Business and Music

"I don't want to work. I wanna bang on the drums all day." -Todd Rundgren

Bad news, everybody. We can't just do that. Especially in music. Writing music takes, time, as with any sort of endeavour. You have to have the right stuff when you strike that first chord, a vision, an experience, an ambition. It's got to flow, and that can take days, weeks, months. Just to write one little song. So why are we going to try to work on the business side of this? We have no time.

A few reasons why:

1. Just because you wrote a song doesn't mean anyone will hear it.
2. People connect better with you if you make a conscious effort to do the same things they do.
3. Your music is truly special. Better for a thousand people to hear one song then one person to hear a thousand songs.
4. The more that know you, the more that will.

So put an emphasis on the basics with the business. These might help you:

1. Social Media, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Blogspot, various other websites.
2. Play live. If you can't play live, youtube and other sites can help you, just get a camera and start filming.
3. Stay organized. If you clean your guitar every other day and it's immaculate, then keep all of your information for contacts, websites, and shows the same way.

Finally, enjoy your music. My dry list of things to do sucks, but better that you're hating reading this from a brand new car you bought after signing a record deal than sitting on a tricycle you've been using to get to the nearest grocery store. Good Luck!

Music for the Mind

Music, like so many other art forms, is becoming a business. The question for artists is simple. Where does the art end and the business begin?

In retail, the power of your business is in selling. If you sell clothes, you look for the people who would be interested in buying those clothes, then attempt to convince them they need more of them. If the prices of the clothes drop too far, you need to sell even more to make up for what you're losing, just to make your profit margin.

In the service industry, there is a need for repeat customers who are satisfied with their service and willing to continue paying money for it. For example, internet industry fights back and forth between cable, verizon fios, and satellite. Which service is most reliable? Which service is most expensive? Which service gives you the most?

So for music, there are a few things you can sell. T-shirts, pictures, videos. Each article brings you closer to your fans and gives them the feeling that they're apart of something. People will like your music for the beat, the words, the sounds. You can use that to sell your t-shirts and cds, use that to gain popularity, and so be able to go farther and see more people than you saw before.

So which part can't you really sell? Which part is the real deal?

I think that part is you.

When you create your project, whether it's in a band or a solo project, everyone becomes a character that people listening can identify with. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Third Eye Blind, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Eminem, each artist has a defined character. I believe they're more successful if they're real people that are presented.

More importantly, it's a journey, your journey that you share with your growing fan base. Your first music video might not be perfect, it might be an inexpensive camera and a few shots on a cell phone, but the question your fans will ask: Is there soul? Is there heart?

Better to start small and finish big, than to never give a piece of yourself that allows the world to grow.