Recording Artist Advocate: Makin' it Easy...

An artist told me his website wasn’t making him any money. He was trying to sell his CD’s from his online store.  He started getting e-mails from fans saying they couldn’t navigate the store at all. He finally found a third party vendor that made buying his music easy. He pays a small percentage but now he makes money from his website.

That’s not even counting his iTunes and other online music retailer income.

You have to make it easy for people to give you money.

You may give up a small percentage, but less of something is better than all of nothing.

Hire a cutie to work your merch table and you’ll definitely make more. It may mean a small percentage, but in the end you’ll make more.

In this business you have a lot of people with their hand in your pocket. Be careful about that, but be willing to pay a fair cut if it makes you more money.  

In the end you’re making it easier for your fans and for yourself.

Recording Artist Advocate: More money than you need...

You likely know down to the dollar how much it takes for you to get by.

That’s good when you think about how many paying gigs you need to get by each week or month.

What if you doubled your per-gig pay? What would you do?

Some people would work half as much. They will never be very successful.

Some people would just spend the extra money. They won’t be successful either.

If you really can get by on what you’re making and you are able to double your income, save that money. You will need it. Things always happen. You will need it to get through those dry spells.  You will eventually get to where you can spend more, but be patient.

This is how you have a long-term career:  

Get great at your craft.

Attract an audience.

Get paid what your worth.  

Don’t blow it all.

That’s it.

You will see other, less disciplined artist come and go. Just keep at it. The music business can be a “last man standing” proposition.

When you do spend money, invest in things that make you more money. Like studio time at Rough Wood Recording Studio.

Recording Artist Advocate: Eat frogs and say no.

There are many things people do to make them more successful, but let’s focus on just two.

The first is called “eat frogs”. That means you do the hardest things first. Whatever you have on your list, do the one you like the least - first.

After accomplishing that, everything else will be easy. At least you got through that.

The second is just as important. That’s being willing to say no.

I’ve seen so many artists worn out because they couldn’t say that something was just not a good fit.

You have to know who you are in this business. Plant your flag and attract an audience.

Part of that is knowing what you’re not.

If you take every offer and change with every new thing that comes along, you’ll never stand apart. You’ll just be part of every passing fad.

It’s the same advice your grandfather would give you: Know who you are and do the hardest work first. Believe me, people are paying attention.     

Recording Artist Advocate: Power in a story...

It may have been China or maybe Japan… but there was a book that became very popular. In it one of the characters committed suicide by walking into a thickly wooded area. Apparently city folks don’t make it long in the woods. Anyway, the people who manage that area in real life started finding bodies of young people in those woods. The government reacted by warning people about the book and I think eventually banning it altogether.

They understood the power of an idea. You bet they did. They are used to propaganda; Music and slogans and forced indoctrination is how they’ve been controlled for generations.  

I’ve said many times that music carries with it an amazing power. People who can’t remember their spouse or children can sing a song from their past. It seems to go deeper than other memories and really can influence behavior and opinion.

It turns out your songs can change the world.

Now that you know you have it, what are you going to do with that power?

Recording Artist Advocate: Big as a truck...

I heard a little kid describing things in a unique way. He would say, “The table is 4 pizza boxes across.”  Or “that’s at least 5 legos wide.” But the best was, “That song is big as a truck.”

We do the same thing, but less imaginative; usually its football fields or stories tall.

He hadn’t learned the standards we all tend to use, so his choices were wide open.  There were no limits to the comparisons he could make. Houses could be big as clouds and songs as big as vehicles.

Let that inspire your writing. There is no reason to say the same old things. Approach your themes with no limits. You can surprise your listener with things she never heard before.

Don’t be constrained. Ideas can be big. Why not compare them to actual big things.  

Artist should think about and describe things in a unique way.

This posting is short. Short as a post it.