Music Business Hacks

The Daily Habits of the Self-Made Musician

#271 – How Artists Can Respond to Spotify Wrapped 2018

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Spotify just released their annual cool year-in-review feature for listeners, Spotify Wrapped. So what can you do as an artist in response? Have you checked out the Spotify for Artists dashboard updates?

Resources:
Spotify Wrapped 2018
Spotify for Artists

Related episode: How to Get on Spotify Playlists

#270 – When Should You Keep Your Music a Secret?

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In today’s episode, I wanted to speak to this idea that we should keep our best projects a secret. (Hint: we shouldn’t)

Resources:

Article – Unsolicited Music Demos: How to Get in the Door of a Record Label

#269 – Fake it til you make it? Why Buying Followers is a Bad Idea

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If you haven’t heard the story of L.A based band Threatin, it’s a fascinating one (read the latest here). It reminds me of another idea: fake followers and why I wanted to take a moment to remind you why having them is such a bad idea!

Resources:

Twitter Audit: https://www.twitteraudit.com/

Hype Auditor (Instagram): https://hypeauditor.com

 

#268 – How to Develop Habits That Build Success

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In today’s recap, we talk about my personal favorite ideas from the past week and h0w they ultimately contribute to the work of building systems (habits) for music business success.

Resources:

Episode #260 – Show Me, Don’t Tell Me in Music

Episode #261 – How to Quit Your Day Job

Episode #262 – 5 Ways Artists Can Deal with Stress

Episode #263 – Why You Should Write Stuff Down

Episode #264 – Why You Should Double Your Performance Price

Episode #265 – There’s a System for That

Episode #266 – Integrated Marketing Campaigns and Music

Episode #267 – Interview: How to Marketing Holiday Music with Carl Stuck

#267 – How to Market Holiday Music with Carl Stuck

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Carl Stuck is a songwriter and musician hailing from Louisville, Ky. For years a fixture in the Louisville music scene he has also done extensive touring with multiple bands through much of the U.S. and has worked with artists as diverse as Randy Owen of country supergroup Alabama and soulful American Idol winner Ruben Studdard among others. He currently works both as a solo artist and as the singer/guitarist of the progressive rock leaning Splintered Mind as well as playing guitar for the electronic Velvet Saints, and country Bryan Fox Band. He also regularly gigs as a sideman for several local acts playing guitar, bass, mandolin, and even cajon. When he’s not busy doing music you can find him trying to catch up on his sleep.

Resources:

Favorite Books:
Christopher McDougall – Born to Run
Decartes –  Meditations and Other Metaphysical Writings
Stephen Hawking – A Brief History of Time

Favorite Podcasts: Bar Star, Shooting from the Lip, Song Exploder

Favorite Gear:

Taylor 300 series guitar
Any acoustic with Fishman pickups
(Simon’s recommendation: Fender Hellcat for an inexpensive acoustic with great electronics)

 

And be sure to check out Carl’s website here: https://carlstuck.com/ and on social @carlstuck

#266 – Integrated Marketing Campaigns and Music

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If you’ve ever taken a marketing class, then you’d have heard of IMC, or integrated marketing campaigns/communications. The underlying idea is that it’s about how many different marketing channels and distribution works together. But most of the time, it doesn’t work because people fail to integrate the most important part of all: the customer. Today, let’s talk about what this means for your music.

#265 – There’s a System For That

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When something happens to you or you want to make something happen in your career, what do you do? Consider these situations: meeting an enthusiastic fan who has been changed by your life, reading a great article about music business, or connecting with someone at a conference: what is your system (habit) for following up and following through?

Related Episodes:

Episode #43 – Why Every Musician Should Have a Post-Show Game Plan

#264 – Why You Should Double Your Performance Price

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How much do you charge for a performance? Have you thought about the strategy about your pricing? If it has only been based on the market rate (what venues offer or what similar rates you’ve received), I’d like to challenge you to think about changing your approach. And it all begins with doubling that number.

#263 – Why You Should Write Stuff Down

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In today’s episode, we cover the importance of documentation – especially when it comes to building up a sustainable music business.

Related Episode:

Episode #80 – Why Every Artist Should Have Timers Built Into Their Contracts

#262 – 5 Ways Artists Can Deal with Stress

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We know that creativity is great for dealing with stress…but what happens when creatives start feeling stress? It can often sap our creative juices. In today’s episode, we discuss 5 powerful ways artists can combat stress.