this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I want to invite you to pick up a copy of The Music Entrepreneur Code. If you’re struggling to adapt in pandemic times, this book will help point you in the right direction. Get your copy at davidandrewwiebe.com/Code. This has been episode 250 of The New Music Industry Podcast. Wow, now we’re really starting to feel like a senior podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

How much reading do you do as a musician? If you’ve been a longtime listener of The New Music Industry Podcast, I suspect you’ve already adopted the learning habit. And if you have, I have no doubt you’re getting a lot of value out of it. But are you making the most of every book you read? It’s easy to pay lip service to your personal growth habit, but the truth is you might not be getting everything you could be getting out of your reading. That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:44 – When David discovered the magic of books and reading 01:50 – What’s the point of reading? 02:32 – Did the education system set you up for success in your reading efforts? 03:21 – #1: Read the book 04:31 – #2: Underline or highlight passages that jump out at you 05:20 – #3: Take notes (on quotes, ideas, and anything you see to implement) 06:03 – #4: Keep your discoveries alive with spaced repetition 06:49 – #5: Apply what you learned 08:21 – #6: Follow the breadcrumb trail 09:12 – #7: Pay it forward 10:09 – Episode summary 10:54 – Closing thoughts Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Killing Marketing by Joe Pulizzi & Robert Rose The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port No B.S. Business Success In The New Economy by Dan Kennedy The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone The Music Entrepreneur Code by David Andrew Wiebe Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment Are you ready for some new material? If you haven’t picked up your copy of The Music Entrepreneur Code already, this would be a good opportunity to do exactly that. This book isn’t just for music entrepreneurs, it’s for musicpreneurs too. So, get your copy at davidandrewwiebe.com/Code. This has been episode 249 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

What if you could secure, distribute, and promote your music all from one, convenient place? What if you could spend more of your time doing what you love to do as a creator? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:35 – TuneGO – “record label in a box” 04:30 – Will TuneGO make record labels obsolete? 06:56 – What is the importance of metadata and what benefits does TuneGO offer? 09:35 – Who can benefit from TuneGO? 10:31 – How much does TuneGO cost? 12:27 – How will TuneGO scale with demand? 15:13 – Are NFTs viable for independent artists? 18:47 – Being true to yourself in music 25:19 – What’s the last YouTube video John watched? 26:08 – What’s John’s daily routine like? 28:17 – Are there any books that have helped John on his journey? 30:23 – What is the greatest challenge John has overcome? 33:57 – What is the greatest victory John has experienced? 35:09 – Concluding thoughts Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment So, if you enjoyed this episode, and you’re looking to put the right structures in place to ensure your success, I’d like to invite you to pick up a copy of The Music Entrepreneur Code, my best-selling guide on cracking the code on independent music career success. For in-depth insights into making your passion sustainable and profitable, go to davidandrewwiebe.com/Code for your copy. This has been episode 248 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

Creating an income in music isn’t that hard. But growing and scaling that income can be. And it’s easy to get stuck in a rut, not knowing what changes or tweaks to make to cause a breakthrough. What’s the number one thing getting in the way of creating an income in music? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:37 – Are we going to be talking about “fear” today? 01:16 – Have you ever had these experiences (questions to ask yourself)? 02:46 – What do those experiences look like as applied to your music career? 04:20 – What is the real cause of your struggle? 06:19 – Why do we stop doing what’s working in our music career? 07:15 – What is the solution to this pain? 09:22 – What weekly habit could you adopt to make more income? 09:55 – Next powerful steps you can take Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment So, if you’re ready to stop doing what doesn’t work, if you want to start prioritizing the right things, if you want to stop getting lost in busywork or let discomfort get in the way of what you want out of your music career, I want to invite you to pick up a copy of my best-selling guide, The Music Entrepreneur Code. Go to davidandrewwiebe.com/Code to get the special edition PDF eBook. This has been episode 247 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

What have you learned this past year? How are you applying it to your music career? What difference is it making for you? Have you gotten any breakthrough results? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:29 – Let’s talk about The Music Entrepreneur Code! 01:14 – It’s time to get out your pen and notebook 03:52 – An exercise in discovery – questions to ask yourself 07:25 – Closing thoughts – here’s your call to action Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment So, if you enjoyed this episode, and you don’t already have your copy of The Music Entrepreneur Code, I want to invite you to get yours today at davidandrewwiebe.com/BuyCode. My books are high value and easy to read and are worth considerably more than we’re asking. Honestly, if I consider the time that went into it, and the value and experience packed into it, I’m basically giving my books away. So, get your copy at MusicEntreprneurHQ.com/BuyCode and come ready with a pen and notebook in hand for the next episode. This has been episode 246 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

Are you struggling to get people to check out your content? Do you feel like no matter what you do, you just can’t seem to build up your following? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:31 – The content hustle and organic reach 03:33 – Organic reach is still platform dependent 05:46 – How to create powerful content that reaches a larger audience 08:46 – Podcasting is an outlier 11:10 – An organic video distribution strategy that still works (but it takes work!) 13:00 – If you have an established brand, organic reach is still on your side 14:28 – Dream 100 as a possible solution 17:11 – Advertising as a possible solution 18:37 – The #1 mistake in all of marketing 20:13 – Episode summary 20:39 – Final thoughts Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment So, if you enjoyed this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, you may have identified a need. Digital marketing is changing fast and trying to keep up with new developments and best practices is frankly dizzying. That’s why I created the Digital Marketing Essentials for Musicians course. It offers a simple, step-by-step system to establishing a solid online base so you can get the results you’re looking for online. Simply go to ContentMarketingMusician.com and click on the Digital Marketing Essentials for Musicians banner to learn more. This has been episode 245 of The New Music Industry. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

Are you looking to earn an income in music? Do you keep tripping over obstacles on the way to getting what you want out of your career? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:29 – The “Free Money Course” 01:25 – Tackling the taboo subjects 01:57 – #1: Stop poo-pooing everything 05:48 – #2: Stop diminishing yourself and your capacity to take on new things 10:27 – #3: Give up the need to be right about everything 13:21 – Episode summary 14:26 – No matter what level you’re at, you can benefit from coaching 16:52 – Supporting the education of underprivileged children in South America Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment So, if you enjoyed this episode, I just wanted to let you know that between now and November 19, 2021, if you purchase any of our bundles, courses, or programs at Content Marketing Musician, designed specifically to help you get results in your music career, we’ll be giving 50% of the proceeds to the education of underprivileged children in South America. And even those of you who are telling me everything is going great; you can leave a donation to make a difference. Go to ContentMarketingMusician.com to browse our products or leave a donation. This has been episode 244 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

Are you tired of going broke as an artist? Do you keep running out of funds to be able to do the things you want to do in your music career? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:18 – Today’s guest is Justin Longo of MariNationMusic 00:35 – Why did Justin start MariNationMusic? 01:59 – What it’s like to be a music producer 03:22 – How does MariNation work? 05:45 – What would it look like to be financially free as an artist? 08:37 – Is investing a rich man’s game? Or can artists get involved too? 10:17 – Everyone manages their money differently – to each his own! 12:21 – Who is MariNation for? 14:00 – What about the coming economic meltdown? 19:26 – What’s the last YouTube video Justin watched? 20:46 – What is the greatest challenge Justin has overcome? 23:19 – How long was Justin stewing on the idea of MariNation? 27:53 – What is the greatest victory Justin has experienced? 28:46 – What books have helped Justin on his journey? 30:53 – Closing thoughts Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment If you’re looking to dive deeper into the world of finances and get of better sense of how to manage your money as an artist, I want to invite you to pick up a copy of my best-selling book, The Music Entrepreneur Code. Go to davidandrewwiebe.com/Code to learn more. This has been episode 243 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

Are you actively making new connections to grow your music career? Have you made it a point to attend conferences and events to build your rolodex? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: Coming soon. Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment We just launched a new program called Elite Players: All Access Pass. And what this should really be called is Digital Marketing, Mindset & the Business of Music Academy for Musicians because that’s what it is. This is a new platform where you can access courses, eBooks, members only audios, a community forum, personalized coaching, archived trainings, and more. This is a premium program that carries a premium price tag. So, it’s not for everyone. But if you’re ready to learn more, head on over to davidandrewwiebe.com/Elite. That’s e-l-i-t-e. We are currently accepting applications, but there isn’t much time left. I think there’s literally a day left. So, head on over to davidandrewwiebe.com/Elite and I look forward to seeing you on the inside. This has been episode 242 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

What does success mean to you as an artist? How should you go about setting your goals? How can you define your own version of music career success? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: Coming soon. Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment We just launched a new program called Elite Players: All Access Pass. And what this should really be called is Digital Marketing, Mindset & the Business of Music Academy for Musicians because that’s what it is. This is a new platform where you can access courses, eBooks, members only audios, a community forum, personalized coaching, archived trainings, and more. This is a premium program that carries a premium price. So, it’s not for everyone. But if you’re ready to learn more, head on over to davidandrewwiebe.com/Elite. That’s e-l-i-t-e. We are currently accepting applications, but there isn’t much time left. So, head on over to davidandrewwiebe.com/Elite and I look forward to seeing you on the inside. This has been episode 241 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

What do you want out of your music career? Do you find yourself dreaming about things you don’t have and wonder if you’ll ever get them? Do you have a plan for getting what you want out of music? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: Coming soon. Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment So, people sometimes ask me… “David, I’ve got your books, I’ve got your courses, do you have anything else?” Well, we just launched a new program called Elite Players: All Access Pass. And what this should really be called is Digital Marketing, Mindset & the Business of Music Academy for Musicians because that’s what it is. We’ve set up a new platform where you can access courses, eBooks, members only audios, a community forum, personalized coaching, archived trainings, and more. This is a premium program that carries a premium price. So, it’s not for everyone. But if you’re ready to learn more, head on over to davidandrewwiebe.com/Elite. That’s e-l-i-t-e. I look forward to seeing you on the inside. This has been episode 240 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

You may have noticed that I’ve been publishing fewer podcast episodes as of late. So, what’s been going on in my world? What’s been happening? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:31 – David’s unspoken promise 02:27 – David’s June break 03:12 – Intensive leadership and management program 09:30 – New music business membership – team, impact, and contribution 11:15 – Blogging daily for a year 12:46 – Working vacation in Calgary 13:24 – Catching up with writing work 13:48 – A summary of what David has been up to 14:26 – Music Entrepreneur HQ on social media – new visual content 15:52 – Creatives ask “what about me? 17:26 – Interviews to come 17:45 – Composing music 18:10 – Final thoughts Transcription: Coming soon.

Are you wondering how you can be happy, healthy, and successful in the fast-paced, high-stress, non-stop nature of the music industry? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:22 – Ariane Paras from Olympia Coaching 00:34 – What led Ariane to the point of starting Olympia Coaching? 04:45 – Spiritual awakening 05:30 – Personal development in the music industry 07:58 – Where does one start if they’re looking to enjoy their music careers more? 14:13 – How would you describe pivoting and how should one go about the process? 18:38 – Are there early signs that you should pivot? 20:56 – What does self-actualization and contribution mean and what does it look like? 26:33 – What are the main mindset blocks that get in the way of artistic success? 33:05 – Getting over perfectionism 39:00 – Movement will undo karma 41:03 – What is the last YouTube video Ariane watched? 42:24 – What's Ariane’s daily routine like? 43:36 – Are there any books that have helped Ariane on your journey? 45:38 – Transforming your relationship to money 47:09 – Final thoughts 49:17 – First-Time Coaching Special Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment So, if you enjoyed this episode, and you’re ready to tap into the power of personal coaching, go to davidandrewwiebe.com/Special. Whether you’re feeling frustrated in your career, need guidance, or require a helpful outside perspective, the best way to leap forward in your music career is with a coach who’s invested in your success. So, head on over to davidandrewwiebe.com/Special to claim your personalized coaching session now. This has been episode 238 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

How does the influx of streaming apps affect artist and composer rights? What are NFTs and what can they do for your music career? All this and more in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:39 – How did Steven’s passion for music develop? 01:57 – How Steven realized he wasn’t going to “make it” as a musician 03:02 – How did Steven get into the business side of music? 04:15 – How does the influx of streaming apps affect artist and composer rights? 06:12 – Exploiting one’s copyrights 07:34 – What are NFTs? 11:46 – Copyright has been playing catch-up in the music industry 13:00 – NBA Top Shot 13:51 – What does the rise of NFTs and music distribution platforms mean for artists with regards to the compensation the receive? 17:18 – Music distribution horror stories and how music distribution has evolved 20:11 – Are NFTs even viable for independent musicians? 22:20 – As an Entertainment Lawyer, what are some of the top issues artist come to you with? 24:49 – The fragmented but interrelated business of music 26:36 – The pillars of a successful music career 27:56 – Copyright: Broad overview of what matters to artists 35:41 – What was the last YouTube video Steven watched? 36:35 – What is Steven’s daily routine like? 38:41 – Books that have helped Steven on his journey 41:01 – What did David learn from writing his books? 43:23 – First-Time Coaching Special Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment So, if you enjoyed this episode of the podcast, and you’re looking for direction in your music career, I want you to head on over to davidandrewwiebe.com/Special. Lately, I’ve been helping musicians with everything from technical issues concerning live streaming, to getting focused on the right thing in their careers. If you’re looking for personalized coaching, head on over to davidandrewwiebe.com/Special now. This has been episode 237 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

Are you a solo artist? Are you trying to figure out how to achieve success on your own terms in the music industry? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:25 – Finding your path to independent success as a solo artist 01:24 – There are three steps to blazing your trail to independent success 02:29 – Step #1: Hone your craft 04:09 – Step #2: Lay the relational groundwork 05:20 – Step #3: Grow and solidify you portfolio 06:58 – Episode summary 08:05 – The newly renovated Music Entrepreneur HQ Transcription: Hey, it’s David here. So, you’re a solo artist. And you’re committed to finding your path to independent or even major label success. But you’re not sure what you need to do to get there. Not to mention, the task seems daunting, because instead of working together with committed band members with different skills, you end up having to take on the entire load yourself – be it social media, updating your website, promoting your gigs, or otherwise. You’d love to be able to get to the point where you can focus on your creativity, make great music, and engage your fan base without having to worry about all the other stuff. You don’t want to feel anxious before every gig because you’re not sure whether it will be well-attended, constantly be running errands to ensure you’re staying afloat financially or feeling burnt out all the time because of the demands on your time and schedule. Creating independent success might seem akin to navigating a minefield. Fortunately, I’ve been reflecting on my years as a solo artist, as well everything that has worked and hasn’t worked for me. Here are my best tips to help you find your path as a solo artist. Achieve Independent Music Success in 3 Simple Steps There are basically three steps to blazing your trail to independent success. I’ll be explaining each step in more detail in just a moment, but here’s a mile high overview. The first step involves honing your craft. But this means more than just getting good at playing your instrument and singing. The reason this is important is because it increases your collaborative opportunities, which can lead to increased stage time, exposure, revenue, and more. The second step is laying the relational groundwork. This is all about developing the right relationships and being intentional about the process. If you do this right, you will find that you don’t need to do much of your own booking work. Gigs and opportunities will come to you in the form of referrals and recommendations. The third step is growing and solidifying your portfolio. The more credible you are, the more people will want to work with you, and this will open doors. The thing is you don’t necessarily know what indicators are going to matter to whom. This step is all about laying your spiderweb to capture opportunities from a variety of channels, and I’ll be sharing how. Keep listening to find out more… Step #1 – Hone Your Craft It might seem obvious that you would need to keep improving as an artist and write great music. But this goes well beyond that. In singer-songwriter or solo artist culture, it’s been my experience that collaborative opportunities abound, and if you aren’t taking advantage, you’re missing out. You can book tours with other solo artists, play on each other’s sets, appear on each other’s YouTube channels, and more. But only if you’re easy to work with and have the skills necessary to back it up. If you can play guitar, maybe learn piano. If you can play piano, learn the guitar. If you consider yourself a rhythm guitarist, learn to play tasteful leads. If you sing lead, learn to sing backup. See if you can pick up some bass and djembe as well. Through the years, I’ve been called upon as a rhythm guitarist, lead guitarist, bassist, backup vocalist, and more. And because I was locked and loaded, I was asked to join other artists on stage many, many times. This often led to gigs, opening slots, guest appearances, and more. At a singer-songwriter open mic night, for instance, you can easily double, triple, and even quadruple your stage time simply by being available and being the kind of musician others like to work with. If you complement others well, a performance at the local café can quickly turn into a tornado of opportunities. This also tends to solve the problem of trying to make it on your own, doing everything by yourself, and relying on your own draw and skills to grow your career. You can work with others and leverage their draw and skills as well. Growing as a solo artist is often a collaborative effort, and if you make it a point to look out for opportunities to work with others, you will go further faster. #2 – Lay the Relational Groundwork Like step #1, you might think this is all about collaboration, and while you might be presented with such opportunities, there’s more to this than meets the eye. Eventually, I got to a point in my solo career where it was extre

How have things changed for musicians in the last 12 months? How can musicians utilize social media and digital marketing powerfully to create success in today’s world climate? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. In this episode: 00:32 – Gaki Music podcast interview 01:41 – Digital marketing and social media overview 08:51 – Forming your marketing strategy 11:38 – What’s the one thing musicians should be focused on in digital marketing? 17:17 – Diversifying your product range 24:23 – How to overcome physical or mental obstacles 32:30 – Musicians are innovators 35:33 – What is the key to digital marketing and social media success? 39:04 – The New Music Industry book Get The New Music Industry book David here. In today’s episode, you’re going to be hearing an interview I did with Wolf at Gaki Music, which is at gakimusic.com. We had a great conversation about social media, digital marketing, and how independent musicians can create results with their marketing efforts, even in the midst of lockdowns. Let’s get into it. Wolf shares about social media and digital marketing Wolf shares about how it has become even more essential for artists to embrace social media and digital marketing during lockdowns, even if they have an adverse reaction to social media or self-promotion. Wolf asks about how things have changed in the last 12 months and what the impact has been. David shares broadly about digital marketing and social media First, David explains the importance of knowing who your audience is. He shares how you can identify both the demographic and psychographic data concerning your audience. David says it isn’t necessarily for musicians to play in dive bars for 10 years to build their audience from scratch anymore, as their audience has already been built. Musicians can act as the CEO of their own music business and find ways to collaborate and partner with others who have access to their audiences they’re trying to appeal to. All you need to know is who you’re trying to appeal to, and you can begin communicating with that audience in different online pockets (like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) today. Second, David explains the basics of octopus marketing, why it’s important, and how it works. It’s all well and good to create relationships and a following on social media, but if you have nowhere to send your fans to (i.e., a web property you own), you’re almost certainly leaving money on the table. Your website should be the central space where fans can access everything you’ve ever worked on – demos, bonus tracks, your back catalog, anything your fans might be interested in. Use your website to collect email addresses and sell to your fans. Don’t be shy or tentative about your selling! That can create unnecessary awkwardness. If possible, musicians should not measure their audiences wallets by their own and be proactive in creating offers ranging from 99 cents to $9,999 (entry-level, mid-tier, high ticket, etc.). Third, musicians must craft their brand. Not just their visual brand (colors, logos, costumes, etc.) but also their internal brand – their purpose, the impact, the difference they want to make in the world. One’s branding and audience should be in alignment for them to work optimally. Musicians should also be clear on their brand positioning – what makes them different or unique, what makes them stand out in the world. They should use this brand positioning in all their marketing materials so art they can create an instant connections with their fans. Wolf asks what’s next for artists once they have these pieces in place David explains that once artists have the key pieces in place, they can begin creating their marketing strategy. Once you know who your audience is, you should have a good idea where they hang out online, as well as how they like to communicate. So, now it’s a matter of approach. Once artists have identified where their fans are online, all too often, they just post “check out my music” or “buy our stuff.” And this isn’t effective. Artists can build curiosity, or they can even appeal to people’s ego by asking them, “what do you think of our latest track?” People love to be thought of as experts, so appealing to their ego is a good way to get a listen and a response, and you might even convert a fan in the process! The music business is a relationship business, so focus on relationships, and you will do well. David also cautions against being weird, as he’s had personal experience with those who approached him the wrong way. He started ignoring or blocking them as they did not demonstrate a clear understanding of who David was. Wolf asks how artists can figure out their digital marketing approach David explains that it mostly goes back to identifying one’s audience. The better you understand your target audience, the more you know about them – their likes and dislikes, how they like to communicate, their preferences, and so

Why was The Renegade Musician eBook written? Why was it a crucial addition to our product portfolio at Music Entrepreneur HQ? Why did I write it, and who is it for? All this and more in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:28 – Behind the scenes of The Renegade Musician 01:15 – Why did David write The Renegade Musician? 03:11 – Who is The Renegade Musician for? 04:48 – Stepping Out of the Shadow of the Old Music Career Model? 06:03 – Pick up your copy of The Renegade Musician bundle Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. It’s time to go behind the scenes of The Renegade Musician eBook and digital magazine bundle. This bundle officially became available on April 1, 2021 and not as an April Fool’s joke. It’s interesting because I have a bit of a history with April 1 releases. My second book, The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship also came out on April 1 in 2018. That also wasn’t an April Fool’s joke, even though it would be exactly like me to play a bit of a trick on you. In previous episodes, I’ve already read the introduction and offered an overview of what you can expect to learn in each chapter. So, in this episode I’ll give you a bit of an insider’s perspective on the new bundle, why I wrote the new eBook, who it’s for, what it means to step out of the shadow of the old music career model and so on. Why I Wrote The Renegade Musician eBook At the end of February, I created The Renegade Musician digital magazine. I gave away a few copies, and some people enjoyed it. I thought about making The Renegade Musician digital magazine a series. And that would mean putting together new installments of it regularly. Maybe not once every moth, but at least once per quarter. Though the digital magazine did okay, it wasn’t a runaway success, so I didn’t necessarily think it would be the best use of my time to create future issue. I was planning to archive the March issue on April 1 anyway, so that could have been the end of it. But then I realized something. If I deleted the offer, all the links I’d built up to it would become broken links. And then I’d have to fix those. That would be a significant time loss, and not a task I’m likely to prioritize, despite it being kind of pain. That’s when it occurred to me that I could replace the digital magazine with an eBook. And of course, the idea to bundle the two was soon to follow. I ended up writing, editing, and formatting the new eBook, at over 8,000 words in just four days. Certainly, I was under a bit of a time crunch by the time I had realized I was going to action this plan, but to my surprise, an important message poured out of me as I was writing. A message of artist empowerment. I didn’t write this eBook to add another product to my portfolio. Music Entrepreneur HQ and Content Marketing Musician are already home to multiple eBooks, books, courses, and coaching programs. I wrote it because I was compelled to write it. In the past, I’ve written logic-minded how-to guides like The Music Entrepreneur Code. And I’m proud of that work. But this was something different. It shares some similarities with The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship, in that it revolves around mindset. But I’ve evolved quite a bit as a writer, thinker, and coach since then. So, from the opening paragraph, you will find that this book is a no holds barred, no B.S. harsh truth book that shamelessly calls you out and point to you as the solution to all your problems. Who is The Renegade Musician for? Nobody said artist empowerment would be easy. It sounds good. It feels good. But at its core is tough love. Because let’s face it – we don’t grow without stretching. Every routine gets stale if you adhere to it long enough. Just like with working out, if you want to keep growing your muscles, you’ve got to put in the effort and keep your muscles guessing. And that’s why The Renegade Musician eBook is all about harsh truths and tough love. It expands your thinking. It holds a mirror up to you and has you look at the possibilities of setting new personal standards in your life. Whether it’s right or wrong isn’t part of the conversation. Because no matter how well-researched we are, we can all be wrong at times. We can all have gaps in our knowledge. Maybe we consistently mispronounce a word. Maybe we mistake the Lydian mode for the Mixolydian mode. Perhaps we have bad personal habits that gross other people out. But they’re just too afraid to say it. This is what it means to be human. So, don’t be down on yourself. But realize that we can keep setting higher standards for ourselves and our teams. Getting others onboard isn’t always easy. But the main thing to remember is that it always starts with you. So, The Renegade Musician is for you if you’re ready to hear some harsh truths. It’s for you if you could see yourself rising to new personal standards. It’s for you if you could see yourself growing, expanding, and going beyond in every aspect of your

What can you expect to find inside The Renegade Musician? How can it help you on your music career journey? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:26 – The Renegade Musician, a “harsh truth” eBook 01:02 – Chapter 1: Music business 01:19 – Chapter 2: Personal development 01:42 – Chapter 3: Profit leverage 01:59 – Chapter 4: Reinvesting 02:20 – Chapter 5: Opportunity 02:40 – Chapter 6: Prioritization 03:02 – Chapter 7: Home base 03:27 – Chapter 8: Paying the price 03:55 – Chapter 9: Leadership 04:14 – Chapter 10: Intuition 04:32 – Chapter 11: Question everything 04:54 – Chapter 12: Commitment 05:17 – Chapter 13: Networking 05:41 – Chapter 14: Planning 06:02 – Conclusion 06:31 – The Renegade Musician bundle Transcription: Hey, it’s David here. Today I wanted to talk about my new eBook, The Renegade Musician: Stepping Out of the Shadow of the Old Music Career Model. In a previous episode, I read the first two chapters of the book to give you a better idea of what’s on the inside. In this episode, I’ll go through each remaining chapter and give you a brief overview of what’s inside the eBook, which you should pick up right away. I’ll share the links at the end of this episode. This is a “harsh reality” kind of eBook. In this episode, I’ve softened the blow a little bit, but fair warning – you can expect these points to be harder hitting when you get to reading it. Chapter 1: Music Business The music business is 50% music and 50% business. The smartest musicians know this, so in addition to their creativity, they prioritize outreach, networking, marketing, and other high-level tasks that can bring the next breakthrough in their careers. Chapter 2: Personal Development Smart musicians understand the value of personal development and actively engage in reading, listening to podcasts, watching videos, signing up for seminars, going to conferences and events, seeking out mentorship, and more. Even if it’s just to keep up with best practices in communication, email marketing, or release strategy, you will never find them resting on their laurels. Chapter 3: Profit Leverage Smart musicians are always looking for ways of turning their income into more income. They don’t blow their cash on alcohol and afterparties. They consider carefully how their financial resources can be leveraged, be it advertising, PR, saving up for their next release, or otherwise. Chapter 4: Reinvesting Smart musicians reinvest into their career. Their money goes towards better stage costumes, banners, lights, gear, websites or sales funnels, photos, branding, copy, and more. If you’re the type to spend everything you’ve earned at a gig, there’s much you can learn from those who actively and aggressively reinvest in their careers. Chapter 5: Opportunity Most musicians tend to compete for the same festival and opening slots, as well as bar gigs and other opportunities. A smart musician might throw their hat in the ring, but they also create their own opportunities. They are always looking for opportunities to add value to people and places where their music fits in. Chapter 6: Prioritization A smart musician prioritizes what they work on day to day. They might spend some time on social media, but not before working on their website. They might work on their website, but not before sending an email to their list. And so on. Smart musicians actively prioritize and ruthlessly triage. They put first things first in their day and set aside low-value tasks for later. Chapter 7: Home Base Most musicians tend to put all their eggs into the social media basket, not realizing that there are higher value tasks they could be engaged in. Smart musicians know to prioritize home base. They build their website. They link up all their assets. They showcase their portfolio of work for others to see. They look for ways to take more ownership of their audience and work, instead of trying to minimize responsibility. Chapter 8: Paying the Price Many musicians look for ways to reduce costs. Haggle over price. Ask for a free lunch. A smart musician isn’t afraid to invest. They might panic over having to spend $100 now, but will eventually grow into someone who drops $1,000 in a go, without thinking, when they see something worth investing in. Smart musicians understand the value of quality goods and services and have a strong sense of self-worth. Chapter 9: Leadership Smart musicians know that they can make a difference in the lives of their fans, local communities, and even globally. They don’t shirk from responsibility or run from it. They actively seek out opportunities to grow, take on more responsibility, and fulfill on their commitments. As result, their bandwidth is always expanding. Chapter 10: Intuition Smart musicians are critical thinkers. That’s why they aren’t easily duped. They know how to listen to their intuition. They don’t just get their news from Google or mainstream media and

How do you access empowerment as an artist? How do you create and claim the opportunity that’s already yours? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:25 – The Renegade Musician bundle 01:24 – The starving artist stereotype 02:41 – The value of creativity 03:24 – So why do artists starve? 04:55 – What is a Renegade Musician? 06:49 – The Renegade Musician is a concept 07:59 – The Renegade Musician is a philosophy 09:49 – The Renegade Musician is an ideal 11:53 – The Renegade Musician is a movement 12:17 – Claiming your copy of The Renegade Musician Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. So, I’ve been sharing a little bit about The Renegade Musician digital magazine as of late. The product was good, but the concept was especially memorable. Which is why I developed it into a full eBook. And now I’ve bundled up the digital magazine and new eBook. You can purchase the bundle for $30 at Gum.co/RenegadeMusician as well as davidandrewwiebe.com/renegade. It doesn’t matter much to me which link you purchase through. The Gumroad version mainly caters to my Twitter audience, but if you purchase through the Music Entrepreneur HQ link, you’ll be able to set up your account with Content Marketing Musician, where my top-tier courses and products live. I’ll be sharing more about the eBook in future episodes, but in this episode, I wanted to read the first two chapters for you. So, let’s get into it. Introduction Are you tired of the same old, same old? The starving artist stereotype has been perpetuated through the ages, and we even have tortured genius archetypes like Vincent van Gogh to point to whenever it’s convenient. People wrongfully assume he lived out a tragic, penniless life when in fact he was just an eccentric recluse who liked to paint. But it gives your parents and teachers more reason to say, “Becoming an artist is impractical. If a genius like van Gogh couldn’t do it, what chance do you have? Go to school, get good grades, and find a good job. That’s your path to security.” To be fair, if your parents or teachers are still saying that, they’re probably gen X or older. Millennials were born into a much different world, and intuitively, they have always known the flaws with the traditional model. They have always sought to do things their own way. Play by their own rules. Seek fulfillment outside the accepted norms. It’s plain to see where the old model has led. We see it in the eyes of those whose DNA we share. And we don’t necessarily like what we see. It’s all well and good to do things your own way, play by your own rules, and seek fulfillment on your own terms. But to do it right, requires a radical shift in perspective and approach. And it begins with thinking differently about creativity and music in general. The value of creativity is beyond any thoughts we entertain or conceive of in our daily lives. Creativity is crucial to a child’s development. It teaches them valuable problem-solving skills, and it can even aid in the development of social skills. Creativity is highly valued in the workplace. Business without creativity isn’t just boring. It has a way of being needlessly rigid and dogmatic. Self-important even. Business without creativity is stale and unappealing. Most importantly, creativity is divine. That may seem a bold statement, but if we were to entertain the notion that God himself created the world we occupy, then to create is a godly act. So, why do artists starve? Who’s responsible? You’re not going to like the answer. Are you ready? We are responsible. If a man is appointed king but refuses to take his throne, it leaves the people no choice but to appoint another man king. Give an inch, they’ll take a mile. As artists, we have given more inches than anyone would consider wise or prudent. When there are billions available in the industry, why do we settle for a few hundred? We must rise and take back our rightful place as royalty. There is no space for laziness, apathy, and self-righteousness. Not anymore. Because that is exactly what led to the situation, we have been facing in 2020 and 2021. It’s not a health crisis. It’s an identity crisis. You were not meant to live off the scraps left behind by the trailblazing warriors. You were meant to enjoy equal or even greater spoils. As artists, we have the numbers. And there is power in numbers. But we haven’t stood up and fought for what is rightfully ours. At the first sign of battle, we turn and run. “This battle is not ours to fight,” we say. Trying to get Spotify to pay us one cent per stream is not the fight. The fight is for equity in Spotify, because without our content, where would they be? We deserve equity, and we shouldn’t have to ask for it. We should consider a boycott if they refuse. And so, we need to shake off stereotypes. We need to stop giving an inch when others come to take a mile. We need to bear metaphorical arms and stand together. We ne

Everyone in marketing and entrepreneurship says to go niche. Drill down until you can drill no more. Let me offer a bit of a different perspective. Towards the end of 2020, I started broadening my audience. Instead of creating content and products exclusively for musicians, I began extending my reach into the much broader, more competitive, and now trendy world of creatives and creators. People have always told me that my books and products could be just as applicable to freelancers, entrepreneurs, and other creatives as they are to musicians. So, however illogical in the minds of the so-called “experts,” it made sense to me to pivot and try something new. What would be the harm? I was feeling stuck doing what I was doing. Again, this isn’t supposed to work. You aren’t supposed to go general or broad. But I did. And I was surprised by the results. My Twitter engagement started going through the roof, I’ve been added to numerous Medium publications, and my content is now being syndicated more widely. People have expressed gratitude for my emails and newsletters as well. I would not say that I’ve arrived, and I haven’t found the exact breakthrough I’ve been seeking. I have big goals and expectations for myself. That said, this stands as a small victory. An experiment worth the trouble. So, what about you? Are you feeling stuck? Is it time for you to pivot or reconsider your direction? Is it possible you’ve been holding yourself back from becoming a thought leader, building a personal brand, or getting in to a “competitive niche” simply because someone told you not to go in that direction? Everyone’s path is going to be a little different, so even the gurus can’t necessarily tell you which way to go. Chances are, you will get to where you want to go faster, or learn the lessons you need to learn on the way to getting to where you want to go, if you stop doubting yourself and start following your intuition more. Try following your instincts, even if it’s just for 100 days. Think of it like an experiment and see where it takes you. The results might just surprise you. For more inspiration, be sure to sign up for my email list.

Would you like to get your music streamed millions of times on Spotify? What if there was a proven step-by-step process you could follow to achieve that goal? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:25 – Owner of Fame Hackers Isabella Bedoya 01:34 – Approach to digital marketing and e-commerce 03:06 – Why Spotify? 04:50 – The importance of being fan-centric 08:16 – How do we go about finding our ideal fans? 11:30 – Why is it so important that artists optimize their brand to attract their ideal listeners? 13:50 – Getting the right kind of PR and playlisting 18:16 – Is maximizing your revenue as simple as growing your fan base? 20:35 – Sales funnels for musicians 22:09 – Who not how 24:02 – Can artists get millions of streams? 26:32 – What's the last YouTube video Isabella watched? 27:02 – What's Isabella’s daily routine like? 28:47 – What is the greatest challenge Isabella has overcome? 30:12 – What is the greatest victory Isabella has experienced? 31:00 – Are there any books that helped Isabella on her journey? 32:29 – The Renegade Musician Transcription: David Andrew Wiebe: Today I'm chatting with the founder of Fame Hackers, Isabella Bedoya. How are you today, Isabella? Isabella Bedoya: Hey, David. Thanks for having me here today. David: Yeah, thanks so much for joining me. So today, you run Fame Hackers but when you used to work as an A&R for a label under Sony Music, what led to you doing what you do today and what has your trajectory been like? Isabella: Such a great question. Back in the day when I used to be an A&R, I quickly realized that the very first thing that people are like, or like at least labels are looking for are artists that have a social media following that's real, high quality, authentic, essentially demonstrate that they have a fan base, and that they also can monetize that. Right? So basically, I understood that as long as you have digital marketing and ecommerce principles as part of your music career, then you can make it successfully as an independent artist. So yeah, once I figured that out, then I was like, "Okay, cool. So, if you can just teach an artist how to do this, there wouldn't be so many starving artists in coats, right?" That's how I got to where I am today, just that desire to help. David: That's awesome. And yeah, you're totally spot on. It is so challenging, I think, to convince musicians that they have to learn digital marketing or eCommerce principles. So, I know you have your own approach to that. What is your answer to that? Isabella: I mean, honestly, it is one of the most challenging things to teach artists and musicians because also... And I don't think it's their fault exactly but I also think it's because of the way that society thinks that independent artists are like starving artists and it's a hobby, and it's a pipe dream, you're never going to make it. So immediately, you have these very talented, gifted individuals that are not able to actually live up to their full potential just from the way that they were raised. And it's not even on the parents. It's just society in general. That's how the majority treats musicians. So, when you first get them to actually step out of that and actually realize that they're super valuable, and worthy, and talented, and then you just teach them how to market themselves in a way where you're not also being kind of like slimy and icky because I know that's something that comes up a lot where people don't want to be like sellouts. But yeah, it's just teaching the people the right approach of how to show yourself in a way that is going to be beneficial for everyone. David: Yeah, I like what you said a lot about being valuable and worthy. That's kind of the theme of the eBook I just came out with today - not an April Fool's joke. It's The Renegade Musician and it's at gum.co/RenegadeMusician. I might send you a free copy there Isabella in case you want to check it out but it's definitely about artist empowerment. I feel like it's a timely important message for musicians. Now, I know one of today's theme is going to be Spotify. I've been chomping at the bit to do an episode about this because I know it's been trending for a long time. And it's very much alive and well. I think I really just needed the right guest to talk about it but I'm going to be the devil's advocate right away and say, "Why Spotify? Isn't it's super crowded? Doesn't it pay less than a cent per stream?" Isabella: Absolutely. First of all, David, I would absolutely love a copy of the book. That is so amazing that you wrote that. And, you know, Spotify is one of those things where it's like a really useful tool but it gives you a false hope or a false perception of su

In uncertain times, it’s easy to get caught up in doing a lot of fancy, new things that might not yield results. But sometimes, the best thing you can do is get back to the basics. That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:31 – Creativity is all about the process 00:55 – Year one mindset 01:20 – Are you doing what you know you need to do? 02:05 – Are you still committed to learning? 03:10 – Do you have the right pieces in place? 04:22 – Are you making checklists and procedure documents? 05:30 – Are you taking care of yourself? 06:32 – Episode summary 06:56 – First-time coaching special Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. We need to be able to find joy in the process. Creativity is all about the process, and if we end up focusing on the results, we can rob ourselves from the joys of creating. Your creativity has a way of becoming a means to an end if all you care about are the results. Which is why I thought I would talk about getting back to the basics. I have found incredible value in adopting a year one mindset. And what that means is letting go of whatever has or hasn’t happened in the past. It means getting excited about the process again. So, here are some questions you can ask yourself to see whether you’re engaging in and focusing on the right things as you look to create and share your music in 2021. Are You Doing What You Know You Need to do? This might seem like an odd question, but it’s essential. If you know you’ve got a performance coming up, be it a live stream or otherwise, are you spending time preparing for that performance? Are you building out your website? Are you engaging your social media following? Are you sending out weekly email newsletters? This is all quite basic, and nowhere near as sexy as Clubhouse or Instagram. But doing what you know you need to do has a way of producing the results. Whereas experimenting with the latest social media platform can wait. Consider sitting with this question for a while. You will begin to see things you could be dedicating some time and effort to. Are You Still Committed to Learning? Are there gaps in your knowledge? Things you know you should learn, but have neglected? Things you keep avoiding? I’ve been watching my business coach’s old training videos, and I’ve come to see just how adept he is at things I have considered boring – things like keyword and competitive research, conversion tracking links, identifying business opportunities, profit and loss statements, and more. Now, as a musician you might not be actively thinking about those things. You might be trying to learn the Lydian mode, or trying to coordinate outfits with your band, or figuring out how to film your own music videos. The point is that we all have gaps in knowledge and oversights. There are things we avoid, things we don’t like, things we’re not good at. If these areas don’t have a direct impact on our careers, then we don’t necessarily need to put all our time into developing strengths in them. But if they are holding back our careers, we should be willing to revisit them. Because our next breakthrough might come from augmenting our weaknesses. Do You Have the Right Pieces in Place? You may have heard me talk about James Schramko’s Own The Racecourse methodology before. It’s a system for creating your own platform and growing it through the publishing of content. Well, for a long time, I’ve been doing a lot of the work myself, either because I was afraid to hire, or I just didn’t have enough revenue to be able to bring someone on the team. But I recently brought on a podcast editor, and this has shaved several hours of my week I can reallocate to other work or just relaxing and resting. And that’s when I started to see that the system works much better when you have the right pieces in place. I didn’t. I was trying to do it all myself. So, are there any apps you know you should buy but haven’t yet? Would you benefit from hiring a freelancer to handle your graphics? Could you delegate menial tasks to someone who would be willing to handle them for a small fee? The engine works much better when all the other parts also have what they need to operate, be it fluids, belts, batteries, or otherwise. I don’t understand cars that well. I just thought it was a good metaphor. Are You Making Checklists and Procedure Documents? Here’s one thing I know a lot of people find boring. But creating and following checklists or procedure documents allows you to do things more consistently and efficiently. I have a checklist for content syndication and distribution. So, whenever I publish a new post, I just follow that checklist, and I’m done getting my content out to a dozen or so platforms in 10 to 15 minutes. I wouldn’t be as consistent, let alone efficient, if I didn’t have that document. This kind of goes hand in hand with the last question, but it’s drilling a little deeper into the pieces. And each piece k

What did we learn in the series on what to do with your music in 2021? What new opportunities did we discover? And most importantly, what actions will you we be taking as result? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:31 – Bringing the series on what to do with your music in 2021 to a close 00:54 – Experimentation and opportunities in music 02:21 – Part 1: Being fully self-expressed, making music, artist website 02:36 – Part 2: Musician tools 02:57 – Special offer 03:50 – Part 3: Actionable data, cryptocurrency, email list 04:10 – Part 4: Fan engagement, networking, sync licensing and placements 04:36 – Episode summary Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. Well, I think we’re finally ready to bring this series on what to do with your music in 2021 to a close. I’ve touched on all the points I wanted to, which isn’t to say that I’ve laid out a comprehensive strategy from top to bottom. But those who understand the opportunities represented will be quick to jump on them, while plenty of others will sit by the sidelines doing nothing, trying nothing, changing nothing. If it were me, I would go out there and give everything my best shot, and this is not “do as I say, not as I do.” I’ve been publishing daily on Medium since July 28, 2020 and I’ve also been sharing my content far and wide – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Odysee, Mix, Pinterest, LinkedIn, VK, Brighteon.Social, Minds, MeWe, Gab, Parler, Telegram, Revue, and more. I’m also in my third month of publishing weekly on News Break. Maybe all this experimentation will go nowhere, but how will I know without even trying? As a musician and creative coach my daily life may look a little different than yours, and there might be a gap between some of the activities we engage in. But the point is that you’ve got to take the initiative and be willing to try. And I’m an independent musician just like you. Yes, I have other pursuits. But that doesn’t mean I care any less about music and don’t dedicate my share of thought, time, and energy to it. I play my guitar every single day, and I’m coming up with arrangements for songs I’ll be recording. I was recently asked to compose music for a short as well. Like I always say, there are plenty of opportunities out there. So, let’s review the main points covered in this series, and as I mentioned before, if you’d like me to turn this into a more detailed course, showing you the step-by-step of each part, just let me know. Part 1 In part 1 or episode 219 of the show, I talked about a way of thinking. And that way of thinking is to be fully self-expressed. Don’t hold back. Make the music you’ve always wanted to make. I also talked about making more music in general and making sure you’ve got your artist website set up. Part 2 In part 2 or episode 220 of the show, we looked at a mix of tools that can help you grow your online presence, share your music, get connected with other musicians and people in the industry, do competitive analysis, and more. There are a lot of great tools out there, and if you aren’t taking advantage of the latest tech, you could be missing out big time. I’ll be back to finish this reflection in just a moment, but first, here’s a special offer for you. Sellfy Setting up a website can be time-consuming. And the whole point of building a site is to get your music heard, appreciated, and hopefully, sold. Have you heard about Sellfy? This platform has been built with creatives in mind. It allows you to set up your own eCommerce store in minutes. It lets you sell digital products, physical goods like merch, and even subscriptions, all from just one place. If you’re tired of messing around with complicated website builders, this is the solution you need. Go to davidandrewwiebe.com/Sellfy that’s s-e-l-l-f-y to start your free trial. That’s davidandrewwiebe.com/Sellfy. We are an affiliate of Sellfy and if you purchase anything through our link, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Part 3 In part 3 or episode 225 of the show, I shared about actionable data and insights, earning cryptocurrency, growing and engaging your email list, and more. Again, these are timely and relevant topics, especially if you know what’s going on in the world right now. Be proactive. Be an action taker and start preparing yourself for worst case scenarios. Part 4 In part 4 or episode 226 of the podcast, I covered what I would consider the crux of the matter. If you follow through and action parts one through three, what you’re left with are high-level opportunities – connecting with fans, networking, pursuing sync licensing and placements, or setting up a fan club or membership site. If you want to growth hack your way to the top, you could almost just pick one opportunity and go all in on it. Episode Summary With that, here’s today’s episode summary. We’ve already looked back on parts one through four of the series, so t

Each year, we look back on the year past and the content we’ve published. What stood out? What topics interested you most? What made an impression on you? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 0:28 – The simple joys of creating 0:40 – Possible course 1:03 – Top 10 posts from 2020 1:49 – Following Your Heart as an Artist – with Videographer & Musician João Filipe 2:52 – How to Start a Record Label with No Money 3:21 – Top 10 Music Entrepreneur HQ Posts of 2019 3:48 – Building Relationships to Grow Your Music Career – with Ty Frankel of Shut Down Media 4:33 – How to Use Data to Grow Your Music Career – with Ben Mendoza of Beatchain 5:03 – The IMDb of the Music Industry – with Vasja Veber of Viberate 5:38 – Things That Make You Go “Hmm…” About the Coronavirus 6:35 – Social Media Marketing for Musicians in 2020, 2021 & Beyond 7:49 – How to Become a Better Singer – with Matt Ramsey of Ramsey Voice Studio 8:29 – SoundCloud vs. Bandcamp 9:10 – New digital music magazine Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. Well, it feels great to be bringing you another episode. I’ve been getting back to the simple joys of creating lately, so it makes the task of putting together an episode for you a joy filled process. The series on what to do with your music in 2021 is only another one or two episodes away from being complete, and I might even turn it into a course if that’s something that interests you. Be sure to let me know. I didn’t plan on stretching out that series for as long as it has gone, but there have been more than a few things to cover this year, and I know there’s going to be a lot more to share with you throughout the year. It’s going to be quite exciting. But speaking of things that need to be completed, I haven’t shared the top 10 posts from 2020 yet, which is something we do each year. We’ve been doing things a little differently at Music Entrepreneur HQ this year – we’re actually putting a lot of effort into simplifying – so in 2021 we haven’t put as strong of a focus on the new year as we did in years past. Most of what we typically publish made it over to my website at DavidAndrewWiebe.com. Is this a welcome change? Or do you feel like you missed the new year content? You can let us know. Our contact page is easy to find – it’s at davidandrewwiebe.com/contact. And for quick and dirty communication, Twitter is always best. I’m @davidawiebe on Twitter. But with that, I’d like to reflect on the 10 Music Entrepreneur HQ posts of 2020. 10 – 181 – Following Your Heart as an Artist – with Videographer & Musician João Filipe It’s always great when we can highlight a listener, their journey, as well as some of the things they’ve been able to accomplish as result of tuning into the podcast and being part of the Music Entrepreneur HQ community. João is someone who’s gone onto become a music entrepreneur in his own right, as a videographer for Kscope. His journey is a transformative one, as he went from being a musician to a videographer for his favorite record label. In a way, those types of transformations are my favorite, because it’s like what I went through as well. People sometimes ask what to expect if they work with me or take advantage of my products. Well, episode 181 of the podcast is a good place to start. And by the way, if you’ve never worked with me before, I offer a product called the First-Time Coaching Special, which is the heavily discounted version of my one-on-one coaching program for newcomers. You can get started at davidandrewwiebe.com/Special 9 – How to Start a Record Label with No Money There are always people looking for shortcuts. In this post, I focused more on the possibility of starting a label on the back of sweat equity and low-cost tech, as getting started with no money is mostly a pipe dream unless your plan is to get a loan and pay it back later. Even then, you need money. But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and in this episode, I used my problem-solving skills to help future record label owners get started sooner rather than later. 8 – 179 – Top 10 Music Entrepreneur HQ Posts of 2019 Remarkable that we should see another top 10 make it into this list. But episode 179 of the podcast obviously drew some attention. With a mix of guest posters and podcast guests being featured, I think there is always a bit of a frenzy surrounding posts like these. So, thanks to all past contributors, as well as those who were a part of our content ecosystem last year. 7 – 207 – Building Relationships to Grow Your Music Career – with Ty Frankel of Shut Down Media I had a great conversation with Ty Frankel, and part of the interview was even edited down because we went off on a complete tangent about Japan and travel in the middle of it. Ty is a great guy. I don’t think the fullness of his knowledge or personality were reflected in this interview. I’ve since discovered that his Twitter personality is funny,

How do you take care of your health and fitness as a musician? How do you make sure you’re always performing at your best? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:23 – Health and fitness expert Yannick Tinguely 04:21 – Injuries you can sustain as a musician 07:08 – Getting into shape as a musician 09:37 – What sort of results have you gotten for yourself? 12:25 – Tips for making your performance better 18:26 – The iceberg diagram 18:52 – Adrenal fatigue and anxiety 19:58 – Best protein to consume as a musician 23:18 – Listening to your body 25:54 – A musician’s recovery routine 29:06 – Tips for maintaining balance 32:25 – Good health and fitness advice for musicians 37:36 – Overworking yourself 39:44 – Are there any books that have helped you on your journey? 43:31 – Next steps to improve their fitness and health 46:34 – Final thoughts 47:17 – Exciting new magazine Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment Are you feeling pumped up yet? Then why not get pumped up some more? I just published the first issue of our first digital magazine called The Renegade Musician, and right now it’s pay what you want. This offer only lasts until the end of March, so if you’re ready, head on over to gum.co/RenegadeMusician to claim your copy. That’s gum dot c-o slash Renegade Musician. This has been episode 227 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

Trying to figure out how to nurture your fan base? Looking for music business models that work better than Spotify algorithm exploits? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:26 – What to do with your music in 2021 summary 00:49 – Interview with Vasja Veber correction 01:04 – Connect with everyone who comes through your doors 01:48 – Network far and wide 03:11 – Pursue sync licensing and placements 04:22 – Set up a fan club or membership site 05:24 – Stop whining 06:13 – Episode summary 06:54 – New exciting course Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. I’m back with part 4 of what to do with your music in 2021. In part 1, I talked about strategy and mindset. In part 2, I talked about tools to help you set up your website, promote your music, and do competitive analysis with. In part 3, we looked at analytics, cryptocurrency, and growing your list. Part 4 is where you’ll start to see a lot of it come together. Now, before I get to that, I made a bit of an error in the last episode. I said that my interview with Vasja Veber was 198 when it was actually 180. Not sure what I was thinking there, but there you go. Either way, we made sure to correct it in the show notes. Let’s get into part 4. 1. Connect with Everyone Who Come Through Your Doors In the past, you may have let your welcome series do the work for you. Or maybe you waited for new fans to comment on a Facebook post to engage with them. But let’s be more proactive about connecting with people in 2021. They aren’t a number, nor are they an email address. When someone joins your list, celebrate them! If they buy something from you, send them a personal thanks and maybe even send them a “thank-you” note via snail mail. We’re basically talking about customer service here. And when people have a good experience with you, they tend to think of you when they need something, and even tell their friends. We can’t just hope and pray that people are going to stay engaged with us after they’ve joined our community. We’ve got to be proactive about learning more about them and interacting with them. You’ve got to love on your fans. 2. Network Far & Wide Did you know that employee referrals are the top source for hires? What that means is that knowing the right people makes all the difference. People do business with those they know, like, and trust. So many people want to work their way straight to the top, and unfortunately, it generally doesn’t work that way. You need to start with your local scene and get to know the movers and shakers. Even in a city like Calgary, where I used to live, there were successful songwriters who I ended up connecting with. Might they know a thing or two about writing great songs? Would they know some people of influence? Could they co-write with me or introduce me to a manager, producer, or label? You bet they could! But I’m not counting on that. My prerogative is to build an authentic friendship with them. And maybe next time they need an opening act or need a lead guitarist to play on their project, they’ll think of me. But I need to stay top of mind with them if I have any hope of getting the call. So, whether it’s sending “thank-you” notes, sharing an interesting article with them, going to their workshops, or otherwise, I’d better show up when I can. Despite lockdowns, now is the best time to expand your network, and it doesn’t matter what platforms you’re using to do it. I like Twitter a lot. It’s instant and easy, and there are so many smart people on the platform. But you pick what works for you. If you’d like to go deeper into networking, have a listen to: Episode 149 of the podcast with Brian Bob Young 3. Pursue Sync Licensing & Placements In part 1 of this series, I talked about making more music. Well, if you want to pursue sync licensing and placement opportunities, then you’re going to need to get used to cranking out the tunes. The upside potential of getting your music into media is amazing, and you don’t even need a fan base to make an independent income at it. Now, you might read something online about how to get into this part of the industry, and come away feeling like it’s much too complex, nerve wracking, or high stakes. Look, I need you to focus. Get started, get going, and adjust as you go. Don’t worry about the details so much. That’s going to paralyze you. If you want to earn a real independent income in music, get off Spotify and give this area of your career some serious attention. Create accounts with ReverbNation, Musicxray, SonicBids, and Rumblefish. You’re going to figure out whether those platforms work for you relatively quickly. And to be honest, licensing and placements largely comes down to relationship, which goes back to my last point. If you’d like to learn more about licensing and placements, have a listen to: Episode 19 of the podcast with Helen Austin Episode 211 of the podcast with Adam McInnis 4. Set Up

How do you collect and act on the right data and insights to grow your music career? How can you start earning cryptocurrency as a musician? How do you grow your list, stay connected to your fans, and boost engagement? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:32 – More tools to maximize your opportunities in 2021 01:10 – Beatchain 01:57 – Viberate: IMDb of the music industry 02:44 – LBRY and Odysee 04:00 – ConvertKit: Connect with your audience 04:52 – Leadpages: Lead capture and sales funnels 05:49 – Episode summary 06:26 – Exciting new course Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. We’re finally ready to pick up where we left off with the series on what to do with your music in 2021. In part 1, I covered some high-level strategy and mindset. In part 2, we looked at tools to help you share your music far and wide. And, today, we’re going to be looking at more tools that will help you develop your strategy, connect with your fans, and grow your list. The important thing to remember is that a tool itself doesn’t have the ability to make you successful. It’s more the mindset shift and empowerment that comes from using a tool that makes all the difference. Does that make sense? So, here are several more tools, apps, and websites that will help you maximize your opportunities in 2021. 1. Beatchain Now, it’s entirely possible you’ve heard a lot of talk about data in the music industry already. But while some data is useful, much of it isn’t. Amid all the noise and fluff, I find Beatchain to be a breath of fresh air. All you’ve got to do to get started is to sign up for a free account, connect your social media profiles, and Beatchain does the rest. It will show you where your fans are located, which of your social media posts are performing the best, identify related artists (there might be some collaboration opportunities there), which playlists you’re on, and more. You can upgrade to premium to gain access to more actionable data, like which playlists you could be on. There are a ton of tools on the inside, and honestly, you just have to see it all for yourself. If you’d like to learn more about Beatchain, have a listen to: Episode 197 of the podcast with Ben Mendoza 2. Viberate Viberate (that’s v-i-b-e-r-a-t-e) is like the IMDb of the music industry, with a database of artists, venues, festivals, events, and more. The first thing you should do is see whether an artist profile already exists for you on Viberate. And if it doesn’t, create one! That’s what I did. You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised to find how many networks, online stores, and streaming apps you can link up. Viberate, like Beatchain, gives you access to actionable data. If I’m not mistaken, you can even help build out the platform by setting up artist profiles and earn cryptocurrency. Anyway, this is another promising platform and one you need to see to believe. If you’d like to learn more about Viberate, have a listen to: Episode 180 of the podcast with Vasja Veber 3. LBRY/Odysee If you’re a YouTube power user, then LBRY and Odysee are platforms you should absolutely know about. YouTube is great for exposure. You can get your videos in front of a bigger audience. But where LBRY and Odysee shine are with monetization. Now, Odysee has been built on top of LBRY, and there’s no need to sign up with both. Odysee has a few add-ons that make the overall experience a little more like YouTube. The reason I’m excited about Odysee is because it’s a decentralized free speech video sharing platform. Your channel is monetized the moment it’s created. I have earned over 300 LBRY credits so far, and that’s just from messing around with it, not even treating it like a business. And that’s equal to a little over $50, though LBC does tend to fluctuate in value a lot. Again, YouTube is still bigger, and in some ways it’s easier to get more exposure there. But if you want to monetize your work, I will argue that it would be worth adding Odysee to your portfolio and upload your videos there too. If I’m not mistaken, if you already have over 300 subscribers on your channel, you can sync up your channel with Odysee without having to manually upload all your videos. If you’re ready to get signed up with LBRY, just follow this link. 4. ConvertKit I’ve had some questions recently regarding the best email service providers for musicians. Look, there are a lot of ESPs out there, and most of them are going to do the trick. It’s just that they all vary in complexity, functionality, and price. If you’re just getting started today, then Mailchimp is fine. It’s free to get started with them, but at some point, as your email list continues to grow, you’re going to end up paying something anyway. I think ConvertKit is the best option for creatives, because it’s been built specifically with creators in mind. It’s free to use up to 1,000 subscribers, and they even offer great support and free courses

Do you make beats and instrumentals? Are you a mixing and mastering engineer looking for clients? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 0:25 – Your questions answered 0:48 – Marketing your beats, instrumentals, mixing and mastering services online 4:43 – Approaching new artists professionally 6:27 – Pre-qualifying before selling anything 7:28 – Building connections and networking 8:48 – Exciting new course Transcription: Hey, it's David Andrew Wiebe. Today, I had a few questions from Kevin that I was looking to answer. I think he might have asked these over a month ago, but here we are. I'm going to make sure to send this episode over to him when it's done. But I figured if he has these questions, then there's going to be other people out there wondering about these same things. So, here are my answers. His first question was, how do I market my beats, instrumentals, and other services like mixing and mastering online and increase first time and returning customers? Now, Kevin, if you haven't done this already, set up a professional looking website. My recommendation is to take advantage of a hosting company like SiteGround. That's our favorite. You can go to davidandrewwiebe.com/SiteGround if you'd like to support us. You don't necessarily have to obsess over design. Simple is often better than complex these days. But just pick a really nice theme and customise it until it looks and feels right to you. You'll also want to showcase your portfolio. So, show samples of your beats or instrumentals. You don't have to give everything away but you want to make sure that people can get a sense of what you're capable of on your website. The number one thing to prioritize on your website is the collection of emails. I would suggest experimenting with a simple capture form, as well as with a lead magnet. People sometimes like to access something for free that will be valuable to them in exchange for their email. Sometimes won't even give you their email without that extra step. There's a great book called Magnetic Marketing that really explains this process in detail, although you don't necessarily need to access that resources. The point is, if you have something your audience wants and you're giving it away, they're more likely to give you their email address as well. And if you have their email, you can follow up with them in your weekly newsletters. So, make sure to establish that routine of creating weekly newsletters with content. We'll get to content in a moment but that's another important piece. If you're using a payment processor on your website, then you also want to make sure that you can collect emails and people's contact information so you can follow up with them. Your existing customers always make for your best customers so encouraging repeat business is just a matter of following up with them oftentimes. Now, getting in front of your audience consistently can be a little more complicated and can certainly take some work, but I'm going to help you try to fast track that process. So, I would recommend committing to a content strategy. Once per week you should be publishing a blog post or a podcast episode or a video. Now, you should choose one channel. Don't try to do them all. I'm going to suggest here that you take advantage of video for a couple of reasons. Videos are great, especially on social media. Showing your face can build trust with your audience. Now, you definitely don't need to reinvent the wheel here. I'm going to suggest that you don't. I would just think about the most common questions you've been asked and then address those in your videos. If it helps, you can also think about the questions you wish people would ask. Be sure to add a call to action at the end of your videos, whether it's, “visit my website," “check out my rates," or “here are some of my beats.” All that beautifully created content is all for naught if you can't get people in the door. The other great thing about video is that you can distribute them across various social media channels. You can put them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Those are the main channels I would recommend. Those are where you're going to get the most traction, and you're going to see the most people engaging. You can also publish your videos or embed your videos on your blog. That's recommended as well. Now, this strategy does require some time and effort. So, don't go into it thinking that it's somehow going to be easy but it can be quite effective. Platforms like Twitter have some limitations. They only allow videos of up to two minutes and 20 seconds, but that might be a reason or a bit of an incentive to keep your videos short. People in social media tend to like s

What’s the right way to look at building a music career? How do you make sure that you create long-term results for yourself? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:26 – Exciting new course (now available) 00:53 – Christopher Sutton’s masterclass introduction 05:05 – Entrepreneurial essentials for musicians 05:29 – A musician is a small business owner 07:35 – A statement that could change your life 10:37 – Adopting a long-term mindset 13:55 – What can you accomplish in 10 years? 16:44 – Episode summary Transcription: Hey, it's David Andrew Wiebe. What you're about to hear is a segment of my course, the Entrepreneurial Essentials for Musicians Masterclass. You can find it at davidandrewwiebe.com/Masterclass. The price goes up every week, so if you'd like to save a bit of money, head on over there sooner rather than later. It's davidandrewwiebe.com/Masterclass. Enjoy this segment from the Entrepreneurial Essentials for Musicians Masterclass. This is Christopher Sutton, director of Musical U, a community dedicated to teaching musicians the inner skills that grant them the confidence they need to improvise, perform, and more. We LOVE what Musical U is up to! Christopher Sutton: Hello and welcome. We are live. Sorry for the short delay and thank you for your patience, we were fighting some technical gremlins. Technology is incredible when it works and incredibly annoying when it doesn't. Thanks for bearing with us. Sorry to be starting a little bit late. I guarantee it will be worth your while waiting a few minutes. Very welcome. Very warm welcome to you all here today, whether you are a Musical U fan or even a Musical U member, if we have any members give a shout out in the chat box. I'm sure we have a few who have come along. Today we are joined by a very special guest. I am delighted to say we have David Andrew Wiebe, author of The New Music Industry and The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship. David say hello. David Andrew Wiebe: Hello everybody. Christopher: David is the man behind The Music Entrepreneur HQ website, which is a fantastic blog and also hosts a podcast, and he is himself a guitarist and songwriter based in Canada, but he's really made a name for himself online with his writing on modern music entrepreneurship and what it means to try and make a living with music in this day and age. I recently grabbed a copy of David's new book, which I highly recommend. It's The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship and I just totally loved the way he talks about this topic of entrepreneurship. If you've come along today, then I know that that word entrepreneurship didn't totally put you off, which is good, but I know that a lot of people assume a lot of things about it, and so I hope you've come today with an open mind because what I love so much about David's book was that it wasn't kind of the traditional just how to make money or how to make a business kind of entrepreneurship teaching. He really goes into the mindset, and the habits that make for success in life in general, to be honest. It's definitely framed as entrepreneurship, but there is a ton packed in there that's useful for any musician whether you consider yourself an entrepreneur or not. So I was super excited to have David come and present this masterclass for Musical U members and anyone who's joining us live today, because this is stuff that will help you transform your success in any musical endeavor, I think. In a minute I'm going to hand over to David to share his insights with you, and before we do, I'll just explain the structure of today's call. In a second I'll hand over to David and then at the end of his presentation we're going to do some Q&A. So you should be seeing a chat box on your screen live chat thing, so if you're watching Musical U, I think it'll appear to the right hand side of the video. If you're watching on the public website, I think it might be below, and if you're watching on YouTube it'll be wherever YouTube decided to put it today, but look around and you should see a white live chat box. Please don't be shy. Do say hello. We've had a bunch of people saying helloin there already, which is fantastic. I will give a few shout outs to Glenn from Minnesota, [Meddy 00:02:51] from Europe, Scott from Texas, USA. You look familiar, Scott, maybe from a previous masterclass. Peter Pool from the Netherlands, Jamie from San Francisco, Maximiliano from Venezuela. Terrific crowd here from all around the world today. You're all very welcome, Stephanie and Jim as well, and that MC Nick, you're all very welcome. Thank you for joining us today, and I can see we have a ton more tuned in live that haven't yet said hello in the chat. So if you're feeling shy, or you haven't said

Have you ever thought about leaving your day job to pursue your passion? What are you willing to do to create the life you love through music? That’s what we’re going to be looking at this episode in The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:27 – Jonathan Barwick of Fierce Deity 02:24 – Investing in yourself and your career 03:56 – Heartbreak and breakthrough 07:04 – Playing major supporting spots that went nowhere 12:43 – Taking chances in life 17:45 – How did Jonathon’s perspective change over the years? 23:43 – The parallels between education and the music industry 25:39 – Sex, drugs, and rock and roll 26:50 – Fierce Deity 33:03 – Passion and success 37:16 – Traveling and appreciating life 40:55 – Arriving at the starting line of your life passed 30 43:11 – Security blanket 44:46 – Jonathon’s vision and music production 53:44 – The way people use smartphones and social media 57:44 – Closing thoughts Transcription: Coming soon. Conclusion Did you enjoy this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast? Well, there’s a lot more where this came from. And you don’t want to miss out on another episode, right? Then take a moment to head on over to davidandrewwiebe.com/join to get on the email list. While there, you can download the guide that interests you most from the eBook library, alright? So, take a second and head on over to davidandrewwiebe.com/join to get your free guide and join the email list. This has been episode 222 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

Things have been kind of interesting as of late. But that doesn’t mean you should feel down and like it’s all coming to an end. If you’re feeling discouraged or unmotivated right now, have a listen to this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast to get pumped up! Podcast Highlights: 00:17 – David’s purpose 01:57 – Interrupting the current series 02:50 – There has never been a better time to express yourself creatively 03:59 – Don’t be a lone wolf 04:56 – Concluding thoughts Transcription: Hey, what's up. It's David Andrew Wiebe. Thanks for joining me. This episode is completely unscripted. I just want to be real with you today that I am feeling exhausted. I'm feeling tired. And as a result, this episode's going to be going out late. I just haven't quite gotten the sleep that I've needed lately. Although last night, I had a great sleep and a nice little dream as well. So, let's hope that continues. But today, I'm just not feeling it. And that's okay. There are days like that. When I have days like that, I just go back to my purpose and my mission. The number one thing for me, especially lately, it's become clear, is to inspire creatives and creators. If I'm not doing that, then it's kind of all for naught. That's where everything stems from. That's the umbrella under which I create. That's why I do podcasts like this. That's why I blog every day. If you didn't know I did, I’m blogging over at DavidAndrewWiebe.com. You're welcome to check that out. That's where some of the action is happening. I'll probably talk more about where some of the action with the community is happening but I will say this, that there's been so much support and so much engagement and so many more people that seem to care about what I'm up to, what I'm sharing. It's not about me. it is fundamentally about you. And again, that's why I'm showing up today, because I want you to be encouraged. I want you to be inspired and maybe even empowered. That's why we talk about tactics and strategies and tools and things like that. I'm interrupting a series on what to do with your music in 2021. I'm sure we'll get back to that soon enough. It's a multi part series. There may even be a few interviews coming up that sort of interrupt the flow of that. I actually need a little more time to think on part three, though, to be honest. I just wasn't feeling like I could go ahead and script that entire thing today. After doing episode two or part two, rather, I realized that there were more tools to share about. And then, I promptly forgot them. This is kind of rare for me. But based on how tired and exhausted I've been feeling, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that whatever is in my head and not written down, I forget. I always try to write down everything I can. The main thing I wanted to share with you to encourage you and to inspire you today is there has never been a better time for you to fully express your thoughts, your feelings, and whatever it is that you want to do musically. I even talked about that in part one of what to do with your music in 2021. But I'm telling you, no matter how weird things get out there, and I understand, trust me, I know how weird things are getting out there, there's still has never been a better time for you to be fully expressed in your music and in your own personal expression in your relationships and your life. Because that's what it means to be a leader. A leader is somebody who is fully self-expressed. Whatever you're afraid of is 10 times more afraid of you than you are of it. That's just the way it is. Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. You don't have to give in to the false evidence. We could all just sit here and shake in our boots, but I'm telling you, right now is the right time to connect. Stop isolating, trying to be a lone wolf. Instead, come and join the action. Come and join the action on Twitter. If you haven't found me yet, I'm twitter.com/DavidAWiebe or @DavidAWiebe, if you will. And some of the other action's happening on Medium. I'm also DavidAWiebe on Medium. I believe the address there is DavidAWiebe.medium.com. So, don't be a lone wolf right now. Come and join the community. Come and join the action. Be a part of the conversation. It's okay if we don't see eye to eye on everything. That's not what humanity is about. It's about appreciating the differences that we have and valuing each other regardless of how differently we see things. Thanks for joining me today. I look forward to sharing more with you on what to do with your music in 2021. This was just a quick recording and a brief message for you, a message of encouragement and inspiration that you can be you authentically and fully. Thanks for joining me.

Tools aren’t everything when it comes to growing your music career. But if you aren’t aware of the opportunities available, you are almost certainly missing out. In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, we look at what more you can do with your music in 2021. Podcast Highlights: 00:29 – Tools to use to promote and share your music in 2021 00:48 – Web hosting: SiteGround 01:17 – Sharing: Songwhip 01:47 – Social network: Drooble 02:28 – Live streaming: StreamYard 02:50 – Influencer marketing: TribeFluence 03:22 – Audience insights: SparkToro 04:11 – Multimedia distribution: Repurpose 04:42 – Old standbys 05:05 – Episode summary Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. And we’re ready to pick up where we left off with part 1 of this series on what to do with your music in 2021. In part 1, I covered some high-level mindset and strategic things, and in this episode, I focus on tools. And I can almost guarantee there are some you haven’t even heard of and will appreciate big time. So, let’s dive right in. 1. SiteGround In the last episode, I talked about setting up your WordPress site but didn’t even mention where to go to do that. My top recommendation is SiteGround. Their hosting is affordable and easy to use, their customer support is great, and sites on their servers load fast. So, if this is the direction you’d like to go in, head on over to davidandrewwiebe.com/SiteGround. We are an affiliate of SiteGround, and if you purchase anything through our link, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. 2. Songwhip You can share your music, or you can share your music with Songwhip. I’d recommend getting acquainted with Songwhip. Using this free app, you can easily create music links to every platform, be it Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon, or otherwise. This comes in especially handy when you don’t know which platforms your fans like to use, or when you want to make sure the recipient can find your music on all platforms. Check out Songwhip at Songwhip.com. Learn it. Use it. Benefit from it. 3. Drooble Drooble is a social network that’s been developed specifically with musicians in mind. Let’s face it – now that we’re stuck inside, it’s never been more crucial to get connected and to collaborate, so it would be worth signing up for this reason alone. But Drooble has also got some amazing features in the form of song reviews, EPKs, radio broadcast, and more. I’ve checked out some of these tools, and they’re great. Even if you’ve already got an EPK or electronic press kit, who cares? Set up another one with Drooble and A/B test it alongside your other EPK. If you’d like to learn more about Drooble, you can have a listen to episode 82 of the podcast with Melina Krumova. 4. StreamYard There are many tools you can use to stream your live shows or Q&A sessions. My favorite is StreamYard. With StreamYard, you can stream to Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Periscope, and Twitch all at once. It costs a bit of money if you want to stream to more than one profile, but it’s super easy to use. Create maximum coverage for your live streams with StreamYard. 5. TribeFluence You are the CEO of your music business. And it’s important to recognize you don’t need to build your audience from scratch. Chances are, someone already has built your audience for you. All you’ve got to do is work your way in or buy your way in. You are the CEO of your music business. And it’s important to recognize you don’t need to build your audience from scratch.Share on X TribeFluence gives you easy access to social media influencers at a nominal rate. If you’ve got a message to share, and you want to get it seen by more people, you can easily buy your way in using TribeFluence. If you’d like to learn more, you can listen to episode 113 of the podcast with Johnny Vieira. 6. SparkToro I often suggest – and have even helped – multiple musicians find their audience online. This was typically done with a mix of tools like Alexa, SimilarWeb, Facebook Insights, and others. And these are still great tools to use. But a recent discovery that I rather like is SparkToro. With SparkToro, you can learn more about your audience based on what they frequently talk about, what words they use in their social media profile, who they follow on social media, what websites they visit, or what hashtags they use. Basically, if you’re ever lost, and only have a couple of data points on your audience, you could easily find out more about them using SparkToro. You could also use it to further flesh out your audience profile. When it comes to target audiences, the more you know about them, the better, so check out SparkToro. They let you do a few searches for free. 7. Repurpose If you’ve got video or podcast content you’d like to slice up and repurpose, you probably won’t find a better tool for the job than Repurpose. I like to use it to turn podcast content into videos or video clips. But there’s so much more you can do with videos, since you

2021 is here. Are you ready to crush it? Are you aware of all the opportunities available? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:26 – David’s new Twitter thread 00:59 – No live music in 2021? 01:29 – No more holding back 02:41 – Get into the publishing habit 04:30 – Grow your online presence 06:06 – Episode summary 06:46 – Closing thoughts Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. Happy New Year! So, I wanted to get into what to do with your music in 2021. I even posted a thread on Twitter detailing some of my thoughts on this. I had 13 some odd points in that thread, and the truth is, I probably have more to share. So, I thought I would break this up into a multi-part series. That way, you can listen to each episode and action a few steps before you listen to the next in the series. I’ve got at least a dozen tips, probably more. So, this will likely be a four- to five-part series. We’ll see how it comes together. But let’s get into this because there’s a lot to cover. Preface I wanted to preface all this by saying that, while I don’t have a crystal ball, I’m starting to get the sense that live music may not be making much of a return in 2021. Now, anything can happen. So, I’m not writing off the possibility that things will get better soon. Trust me when I say I miss live music as much as you do right now. I would love just to go to a concert, never mind playing my own. But we’ve also got to be realistic. Which is why I’ve identified multiple things you can do with your music this year, even if you’re stuck inside. 1. Don’t Hold Back My number one tip for music makers in 2021 is to stop holding back. If there’s something you’ve always wanted to say with your music, but have never gotten around to saying, now’s the time to bring your ideas to life. Whether it’s declaring love, protesting current events, sharing your innermost beliefs with your fans, whatever you feel you need to say, get it off your chest as soon as possible. Just pretend like you’re on borrowed time and you’ll be in the right spirit. Also, don’t hold back in your marketing, networking, outreach, or any other area of your career. Sometimes it’s easy to forget just how amazing we all have it here in the digital age. You can interact with high level executives on Twitter. You can read the stories of successful musicians on blogs. You can take advantage of the latest apps and tools to share your music. Now’s the time to get back in the game and leverage all the connections, resources, and tools at your fingertips. Don’t cower in fear. Don’t bury your head in the sand. Don’t give up on your dreams. Get up, get going, and don’t hold back! For more inspiration in this regard, have a listen to: Episode 73 of the podcast with DeCarlos Garrison Episode 108 with Jules Schroeder Episode 122 with Richard “Younglord” Frierson Episode 135 with Matt Starr 2. Make More Music Let go of perfectionism. Learn to identify when your music is “good enough” and get comfortable publishing it as is. As artists, it’s easy to obsess over every little detail. And I get that many experts out there are saying there’s no excuse for bad quality production. But when we think like that, we end up handcuffing ourselves to limitations, because we think we’re going to have to spend a fortune on every new release. It’s never been easier or cheaper to set up a home studio and put together a quality recording. And even if that doesn’t interest you, there are so many other ways to get your project off the ground. You can find a friend who’s looking to bolster their portfolio and pay them in beer and pizza. You can start a crowdfunding campaign. And maybe, if you just asked your parents nicely, they’d be willing to fund your next release as well. But if production were all that mattered, I’m not sure Helen Austin, who I interviewed in episode 19 of the podcast, would have a successful career. And it might sound crazy, but in my catalog, the album that repeatedly gets the most praise from others is Fire Your God. Which is bizarre to me because it’s basically a collection of lo-fi basement demos. And that has me looking at the possibility of releasing more music in that vein, as opposed to the pristine production heard on my No Escape EP. I’m not the only one, either. People love to listen to Rivers Cuomo and John Frusciante’s lo-fi demos. I’m going to tell you right now, if you don’t make more music, executing against this series is going to prove difficult. Because you need more product. Not that music is the only product you can create. There was time, not too long ago, when music was basically reduced to a form of content marketing. It drew people into the brand and lifestyle, so that you could sell them a T-shirt. But if you want to get into some of the things I’ll be talking about later in the series, you’ll regret not putting more energy into your music. For more inspiration, check out: My interview

A significant part of building a music career is facing things that are outside of your comfort zone. So, how can you keep rising to new levels without losing momentum? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:30 – A new distinction 00:47 – What is unfamiliar? What is uncomfortable? 01:10 – How to think about unfamiliar 03:55 – How to think about uncomfortable 05:50 – Episode summary 07:03 – Thoughts on today’s episode? 07:24 – Final thoughts Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. I recently stumbled on a distinction I wanted to share with you. I think it will prove beneficial in your creative efforts. Today, we’re going to be looking at the difference between “unfamiliar” and “uncomfortable.” And while the difference might seem subtle, it’s critical if you want to perform at your highest level. The Difference Between “Unfamiliar” & “Uncomfortable” Unfamiliar is when you’re treading into unknown territory. Uncomfortable is when you don’t know how to act in a situation. You can certainly feel uncomfortable when something is unfamiliar, and you can also feel unfamiliar when something is uncomfortable. But when you see that the two don’t need to be collapsed onto each other, you’ll be better equipped to deal with the challenges that arise in your music career. Unfamiliar When something is unfamiliar, it means you’ve probably never experienced it before. You haven’t been in that situation. So, you don’t know what to expect. If you’re trying to get your website set up, but have no idea how to use WordPress, you would be unfamiliar with WordPress. It would be strange to say you’re uncomfortable with WordPress at this stage, because you haven’t even used it yet. You know as well as I do that you can become comfortable with anything if you just spend enough time with it. When something is unfamiliar, the learning curve seems the steepest. But it’s also where the most learning tends to happen. When I was teaching guitar, I always found it amazing how I could take a student from not knowing how to play guitar to teaching them finger exercises, scales, and a few basic songs in a matter of a few lessons. If the student were especially attentive, they could pick all that up in one half-hour lesson! So, unfamiliarity is not bad. But you must recognize your human tendency to avoid what’s unfamiliar. You may say, “networking is so hard,” when you’ve never attended a networking event. It’s unfamiliar, and until you’re used to introducing yourself, talking about yourself in a compelling away, and listening to others as they share, it’s going to seem daunting. Go to enough of these events, and you will get the hang of it. No need to be scared. You’re just unfamiliar. Uncomfortable is when you’ve done it once or twice, and you have a better sense of what to expect, and what you’re expecting is the worst, which is human. Procrastination often stems from what’s unfamiliar too. You don’t touch it, because you have no idea how, and you have some strange expectation of yourself that you should already know how. When it comes to anything unfamiliar, you need to give yourself some grace. Have no expectations. Make mistakes. When I don’t know how to do something the right way, I find tremendous value in making all the mistakes upfront. It helps me avoid those mistakes in the future. If you’re messing around with new software, click on everything and see what it does. If you’re trying to install new pickups in your guitar, watch some YouTube videos to get a better idea how it’s done. Learning and gaining new skills is always valuable. You have no idea how many ways it might end up benefiting your music career long term. Trust me when I say you can leverage everything you learn to multiply your productivity, output, and influence. At 15, I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life performing. Sure, I’ve written and published plenty of music, but I’ve also written five books, something I would not have even expected of myself at 15. When something is unfamiliar, it just means it’s something to be learned. If we don’t learn, we stagnate. See the unfamiliar as an opportunity to learn, not as an excuse to run away. Uncomfortable Uncomfortable denotes familiarity. Meaning, you’ve been in a situation before, and you know it’s uncomfortable. Now, you can certainly walk into any situation, and know whether it’s uncomfortable to you in a short amount of time. So, you can transition from unfamiliar to uncomfortable relatively quickly. The good news is whatever seems uncomfortable to you doesn’t need to stay that way forever. When you were first learning how to swim or ride a bike, no doubt it was uncomfortable to you. But as you kept at it, eventually it became comfortable. Some of you may have never learned to swim or ride a bike, so another example would be learning to sing or play an instrument. Since you’re teaching your body to do things it’s never don

Is talking about music like dancing around architecture? It is a waste of time to look at what it takes to be a modern music maker? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:27 – Introduction 00:50 – Rant 03:46 – Closing thoughts Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. While I was writing my November Life Update, I ended up going on a bit of a rant. And I thought this would be worthy of sharing everywhere, including the podcast. I’ll probably put this in video form as well, and maybe I’ll recite it elsewhere. But for now, here it is in podcast form, and this is simply titled: Don’t Make Me Laugh. [The full transcription for the rant is available in the Life Update: November 2020 post – simply scroll down until you see the “Don’t Make Me Laugh” header.] If you think music is worth talking about, show that you care by heading over to davidandrewwiebe.com/Join and pick up your free guide. We’ve got several to choose from, and they’re all high quality. Again, go to davidandrewwiebe.com/Join to download your gift and join the insider’s circle. This has been episode 217 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

Is constant rejection and criticism getting you down? Does it seem like others go out of their way to offend you? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:26 – Sensitivity and offense 01:16 – Don’t take it so personally! 02:32 – Get a second, third, and fourth opinion 04:11 – Use negative feedback to improve 06:31 – You can only feel offended inside 07:41 – Episode summary Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. Today I wanted to share about sensitivity and offense. Because as artists we always seem to base our value or outlook on what someone else thinks or says. At the outset, let me tell you that you’ll never know what anyone else is thinking unless you ask them. It’s impossible. So, everything you’re thinking is probably based on a story you’ve constructed in your head, and you’ve either got to a) ask that person what they’re thinking, or b) let go and be complete with it to move forward. But being butthurt over everything is so common and so counterproductive that it can end up wasting a lot of precious time. It can easily ruin your life and your career. So, let’s talk about this. Interpreting the Comments of Others The first thing I want to get into is how we interpret the comments of others. Because we would never feel rejected or criticized if not for things others have said. 1. Ask Yourself Whether the Comment was About You So, it’s been my observation that as creatives we’ll often enter conversations not informing others of our intention. But we’ll steer the conversation in such a way that we’ll get the answer we think we want. We do this without establishing any context, so the person we’re talking to isn’t even sure of our intentions. It’s like a girl asking a guy “is there anyone in your life you think is worth fighting for right now?” What she’s really asking is whether she’s worth fighting for. But that’s not what she asked. So, she will interpret the answer “no” as meaning she’s not worthwhile, or she will interpret the answer “yes” as meaning he has a girlfriend already. Either way, she’ll take it negatively. By the way, I’m using the pronoun “she” here, but guys are just as likely to ask ambiguous, leading questions like this, so don’t take this in a sexist direction. So, the first thing to understand is that in a conversation like this, whatever response you get, it was not about you. Because you did not ask about you, you asked generally. It takes courage to ask what another honestly thinks about you, but it’s not worth the offense if you haven’t done the hard work of asking about yourself specifically. Before you take anything personally, first ask yourself whether it was said about you. 2. Don’t Take What One Person Says as Final You’ve probably heard stories of people who got a diagnosis from a doctor. But they were compelled to get a second, and a third, and a fourth opinion, because either they did not trust what they were being told or thought there might be another way to combat their illness. Yet, what I see all the time is artists taking one person’s opinion as final. They’ll hear “you’re too young, you’re too old, you’re too fat, you’re too skinny, you’re not experienced enough, you’re too experienced, your music’s not good enough, you’re not marketable, you’re not our style” or some variation thereof and take it personally. First, just as I said in point one, we’ve got to check to ensure this comment was said specifically about us, right? But beyond that, no matter the authority of the individual, if it’s just one opinion, it’s just one opinion. So, one booking agent or publicist or promoter rejected you. What does that mean? It means you were rejected by one agent, one publicist, or one promoter. And it doesn’t even mean that, because if you create something better and come back to them later, they might still give you a “yes.” And as already suggested, you’d be better off getting a second, and third, and fourth opinion. Because who knows? The right opportunity might be with Jessica rather than Mike. Mike may not have taken a liking to you, but maybe your music floats Jessica’s boat. And remember. You’re not talking to labels or agents or managers. You’re talking to real people just like you. If what you’ve got is compelling enough, it’s bound to be for somebody. If you’ve got fans, then you already know your music is for somebody, and it’s all about finding more people like that! 3. Turn Negative Comments into Fuel to Improve Okay, so there are basically three possibilities here. One is that a someone said something relatively general that you took offense to. Two is that someone gave you a general expert opinion but wasn’t necessarily addressing you specifically. The last possibility is you receive a direct comment from someone influential. I see a lot of artists butthurt over this because they were told one thing by someone, like “you’re not going to make it” or “you’re too old” or “you’re the w

What if you could turn your love of music into a career? What if working with your favorite artists and bands was just a project away? That’s what we’re looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast where I chat with professional marketing consultant Michael Brandvold. Podcast Highlights: 00:28 – Every day is Monday with Michael Brandvold 01:54 – Michael shares his epic story 22:21 – KISS School of Marketing 25:49 – Branding in music 28:37 – Music Biz Weekly and what Michael has learned from podcasting 36:29 – Michael’s perspective on prioritization and productivity 38:32 – Embracing the music business 40:37 – Michael on the importance of pivoting 45:07 – Has Michael created the life he loves through music? 48:34 – Having a front row mentality 50:18 – What’s the last YouTube video Michael watched? 51:11 – What is Michael’s daily routine like? 55:19 – What is the greatest challenge Michael has overcome? 57:49 – The greatest victory Michael has experienced 1:00:21 – Messages of encouragement 1:01:25 – Michael’s recommended resources 1:03:10 – Taking inspiration from parallel industries 1:03:50 – Closing thoughts Transcription: Coming soon. Closing Segment Are you ready to begin creating the life you love through music? Check out our new eBook library at davidandrewwiebe.com/join to grab your free guide and get the latest updates regarding new blog posts, podcast episodes, and videos. I look forward to connecting with you. This has been episode 215 of The New Music Industry Podcast. I’m David Andrew Wiebe, and I look forward to seeing you on the stages of the world.

Do you wish you could do a better job of engaging your fans? Have you ever thought about starting a fan club? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, featuring Sarah Beth Perry of With the Band. Podcast Highlights: 00:27 – Our special guest, Sarah Beth Perry of With the Band 02:11 – How and why was With the Band created? 05:41 – What is Fan Crews? 11:20 – Fan clubs – an opportunity many artists are missing 13:35 – What else is happening with With the Band? 15:48 – What was the last YouTube video Sarah watched? 16:22 – What is Sarah’s daily routine like? 18:02 – What’s the greatest challenge Sarah has overcome? 21:54 – What is Sarah’s greatest victory? 23:59 – How can listeners collaborate with high profile artists or clients? 26:01 – What pain points does Sarah have as a music entrepreneur? 27:56 – Sarah’s recommended books 33:10 – Closing thoughts Transcription: David Andrew Wiebe: Today, I'm passing the mic with founder and CEO of With the Band, Sarah Beth Perry. How are you today, Sarah? Sarah Beth Perry: Doing great. How are you doing? David Andrew Wiebe: I'm doing well. Thank you for asking. This has become an obligatory question as of late, but how have you been holding up during the pandemic? Sarah Beth Perry: You know, it has been a whirlwind to say the least. I feel like everyone is saying the past six months, and now it's just been more than six months. But you know, I feel like we've hit some of our like high-highs but also those low-lows. And, you know, it's just trying to remind yourself that there is no limit to how much you can do in a day working from home and really trying to get somewhat of a work life balance, but overall, you know, really can't complain for how we're doing in the pandemic. David Andrew Wiebe: That's good. Yeah. It really is altogether too easy to push the limits, which is exactly what I ended up doing over the course of the summer, which is why I needed a break. But it's good to find a sense of balance or whatever that looks like during these times because it's easy to overwork for sure when you don't have anywhere to go or anything to do necessarily. Sarah Beth Perry: Oh, yeah. I know I definitely struggled with that too. I've been trying to limit myself on certain times I'm not allowed to be on the computer. Because if you don't, you just are in front of a screen the entire time you're up. David Andrew Wiebe: Yeah, which I'm starting to suspect isn't great for you. I've kind of gotten used to it. Other people say I'm exhausted staring at the screen that long. How do you do it? And I'm like, I don't know. I just gotten used to it. But I think it's still good to have limits. Yeah. So, your website states that there's an opportunity for artists to better engage their fan base. You won't hear any disagreements from me, but what opportunity did you see and how did that lead you to creating With the Band? Sarah Beth Perry: Yeah. So, growing up I actually grew up in Nashville. So, like, I always knew I wanted to work within the music industry. I didn't exactly know what. And then as I got older, I have a younger sister. She and I became the typical fan girls of, you know, some of the classic boy bands. And that was really when I first got a taste of what fan engagement should be, but also what I felt like was lacking from a fan's perspective. And then, I didn't really think too much about it until I went and studied at Belmont University and was in a music business class. You really don't realize until you really try to dive deep in the industry, how many different types of jobs there are. And so, it really wasn't until that point that I realized, like, wait, someone is doing fan engagement. Like, that is someone's job out there. That's really when I realized that that's what I wanted to do. And then, I went searching for this company that I thought had to be out there, had to exist, to help artists better engage with their fans, and was super surprised to find nothing that I thought really solved that problem in the way it should be solved. I literally just research for a year before I started the company really trying to figure out what is out there and really where that big gap was in the market. David Andrew Wiebe: Yeah. I think a fan's perspective is certainly valuable. I think there are people in this space who are now experts who basically started out promoting other bands or building fan clubs or things like that for their favorite artists. So, to me, it makes sense having that perspective going into business like yours. It just makes a lot of sense. Sarah Beth Perry: Yeah. And it's just so valuable too because even everyone else on our team has been a big music fan before. And so, it's just nice when you are like, either DMing these fans on Ins

Have you ever found yourself in a frustration cycle as a musician? Do you feel like thinking more and doing more for your career just leads to more frustration? In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I share some of my biggest takeaways from my two-week break in Vernon, BC. Podcast Highlights: 00:18 – Going on break 01:01 – Things work better when you stop? 02:45 – Are you overselling yourself? 03:58 – Life is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal 04:40 – How will you restart your engines? Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. I know I went AWOL for three weeks, but I’m finally back to deliver another batch of killer podcast episodes. So, at the beginning of November, I went on break. This happened a little later than expected, but it was still very timely, as I wrapped up my trip to Vernon just before local lockdowns started up again. And I wasn’t ready to get back into the swing of things the moment I came back, so three weeks went by without a new episode or for that matter, any new content on the website. I needed time to recharge the batteries, and as you may already know, I worked myself to exhaustion at the beginning of September, which is nowhere near as fun as it sounds. Yes, it has taken nearly three months to recover in full, and I know for a fact I’m much better now, but I’m not at 100% yet. But here’s the funny part. Have you ever noticed how sometimes when you leave something alone, it starts working better? If you ever find yourself in a frustration cycle, then taking more actions isn’t the solution. In that space, your actions just lead to more frustration, and even if something is working, you tend not to notice it. Sheep come out in wolves’ clothing as it were. So, the best thing you can often do to release all that pent-up energy is to stop. And that sounds completely counter-intuitive in our hustle culture obsessed with working hard, 16-hour days, fake it until you make it, “take my free webinar now” crowd. Here’s the goofy thing about it – I tried all that. I tried the 16-hour per day hustle. And it didn’t work for me. It just got me caught in a frustration cycle, like I said. These cycles are also known as pendulums. When a pendulum gains momentum, it keeps swinging and rotating harder and faster, until you find yourself caught in its grips, unable to escape. It’s still possible to interrupt that pendulum, but not without taking different actions. If you stop for long enough, and don’t resist, though, the pendulum will begin to dissolve, and you can start over from a fresh space. Maybe the 16-hour days work for Tony Robbins, or Russell Brunson, or Gary Vaynerchuk. And by the way, I’m not comparing myself to any of these guys. I’m not in the same niche, and I’m not the same type of marketer either. I’ve always been a little more on the side of a transparent marketer, sharing my blunders and stories, my numbers, and I’ve even touched on my personal matters several times. I know you’re supposed to bring your best self to your content, which is what I strive to do. And my delivery of the content has changed considerably over time. But I think we can easily oversell ourselves too. No one’s really talking about that. They just keep talking about the fact that you’re not posting enough, you’re not showing up enough, you’re not selling enough. Again, this hasn’t been my experience. My experience has been that the harder I try to prop myself up, the less things work. Because I’m trying to say, “look at me, look at what I’ve done, I’m amazing.” And it produces the opposite result. All it does is further envelope me in the shadows of obscurity. When I think about all the times, I’ve tried to prop myself up, I’ve come from a space of wanting something. And when you want something, you just attract more of the same. Wanting leads to more wanting. Wanting leads to more wanting.Share on X Maybe others are able to come from a different space when they’re selling themselves. Maybe they genuinely see it as giving. There’s nothing wrong with that. What works for others may not work for you. But you’ve got to know what space you’re coming from. Because whatever that is, you’re going to attract more of it. To me, giving and being generous is showing up and recording a podcast episode. It’s showing up and writing a blog post. It’s giving away free, high-quality guides that can help you in various areas of your music career. It’s all about creating the life you love through music. My story has always been one of progression. I went from working five jobs to working completely from home in 2016. Then I created my location independence last year in 2019 and moved from Calgary to Abbotsford. And now I travel and explore as I’m able, which isn’t much, and I mostly spend time writing content for music industry websites, but the point is that it was all created gradually. And that’s where I am. But I can see further now. And I want to give generously and profit generously. And I believe

In the music business, there are certain myths that continue to get perpetuated. They call forth a false sense of hope and fill us with frustration, disappointment, and resentment. That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:31 – Hope is not a strategy 00:45 – The greatest myth in music 01:07 – The exceptional few 01:50 – Winning the lottery 02:36 – Betting on yourself 03:27 – Taking ownership 04:05 – Connecting with your heart 04:52 – Question everything 05:30 – The miracle of taking responsibility 05:51 – Unlock your true potential Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. So, I’m sure you’ve heard before that hope is not a strategy. Whether it’s sitting around and waiting for something to happen or refusing to take ownership of some aspect of your music career, there are approaches to music that just won’t work. One of the biggest myths in music ever told is prevalent and alluring. And that myth is that someone is going to come to save you. We’ve seen the movies and TV shows. We’ve read the stories of our favorite artists. And it seems like, in many cases, somehow, someway, they just met the right person at the right time to take their music career forward. Right off the bat, what many artists don’t recognize is that they’re only looking at the lives of the exceptional few who were discovered by an A&R rep or made it by some fateful aligning of the stars. If you know an artist’s name, in large part, it’s by design. It’s the design of the record labels and the media who report on what they’re told to, and paid to, report on. This may seem like a controversial statement, but once you unplug from The Matrix, you won’t be able to unsee it. Payola is still real, and it hasn’t gone anywhere. There’s nothing wrong with aspiring to be like the exceptional few. But trying to replicate their story or journey is a fruitless pursuit. There’s nothing wrong with aspiring to be like the exceptional few. But trying to replicate their story or journey is a fruitless pursuit.Share on X Recently I talked about the fact that the average Spotify royalty rate is $0.00331 per stream. So far as I’m concerned, that’s not even a real amount of money. What’s interesting about this number is that it probably represents your chances of being saved or discovered by an A&R rep. Your chances of winning the lottery are quite slim, depending on the lottery. With Lotto 6/49, you have a 1 in 14 million chance. With Lotto Max, your chances are even worse, at 1 in 28.6 million. But everyone still thinks they’re going to win the lottery, just as artists believe they’re going to snag that elusive, lucrative record contract. I talked to some of my friends who basically said their only backup plan was to win the lottery. I was horrified. All things being equal, I will bet on myself rather than gambling on the lottery or on a record contract. I will make music, write books, build communities, websites, and businesses. I will invest. I will grow. I will become smarter and wiser, I will persevere through criticism, defeat, embarrassment, and failure. I will keep taking a chance on myself no matter what. I don’t care what has or hasn’t happened to this point. The world cannot stop the unrelenting force of David Andrew Wiebe. I’m going to keep pounding on your door until you give me a chance. I don’t care how long it takes or how hard that path might be. I can get what I want. I will not be denied. What about you? Do you have that conviction about yourself? Do you believe in you? Will you take a chance on yourself, something you can control, versus taking a chance on the lottery, something that’s completely outside of your control? This episode is about inspiration. It’s about empowerment. It’s about taking control of your tools and resources. It’s about taking ownership. What part of your music career are you refusing to take ownership over? That’s the part that’s in need of serious evaluation because some part of you still believes your savior is coming. What part of your music career are you refusing to take ownership over? That’s the part that’s in need of serious evaluation.Share on X That was Musician Monster’s Greg Wilnau’s story as well. It took him a long time to realize it, but when he finally accepted that his destiny was in his own hands, things started to change for him and his career. No doubt, things have been complicated here in 2020. They’ve been difficult. They’ve been weird. But if you don’t believe in yourself, it’s because you’re still plugged into the media. You’re still believing what you’re being told. You’re under their control. You have no power over yourself whatsoever. Turn off the TV. Turn off Netflix. Turn off your smartphone. And just sit with yourself. Understand who you are. What you were made for. Become present to your desires. You were made for the very things you desire. What you want, wants you! What you want, wants you!Share on X Y

Are you interested in landing more sync licensing opportunities in your music career? Did you know you could make six-figures at it without any kind of notoriety or fame? Are you sincere in your desire to create the life you love through music? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Get in Touch with Adam: Adam's private music club has some of the top producers, artists, songwriters, and executives all mentoring, collaborating, networking on major projects. Only serious, talented musicians need apply. Sign up here Podcast Highlights: 00:36 – Welcome Adam McInnis to the show 04:47 – Adam’s accidental introduction to music 15:18 – How can sync licensing transform an artist’s career? 23:37 – Publishing daily and following Dream 100 32:30 – The value of learning from many teachers 34:53 – What music library or licensing companies should you use? 38:51 – How Adam runs five companies simultaneously 45:55 – Music writing formula 50:31 – The 4-Hour Workweek and lifestyle design 52:13 – Conscious living 54:55 – Is Adam creating the life he loves through music? 1:02:47 – Chasing the shiny object 1:05:26 – Giving, not just taking 1:10:30 – Caring for others 1:19:00 – Experiences are what you perceive them to be 1:22:17 – The last YouTube video Adam watched 1:22:29 – The greatest perspective Adam has been given 1:24:20 – The greatest victory Adam has experienced 1:25:27 – Adam’s recommended documentaries and resources 1:31:37 – Closing thoughts Transcription: Coming soon.

Does social media matter for your music career? Realistically, what can you expect to achieve from spending your time, energy, and resources on growing your social media following? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:30 – Does social media matter for artists? 01:14 – Gaining a better understanding of your audience 02:34 – Sharing your music with fan groups 03:24 – Targeting your audience with advertising 04:16 – Building worthwhile connections 05:08 – Will social media make a difference for you? 06:35 – Episode summary Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. So, does social media matter? I talked about this a little bit in episode 183 of the podcast, and that basically turned into a bit of a rant, but I think it’s an important question to ask and one worth revisiting. After all, the first thing many artists do when they begin marketing their music online is rely on platforms that have millions and billions of users to spread their posts to for free. And all that looks good and sounds good, but unless you know who your target audience is, where they hang out online, and what they’re interested in, I can tell you almost categorically that it’s going to be a waste of time. It just is. But let’s focus on a few areas where social media can make a difference for you if you’re willing to do the work. #1 – You Can Spy on Your Audience and Better Understand Them There’s a lot of talk about data in the music industry, and I even had a great one with Beatchain founder Ben Mendoza in episode 197 of the podcast. But staring at your Facebook Insights is only going to tell you so much about your fans. Demographic data is great, but most of the time, you’ll find that your audience is you plus or minus 15 years in age. What we need to understand to be able to connect, engage, and attract prospective fans is psychographic data. It sounds complex, but it basically just means what your audience is interested in. What we need to understand to be able to connect, engage, and attract prospective fans is psychographic data.Share on X And there’s a remarkably easy way to figure this out. Instagram happens to be a great place to gather a bit of intel. You can look up an artist you sound like or have been influenced by, see who has commented on their posts, and then look at their profiles. And on their profiles, you’ll find pictures of things they’re interested in. Basically, you’d want to make note of everything you find, and pay careful attention to recurring themes. Once you know what those themes are, you’ve effectively got a list of things you should be posting about every single day. If you don’t know who you sound like, who you’ve been influenced by, or who in the world your audience is, then this is a pointless exercise. But if you do know, you can begin to flesh out your ideal customer profile. #2 – You Can Share Your Music in Fan Groups This is a great tactic overall, as it allows you to get your music in front of prospective fans organically. Basically, the idea is to go and find Facebook fan groups of a specific artist you sound like or have been influenced by. Then, as you begin participating in the group, you would share your music with members. It takes some work to be able to do this well. You may need to build relationships with group owners. You may need to figure out how to get your posts engaged. And there can be other strategic considerations when sharing in Facebook groups. But I can see the value in this tactic, and it’s something I will be experimenting with as well. At the very least, if it’s done the right way, I know it’s a relatively fast way to get a lot of attention for your music, because fan groups tend to be big and the members tend to be engaged. #3 – You Can Advertise to a Specific Audience Like I said earlier, this is kind of a moot point if you haven’t fleshed out a profile for your audience already. But if you have, then you’ve got a lot actionable data to work with. Advertising is incredible. It takes a little while to figure out, and to that extent, I recommend taking a course on the topic. You don’t need to pay an arm and a leg for a course. Just find one that’s up to date, has a high ranking, and was created by a reputable entity. I recently took a free course on Amazon Advertising. I’ve got five books up there, so I figured, why not? And once I was finished with the course, I basically had all the information I needed to be able to handle Amazon ads like a pro. When it comes to advertising, the more you know about your audience, the better. Because you’ll be able to home in on the right targeting and create the right type of post to appeal to your fans and prospects. When it comes to advertising, the more you know about your audience, the better.Share on X #4 – You Can Create Connections I get quite a few messages across social media platforms, and while I was slow to embrace it, I’m starting to see way more

Do you have music you’re hesitant to release? Is perfectionism getting the best of you? Don’t sit on your music – make it work for you now! Let’s talk about how you can make that happen in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:30 – My guitar solo sucked 01:08 – The perfectionism trap 02:11 – Digging for gems 02:55 – New music = new opportunity 03:58 – Critical mindset shifts 04:55 – Reduce social media consumption 05:54 – Don’t get caught looking in the rearview mirror 07:06 – Put your money where your mouth is 07:45 – Episode summary Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. As an artist, it’s easy to become precious about your work, isn’t it? Many years ago, I remember having arguments with my drummer about a solo I had written specifically for a song of ours. He was basically trying to gently break it to me that the solo just didn’t fit the song and wasn’t all that good. Meanwhile, I was trying to defend it because I didn’t like that feeling of having something I created criticized. This debate should not have escalated into a fight, but that’s exactly what ended up happening. In the end, I started to see things from his viewpoint and came up with some other riffs for the song, which ended up working out perfectly. Perfection Should Not be the Goal All that to say, as artists, we tend to stress over, strive for, and try to create what we think is “perfect”. Anything less, and we’d be letting ourselves, our collaborators, our heroes, our fans, or our peers down. That list of people could go on for miles. I interviewed one-half of Pomplamoose and CEO of Patreon Jack Conte about three years ago, and he shared with me that he had to get comfortable with the idea of publishing before he felt his music was perfect. And what I’ve found time and again is that many musicians have music sitting on their hard drive, just waiting to be published. I’m not talking about sketches, half-finished ideas, demos, experiments, and so forth, although there can always be gems in there too. King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor often remarked that he had tons of material in his archives no one would ever hear. And you’re certainly entitled to keep that to yourself. But I’m talking about songs that just need a guitar solo, or a bit of mixing work, or some backing vocals. Maybe it’s even finished, and you’re scared to release it. Revisit Old Material and Don't Sit on Your Music I think it’s important to go back into your catalog and review your material from time to time. Because even if you thought some of it wasn’t all that inspired or good, I think you’re going to find that, when you return to it, some songs are perfect exactly as they are. In 2016, I released a series of singles. And the first and third singles I released, “Fragments” and “Don’t Wait Too Long”, both came from half-finished ideas just waiting to be exploited. And I’m glad I did because the results basically speak for themselves. I’m proud of what I was able to accomplish. But the truth of the matter is that, while I’ve hesitated at times, I’ve rarely if ever been afraid to release half-finished or less than perfect music. You can even check out my Fire Your God album or Nowhere Even Near EP. Every Song Represents a New Opportunity I think what’s important to remember is that every song represents a new opportunity. An opportunity to be heard by a new fan. To be playlisted. And to be noticed by an influencer. To be covered in an article. To be approached with a licensing deal, or otherwise. A lot of musicians are trying to figure out how to make it big on Spotify without so much as a release strategy that revolves around coming out with something new every one to three months. I mean, that’s like 80% of the game, right there! If you want to pique algorithms, you’ve got to publish regularly. If you want to engage your fans, you’ve got to publish regularly. If you want to pique algorithms, you’ve got to publish regularly. If you want to engage your fans, you’ve got to publish regularly.Share on X And, by the way, I don’t think Spotify is even close to the best opportunity for the average musician right now. Licensing and placements are! Lately, on Music Entrepreneur HQ, I’ve been publishing a blog post or podcast episode every single day. You heard me right – something goes up every day, even on the weekends. Every new post represents a new opportunity to engage my audience, get discovered in search, be seen by other people in the music business, and more. Don't Sit on Your Music Mindset Tweaks I don’t think I’m saying a lot of things you haven’t already heard or realized for yourself. But I also think we all need to be reminded of the path we’re on and the opportunities that are available. And, when we’re struggling to publish or waiting for something to be perfect, we’re usually struggling with mindset more than anything else. So, let’s talk about making some mindset tweaks. When we’re struggling to publish or waiting for som

Trying to make things happen in your music career? Do you often find, at the end of the day, you’ve basically accomplished nothing of substance? Do you find yourself overthinking every decision you need to make? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:31 – Mindset 01:01 – Tip #1: Stop relying on new training resources 02:32 – Tip #2: Recognize DIY stands for Do it YOURSELF 04:29 – Tip #3: Identify what game you’re playing 06:14 – Tip #4: Get a copy of The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship 07:11 – Episode summary Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. I know there wasn’t an episode last week. I needed a little bit of time with my family. But I’m back, at least until I go on break towards the end of October. Maybe I’ll be able to stockpile a couple of episodes for you before then. Today, we’re basically talking about mindset. Mindset is an expansive topic. More so than you may even realize. Mindset is an expansive topic. More so than you may even realize.Share on X But in this episode, I’m going to try to keep it tight and tackle what’s most relevant as applied to this issue of getting into action versus getting caught in analysis paralysis. Let’s get moving. Tip #1 – Maybe Another Book or Course isn’t What You Need Right Now to Make Things Happen *Gasp* What did he just say…? Don’t get too excited. I said “maybe”, not “definitely.” CD Baby founder Derek Sivers always held to the notion that you already know what your next steps are, you’ve just got to stop procrastinating, get up an hour earlier and do them. You already know what your next steps are.Share on X I shared a little bit about that in my interview on The Unstarving Musician as well. And, today I was reflecting on the fact that as human beings we feel most alive when we’re outside our comfort zone. It doesn’t matter to what degree we’re outside of our comfort zone, a lot or a little. What matters is we put ourselves in uncomfortable territory because that’s how we know we’re growing. That’s how we know we’re taking actions that are going to get results. This doesn’t automatically mean you’re going to win just by getting uncomfortable. That’s not how life works. You have been turned down for a date before, haven’t you? But when we procrastinate, there’s usually something uncomfortable about what we need to do next. Yet, we have a good intuitive sense that the thing that makes us nervous is exactly what we need to do next. When we procrastinate, there’s usually something uncomfortable about what we need to do next.Share on X If that is the case, then spending time in books and courses is not what you need right now. You’ve already identified what needs to be done. It keeps gnawing at you every single day and I don’t need to tell you what that is. So, take a deep breath, take advantage of your peak hours where you feel the most lit and energetic, and make that phone call, send that email, have that conversation, hit “publish”, whatever you’ve got to do… Tip #2 – Don’t Wait for Your Savior There’s literally no one coming to save you, no matter how much you want it. Society has done a pretty good job of conditioning us to believe that there must be a savior. When you were born, you had parents. When you went to school, you had teachers and professors. At a job, you’ve got a boss. Now, just so we’re clear, don’t take this from the religious or spiritual context. That’s a different story. But in your music career, there’s only you. You’ve got to be the ambassador for your brand. As an aside, I would argue that there’s probably already someone in your life who’s incredibly supportive and even has the skills necessary to help you on your path. The problem is we completely disregard these people because they don’t have experience. Again, they are not your savior. But you’d best recognize them and ask them for their help, because you’re probably not going to find anyone like them again. Getting back to this point, it’s getting to be a dead horse by now, but if I were to beat it again, hope is not a strategy. It just isn’t. When you think about it, school and media have basically conditioned us to be selfish and insecure. And I can promise you that’s not where you’re going to find fulfillment, let alone success. We’re most fulfilled when we’re helping others achieve their dreams and desires. Hmm… I wonder why I show up every single day to publish useful information for my fellow musicians…? One of my mentors Daniel Guy Martin said he would deliberately look for opportunities where his music could serve others. And he blew my career out of the water in a matter of months. Is that part of your practice? Do you go looking for collaborative partnerships? If you want to do something with your music, start creating your own contacts, and actively seek opportunities to add value them with your music. The only way to get out of your own way is to set your eyes on serving others. U

What if there were no limits on where you could take your music? What if you could work with some high-profile brands and build a six-figure business in the music industry in your early 20s? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast with Shut Down Media CEO Ty Frankel. Podcast Highlights: 00:32 – How did Ty discover his passion for music? 02:29 – How did Ty get so good at project management? 03:16 – Tips for hiring or building a team 05:14 – What’s the main way Ty generates leads? 07:27 – Outreach faux pas 08:11 – What has Ty’s experience been with the music industry? 09:06 – Believing in yourself 09:41 – What is Ty looking to achieve next? 11:47 – What is Ty’s top tip for someone looking to create the life they want through music 16:54 – What’s the latest YouTube video Ty watched? 17:14 – Ty’s daily routine 18:03 – Checking your phone in the morning? 21:12 – What’s the greatest challenge Ty has overcome? 22:14 – What is Ty’s greatest victory? 23:21 – Ty’s recommended reads 25:02 – Final thoughts Transcription: David Andrew Wiebe: Today I'm chatting with founder and CEO of Shut Down PM, Ty Frankel. How are you today, Ty? Ty Frankel: Hey, Andrew. I’m great. How are you? Thanks for having me on. David Andrew Wiebe: I'm great. It's great to have you on the show. So, Shut Down PM is an LA-based music agency. You've created music for the likes of The Alvin Show, Hulu, Fortnight, Red Bull, NBA, NFL and others. You're only 22 years old. And you've already built a business that makes three quarters of a million annually. I've got lots of questions, my friend, but I'd love for you to share how did you discover your passion for music, and how did that lead to the work you do today? Ty Frankel: Yeah, Andrew. So, when I was five, I got into hip-hop music. I remember my dad bought me a CD player. I bought all these albums like Outkast, Stankonia, Lil’ Bow Wow, Eminem: Curtain Call. I might have been five or six. And ever since then, I just loved hip-hop. When I was 14, I was on these underground hip-hop forums on Yahoo Answers. I was on there for about a year. I was obsessed with underground hip-hop when I was 14 that lasted about a year. But someone started producing on there. Maybe one or two people started producing. They said they downloaded FL Studio, uploaded some of their beats. So, I was very interested and intrigued. And then, I downloaded it myself. And then since then it's just, you know, I discovered that it was my passion day one, right, when I opened the program up. Every day since then, up until when I started my company, I was just producing for most of the day. David Andrew Wiebe: Well, I have a similar story in that when I was 14, I guess, I started making websites. And that's what I ended up spending all day doing and all night, except for sitting in chat rooms, which I think I must have done for three hours a night and driven everyone crazy because we used modems back then not cable modems, dial up. Dial up internet. Those are fun days. Ty Frankel: Oh, that's cool. David Andrew Wiebe: So, I see you got some glowing reviews from clients on LinkedIn. They say one of your strong suits is project management. I got to tell you right now, that wasn't one of my strengths as a 22-year-old. And to this day, I've got a bit of an artistic brain so I can be somewhat scattered. Is this a natural ability of yours or something you've picked up along the way? Ty Frankel: You know, I've always been good at it. The past three, four years, I think I've gotten really, really great at it. Just reading books and just gaining experience. I mean, last year, my company did 900 songs, which is around 80 albums. So, just going through those 80 albums, each one is something different, developing systems and processes as well as knowing how team members need to be managed, you know, what they need from my end, what I need from their end. Just gaining that experience is, of course, helped me as a project manager. Absolutely. David Andrew Wiebe: I think hiring or building a team is one of those things that a lot of artists struggle with. It's like, what are my first steps? What if I make a mistake? Do you have any mindset tips to get over that? Ty Frankel: Oh, man, hiring is so awkward. It's unbelievably hard. David Andrew Wiebe: Yeah. Ty Frankel: Mindset tips? Of course, get hiring tests. The best tip I actually learned is make them do the actual job they're going to do as you are hiring. Like for example, if you're hiring someone to do lead generation for you, give them a little 30–45-minute test. That is basically exactly what they're going to do in the role and see how well they would do it. Just having that test. And then as well as like typing tests, you know, maybe critical thinking, personality. Making sure you have good intuition into like, okay, seeing how they communic

Selling your music? Are you doing the right things to sell your music in 2020? Or is your strategy leaving you broke? Does it seem like nothing’s working? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:28 – You CAN sell music even in 2020 00:57 – Tip #1: Create more value 01:49 – Tip #2: Who do you know that’s selling lots of music? 02:39 – Tip #3: Make more offers 03:51 – Tip #4: Increase the number of asks you make this year 05:12 – Selling your music in 2020 05:58 – The Music Entrepreneur Code bundle Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. So, I wanted to dispel the notion upfront that you can’t sell your music even in 2020, because that’s just not the case. And I admit, this was an eye opener for me too when I talked to John Oszajca in episode 147 of the podcast a little over a year ago. But I started looking around, and sure enough, I quickly found out that there are plenty of artists selling their music, and some are even making a killing. You wouldn’t believe it. So, here are some tips to help you sell more music this year and beyond. Tip #1 – Create More Value If your sales are down, it could be that your offer just isn’t compelling enough. If your sales are down, it could be that your offer just isn’t compelling enough.Share on X Maybe you should experiment bundling up your products and offering merch items with your music. Or maybe there are other bonuses you could include your fans would love – you know your fans better than I do, and you’ve also got access to them through email and social media. So, if you don’t know, ASK. If the same old thing isn’t working, and it’s starting to grow stale, then maybe freshen up your funnel and double check to make sure it’s insane value. Because that’s what people are going to buy. Get your friends and family to look at it and get direct feedback from them. And by direct feedback, I mean go and meet them and person, log them into your website, and observe them as they look at your offer. I know that’s a little harder to do with the lockdown and everything. But think outside the box, you can still make this happen. Tip #2 – Find Someone Who’s Already Selling a Lot of Music & Ask for Their Advice Ask yourself who you know that’s already selling lots of music and find out what they’re doing. Is there someone in your social circle making a killing from their music? Set aside your pride and go and ask them what they’re doing. And don’t just go, “oh, that sounds like so much work, I would never do that” once they tell you what they’re up to – that’s just a cop out. Start modeling what they’re doing and track the results intentionally. If you can’t think of anyone in your scene that’s killing it, don’t let that be an excuse – start looking online and see who’s out there. Reach out and ask questions. If the first 10 people you email don’t reply, then ask 100 – you’re bound to get an answer or two. And If that still doesn’t work then tell them you’ll feature their answers on your blog, or podcast, or YouTube channel and link back to them. Really, you can do this. Tip #3 – Make More Offers The temptation is to promote the same offers over and over, in hopes that this will somehow lead to more sales. But if it’s not working, just stop the insanity cycle and start over! Like I said earlier, you should consider refreshing your offers too. But the other thing you might want to consider is making more offers. Stop trying to boost the same, tired offers you’ve been hawking for months and years and start creating new ones. Go back into the studio and make new music. Put together new T-shirt designs. And in some cases, you won’t even need to do that. You can even put together a compilation of your best songs and release it, you could put out some instrumental versions, do remixes or acoustic versions or whatever. If you’ve got good product then you don’t necessarily need to reinvent the wheel. You can take what you’ve got and make something out of it. But it makes sense that if you just went up to bat more times, you’d have more opportunities to hit that ball, and maybe even get a homerun. Baseball legend Babe Ruth may have had the most home runs in his time, but he also had the most strikeouts. You’ve got to keep getting back up to bat and keep swinging! Tip #4 – Be More Intentional About Your Call to Actions It seems so obvious, but to be honest, artists miss this all the time. Because they don’t naturally think about the purpose of their communication like ever, even when they’re emailing people. So, when posting to Instagram, it’s for “engagement.” When posting to Facebook, it’s for “engagement.” When publishing a new blog post, it’s for “engagement.” No wonder you’re not getting anywhere with your sales! You’re not communicating in a way that’s engaging anybody let alone selling them on something. Trust me – I’ve made every mistake in the book, and I’ve made this one too. Instead, why not increase

Not making any money with your music? Not selling as much as you think you should? Is it possible you aren’t attracting the right kind of buyers (audience)? Do you suspect your “fans” might be mooching off you? That’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast. Podcast Highlights: 00:33 – Repairing the foundation of your business 01:10 – Tip #1: Say “no” to pro bono work 03:29 – Tip #2: Get your fans acclimated to spending money with you 04:57 – Tip #3: Add a price tag to more of your work 06:31 – Don’t steal from the people you want to impact with your music 07:01 – The Music Entrepreneur Code with two bonuses Transcription: Hey, it’s David Andrew Wiebe. So, this is something I’ve been giving more and more thought to as of late. Even with Music Entrepreneur HQ, I’ve had that experience of building a lot of traffic and growing my list, only to discover that most of the people I was connecting with just came for the free stuff, did a hit and run, and quickly ran the other way. And, as painful as it was, I had to go and repair the foundation of the business. Because that’s where the problem lived. And I’m telling you that’s really the hardest thing to do once your business is up and running. So, here are a few tips to help you begin appealing to buyers rather than just sponges. Tip #1 – Stop Doing Pro Bono Work I used to do a lot of pro bono work for people. We used to accept guest posts from anyone on Music Entrepreneur HQ. Until I realized just how much work it was to edit, format, and schedule their content to reflect the standards and quality of the brand I was looking for. Then we started charging because it was just taking up too much time. Then, I had to effectively double the rate because we kept getting low quality submissions that required a lot of work on our part to edit. Some people complained our rates were too high, but that’s how I knew I had hit the sweet spot. It repelled the tire kickers and link buyers and started bringing in clients who were serious. By the way, we’re not accepting guest posts on the site anymore. But the point is, I’m a sensitive, creative soul. And I’ve done all kinds of free, volunteer, pro bono work to help people. Whether it was answering questions in my inbox, agreeing to meet with people who wanted to pick my brain, or giving away my products for free. There was a rather awkward situation only two years ago where I was asked to promote someone’s new release in exchange for performance. Which meant I was not going to paid for any of the work until I started delivering on the results. Good for him. Horrible for me. I know it can be hard when you care about others, but I would suggest just giving up pro bono work. These days, I’m quick to ask people if they want me to be involved as a consultant or coach. Because let’s face it, I can reach far more people with a podcast episode like this, and it’s a better use of my time than jumping on a Skype call with another random person I don’t even know. This doesn’t mean I’m not conscious about adding some value upfront. I always try to do that. But I want to move the relationship as quickly as possible from like a pro bono, “I’ll ask you whatever I want, whenever I want” relationship to a paid relationship where my time is valued. Otherwise, people could do whatever they want with my advice and it makes no difference in their lives. So, it’s not the greatest value for me, and it’s not the greatest value for them either. And guys, just be real with me here. Have you ever had that experience of being put in the “friend zone” by a girl you liked? Yeah. Same thing here. Don’t wait to start charging for your work. This still comes with the caveat that I still believe in building new relationships in the music business, and evaluating opportunities as they come up. But I try to keep that to a minimal as well. Tip #2 – Train Your Audience to Buy So, you’ve probably heard about the importance of sticking to a content schedule, especially on a platform like YouTube. Well, this is the same idea, only as applied to your product or music launch schedule. Basically, as much as possible, you want to train your audience to buy from you, not just sponge off you, and preferably, on a set schedule. Train your audience to buy from you, not just sponge off you, and preferably, on a set schedule.Share on X Maybe it’s once per month, once every three months, twice per year, or maybe once per year – I don’t think you’d want to go any less than that. But see if you can launch your music or merch on a schedule and get it in front of your audience at the right time. Another important consideration is price point. As I’ve discovered, if your audience is trained to buy from you at the $5 to $35 range, it’s going to prove an uphill battle to try to sell them anything that’s priced three or four times the price later on. And if they’ve been trained to buy at that level for years, they’re not going to change. So, th