How Serious Are You? (Music is a Business)

[Clay Anderson Johnson]

Stephen Foster was a mediocre songwriter but he became the most famous of the 19th century. Why? According to first hand accounts he apparently shoved a copy of his sheet music into the hands of everyone he met. What he lacked in artistic finesse he counter balanced by being a marketing genius.

 

Do you consider music as something beyond a hobby and would like to produce income from it? If so think about your business model.

 

 Have you invested time, money, and effort which did not involve Music as Art?

• Registered LLC or incorporated
• Business bank account
• Copyrighted registrations with the Library of Congress
• Agent
• Publicist
• Attorney
• Investors
• BMI or ASCAP membership
• American Federation of Musicians membership
• Distribution of recordings through Distrokid or CDBaby
• Professional website with links to online retailers

What are you doing to make your dream a career?

 

UPDATE: I seem to have created some confusion by using the term Publicist rather than PR (Personal Representation) Agent. 

 

A Publicist gets you promoted any way they can. They work for you as one of your team of representatives.

 

This is different from a Publisher who distributes your songs for sale to other artists.

 

A Publicist sells YOU as an artist. A Publisher sells your SONGS.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Clay Anderson Johnson
Update

[john]

So true Clay.

 

Even if pursuing music on a semipro basis, it’s worthwhile to be informed. Learning makes you aware of possibilities, if nothing else. It can have a big impact on how you approach your music…. and the budget you have to spend on music projects. Making money, even as a side benefit, doesn’t require you to sacrifice your soul on the altar of “becoming famous”. You do not need to pursue one to get the other.

 

You don’t need to sacrifice artistic integrity either!

 

Cheers

 

John

[Clay Anderson Johnson]

2 hours ago, john said:

Making money, even as a side benefit, doesn’t require you to sacrifice your soul on the altar of “becoming famous”.

Permit me to draw an analogy.

 

I know a person who is the top fundraiser for a national charity. She is #1 in the United States.

 

I listened to her speak at an event. After she finished I said to her, "I know exactly why you are successful. You don't have a goal, you use a system."  We both agreed that using systems trumps having goals.

 

[Steve Mueske]

I think @john was addressing me. He knows I've had a long-standing war within myself regarding the need to pursue "art" versus the necessity of having to self-promote out of the estrangement that artistic distance requires. It causes a kind of self-loathing that directly impinges my creative process. I recognize the practical stupidity of that, but I have to live with my soul. It's all I have.

[Steve Mueske]

That's a great suggestion. I'm going to start making video and vlogs soon. I would love for shit to happen (who wouldn't?), but I want it to be organic and real. I'm fully committed to going all out, but I have several things that impact my mental illness. If I get too depressed or let anxiety overwhelm me, I can't create. I don't know what the balance is or how I get from here to there, but I do know that creating is the truest and holiest art form. I have to honor that first, above all. But, yes, I do need help. I just don't know what I need or how to start.

[Steve Mueske]

I and everyone I know have researched the typical self-promo outlets (radio stations, blogs, etc.) In my experience, it's a giant time sync, and it's something I hate doing. It makes you create something of yourself that you are not. I will probably go down the hiring people route, but right now I want to focus on music and getting the must-do things done (EPK, publishing, licensing, etc).  All I really need is a sustainable way to live. I've paid all my bills. After my studio is complete, my expenses will be minimal. I'm looking into some sort of tiny house solution (long-term) where I can eat, sleep, and create in the same space. 

 

I have this saying. "I don't mind working, but I don't like working twice." I also don't want to waste time on activities that provide very little return.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Steve Mueske

[Clay Anderson Johnson]

9 minutes ago, Popthree said:

i think maybe i'd be interested in working with a publicist, but i have no idea how to find a good one, and i don't know if a publicist would even want to mess with me.  reading that list of things makes me realize how little i have done, or will ever do, in regards to taking my music more seriously.  i just want to write songs. making it into a business with a singular goal of generating income sounds awful, but boy, i sure would love to sell one 'hit' song to some wiggity biggity super star.

 

First let me draw a distinction here on a line which may be blurred.

 

A publicist is a PR, Personal Representation, agent. They get you promoted any way they can. They work for you as one of your team of representatives.

 

Your comment seems to be about a publisher, someone who publishes your song for sale to artists.

 

I have a publicist although I do not have a publisher as I am not in the business of selling songs to other artists.

 

You can find lists or even books listing publishers on Google. What you need to do then is find out what their individual requirements are for submitting material and in what format they accept it. Some will not accept any unsolicited submissions at all. Some will although they have specific guidelines as to how to go about it.

 

Don't contact them by email unless they provide a specific guideline to do so. Any correspondence should be in a written letter until you have a contract or they ask you to email them.

 

The worst thing you can do is become overwhelmed and give up. If you believe in yourself Go Big!

 

My strongest quality is I seem to be impervious to doubt. I have more courage than talent.

[Clay Anderson Johnson]

27 minutes ago, Popthree said:

ah, gotcha... yeah a publisher... not even on your list! 

 

This is my fault entirely. This is because I view the business as a performer not as a writer.

 

With BMI I am both a writer and a publisher.

 

Many of today's artists self-publish as their goal is selling their music not their songs. Publishers take 50% of the the royalties.

 

If you are a performer that is a bad deal as you can use Songtrust to collect all of the publisher's share of rights for you including streaming internationally.

 

If your goal is to sell songs obviously you need a publisher who uses song pushers to make your material know to artists.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Clay Anderson Johnson