Fan Funding: Financing Recordings & Other Artistic Projects

There are quite a few ways to fund recordings and other artistic projects.  Consider the following options: Record label backing. In today’s world, with major labels quickly going the way of the dinosaurs, don’t count on this option unless you’re really famous and have a huge fan base (and are 14 years old). Grants. ...

The Success Equation Most Musicians Get Wrong

“People don’t buy what you do.  They buy why you do it.”  Such is the claim made by Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, in the compelling video below.  And the message couldn’t be more apropos to musicians.         I’ve asked musicians from all over the...

How To Sell 15,000 CDs in 18 Months

This video features pianist/singer/songwriter Terry Prince discussing how he sold 15,000 CDs in a year and a half.  Here’s a hint: he regularly performs for large amounts of people.  Yet he spends just 30 hours per month doing this.  True, if you want to sell recordings, you should have a strong website, wide distribution, and a...

Putting Artists to Work in Cultural Recovery

In this compelling video, Arlene Goldbard argues the importance of putting artists to work in order to aid the cultural and economic recovery. A provocative independent voice for our times, Arlene Goldbard is a writer, social activist, and consultant who works for justice, compassion and honor in every sphere, from the interpersonal to the...

Don’t Quit Your Day Job

This hilarious video presentation, by cellist/composer and TSM artist Zoe Keating, answers the age old question “Should you quit your high-paying tech job to become a professional musician?”  While her talk is tongue and cheek, it does present some of the unique challenges that face touring musicians.         Share and...

The Success Formula for Selling Music

This presentation by TechDirt founder Michael Masnick, featuring 280 Power Point slides in just 15 minutes, hypothesizes why Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails has been so successful.  The formula he derives is simple: Connect With Fans (CwF) + Reason To Buy (RtB) = The Business Model ($$$$)       Masnick explains his choice to study...

Classical Music with Shining Eyes

In the video below, Ben Zander (conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and author of the wonderful book The Art of Possibility) presents an engaging talk/performance to a crowd of 1600.  Very few in the audience are experienced classical music enthusiasts, yet he is celebrated with an enthusiastic standing ovationby the end of this 20...

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

In this video, Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.  Some powerful points he argues include: Creativity is as important as literacy. People don’t grow into creativity, they grow out of it (or are educated out of it).  If you are not...

Why Purple is the Most Marketable Color

Many musicians spend a great deal of time focused on artistic excellence, and almost none on what makes them remarkable.  If you hope to attract significant attention, I suggest you prioritize both. In an over-crowded market, where hundreds of competitors often vie for jobs, concert engagements, students, or audience members, only those...