IOTM Blog
Posted: Mar 11, 2025
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by WordPlay T. Jay, hip-hop artist and producer based in Tacoma, WA.
"Since the advent of music streaming, our careers have not been the same...Streaming services partnered with the major labels to carve out exclusive rates in exchange for vast catalogs of music and market share...It’s discouraging and that diversity is under threat. Fans want to see artists thrive and musicians are struggling to earn a living. Fortunately, you can do something to help musicians earn a living wage."
Posted: Feb 19, 2025
Category: Merch
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**Guest post by Wes Wolfe of Tangible Formats - Custom Vinyl Records For All.
"For many independent artists, releasing vinyl isn’t a viable option. It’s impractical—the process is expensive and complex. The final product is heavy, inconvenient to transport, and takes up valuable space...Fortunately, we’re in a time when pressing plant capacity finally exceeds demand. Independent artists now have more options and leverage than they did just a few years ago...Releasing your music on vinyl is now more accessible for artists at any stage of their career."
Posted: Feb 11, 2025
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Eric Todd, Founder/CEO of iProdigy, a Grammy-winning artist development and funding platform for artists at every career stage.
"With the dominance of streaming platforms like Spotify offering unprecedented competition and dismally low payouts, independent artists are finding it nearly impossible to earn a sustainable living solely from streaming revenue...The reality is that success in the music business no longer revolves around simply getting placed on playlists or racking up streams. Instead, artists must cultivate dedicated fan bases and build direct-to-fan (D2F) communities that they can monetize outside the constraints of digital service providers (DSPs)..."
Posted: Dec 3, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Xander Rushie of School of Sync.
"1. The Best Song Wins 2. Don’t write in the first person 3. Don’t Bore Us - Get To The Chorus! 4. Treat Each Section As a New Scene 5. Don’t Be Explicit..."
Posted: Nov 27, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Kristen Ford, LA based indie rock act with a passion for music business.
"Happy Thanksgiving! A time for awkward chats around the dinner table, carbs with a side of carbs, sweater weather, and Black Friday Sales! This is that unique time of the year when all the retailers, life coaches, and memberships flex their marketing muscles and slash prices. For annual memberships, this can be the BEST time to purchase."
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 10, 2024
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post written by Modern Musician.
"If you're serious about making a full-time career out of your passion for music, you've likely invested countless hours, energy, and money into honing your craft. But the big question remains—how do you build a loyal fanbase, make a sustainable income, and keep your artistic identity intact in today’s saturated industry? The good news is, it’s possible to achieve all this without relying on luck or record labels."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 24, 2024
Category: Merch
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**Guest post written by James Hill, a veteran of the music industry. He has worked at Warner Reprise Records and then Interscope/ Geffen Records and now helps indie artists with branding and manufacturing through his company Unified Manufacturing, a CD/DVD, custom vinyl records and merch company in LA.
"The second half of the year [has just started]. You guys still have [a little less than] 6 months to release your merch line together with a music release, gig show, or a tour. If you’re having second thoughts on releasing them, then I urge you to go on with it. They’re a great promotional tour for whatever you have going on...Here are 22 custom merch band ideas to help you start planning." View Full Article
Posted: Jul 16, 2024
Category: Online Presence
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**Guest post originally featured in the Symphonic Distribution Blog.
"At this point, you should be well aware of the importance of metadata in the music industry. Not only does it help classify and identify your music among a sea of millions of others, but improper metadata could be the reason your music isn’t reaching as many fans as possible. How? Let’s break it down..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 3, 2024
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post written by Adam Percy for Bandzoogle.com.
"While they had a bit of a shaky start when they came out, QR codes have now become a popular tool for sharing content and for promoting pages or products online. The advantages of QR codes are that they’re very portable, they’re unique, and they can be used just about anywhere—they can be scanned with a smartphone camera to quickly get anyone to a specific page on the web...Here are five ways you can use QR codes to elevate your live shows..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 18, 2024
Category: Fans
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**Guest post written by Nick Braren, owner and operator of Upaya Sound. This was originally featured in the Upaya Sound blog.
"The ‘1000 True Fans’ concept, popularized by Kevin Kelly in 2008, suggests that an artist can make a comfortable living by cultivating a base of just 1000 dedicated supporters. These “True Fans” are individuals who are not only passionate about your music but are also willing to support you financially on an ongoing basis. They buy your music, attend your concerts, purchase merchandise, and spread the word about your work."
View Full ArticlePosted: May 14, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Modern Musician and featured in their blog.
"You love making music and in order to keep moving forward, you need to create a sustainable income. So how do musicians make money from their music? It’s something a lot of independent artists struggle to do… but we’ve got answers!...I’d like to introduce you to a simple system that will help you to earn a real living from your music..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Apr 9, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by James Hill, a veteran of the music industry. He has worked at Warner Reprise Records and then Interscope/ Geffen Records and now helps indie artists with branding and manufacturing through his company Unified Manufacturing, a CD/DVD, custom vinyl records and merch company in LA.
"Having a career in music is not all sunshine and rainbows, and I’m sure you already know that, especially during the pandemic. To start a career in the music industry, you need to not only release good music but you have to be willing to learn the trade, to advertise yourself, get to know the right people, and many more. It’s too tedious! But still worth it. Let’s head on and enumerate the 25 reasons why being a musician today is awesome." View Full Article
Posted: Apr 3, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by James Hill, a veteran of the music industry. He has worked at Warner Reprise Records and then Interscope/ Geffen Records and now helps indie artists with branding and manufacturing through his company Unified Manufacturing, a CD/DVD, custom vinyl records and merch company in LA.
"Having a career in music is not all sunshine and rainbows, and I’m sure you already know that, especially during the pandemic. To start a career in the music industry, you need to not only release good music but you have to be willing to learn the trade, to advertise yourself, get to know the right people, and many more. It’s too tedious! But still worth it. Let’s head on and enumerate the 25 reasons why being a musician today is awesome." View Full Article
Posted: Mar 12, 2024
Category: Music Streaming
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**Guest post written by Greg Fuhs, co-manager of indie label Dying Code Media and member of indie bands Anti-Social Club and Object X.
"As you may have heard, Spotify recently announced that it will no longer pay royalties for songs receiving less than 1,000 streams per year, instead redirecting those funds to artists with songs exceeding that threshold. The company claims this is to better support “emerging and professional artists” and estimates they will redistribute as much as $1 billion over five years. They also claim that small indie artists won’t miss this money – although I don’t think Spotify asked any of us about this..."
Posted: Feb 21, 2024
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Matt Santry, founder of www.WellPaidMusician.com.
"2024 Tax Tip for Self-Employed Performers: This year (2024), pay all your contractors via one electronic pay method like PayPal or Venmo so that you can reduce or eliminate issuing 1099s next year. This is because of the new 1099-K."
Posted: Oct 10, 2023
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Matt Santry, founder of www.WellPaidMusician.com.
"What I want to discuss is the importance of gig contracts, specifically for private event performances...With a private event, it’s very different. Most times you’re working with individuals or businesses that don’t have much, if any, experience working with live entertainment. So, you will need to create the terms and present them in a formal written contract."
Posted: Oct 4, 2023
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post originally featured in CS Discos' e-book Cover Your Way Up, a guide to leveraging music covers on YouTube.
"To further your music career, it’s essential to understand YouTube monetization. This process offers benefits like revenue generation, audience engagement, and enhanced content creation. Monetizing your channel means not only earning money but also increasing your professionalism and visibility. To qualify, YouTube requires at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past year, or you can alternatively accumulate 10 million short views in the last 90 days, as per updated information from 2023."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 15, 2023
Category: Merch
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**Guest post written by Janelle Borg, originally posted on AmplifyYou's blog.
"For gigging artists like you, music merch should be an integral part of your brand-building strategy. It’s not only a great way to project your musical identity through a tangible item, but also serves as a much-needed financial lifeline. Best of all, music fans love merch, and are ready to spend money on quality pieces they truly like. If you need convincing, here are 5 reasons why you should start selling merch now rather than later." View Full Article
Posted: Jul 18, 2023
Category: Technology
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**Guest post written by Leonard Patterson of Artist Collective AKA @ac_leonardp.
"...the truth is, we have control of how and when A.I. impacts our jobs if we lean into it and don’t ignore it thinking “this too shall pass...” That’s why I wanted to gather a list of A.I. tools that you can use to enhance your instruction, courses, and lessons...My hope is that at least one of these tools inspires you or better yet helps you continue sharing your gifts and passions with others."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 11, 2023
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post originally featured on MariNation's blog, the stock market of music.
"...investing in music can be a fulfilling and potentially profitable venture. But, like any investment, it requires a sound strategy and an understanding of the industry. In this post, we'll explore how to be a successful music investor by providing specific tips and examples to help you navigate the complex and ever-changing landscape of the music industry." View Full Article
Posted: Apr 25, 2023
Category: Technology
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**Guest post by StarFarm, Streaming That Makes Sense for the Artist.
"If there’s one thing that has been a constant in the music industry, it’s change. From the initial format, the 78 RPM record, which was created in the early 1900’s to today’s streaming platforms, the music business has undergone radical changes that have presented both new opportunities as well as challenges. Today’s music environment is no different and if anything, the challenges have never been greater for musicians. To better understand, a brief history of music distribution may be helpful."
Posted: Mar 21, 2023
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Kristen Ford, Nashville based indie rock act with a passion for music business and a book on DIY touring in the works.
1. Live Performances 2. Online Sales/Consignment/Out the trunk sales 3. Sync/Licensing placements 4. Private Events/Colleges 5. Streaming income...
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 7, 2023
Category: Technology
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**Guest post written by Ryan Donaldson of Boombox.io.
"The ability to collaborate remotely has given musicians and music producers the freedom to create, share, and develop ideas as never before. By connecting with other creatives from different parts of the world, it is now possible to bring together a unique blend of sounds and styles that can result in something truly special...In this article, we want to explore how remote music collaboration can be the key to growing your audience and achieving success as a musician."
View Full ArticlePosted: Feb 14, 2023
Category: Fans
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**Guest post written by Caleb Murphy for Bandzoogle.com.
"As an indie artist, you have several ways to make money from your music. And launching a fan subscriber community is one of those ways...To succeed at this, you need an established fanbase - people who regularly listen to your music, open your emails, and engage with your social media content. The trick is, getting those fans to subscribe and effectively become super fans. There are lots of ways to encourage more fans to subscribe, but below are six of the most creative perk ideas."
View Full ArticlePosted: Feb 7, 2023
Category: Merch
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**Guest post written by Jordan Gates, of Megaphone Agency and Indie Gigging.
"Merchandise sales make up a significant chunk of revenue for many artists. Concert goers are willing to spend money on all kinds of apparel and novelties as keepsakes to support their favorite artists. Simply put, if you’re a touring artist and you’re not selling merch, you should be! And if you are already selling merch, these tips and tricks will help you stay organized and sell more!"