I’ve come up with so many borderline crazy ideas, like doing an intimate show in a hot air balloon and auditioning for movies just to offer my film scoring skills. Many (nearly all) of these ideas did NOT make it off the ground, and I had to stop looking at those as failures. But thinking of crazy ideas to get results can get tiring… until one works. Read more.
Investing your time, talent, and emotional capital by sharing what you find compelling can help to not only build an audience for you and your own music, it can help you better define your brand. And these days, aside from the music itself, branding may be the most important element in determining who makes a living in music and who continues as an infrequently paid music hobbyist. Read more.
MTV Research released a report that explains how Millennials expect “zero distance” from the artists they like, an effect reportedly caused by social media. Millennials crave “constant access” to artists, want the artist to act like a friend, and expect an artist to be constantly accessible via social media. But don’t expect to sell your music to this group. Only 28% of the people surveyed had bought music within the past month. Read more.
Most people play things way more safe than they realize. The only way you’ll know how fast you can drive a car is to accelerate until you lose control and crash. Anything less, even if you back off just before losing control, isn’t your top speed. Like a car, the only way you’ll know how much you can accomplish in your music career is to reach the point of failure. Read more.
The new definition of artist development hinges on emerging artists consciously establishing a career plan and then implementing that plan over time in order to accomplish a series of ever more ambitious goals. To learn more and get practical advice, I spoke with Catherine “SupaCat” Enny, CEO and founder of Guerrilla Management. Catherine established her management credentials when a then-unknown band she produced and managed named Kyuss broke out on the strength of her production and business acumen. Read more.