IOTM Blog
Posted: May 4, 2022
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Evan Price of Artist Collective.
"It's time to stop thinking you have to do this alone. Sometimes we all need a team, a coach, a mentor. It's just hard to admit it, and even then it can be hard to know what KIND of help to seek out. We get it. That's why this blog / video is for you. Here are 3 types of teams to consider if you're stuck and what to expect from each for your #musicbusiness."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 31, 2022
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Eric Todd of YFM, The Big Break Solution.
"Once upon a time, back in the 80’s the world was chock full of record labels, both major and indie, limited to a single one-way street to success. It wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad, it just was what it was...No one could imagine that we’d be living in the Bizarro World in 2022 (on so many levels), where the exact opposite is true. Today, only a few big labels exist, but there is now a multi-lane superhighway to find success, by whatever success means to the artist. It’s not good, it’s not bad, it just is what it is."
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 29, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Yona Marie, originally featured in her blog.
"Releasing songs as an independent artist is pretty easy thanks to technology. 50 years back, you'd be out of luck for the most part, but now is the best time to thrive as a musician or artist without having to rely on a label! The main thing about being independent is that you want to make sure you're always growing and learning when it comes to music industry knowledge. You are in charge of your career and will not have any big-money company backing you or guiding you."
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 27, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Electronic Musician.
"Can you describe your music in 6 words or less? It's the first question that anyone asks you about your music: What kind of music do you make? Your answer to that question is the most important thing. It’s even more important than your story. So don’t wing it. You should prepare it ahead of time and have it at the tip of your tongue when interviewers, the media, and people you meet ask. Don't try to make a perfect and complete description: the goal is to get them curious enough to ask to want to hear your music. That's how you'll know if you've created the right description. Here are some simple ideas to help you describe your music effectively..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 7, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Bruce Wawrzyniak, who runs Now Hear This, Inc. and www.InterviewTipsCourse.com.
"It has come to my attention that there’s a whole generation barely even using email...regardless of your age, if you think you’re missing out on opportunities, it might simply be because (gasp) you did send one email and then gave up, moved on, when you didn’t hear anything back. The simple fact is, if it’s important enough to you, a second email should be sent when sufficient time has gone by (in other words, not the next day) and that simple follow-up could make the difference in actually getting a response."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 30, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Hovey Otis.
"Now that bars, venues and festivals are opening up, we as musicians are hungry to hit the stage. But, lots of musicians (myself included) had a rocky 2020. Here are a few tips to reignite your creative flow, collaborate, start recording, and get back into the music world!"
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 16, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Carla Malrowe for Bandzoogle.
"A brilliant band photo is one that captures the style and story of the music, expresses the characters of the musicians, and bears elements akin to the genre. It is impressionable, professional, unique and authentic. Brilliant photos sell the total sonic experience that awaits the listener...Here are the do’s and don'ts when it comes to putting together your band photoshoot project."
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 2, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Nick Voorhees, founder of Melody Nest.
"It’s absurd to think that the “starving musician” stereotype proves to be true more often than not. Producing, composing, and engineering songs to a professional standard is inherently valuable because thought-provoking sound is necessary to the human experience, but many musicians find themselves broke regardless. It’s usually not due to a lack of talent or drive, but because musicians tend to be un-blissfully ignorant of the abundance of digital opportunities available within their electronic reaches. It doesn’t have to be this way." View Full Article
Posted: Jun 21, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post from Marcus Welch, President & CEO of Quadio.
"There are so many talented creators out there who could benefit from the help a label provides - many, many more than you think...finding one another in the vast sea of musicians can be hard. On top of that, the right choice for an artist might be to go at it independently - which is a totally viable strategy for some, and can be leveraged in all kinds of ways with a creative enough approach."
View Full ArticlePosted: Apr 19, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Clark Colborn, progressive hard rock guitarist.
"Lately I have been studying the paths that successful bands and solo musicians have followed to get to the pinnacle of their careers, thinking that if I understand what worked for them then maybe I can create a similar path for myself...the goal in researching these musicians is to find out how they were introduced to that larger audience, and I have discovered there are two main factors that every single one of these artists has in common."
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 29, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com.
"In the last part of our DIY music business series, we cover the tasks required to get your videos created, recorded, edited, produced, and made ready for distribution. You may be an independent musician, but being independent should never mean that you're alone. In fact, the list of people credited for being part of each release you do will probably get longer as you grow your career and level up the music, art, and entertainment that you release and perform."
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 8, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post from Justin Paul, music/career coach, A&R, DJ, and producer.
"The pandemic has hurt all artists, even larger acts had to cancel tours. Ultimately what we're talking about is that there has been loads of money lost for the artist, for the promoters, also for the sound engineers, light engineers, stage crew, food vendors, security, stage techs, drivers, venues, and merchandise sales in live music. Furthermore, the pandemic has created a lot of self-doubt and uncertainty for artists. Some artists are now thinking about shifting to a different career or creating side hustles. Multiple income streams are the way to go even during normal times."
View Full ArticlePosted: 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."
View Full ArticlePosted: 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."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 25, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post from David Franz, a California-based music business entrepreneur, producer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, educator, and author of Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools.
"Fear stops progress. It is crippling. It is a disability. You must push through into uncomfortable places if you want to grow. Getting in front of the camera has brought all of my fears out to the surface and recorded them for me to watch. It has forced me to push through the discomfort and grow."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 19, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Matt Santry, independent musician and founder of the Well Paid Musicians Club.
"Did you know that the Paycheck Protection Program loan is also for independent contractors and sole proprietorships? Well it is. So if you’re a working musician and you filed your 2019 tax returns as such (i.e. a contractor or sole proprietor), then you’re eligible. Here are my Top 5 reasons why you should apply for the PPP loan right now."
Posted: Jan 11, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Jordan Gates, of Megaphone Agency.
"Even through all the challenges this year has brought, the industry hung on through remarkable resilience. Live streaming, drive-in shows, fundraisers, even lobbying the government – there’s nothing we won’t do to keep the culture alive and the music playing. Music isn’t going anywhere. It’s only a matter of time before we can get back to that unparalleled feeling of experiencing it live and in person again."
Posted: Jan 4, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers. Originally featured on CelebrityAccess.com. Reprinted with permission.
"The Save Our Stages Act...just passed as part of the COVID-19 Relief Bill. The Save Our Stages Act will provide financial assistance to independent venues and promoters that have been devastated by the pandemic’s shutdown. The Save Our Stages Act will enable these locally owned businesses to hold on until it is safe to gather, reopen fully, and once again return to serve as economic engines for their communities."
View Full ArticlePosted: 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!"
View Full ArticlePosted: Dec 7, 2020
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Gideon Waxman, a London based drummer & music educator.
"Although now the music industry operates differently, it doesn't mean there aren't opportunities hiding in the economic shadows. It's exciting that we live in an era where very little stands in the way of passionate artists from achieving their goals. If you're looking to start a new music project, the great news is that the barriers to entry are virtually non-existent. However, it is crucial to demonstrate financial sensibility when starting a new project so that you can continue to build your project sustainably. In this article, I'll share what's required when creating a DIY music project without breaking the bank."
View Full ArticlePosted: 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."
View Full ArticlePosted: 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."
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 16, 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.
"Episode 6 of Music Business After Dark, a series of informative vlogs by music industry veteran and educator Jeff Lysyczyn."
View Full ArticlePosted: 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..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Sep 14, 2020
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.
"Let’s face it, we all want to have a professional studio in our backyard filled with all the best gear. This is not possible for even the most successful musicians out there. For the indie musician, this dream is even farther off than we can imagine. That shouldn’t stop you from creating music, however. You need to think of ways to use the stuff you already have around you to create the music you love."
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