It seems almost everyone is in Austin right now for SXSW...and that's a good reminder that sometimes it can be beneficial to go against the grain. When trends, movement, or industries all appear to go one in one direction, when is it right for you to do something else that can help you stand out from the masses?

If you're thinking about going on tour, you'll want to listen to this episode first.

Resources:

On Merchandise:
Episode 26: How to Calculate Return on Investment from Merchandise
Episode 31: How to Get Better Pricing from Merch Suppliers

On Touring:
Episode 33: 5 Tips That Can Save Your Band's Tour
Episode 36: How to Book a Band Tour, Step by Step
Episode 107: How to Keep a Tour Vehicle Running Properly
Episode 108: How a Tour Driving Schedule Can Save Your Life
Episode 155: 5 Hacks for Filling in Gaps on Your Tour

Today's episode is taken from a workshop I recently delivered through my nonprofit organization that serves Asian American artists, The Slants Foundation. It was a session specifically on creating a lasting impact - be it cultural, systemic, or industry. We also focused on bigger ideas of how to create a more sustainable arts career by re-examining how we think about relationships, tools, the maps we use, and other key areas.

Resources:

Watch the video webinar of this episode.

Learn more about The Slants Foundation.

"The best defense is a good offense." When unexpected things happen in your music career (and they will), what kind of plan do you have? How can you prepare for those situations?

Episodes Covered:

Episode #297 - Travel Rewards for Touring Musicians

Episode #298 - Getting a Logo or Artwork for Your Band

Episode #299 - How to Promote Out of Town Shows

Episode #300 - How to Get People to Respond to Your Email

Episode #301 - When Airlines Break Your Stuff

Episode #302 - The Buy One Get One Strategy

Episode #303 - The Nashville Round: How You Can Make Your Shows Remarkable

A Nashville Round is an interesting way to showcase songs but most artists end up getting lost in the mix. In today's episode, I focus on how the ideas of standing out in a round can really help you stand out in any kind of showcase: open mic, music festival, or just a regular show with a lot of different artists.

Today's episode is about the Buy One, Get One strategy that many companies are using to drive their strategic philanthropy efforts. How have you ever thought of using this to inspire a new model for growth and reaching fans with your music business?

Related Episodes:

Episode #40 - Strategic Philanthropy and Your Music

Episode #118 - Art and Activism

Resources:

Podcast - How I Built This episode on TOMS (a great story!)

Websites to find nonprofits: CharityNavigator.com and VolunteerMatch.org

And if you're looking for a cool nonprofit, check out The Slants Foundation!

After a couple of recent incidents of having my things broken, I decided to do an episode on what you can do when you find your instrument, luggage, or anything else busted up from air travel.

Resources:

USA Today article: Here's how to get reimbursed for your damaged luggage on every U.S. airline

How do you get people to answer to your email messages? When should you follow up? How many words should be in that first message? In today's episode, I discuss email best practices.

Resources:

Boomerang for Gmail

Today, we answer a question from Charlie Cook of the Kronk Men - check them out here!

In it, I talk about how you can really promote your out of town shows more effectively. You'll learn about the difference between push and pull strategies as well as specific tactics that you can use today. Remember, the key is that everything should be unique, generous, and resonate with your target audience.

Today's episode was inspired by a question submitted to MBH on dealing with designers. When it comes to getting a logo or images for your merchandise, what are some important considerations? In this episode, I'll try and help you navigate the issue so you won't have any problems.

Resources:

99designs.com

Are you taking advantage of the many travel rewards available for musicians? You could be leaving a lot of benefits like free flights and hotel rooms as well as discounts off gas on the table. Today, I talk about one of the least discusses best business practices that more artists should be taking advantage of: travel rewards.

Here's the system I use: 

• Hotels.com for booking accomodations. I always them because they have the largest selection available, competitive pricing, and give you a free hotel room for every ten nights you book - that's like getting 10% off each time. Plus, you can save the nights up and have a future tour taken care of. If you sign up here, you'll get $50 off your first stay.
• I pay for all of my purchases through my Chase Sapphire Preferred card. That's because you get 2x points for all travel and dining (which is almost my entire tour) and you get some of the best and flexible travel rewards out there. If you use my referral link, you'll get 60,000 points after 90 days - which is enough for two roundtrip flights just about anywhere in the U.S.
• Frequent flyer programs for American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Delta Airlines. That's because I tend to fly those three airlines more than anyone else. In addition to getting points from my Chase card, I also accrue rewards from each of these airlines for additional free flights.
• Hotel rewards programs through Hilton, Marriott, and IHG. While you don't get credit for nights stayed unless you book directly through the hotel, you do get other perks for signing up for their free programs like free wifi and bottles of water when you check in. I've also received upgrades as well. I don't stay enough at any of these hotels so I still prefer hotels.com for the place to make my reservations.
• Get reimbursed when possible. When I fly out to events or have an agreement where organizations/promoters will take of the hotel, I always offer to make travel arrangements and get reimbursed so that I can take advantage of the rewards points available.

Great websites to review programs:

The Points Guy: The Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards of 2019

US News: Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards

When it comes to hitting long term goals, what's more effective: a laser or a shotgun? Find opportunities where you can focus your energy instead of spreading yourself thin. One of the best ways is by focusing on that niche market.

Episodes:

Episode #291 - How to Dominate a Niche Market part 1: Find a need

Episode #292 - How to Dominate a Niche Market pt 2: Smallest Viable Audience

Episode #293 - How to Dominate a Niche Market pt 3: What if Your Audience is Too Small?

Episode #294 - How to Dominate a Niche Market pt 4: How to Find Your Niche

Episode #295 - How to Dominate a Niche Market part 5: Always Give Value

And if you want to check out the book Music Business Hacks, see it here!

Today, we talk about the power of giving value to your audience and why consistency matters. How did a company like Slack explode in popularity? How can you use channels ignored by musicians (like Yelp) to excel your career? How can you use these ideas to get TED talks? By giving value, of course.

Resources:

Other episodes mentioned:

Episode 16: Hacking Yelp for Your Music

Episode 21: It's All About Value

The early deadline for SXSW artist applications is coming up. Today, we discuss best practices for applying to SXSW and other major music festivals. Also, I have a special announcement regarding CPOC Music, a new music business conference designed specifically for artists of color.

Resources:

SXSW Showcasing Artist Application

CPOC Music

Today, I talk about how you can find your center, the things that you care about the most, so that you can build your own niche audience from it. What are the things that you love but others dislike (or at minimum, feel very neutral about)? And how can you leverage that to create authentic connections with others?

By the way, if you haven't yet, check out the DIY Musician Conference where I'll dive even more depely into this subject!

In today's episode, we'll focus on what happens if your audience is too niche. Is your problem your problem?

It's good to be back! I've been on the road relentlessly promoting my new memoir, Slanted: How an Asian American Troublemaker Took on the Supreme Court, but I'm resuming this daily show on music business.

Today, we're jumping right back into our series on niche markets. This time, it's about building the smallest viable audience. What does that mean as a strategy and how do you implement some immediate next steps to conquer a market?

Resources:

In Search of the Minimum Viable Audience (Seth Godin blog)

Slanted: How an Asian American Troublemaker Took on the Supreme Court

Today, I'm kick off a new series specifically on niche marketing and business development. This episode is focused on the foundation for any business: identifying needs to fill. In addition to sharing some of my own experiences, I'll also show companies like EZ Laundry and Netflix used similar principles as other artists in order to launch their businesses!

References:

Episode #190: How to Find Your Niche

People I've Interviewed with a Unique Niche:
Episode #6: DaRealWordSound
Episode 48: Dez Cadena
Episode #162: Manafest
Episode #258: Shannon Curtis

Today's episode was inspired by Terry Crews' approach to self-discipline. We're focusing on his 4 big tips for discipline with a specific focus on music business and entrepreneurs.

Watch the videos (part 1 & 2):

If you're slightly obsessed with productivity (like I am), then you probably think a lot about how to make the most of your time. In fact, the idea of "free time" seems like kind of a misnomer because you think of it as more time to work on your music business. However, today's episode is about taking a healthy look at developing a sustainable music business career - and that includes using your free time wisely.

References:

Episode #40 - Strategic Philanthropy and Your Music

Severe weather is terrible for music instruments, vocalists, and our vehicles but sometimes it can't be avoided. In today's episode, we're going to cover best practices and tips in dealing with severe weather.

Resources:

The best emergency roadside kit for bands (Kolo Sports Premium). It's only $45 and comes with plenty of things to deal with quick emergencies.

Accuweather Road Trip Planner. Check it before leaving for tour!

AAA Auto Club - If you do get this, just spend the extra bucks for their premium service. The extended tow range is a must if you're going through any kind of remote areas.

Verizon Roadside Assistance. This is my go-to.

How to Drive in Severe Weather guide from State Farm.

Michael Beinhorn has lived his life in the pursuit of artistic expression, first as a visual artist, then as a performer, and finally as a record producer.

Forgoing a promising career in medical illustration, Beinhorn began his musical endeavors in 1979 as co-founder of the seminal New York musical collective Material. The group’s singular style and strong artistic personalities led to their producing their own recordings out of necessity. As the band rose to prominence, in 1980 they were approached by Brian Eno, collaborating on the track “Lizard Point” from Eno’s acclaimed recording “Ambient 4: On Land.”

In 1983, Beinhorn co-produced Herbie Hancock’s landmark recording, Future Shock, which included the groundbreaking cut “Rockit.” The song, co-written and co-produced by Beinhorn, would become Columbia Records’ most successful 12-inch single ever, selling over three million copies and winning a Grammy in 1984 for Best R&B Instrumental Recording.

After departing Material in 1984, Beinhorn’s production career began to reach new heights. His work on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ breakthrough albums “The Uplift Mofo Party Plan” and “Mother’s Milk” was instrumental in propelling the band to stardom.

Beinhorn gained a reputation for producing a number of “high watermark” albums that have helped to define the careers of a diverse range of artists, including Soul Asylum, Hole, Soundgarden, Ozzy Osbourne, Courtney Love, Marilyn Manson, Social Distortion, Korn, Golden Palominos, and Mew. His recordings have achieved combined worldwide sales of more than 45 million albums, and he is one of only a handful of producers to have two separate recordings debut in Billboard’s Top Ten in the same week, with Marilyn Manson’s “Mechanical Animals” (#1) and Hole’s “Celebrity Skin” (#9) also earning him a 1998 Grammy nomination for Producer of the Year.

In addition to producing, arranging, engineering, co-writing, and performing on many of his projects, Beinhorn’s attention to detail and tireless pursuit of sonic excellence led him to develop and commission the first two-inch eight-track Ultra-Analog multitrack tape recording format.

In recent years, Beinhorn has turned his attention to the concerns facing today’s artists and producers attempting to maintain their creative ethics and focus on the recording process. He has been increasingly active in mentoring fellow artists and aspiring record producers. He addresses these and other pertinent issues in his book “Unlocking Creativity”, published by Hal Leonard. He continues to inspire the artists he works with to excel to greater heights, with an unwavering commitment to sonic exploration and creative excellence.

Resources:
Michael Beinhorn official website
Michael's book: Unlocking Creativity: A Producer's Guide to Making Music and Art

Other books we discuss:
Bhagavad Gita
Sculpting in Time

Templates for websites and tools by PayPal are making it easier than ever to create your own online shop for merchandise. However, a new option is becoming more popular: print on demand and dropship services. So which one is the right one for you?

Resources:

Artist Shops by Threadless

Merch by Amazon

RedBubble

Society 6

Example online store with Threadless

In today's recap, we revisit some of the big ideas you should be considering as you tackle a new year of music business.

Resources:

Episode #276 - The 7 Things You Should Do Everyday
Episode #277 - Are you marrying your fans or dating them?
Episode #278 - Can you Copyright a Dance move?
Episode #279 - How to Keep Content Going When You're in between Releases
Episode #280 - If you're going to SXSW
Episode #281 - Why Resolutions Don't Work
Episode #282 - Starting Your Own Label
Episode #283 - Replay: books, articles, podcasts
Episode #284 - How to Juggle More Than One Band

It's sometimes hard to put long-range goals into perspective when we're considering the many means of getting to them: touring, social media, list building, licensing, music industry trends, formats of releasing music, etc. but those are all tactics, not sustainable strategies that are scalable. Too often, we glamorize the hustle without thinking about what matters even more: working with purpose.

Today, we'll talk about whether or not it actually is a long way to the top (if you want to rock n' roll) and a better way of getting there.

How do you handle multiple music projects and commitments? It's like trying to run multiple businesses! In today's episode, you'll get some guidelines on smoothly handling each of your competing priorities.

Resources:
Episode #24: Why Every Musician Needs an Intraband Agreement
Episode #267: Interview with Carl Stuck

We often rewatch our favorite movies, TV shows, and videos on social media, but why is it that we seldomly reread the books that have made the most impact in our lives? There are a lot of benefits to revisiting content, especially when it comes to music business. So today, we're focusing on why and how to do it.

I discuss the pros and cons of starting your own record label for releasing your own music. What are some of the benefits? The challenges? And what is the point?

Resources:

Episode #62: Interview with Scott Stratton of Finance for Musicians
Episode #40: Strategic Philanthropy and Your Music
Episode #118: Art and Activism
Episode #37: Band manager, publicist, booking agent, lawyer: who to hire and when?
Episode #147: How to Get Press Coverage Without a Publicist

If you've been following the news on Fortnite, you'll know that they've been under fire for appropriating "The Floss" and "The Carlton Dance." It's raised a number of debates on whether or not you can copyright a dance move. Today, I weigh in on the issue and provide some insight into what you can or can't protect in the band. 

Resources:
Episode 24: Every Musician Needs an Intra-band Agreement
Episode 46: Protecting Your Music Through Copyright Registration
Episode 111: How to Get a Registered Trademark

When it comes to how you play shows and communicate with others, you should ask this fundamental question: are you trying to date them or marry them? Because that would have two very different approaches. Figure out what you want, then go do it...the right way. 

Resources:
TEDxDupontCircleEd talk - Once Upon an App: An Online Dating Fairytale

If you wanted to create a daily routine for yourself, what would it include? Today's episode focuses on the 7 things you can do to dramatically improve your success and build your career in a sustainable way. 

Resources:

Episode #202: How to Get Better Sleep on Tour

Episode #8: SMARTER Goals

How do you respond to news, trends, or memes? In today's recap, we discuss 3 episodes from this week that really came up as a result of viral content.

Listen to this week's episodes:

Episode #269 - Fake it til you make it? Why Buying Followers is a Bad Idea
Episode #270 - When Should You Keep Your Music a Secret?
Episode #271 - How Artists Can Respond to Spotify Wrapped 2018
Episode #272 - How to Recover From Mistakes
Episode #273 - CBD Oil and Its Effects on Musicians
Episode #274 - Interview: Julian David Stone on Photographing the Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, and more

Other Resources:

Episode #40: Strategic Philanthropy and Your Music
Episode 118: Art and Activism

The music industry is an ever-evolving landscape that is often adapting to changes in technology, the law, and how people consume music. However, artists often don't adapt to these changes well because we often create processes without a lens of resiliency. In today's episode, we talk about "future-proofing" your work and how you do business so you don't have to recreate the wheel each time you need to do something for your business.

In today's episode, we interview Julian David Stone. 

While experiencing the adventures that make-up his latest book, No Cameras Allowed - My Career as an Outlaw Rock and Roll Photographer, Julian David Stone grew-up in the San Francisco bay area. Eventually he relocated to Los Angeles after spending his college years at the California Institute of the Arts. He has since written screenplays for Disney, Paramount, Sony and MGM, the full-length play, The Elvis Test, as well as making several short-form documentaries on Frank Sinatra, for the Warner Brothers. He is also the writer and director of the hit cult comedy feature film, Follow the Bitch, which has played to packed houses all around the country and received numerous awards. Recently he began writing books with his debut novel, The Strange Birth, Short life, and Sudden Death of Justice Girl, about the world of the 1950’s live television, currently being turned into a TV series.

Resources:

For more information on Julian's work, see his website.

Favorite Books:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Howl and Other Poems by Alan Ginsburg
At Work by Annie Lebowitz

Favorite Podcast:
WTF with Mark Maron

Everybody is talking about CBD oil  right now but how does this supposed cure-all impact vocals? And speaking of drugs (natural or otherwise), how does that impact our ability to write or perform music? In this episode, I take a very business oriented approach to the science and trend of drugs. 

Resources:

Science Vs. podcast on CBD Oil
Mic: Science Reveals What Drugs Really Do to Artists' Brains
Study: Stage Fright in Musicians: A Model Illustrating the Effect of Beta Blockers
Medical News Today: 10 tips for singers to keep voices at prime
Leader Live: 6 Vocal Myths

No one likes messing up, especially on stage. But the real mistake isn't the bad notes that we play: it's how we handle problems on stage. In today's episode, we get insights from industry legends like Robert Plana and Miles Davis on mistakes.

Resources:

Episode #4: Don't practice. Rehearse instead.
Episode #43: Why Every Musician Should Have a Post-Show Game Plan

Spotify just released their annual cool year-in-review feature for listeners, Spotify Wrapped. So what can you do as an artist in response? Have you checked out the Spotify for Artists dashboard updates?

Resources:
Spotify Wrapped 2018
Spotify for Artists

Related episode: How to Get on Spotify Playlists

In today's episode, I wanted to speak to this idea that we should keep our best projects a secret. (Hint: we shouldn't)

Resources:

Article - Unsolicited Music Demos: How to Get in the Door of a Record Label

If you haven't heard the story of L.A based band Threatin, it's a fascinating one (read the latest here). It reminds me of another idea: fake followers and why I wanted to take a moment to remind you why having them is such a bad idea!

Resources:

Twitter Audit: https://www.twitteraudit.com/

Hype Auditor (Instagram): https://hypeauditor.com

In today's recap, we talk about my personal favorite ideas from the past week and h0w they ultimately contribute to the work of building systems (habits) for music business success.

Resources:

Episode #260 - Show Me, Don't Tell Me in Music

Episode #261 - How to Quit Your Day Job

Episode #262 - 5 Ways Artists Can Deal with Stress

Episode #263 - Why You Should Write Stuff Down

Episode #264 - Why You Should Double Your Performance Price

Episode #265 - There's a System for That

Episode #266 - Integrated Marketing Campaigns and Music

Episode #267 - Interview: How to Marketing Holiday Music with Carl Stuck

Carl Stuck is a songwriter and musician hailing from Louisville, Ky. For years a fixture in the Louisville music scene he has also done extensive touring with multiple bands through much of the U.S. and has worked with artists as diverse as Randy Owen of country supergroup Alabama and soulful American Idol winner Ruben Studdard among others. He currently works both as a solo artist and as the singer/guitarist of the progressive rock leaning Splintered Mind as well as playing guitar for the electronic Velvet Saints, and country Bryan Fox Band. He also regularly gigs as a sideman for several local acts playing guitar, bass, mandolin, and even cajon. When he’s not busy doing music you can find him trying to catch up on his sleep.

Resources:

Favorite Books:
Christopher McDougall - Born to Run
Decartes -  Meditations and Other Metaphysical Writings
Stephen Hawking - A Brief History of Time

Favorite Podcasts: Bar Star, Shooting from the Lip, Song Exploder

Favorite Gear:

Taylor 300 series guitar
Any acoustic with Fishman pickups
(Simon's recommendation: Fender Hellcat for an inexpensive acoustic with great electronics)

And be sure to check out Carl's website here: https://carlstuck.com/ and on social @carlstuck

If you've ever taken a marketing class, then you'd have heard of IMC, or integrated marketing campaigns/communications. The underlying idea is that it's about how many different marketing channels and distribution works together. But most of the time, it doesn't work because people fail to integrate the most important part of all: the customer. Today, let's talk about what this means for your music.

When something happens to you or you want to make something happen in your career, what do you do? Consider these situations: meeting an enthusiastic fan who has been changed by your life, reading a great article about music business, or connecting with someone at a conference: what is your system (habit) for following up and following through?

Related Episodes:

Episode #43 - Why Every Musician Should Have a Post-Show Game Plan

Do you wonder how you can get more stuff done? Today, I share some personal strategies for making more progress in your music career each day.

Resources:

Episode #368 – Scaling Up pt. 1: The House of Music

Episode #08 - SMARTER Goals

BOOK: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

How much do you charge for a performance? Have you thought about the strategy about your pricing? If it has only been based on the market rate (what venues offer or what similar rates you've received), I'd like to challenge you to think about changing your approach. And it all begins with doubling that number.

In today's episode, we cover the importance of documentation - especially when it comes to building up a sustainable music business.

Related Episode:

Episode #80 - Why Every Artist Should Have Timers Built Into Their Contracts

We know that creativity is great for dealing with stress...but what happens when creatives start feeling stress? It can often sap our creative juices. In today's episode, we discuss 5 powerful ways artists can combat stress.