How to monetize your music..Artists & Producers!!

The number one question as an independent producer, artist, musician, composer or any other title actively involved in the music industry is how do I make money doing it? Or is it even possible?

This is a question I’ve asked myself 1,373,866 times, while sitting in my studio staring expressionless at my latest creation via Ableton. My music is unlike any other, it’s filled with substance, emotion, a wide range of theatrical sounds that give each track that perfect ambience. I’ve mixed, and remixed, and revised the remixed version, it has no other choice but to be perfect in quality. While all of this may be true, the conclusion was that I was not making any money creating these masterpieces, and that hurt financially as well as emotionally (I mean, I put my all into my music!). And at that exact moment I realized that is what I am doing wrong, putting my all into my music, and not leaving anything else to fulfill the business side of things.

Although there has been a rapid decline from 2002 where the music industry peaked at almost $26 billion annually, to the most current 2015 annual income of $15 billion, which has been consistent since 2010. With that knowledge, we can pretty much conclude that there is tons of money to be made in the music industry. So the answer to the second part of the question; whether or not it’s possible to make money? Well, yes, it is very possible to make money! Now let’s get to the FUN part….how?

Notice my emphasis on FUN? Well I did that on purpose. The fact of the matter is that you are going to have to teach yourself how to have fun and just plain love the business side of music, because if you do not then you will fail….period. The reason I say that is simply because 90% of the work done in order to make sales is outside of the studio, while the measly 10% withholds your precious creations and efforts/talent in creating. Don’t feel bad…its business. Now let’s get down to business!

My Business Model:

Product + Costumers = Sales (Revenue)

Simple enough right? Wrong. In order to have a profitable product you have to first have a demand for a product, so my question is; who really wants your music? Anybody? Besides your family, friends and inner circle. Ok, now that we got that insult out of the way, let’s talk about constructing a solid strategy to create that demand.

First: LISTEN! Listen to that sound that is going places, mimic those sounds with your own spin on it.

Second: MARKET! Market those sounds as if you are the next Dr. Dre, Nottz, Meto Boomin, 9^th Wonder, Noah “40” Shebib, Drake etc. No what you have and sell it!!

Third: NO YOUR WORTH! Most producers/artist these days look for that bottom dollar, therefore allowing their creations to sell for pennies. No, I repeat, NO artist of worth will ever pay attention to a $2 beat, and no fan is looking for their artist to sell out…..period. If you want to hustle and make more than peanuts, you have to know what you’re worth. Do not be afraid to negotiate, price yourself…and occasionally say NO!

Fourth and Final: INVEST! Investing in your craft is key. Those that invest show potential clients what you are willing to do to reach the peak. Also, when investing you are essentially building contacts and networking, and those individuals know you are serious about your work. As we all know “it takes money to make money”, if you do not have the confidence to invest financially in your own craft, what makes you think anyone else would? 

- Looking to invest in your craft, affordable mixing and mastering available now at www.66notes.com. 

Drake VS Meek. My thoughts on the matter.

I felt it necessary to write something about the ever so famous Drake VS Meek ordeal. First and foremost I would like to say that I am very much against your so called "Rap Beef" ...I've seen what it accomplishes with your Pac VS Big, your Jay Z VS Nas and so on and so forth, it accomplishes NOTHING!! Speaking from an artist prospective, I would actually go as far as to say that it is detrimental for both parties, and we know that from past experience.

What we first must understand and respect before we dive head first into the world of "Rap Beef". What are the goals of both as artists? In Drake's #ChargedUp diss we see that he mentions the #BlackLivesMatter topic saying that;
Cops are killing people with they arms up
And your main focus is tryna harm us?
And you think you ‘bout to starve us?
Niggas ain’t about to starve us
Nah, I’m charged up

Now this is a very disheartening statement...and the horrible thing about this is that we are STILL focused on this "Beef" (rather PR hyped or What?) while focus is being taken away from societal wrong doings that directly affect the majority of hiphop fans/supporters. On my free time I work with clients to build their social media presence and make noise for their brand and/or business, and the main thing that I focus on with that is building a very strong social influence. With successful social influence you are able to drive followers to whatever topics you feel important....you create a unified voice that has the power to ACTUALLY change/alter/manipulate whatever is being addressed. 

@Drake is the only participant in this Rap Dispute, that has put out the realism of what is actually unfolding, and he states this in his MILD diss track. The fact that hardly any one paid attention to these lines is incredible, rather writing blogs and articles and posts of its weakness, lacking in lyricism, Pac VS Big character blah blah blah. 

I must say that I am now more of a fan of Drakes because of this fact, although he may not feel the direct hit of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, he is willing to mention that this is happening right in front of our faces and yet YOU (Meek, the people) would rather focus on propaganda. 

I myself find it the most important to support those "Beefs" that better ourselves as a society and maybe that the Humanitarian in ME, but the fact of the matter is that when this ordeal ends us as a people will still be left with what we should have addressed in the first place, what is truly important and that should capture our focus! #BlackLivesMatter Lets keep the focus on what is truly important, and what we need to change.


- 66notes

www.66notes.com  

SPONSORS?

Ok, I have found several avenues that can help with those little income problems, and its called ....sponsors!!! Yes, sponsors, investors, financial supporters, whatever you want to label them...these individuals literally have the power to put real money in your pocket!!! If you have not already notice the music industry has completely evolved, the old school way of selling CDs, merch and playing a gig here and there are no longer the major sources of making money. In the here and now its about literally selling yourself to those willing and able to put up the big bucks, maybe that means signing with a record label or maybe that means creating a KICK ASS  campaign explaining why "I THE RICH GUY" or "WE THE PEOPLE" should invest in your product? That's right I labeled you and your music 'Product', don't get offended, please I mean no harm and by all means I do not mean to take away from your Artistry, but in order to sustain and use tremendous amounts of TIME and MONEY to create your "ART" something must be produced and sold for a livable income. 

The first thing is to recognize what you are worth...not just an individual creation (remember YOU are the product), but you? Could you honestly ask someone to pay you 1 million dollars just because you think your worth it?? Please don't answer YES to that question! Lets take a step back, when you understand fully your worth, and can give a solid "WHY" explanation...then you may proceed...but proceed with caution because "you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow" - eminem, which means your proposal/campaign/proposition should be award winning, in detail answering any and every hesitant questioning remarks, and last but not least Visually/Musically entertaining as HELL!! PEOPLE love a GOOD show!! There are millions of artists out there working themselves to the bone; gigging, FT/PT jobs, hustling albums and singles, when they are worth soooo much more......90% of these artist will unfortunately fail, simply to exhaustion and the inability to make money while focusing on their craft. 

Now lets take a look at two platforms that you the artist can campaign; Kickstarter.com a site where creative projects raise donation-based funding. These projects can range from new creative products, like an art installation, to a cool watch, to pre-selling a music album. It’s not for businesses, causes, charities, or personal financing needs. Kickstarter is one of the earlier platforms, and has experienced strong growth and many break-out large campaigns in the last few years. Indiegogo which approves donation-based fundraising campaigns for most anything.  There are several platforms and several different ways to find and secure sponsors/investors, these two sites are just a start or rather a source of brainstorming. Maybe you want to go outside of the world wide web, and work face to face with those in your community, which is a great idea and what I personally prefer, or maybe you prefer to reach out from your personal websites. Whichever direction you decide to take...remember to always give an award winning performance, professional, timely and approaching the correct potential sponsors. 

If you are in need of any themed instrumentals, custom graphic designs or simply needing some constructive advice...please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Thanks,

66notes 

NEVER ENOUGH $$!!

Hey, Whats up artists? How is your musical journey going, Good? or Not so Good? Maybe a bit of BOTH? Yeah I totally understand, it seems every time you get into a position of potential growth, whether if your endeavor may be fame and/or Fortune, we get hit with a cost, a huge cost, a cost that we were not expecting. e.g. Marketing/advertising cost, equipment fixes, maintenance, additions, traveling, bills bills and more bills need I go on?

Sometimes it is literally impossible to cover all of those costs, especially as an up and comer and income from gigs, record and merch sales are very scarce if even existent at all. Well DAMN....what to do, what to do....I myself, had to go back to work into an industry I absolutely hated..but hey, I needed the cash to fund my dream of being a ROCKSTAR!! ;) But what I did not expect, is the long days of work, and eventually between work, family and sleep (which unfortunately is needed to LIVE) there was absolutely zero time left for my music...my dream..and if I worked miracles to fit in an hr of creative time...that hr eventually turned into the last 10 mins trying to cram notes into sequence and vomit whatever lyrics I could muster, needless to say every single thing I composed was exactly that....vomit, I mean literally my fans/supporters would cringe at the sounds of myself forcing these chunks of regurgitated  nonsense onto whatever surface was available. I soon realized that I had two options...quite this BS job or quite my dream and I don't know about you, but if your anything like me, you LIVE BY THIS QUOTE "Never Give up what you cannot go a day without". I cannot go a day without making music, trust me I've tried and felt that void (no Bueno), so I was left with only one decision...QUITE THE BS JOB!!

It was a terrifying thought, so many questions; how will I survive? Pay for this and pay for that? And of course the ultimate question, how in the hell am I going to fund this dream of mine??? And my friend these are the questions that have brought me to why I am writing this entertaining heap of incredulous hopefully useful information ., I want to share with you my journey.......I will share anything and everything that helps...all the positives minus the BS and false presentation.

Wish ME LUCK!!!

- notes

www.66notes.com

PLANES WITH TRAIN WHISTLES

Sound is life! You cannot experience a precise moment without it, even those that cannot hear have a concept of it, and whether or not it is heard it exist!
Sound expresses, emphasizes and explains...it gives every moment or action definition and imprints those moments and actions into memory, allowing us to revisit, manipulate and even "RECREATE" such sounds. Now this is where things become very touchy..in the "recreating" part of things! As I said in the beginning while expressing the beautiful concept of sounds "it gives every moment or action definition and imprints those moments and actions into memory" IN...TO...MEMORY....why the emphasis, well as an active listener and forever participant of sound I know from memory and am absolutely certain that PLANES DO NOT HAVE TRAIN WHISTLES, trains have train whistles and planes, well I cannot recall the last time I hear a plane whistle?
As you probably have already figured out, this entire concept is an analogy for something that can make or break you in the musical arena. There has been way to many musicians, producers and designers unsure of what sound fits them. Sure confidence is an amazing thing and can take you very far in the music industry, but with that confidence one must understand that they cannot do it all, meaning stick to what you excel at. I have seen to many musicians wasting their efforts trying to perfect an attribute that they just were not suppose to perfect, which in turn takes away from what they are suppose to be.
Let me Give you an example:
Tyrese Gibbons, yeah I know you remember this singer gone actor, but before that, he converted to "Rapper", that's right 'Sweet Lady' was replaced by this horrible entity which was made up of a late 80's elementary rap style and a weird amount of over confidence to boot, it was embarrassing, thank goodness for The Fast and the Furious!!  To name a few others; Shaq, WIll Smith, CeeLo Green, Kanye, 50cent, The Frey, Skrillex, I can go on for pages, but the point is that these people at some point in the their music careers thought they belonged somewhere they didn't, and if any one of them would have stayed there, we would not have known them as we do now.
SOooo take this as a challenge, to truly look at yourself objectively and ask yourself, are you a Plane With a Train Whistle, and if the answer is YES, then I suggest a 180 is necessary for any kind success.
Good luck in your endeavors!!

If you are in need of a different sound to find yourself, please visit my site www.66notes.com and check out my selection of Original Instrumentals.

- 66notes

THE POWER OF COLLABORATION

As an artist I approach this this topic very carefully, simply because I have witnessed the power of collaboration first hand. From heightening a track to levels unattainable by a solo artist, to destroying reputation and dramatically lowering the potential of what could have been a hit single!
    when determining collaboration with a fellow artist, you must first ask yourself 3 questions; Is this artist of equal or greater talent? Do/Can our sounds  mesh? and How can this artist benefit the track and you as an artist? Depending on how these questions are answered will depict whether or not collaboration should be done.
    There are many artist that are purely monetarily driven, and answer such questions with that state of mind, but let me tell you why they shouldn't. "Selling Out"..no one likes those type of people, willing to change their everything for the right Price, although many artist operate solely by "selling out" (Being paid for a feature on a track that goes against all of their beliefs) and make a decent income doing so. They hold no value for long-term branding/imaging, which can/will benefit them financially by the support of true fans (a true fan is one that holds on to your image, regardless of propaganda and trend swifts), true fans are those that will consistently buys albums, singles, t-shirts, tickets to your shows in boonville No man's land, anything that represents you and your brand. By "selling out", you throw those fans to the wolves, and this image that you sold them will lose its value tremendously and eventually die. This is a major reason you should strongly consider when collaborating, that the fellow artist be as similar to your in nature as possible.
   Lets use myself as example; As an artist, I represent Freedom, Non-conformity, Difference and most importantly Realism in my lyrics. I was recently offered a substantial amount money, to feature on XYZ's album, I cannot lie I was ecstatic and more then willing. Before I totally accepted I asked to hear this artist's work, the name of the album and concept?  His manager sent me all info requested; Artist work = He was pretty good, but sounded like a number of rap artist I've hear before, Album name = Diamonds On My Wrist, Concept = How we get endless money in the hood and turn it into expensive material we own. Whaaaaa....this went against everything I believed in as an artist, person and especially brand, there was no way I could have tied my brand to such opposing views, yeah I would have made a significant amount of money in that deal, but after the fact I would have lost all my true fans who consistently support me. That collaboration would have destroy my career as an artist!!
    Now after we have answered all 3 questions appropriately and decide its a GO!! Then lets see the potential benefits of this collab; My number one favorite, the quality and overall sound of the track, as an "Artist First" the actual sound of the production makes me get all tingly and stuff ;), but truly to have that collab be an awesome song would be enough for me. But there is more, way more....such as expanded marketing, for instance if you are a mail courier traveling across country with a message that needs spread among as many people as possible, wouldn't it help you out to share that message? and in turn that person you have shared that message with will in turn share that message, next thing you know you have created a network, which is what the music biz is all about! I often commit to features with amazing artists simply for the marketing, I know that we will create a hit and that artist will be just as enthused as me in wanting to share it with the world, in essence doubling promotional efforts...you can't beat that!! And if that's no enough to give you an idea of the power of collaboration, then maybe solo acts are the only fitting acts for you.

Devoted to creating music & sound that will elevate your project from the Rest.

CREATING SOUND

YOU CAN

SEE 

www.66notes.com

"COS IM ONE OF A KIND, AND ILL SHOCK YA MIND"

    I know I know why in the hell am I using a quote from The Sugarhill Gangs 'Rapper's Delight', well one is because it was one of my fathers favorite sayings, in which he would say it literally every single day! lol And two, which is the reason for writing this.... this quote is the MAKER or the BREAKER of anything dealing with creative products.
    How many have you decided to go buy an artist's album for the reasons that the artists sounds exactly like an artist that you adore? I'll wait............exactly, none of you would even consider doing such a monstrous activity, and Ill explain why. The reason why we as fans, consumers and supporters fall in love with an artist, is simply because they are their own,  unlike any other and that difference intrigues us, and if anyone mimics the sound, lyrics or personality of our favorite artist, at that precise moment they become just that less intriguing. And for that copy cat artist, we shall bid you farewell, with hopes of you having a terrible death in your career, all because that artist ruined our "One of a kind" artist that you called your own.
    As a creative artist you must always keep in mind the differences that sets you apart from the rest. What specific things are you doing that makes you special to your fans/listeners, and how will you continue this? There are those people that will attempt to share your light or even steal your glory, and when that happens how will you still consider yourself "One of a kind"? When your fans began to see you as less intriguing, and you slowly fade away into a fad that you mistakenly thought was all yours. This is bound to happen as an artist, there is no way around it!
    Lets take one of my favorite artist Justin Timberlake for example, this artist is the epitome of the phrase "one of a kind, and ill shock ya mind", from his beginnings with the 'Bye Bye Byes' and 'Girlfriends' with N Sync during the elaborate soda pop boy band era, to the
R&B/Pop scene in which JT was a fierce competitor, putting an alternative soulful spin on Dre's pounding beats. And 14yrs later, Justin Timberlake is still going strong, with implementing a very comedic style in acting in skits, and serious roles in films. And we don't even have to talk about his music 'Suit and tie' feat. JayZ, this artist is the king of setting himself apart...consistently!
    From what I have observed during my few short years of life, is that everyone loves Fresh, New and Different (within limit of course..we are not talking about stripping naked and going tribal). And in order to keep your brand/image "One of a Kind", you must know when to bring something New, Fresh and Different to the table......consistently!