What is good my fellow Musicians, Producers, Young Artists, Rappers, Home Studios, Singers, Songwriters, and Beat Makers alike. I am back with yet another resource to challenge your growth.
The other day, I was talking with a student of mine and he asked some great questions that every musician & businessman should ask... While music & business is about making money, if you just focus on the money, you won't get to where you want to be and if you do, it will only be temporary for a quick check...
I love what Gary Vay-Ner-Chuk says about entrepreneurship. If you can get past the language, you can get some great value from his videos - when you get some time, go check him out.
What happened to me:
Let me take you back to high school. Because I had an analog mixer, Shure V87 mic, a free DAW, and some clever lines, I thought I was the bomb... I literally thought I was the king of music where I was from...
Only to realize, my mixes were not even good, my rhymes were wack, and all I was worried about was the status quo and money factor of music. I had no idea about licensing, mixing & PRO's.
When I was younger, I did not take the time to study the business or learn mixing techniques. I released my wack records on iTunes and hoped the magic music business fairy would do me justice.
"If you don't stand for something, you might fall for anything..."
I had no idea what it meant to stand for something like on solid ground. That is where my wack rhymes came into play. I also didn't learn to value other artists for who they were and what they were good at.
"Invest in yourself..."
I thought all that meant was buying the coolest looking gear to impress my peers and talking the talk over walking the walk. I had good money, but I blew it on things I thought would magically make me money... But guess what, that doesn't work.
All of a sudden I'm broken AGAIN and have a status to upkeep. Talk about high maintenance. I had a custom pair of Nike's with my old rap name on each shoe, a chain, you name it... Did it help me one bit? Nope...
The worst part - when I told people I rapped and just put out a record, no one cared...
It's not about how fast you get there but how you get there:
I was on the verge of quitting. And I did...
But this extreme urge and desire to make quality music kept popping up. So I would watch a few youtube videos here and there but I didn't get serious again until I realized how people responded to my rap Alone in this Crowded room way back when I was first working on it - October 2016.
If you haven't guessed it yet, there is one thing that is super important from the above statement that you should remember.
Can you guess it? - It's people. And of course, quality content.
Good Business + Marketing = People / $$:
For my first artist name, ThatJAXxKid in high school and the next, Triple J in college - REAL THROWBACK THURSDAY - I had ad campaigns and the works. I grew my likes quickly & broke even in sales - I can't even believe that, looking back on it...
But nobody cared around me. I was wack. I admit it.
"People care about people who care about people..."
I've said it before, I'll say it again: people care about people who care about people.
I wasn't happy with my mixes or my following. I focused on spending to get paid - a good balance of this can be healthy...
But before all that, you need to decide who & your who must be first.
Because - who is going to care about you? Who are you going to care about? Who is going to buy your work? How will you bring value to them?
People buy stuff they find value in. You grow by adding value to them and caring about them.
Try writing down some goals and people you want to care about. Reach out to them personally - you might just meet someone you need to know to get your dream to the next step. Because that is what it's about, not the money...
If you've known me for a while, you will know that I have a passion for empowering, sharing resources and encouraging others to grow in their craft. I believe in the revolution that is changing the music industry and I am personally experiencing this revolution... I want you to be a part of this revolution, so I also offer Coaching and Mixing Services to anyone who wants to improve the sound of their mixes, so they can stand out on the charts as well as grow in their knowledge as a home based artist.
If you're interested in having a coach challenge you along this journey, or you want to improve the mix of your songs, get in touch with me; I will be more than happy to help. I look forward to helping you take your songs to the next level:
I hope you enjoyed and were encouraged by this article. I look forward to working with you. If I should add something, feel free to let me know or comment below. If you think someone could benefit from this information, go ahead and share this article. If you have your own ideas that have been working for you, let me know what they are; I'd love to learn about what you guys are doing. If you have questions, feel free to contact me. What would you like to know next? Let me know in the comments below. Do me a favor, smash that like button, share it, let me know what you guys want to learn next, be nice to someone, and have a great day!