Music Business Hacks

In today's episode, we talk about two ways to create better melodies in your music. Whether it's a vocal melody, guitar riff, or keyboard lead, these are some simple ways to expand your creativity in order to make better music.

In today's episode, we cover some of the best, random ideas of the month...and end up figuring out that the common theme seems to be creating a unique, unexplored path for hacking the music business. Here are the episodes covered: Episode #152 - How Birthday Targeting on Facebook Works to Promote Your Music & Shows Episode #153 - How to Stand Out in an Overly Crowded Marketplace Episode #154 - Musician morning routines Episode #155 - 5 Hacks for Filling in Gaps on Your Tour Episode #156 - How to Scale Your Music Business Episode #157 - How to Stay Creative When You're Distracted Episode #158 - How to Be Self-Made Musician Episode #159 - How to Deal With Other Acts Who Have a Similar Name Episode #160 - Hacks for Doing Laundry on Tour Episode #161 - How to Get Better Pricing on Music Gear Episode #162 - Interview: Music Business for Rule Breakers with Damian Keyes

Damian is a social media strategist and a newly emerged influencer with fresh perspectives on using online tools for business growth. Damian graduated from music college at 19 and then joined the core team that grew the same college from 50 students to 800 before leaving at 23 to set up The Brighton Institute of Modern Music (BIMM). This is now the biggest independent provider for full time music education in the world valued at an excess of £60M. He is also the founder/director of DK Music Management, which is the UK’s largest commercial band management company, and Warble Entertainment, the largest commercial entertainment agency in the UK. Following this Damian used his experiences in business and music to begin creating daily content for artists hoping to grow their social media audience. This has expanded into a large online platform for anyone needing advice on their online strategy. This year Damian launched his book ‘The Rule-Breakers Guide to Social Media’ as another resource on this topic, which has

In today's episode, we talk about buying strategies that help save your hard-earned cash at the music store. Resources and Notes: Episode #3 - How to Get a Sponsor pt.1: Creating Partnerships Episode #22 - How to Get a Sponsor pt. 2 How to Make the Approach Episode #31 - How to Get Better Pricing from Merch Suppliers Episode #143 - The Ultimate Sponsorship Report: POP

Dealing with smelly socks and underwear isn't pleasant...when you compound that with a van full of people, it can get downright gross. But sometimes stopping to do laundry is a hassle because it's expensive and takes up so much time. In today's episode, we talk about hacks that make things a bit easier (and fresher). Resources: Dryel Starter Kit (bag with 4 loads) or refill kit (for 8 laundry loads) Woolite cleaning kit (14 loads) Bluffworks travel clothes for men Nau performance clothing for men and women)

What happens when someone else is using the same (or almost the same) band name, even if it's a different genre or they're in a different state? What about if it is your birth name? In today's episode, we cover how you can strengthen your brand to prevent likelihood of confusion. Resources: Episode 111: How to Get a Registered Trademark

Thank you for your patience. Music Business Hacks begins airing again tomorrow, July 28, 2018!

With the news around Kylie Jenner and now Paris Hilton claiming to be self-made, I decided to do an episode on what it means to be self-made in the music industry. What are the keys to entrepreneurship and to being a music entrepreneur? Resources: Entrepreneur Magazine - The 10 Obsessions You Need to Have to Become a Self-Made Millionaire Book - Music Business Hacks: The Daily Habits of the Self-Made Musician Book - Strengthsfinder 2.0 

One of the biggest challenges for music entrepreneurs is the distraction. Sometimes, we get distracted because of ourselves (like spending too much time on the internet). Sometimes, the people around us distract us. Today, we're going to focus on six key tactics to help with this so that you can stay creative and productive. Resources: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield (book) Music Business Hacks by Simon Tam (book) Anti-Social (app for blocking social media) StayFocused (app for blocking internet for windows of time) Focus Lock (app for Android phones on staying focused)

In the world of entrepreneurship, you'll hear the term "scaling a business" quite often It means quick growth to level up and reach new markets like never before. If often means getting outside investors interested. So how can you apply the same techniques and ideas into a music career? Resources: Episode 8: SMARTER Goals Episode 140: How to Create an Advisory Board for Your Band

No artist who spend time on the road enjoys gaps. While it's nice to have a day off occasionally, it also means days of lost income due to travel/logistics. So what can you do to get a show when it seems everyone in town is booked? Today, I focus on 5 different places that you can turn to for more leads. Resources: Episode 30: Hacks for Booking College Gigs The Touring Musician: A Small-Business Approach to Booking Your Band on the Road (book)

In the world of entrepreneurship and success, people are kind of obsessed with morning routines. Nearly every business magazine has an article on the morning routines of CEOs, authors, and innovators. In fact, much of Tim Ferris' books and podcast are dedicated to dissecting the mindsets and habits of world class performers. Today, we're going to look at this from a musician's perspective. Resources: Headspace - Meditation app 7 Minute Workout app (I also really like this 10 minute kettlebell workout video)  

A common complaint from artists is that there is simply too much music out there and that it is too hard to stand out. Today, we talk about the secret hack to cut through the noise and reach fans who are enthusiastic for what you're doing: developing and evolving your niche. Resources: Episode 16: Hacking Yelp for Your Music

Imagine if you could do something really special for your most eager fans on their birthday...what would you do for them? Would it be providing a special video message? Giving them a free download? What if you could target their friends and family and let them know you could do something like playing a private party or writing a song just for them? With Facebooks birthday targeting system, you could do just that! Resources: Facebook's Birthday feature & report

In the world of business, most people get confused over the difference between strategy and tactics. In music, it's no different: it's easy to get attracted to specific tactics, the individual approaches on how to get a result and only think of broad strategy as too amorphous and confusing. However, you need both to get there. In this recap, we discuss some of the best ideas in both worlds from this past month. Episodes Referenced: Team Strategy (mindset): Episode #130 - How to Start a Nonprofit Organization Episode #136 - Relationship Advice for the Traveling Musician Episode #137 - An Honest Talk About Being Married & Touring, Visual Artistry, and Inspiration with Faina Lorah Team Tactics (action): Episode #126 - How to Save Money on a Rehearsal Space Episode #135 - How to Get the Best Possible Rate on a Hotel Both/And: Episode #140: How to Create an Advisory Board for Your Band Episode #144: How to Get That Record Deal with Radar Label Group Founder/Partner Jason Davis

Did you know that YouTube is the world's second most popular search engine? While attention is certainly being divided over Facebook, Vimeo, and other options, it's still important to be providing content to YouTube and learning how to optimize it so that your content gets seen.  

When it comes to social media, quality definitely reigns. However, frequency is a close second. So how often should you exactly be posting content on Facebook? And when should you tweet? Today, we explore those answers with data. Resources: Tweriod - Twitter anlaysis tool Buffer - Content staggering tool If This, Then That - Amazing customizable internet "recipes" Hootsuite - Social media scheduling tool Tweetdeck - Twitter app to help schedule, monitor, listen Sprout Social - Social Media marketing (enterprise level)

Beyond branding your social media red, white, and blue, what can you do to promote your music on the 4th of July? Today, I want to share 5 innovative ways you can get more fans, sell more music, and get more promotion on this holiday (or any other holiday).  

In today's episode, we talk about how you can get unique press coverage (interviews and features) without a publicist or PR firm. Resources: Help a Reporter Out Submit News/Articles to Mashable Episode 9: Perfecting Your Pitch Episode 99: Writing a Better Bio/Press Release Episode 37: Band manager, publicist, booking agent, lawyer: who to hire and when? article: 10 Ways to Get Your Music in the Press article: 7 Ways to Get the Press Coverage You Want article: Clever Ways to Get Free Press Coverage with Zero Budget