“Why You Need A Backup Plan As A Musician” plus 1 more

Why You Need A Backup Plan As A Musician

Posted: 17 Apr 2020 05:14 AM PDT

They say go all-in.

They say quit your job and don’t give yourself a safety net, or else you won’t succeed in music.

But is that actually true? Should musicians have a backup plan?

Let’s talk about this idea of backup plans, diversifying your music career, and creating long-term goals.

Let’s Define “Backup Plan”

First, let me explain what I really mean by the term “backup plan.”

Backup plan = diversifying your music career.

Instead of just writing, recording, and performing songs, you need something else too.

What if performances dry up, as we’re seeing with the COVID-19 pandemic?

What if your recording equipment breaks?

Or what if being a musician is just taking a long time to get going?

If you had another source of income to help lighten the load and lessen the pressure, you could potentially pour more creative energy into the work you care about most.

Don’t get me wrong — having no music career backup plan works for some people. A lot of artists just go for it. They empty their savings, quit their job, and hit the road.

And some of them make it work.

But forming a backup plan — aka diversifying — is safer, smarter, and works more often. Especially for musicians with careers, families, or other life responsibilities that they can’t just quit.

Plus, most millionaires have at least three streams of revenue. So diversifying is clearly a smart move.

Other Musicians With Backup Plans

To show you that having a backup/diversification plan works, I’d like to talk about a few artists who do this.

The first is Gregory Alan Isakov. He’s a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter who’s released several studio albums. And he also continues to run his farm.

Ari Herstand is a touring musician, best-selling author, blogger, and teacher. His music has been played on All Things Considered and Forbes has praised him for his work helping other musicians.

And Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull has had several salmon farms and he runs multiple companies.

The point is, if these successful musicians created many revenue streams for themselves, why would we think we’re above doing that too?

Diversify Your Music Career

So how do you create a backup plan? How do you diversify your music career?

The first step is to figure out what kind of musician you want to be. Figure out what you truly love and how to make money from it.

This will be the central part of your game plan.

Second, think about what else you’re good at. Then turn those things into supplemental income. The key here is to find skills that will serve your music career.

Just to get you started, here are some skills that can easily be music-related:

On top of writing, recording, and licensing my music, I do freelance writing. So I get paid to write for Bandzoogle, Sonicbids, and Soundfly, among others.

This requires research and sharing what I already know. So it keeps my music knowledge current.

I offer coaching calls. These help me understand the real problems of my fellow musicians, allowing me to create more helpful content.

I also edit audio for clients, like podcasts. Those projects help keep my audio editing skills sharp.

As long as my income sources are music-related, they feed my music endeavors in some way.

And you can do this too. Turn whatever you’re good at into a money-making, music-supporting stream of income.

How To Create A (Backup) Plan For Your Music

In order to diversify your music career, you need a plan. You need to know what your main objectives are and how to get there. Then you can figure out ways to diversify.

So here’s a simplified process for creating a plan:

If you have a backup plan, that doesn’t mean you’re not all-in as a musician. That just means you’re being smart.

To diversify your music career is to innovate with the times.

Caleb J. Murphy is a songwriter-producer based in Austin, Tx. He also runs the blog Musician With A Day Job.

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How To Leverage Live Streaming To Find Fans And Build Your Brand In 2020

Posted: 17 Apr 2020 05:10 AM PDT

Let’s face it. It’s harder than ever to get noticed as an artist. You’re competing against 3+ million artists uploading over 40,000 new tracks daily.

Only a handful of artists breakthrough every year, but what about everyone else?

You can continue competing against millions of artists on the same platforms for the same fans. Or, you can try new channels to find new fans and build your brand.

Imagine being one of the first artists on Instagram when it launched. You’d have millions of followers just for showing up. Nowadays, it’s a struggle for every follow and like.

You can’t go back in time, but you can be a trailblazer for what’s next in music - live streaming in NEXT Music.

THE WORLD OF LIVE STREAMING

I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t live streaming just for gamers? No way. Gamers just embraced live streaming faster than artists.

Gaming streamers like Ninja and PewDiePie are amassing millions of fans, earning millions of dollars and driving billions of views to sites like Twitch and YouTube. While a lot of artist streamers are putting a camera on stage, and expecting new fans to find them.

Gaming streamers use live streaming to connect and interact with viewers, sharing their gaming experience and intimate details of their lives. While a lot of artist streamers see streaming as another channel to distribute content.

Music fans don’t want to passively watch a concert and never be acknowledged. They don’t care about a camera on stage.

They want a connection with you, and to feel like they’re part of your crew. Streaming from your home, hotel or studio is much more powerful because you’re opening up your inner world to them.

That’s the point.

The beauty of live streaming is your direct, raw connection with the audience. With just a laptop and wifi, you can stream into millions of homes around the world.

The reward is a passionate global fanbase who listens to your music, supports you, and champions your brand to their friends and family. Imagine knowing you have an audience of 100,000 waiting for your next track, your next tee shirt, or next tour date because they believe in you and your music.

To maximize the experience, you have to interact with viewers to transform them into diehard fans. You have to show up every week. Most importantly, you have to be willing to open up about your music, your creative process, and yourself.

At NEXT Music, we’re helping artists leverage live streaming to build their brands, find new fans and earn money.

It’s not like Twitch or YouTube where the audience is there for gaming or just killing time. NEXT Music is packed with millions of music lovers, actively looking to discover and support developing artists.

Artists can connect with music lovers and turn them into true fans. Passionate fans who will follow you, support you and spread the word about your music.

Some artists are already making over $200 per hour with one artist making over $700 per hour on a consistent basis.

We’ve created a free guide for you to learn how to build your brand, find new fans and make money. Get yours here.

We can’t wait to help you get your music out to the world.

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Seth Combs is CMO of NEXT Music, which is committed to helping artists build their brands, find new fans and make money.

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