Posted: Feb 8, 2021

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog. Reprinted with permission.

"In part four of our DIY music business series, we cover the tasks required to get your music written, recorded, produced, and made ready for distribution...Whether you handle all these roles for your music, or just a few, there are resources that can help with each."

Posted: Feb 1, 2021

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog. Reprinted with permission.

"While you hear a lot about independent musicians and how you can build a music career with a do-it-yourself mentality, doing it yourself doesn’t mean doing it alone. There isn’t a singular music industry. Instead, there are industries that serve every facet of the foundation upon which you build your career, and you have to master them all to succeed and grow as an artist...Today we’ll tackle another subset of roles to help grow your music career: those associated with merchandise and getting media exposure."

Posted: Dec 21, 2020

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!

"Kids, if a stranger in full armor comes up offering you free band advice, you know what to say, right? JUST SAY NO!"

Posted: Nov 30, 2020

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog. Reprinted with permission.

"...there’s a lot to managing a music career if you intend to make money with your music. Fortunately, do-it-yourself doesn’t mean do-it-alone. Plugging in and outsourcing to music services that handle different aspects of the industry is one way to get the help or expertise you may be lacking. In this post, we’ll tackle roles and services associated with live music events."

Posted: Nov 23, 2020

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog. Reprinted with permission.

"...there are industries around music. These industries offer solutions and expertise that, not long ago, only a music label could handle. Today, you can leverage these services and resources to offload work to a team of experts that you normally would have to do yourself. In this multi-article series, we’re going to explain all the major music business roles, the work each role performs, why what they do is helpful for your career, and give you options to outsource the work or empower you to do-it-yourself."

Posted: Oct 26, 2020

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.

"Have you wondered how some bands get such engaged fans? It is because their fans feel like part of that band’s world. That band did one thing that you might not be doing. They made their message about the fans and not the band. People follow and buy from people or brands they like. So let’s make sure your message is likable..."

Posted: Oct 12, 2020

Category: Technology

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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!

"Multistreaming is a great way to keep multiple audiences engaged or increase your reach on different platforms. Fang reveals the ARCANE SECRETS of setting up a multistream server on a $100 Raspberry Pi!"

Posted: Aug 31, 2020

Category: Merch

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**Guest post written by Conor Farrell of Solid Merch, a comprehensive source for independent artists and record labels to stock their merch tables and web stores, and engage with their fans and communities.

"One of the factors contributing to vinyl’s renewal has been creators’ focus on unique releases that become collectible works of art on their own, distinct from the creativity contained in the grooves. While black vinyl has been the standard option for much of vinyl history, most pressing plants have expanded in recent years to include more color choices, and some even have the ability to combine multiple colors into eye-popping designs."

Posted: Jun 22, 2020

Category: Recording

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**Guest post by Caleb J. Murphy, a songwriter-producer based in Austin, TX, and the founder of Musician With A Day Job, a blog to help part-time musicians succeed.

"Anyone can be their own producer. Don’t believe me? Read on and I’ll show you the whys and hows of producing music yourself..."

Posted: May 26, 2020

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!

"Episode 17 of Words of Fang. As a band, when do you need to "throw your weight around", and when do you need to, well, just stay quiet? Fang tells you the secrets of the trade!"

Posted: Apr 27, 2020

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post by Casey Burke of Plaze, which helps musicians connect to the people & resources they need.

"Thankfully, musicians have found ways to maintain their livelihood in the absence of physical human contact. Enter: the Instagram livestream. While not strictly new, this format has taken off during all the unrest, and it’s likely to develop for at least as long as social distancing is the norm..."

Posted: Mar 2, 2020

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by James Redhead, one half of the duo behind the music podcast Anyone Can Play Guitar.

"We thought it worthwhile to give a balanced view [about support slots] based on what we’ve learned so far, to help all you bands and artists make as informed a decision as possible when you’re presented with such opportunities, or even before you start actively seeking them out. Let’s start with the negatives…"

Posted: Jan 27, 2020

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Jeff Lysyczyn, music industry veteran, educator, and creator of Music Business After Dark.

"The fifth episode of Music Business After Dark, a series of informative vlogs by music industry veteran and educator Jeff Lysyczyn."

Posted: Jan 21, 2020

Category: Show Booking

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**Guest post written by Tom Jordan, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.

"You can make [booking shows] easier on yourself by using some effective strategies that help me book 200 shows a year. I pay my bills exclusively with music, and I’ll tell you how...If you’re prepared up front, you’ll avoid a lot of frustration. Preparation is important and makes a HUGE difference in outcomes."

Posted: Jan 13, 2020

Category: Touring

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**Guest post written by Vinnie Hines, Co-Owner of Artist Collective AKA @ac_vinnie.

"As a music consultant for Artist Collective, I constantly hear the complaints and excuses of artists all around the country about the industry and the idea of ‘touring’...so to start chipping away at the brainwash, let’s knock down these 5 HUGE LIES ABOUT TOURING IN 2020..."

Posted: Nov 25, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Nicholas Rubright, founder and editor at Dozmia, and lead guitarist for the band Days Gone By.

"Sometimes, the income from even a full-time job isn’t enough to get the finances you need [for a music career]. Thankfully, we live in the age of the internet - where there’s opportunity to make money from anywhere that has an internet connection! Here are 5 ways to make money online that are great for musicians who need extra cash - even while on tour."

Posted: Nov 11, 2019

Category: Online Presence

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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Reprinted with permission.

"What not every musician knows about or takes advantage of is there's a second way to make ad revenue off of your videos -- even if you can't become a YouTube Partner. The key is to register your entire back catalog of music with YouTube's ContentID service..." 

Posted: Nov 4, 2019

Category: Online Presence

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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Reprinted with permission.

"YouTube is the top music search engine in the world, so having your music there is critical. But when it comes to making money, YouTube has raised the threshold for creators to become a YouTube Partner. This is important since it’s only Partners who can monetize the ads being played on their channel and videos...In this article, we'll share two more critical ways to boost views, hours, and subscribers."

Posted: Oct 21, 2019

Category: Online Presence

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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Reprinted with permission.

"YouTube is essential for getting your music discovered and heard. But to make money from your channel's advertising, you need 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours. In this three part series, we'll give you the techniques you can use to hit this threshold so YouTube starts sending you checks for the ads running on your channel and videos."

Posted: Sep 24, 2019

Category: Marketing

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**This post originally appeared on the Disc Makers Blog for indie musicians by Randy Chertkow & Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Reprinted with permission.

"Your best social media strategy is to entertain your fans throughout the year rather than just drop an album and disappear. Create a strategy to make your fans anticipate your every release — music, videos, merch, and more — and attract new fans in the process."

Posted: Sep 3, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Jake Shane, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who resides in Spain. He makes his living as an independent artist by touring around Europe. His fourth album will be released in October, 2019.

"A recent article by Larry Fitzmaurice titled “17 Indie Artists on Their Oddest Odd Jobs That Pay the Bills When Music Doesn’t” is by turns comforting and deflating to the indie musician...Contrastingly to me, none of those artists makes their living exclusively from music, and many of them actually lose money touring. So, what does this mean for musicians in general, and me specifically? Well, a variety of things, but I’ll limit myself to three important factors..."

Posted: Apr 29, 2019

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Wade Sutton of Rocket to the Stars Artist Services.

"You know how difficult it can be for bands to create leverage when trying to negotiate better guarantees from venues? Well something is happening in Pennsylvania that is going to make that even more difficult ... and musicians nationwide should be keeping an eye on this because it is something that could spread to other states."

Posted: Apr 8, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Matt Star as featured on The Music Entrepreneur HQ.

"Have you ever thought of yourself as the owner of a corporation? Guess what… you are. If you’re a working musician, a session or touring player, your company is called YOU, Inc...Knowing what you have to offer and what it is worth is the first step to creating a sustainable career..."

Posted: Mar 11, 2019

Category: Giving Back

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**Guest post written by Jamie Wyman, singer-songwriter and Executive Director of The Great Blue Song Project.

"How many times have you heard people say, “I always wanted to learn to play the guitar” or, “I wish my parents made me practice the piano when I was a kid”? You are one of the few who followed through. And now that you have nurtured your musical superpower, you must use it for good. Here are five ways you can use your musical powers for good..."

Posted: Mar 4, 2019

Category: Performance Rights Organizations

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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.

"I am always surprised at how many musicians I talk with that really have no idea what a Performance Rights Organization is, or what it does for artists. I’m not just talking about indie musicians either. Some well-known national acts are in the same boat and could learn some things from this post. Let me explain how you can become a pro by joining a P.R.O."