Music Business Hacks

The Daily Habits of the Self-Made Musician

#233 – The 2 Reasons Why Artists Aren’t Seeing Results on Social Media

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This week, we learned of how Taylor Swift was able to get record-breaking numbers of people to register to vote with a single Instagram post. This inspired me to do an episode of the things holding artists back from seeing the kinds of results they’d like, the return on investment we hope for, on social media.

Resources:

Episode 97 – Storytelling pt. 1: Creating an Emotional Arc

Episode 98 – Storytelling pt. 2: Writing Great Lyrics (with advice from Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Lin-Manual Miranda, and Leonard Cohen)

Episode 99 – Storytelling pt. 3: How to Write a Better Biography

Episode 100 – Storytelling pt. 4: Making a Better Live Show with Story

Episode 101 – Storytelling pt. 5: How to Use Storytelling Techniques in Social Media and Marketing

Episode 102 – Interview with Joe X. Jiang on How Filmmakers Use Story (and What Musicians Can Learn From Them)

Extra Gum commercial:

#232 – How Successful Artists Spend Their Free Time

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In today’s episode, we discuss the habits of successful artists who have built a sustainable career and how they parallel with the best practices of entrepreneurs. How do you spend your free time?

#231 – Unique Songwriting Advice from Tom Waits

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Tom Waits is one of the most celebrated and prolific songwriters of our time. He’s known for innovative songs as well as unconventional songwriting practices. Today, we discuss some of his songwriting advice to other artists.

Resources:

Episode 53: Songwriting Secrets from Max Martin

Episode 98: Storytelling part 2: Lyrics

Episode 139: Rules for Songwriting Sessions

#230 – 5 Things That Prevent Musicians From Growing

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Today, we talk about the 5 most common reasons why artists feel stagnant in their music careers and what they can do to overcome the things that are holding them back from enjoying the success they work so hard for.

#229 – How to Create a Facebook In-Stream Video Ad

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In which we discuss how you can create your own video ad that appears mid-stream in others’ content. Remember the four most important concepts: audience, content that creates emotional responses, placement, and monitoring/editing.

#228 – How Tim Ferris and Malcolm Gladwell Conquer Fears

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In today’s episode, I share advice about performance from two influential thinkers: Malcolm Gladwell and Tim Ferris. Each has their own approach for dealing with nervousness and anxiety but both are related to the classic philosophy of stoicism. You can take these concepts from the studio to the stage and enhance your overall performance while reducing nerves.

Resources:

Malcolm Gladwell on Ariana Huffington’s Thrive podcast

Tim Ferris TED talk

#227 – How to Provide a Legitimate Excuse and Balance Repsonsibilities

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Today’s episode answers a question submitted by a listener on how artists can provide excuses in order to get away from other obligations: work, school, etc. In addition to answering the question, we focus on the bigger question of balancing relationships and responsibilities.

#226 – How to Feel More Fulfillment as an Artist

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In this episode, we talk about joy: how to stay feeling fulfilled so that we have the motivation and satisfaction in doing our work in the music industry. It’s easy to fall into ruts, to lose focus, or feel disappointment when things don’t go our way – so let’s create a healthier approach in preparing for those moments so we don’t falter.

#225 – How We Are The Northern Lights Successfully Embodies the D.I.Y Spirit

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Today’s interview is with We Are The Northern Lights.

“They say lightning never strikes the same place twice…” unless, of course, you are We Are The Northern Lights, the self-proclaimed “accidental passion project” of indie popfolk duo Hadar Orshalimy and Sheldon Low. With tight harmonies, melodic hooks and personal lyrics that draw comparisons to The Lumineers and The Civil Wars, as well as two of their four placements in film and television less than a year after WATNL’s creation, it’s hard to imagine anything about the project being “accidental.”

Check out We Are The Northern Lights:
Website: http://www.wearethenorthernlights.com
On Facebook
On Instagram
On YouTube

Resources:
Book: No Booker, No Bouncer, No Bartender: How I Made $25K On A 2-Month House Concert Tour by Shannon Curtis
Book: Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit
Book: How to Make it in the Music Business by Ari Hearstand
Book: What Happened by Hillary Clinton
Book: The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris
Book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
ZT Amplifiers (loud, portable amps)

#224 – Sept. Recap: What Every Artist Should Know and Be

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In today’s monthly recap, we talk about the best ideas from the four weeks.

September was a month of building blocks: essentials that artists should know as well as essential qualities that make someone a great entrepreneur. From perspective to problem-solving, there are many things that aren’t taught in traditional music programs or MBA programs but things you out to know…that’s why we cover them on this show.

I believe that being a successful artist involves critical skills in writing/performing music as well as personality traits that can be cultivated, such as curiosity, persistence, and innovation. Some of the episodes you’ll definitely want to give (another) spin include:

Episode #198: How to Captivate an Audience from Start to Finish
Episode #200: Becoming a Lifelong Learner
Episode #205: Hacks for Merch Booths
Episode #208: 3 Qualities Every Artist Needs for Success
Episode #209: How to Increase Your Creativity pt. 1
Episode #210: How to Increase Your Creativity pt. 2
Episode #216: 4 Traits Every Musicpreneur Needs to Have