Have you ever thought about using multiple cameras to capture video content? Are you interested in taking your video production to the next level?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I talk to Will Waters from NewTek, who shares about how to get started with multi-camera video production.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – The importance of video content

00:36 – Introduction to Will Waters

02:05 – How practical is multi-camera video production?

03:55 – The benefits of multi-camera video production

06:55 – Mixing and matching cameras

08:47 – What tools or gear do you need to make multi-camera video production possible?

11:22 – The video editing process and post-production

13:39 – How can you create better videos with multiple cameras?

15:57 – How technical is the setup process?

20:48 – What types of content should musicians be creating to engage their audience?

25:53 – How can we market and distribute video content?

28:30 – How important is it for musicians to be publishing video content?

30:14 – Closing remarks

Transcription:

David Andrew Wiebe: Thanks for joining me. You may have noticed that I’ve started talking a little bit more about creating video and video content as of late. There’s a good reason for that. You may have even heard that people now spend more time on YouTube than all other social networks combined, which is insane. In this episode, I have a special interview for you. Let’s get right into it. I think you’re going to enjoy it.

My guest today is the director of product marketing at NewTek. Here to talk about multicamera video production, I’d like to welcome Will Waters. How are you today, Will?

Will Waters: I’m doing well David. Thank you very much.

David: Is there anything you’d like to share about yourself before we get into the main questions about camera and multicamera production?

Will: I’d like to say I appreciate the opportunity here to talk to so many people. I have a background of music and music production live, in the live element really. Background of live audio mix engineering and doing event production and various things.

It came through the time when video was just being put onto the stage. I guess through the 90s and everything. I kind of saw this video thing. Well, it’s not that hard to kind of move in. That took a winding path, I guess into a road of now working for a manufacturer and helping develop product that hopefully solves some solutions.

But one of the wonderful things is taking some of those things that have been found in the audio world and applying them to video and kind of like vice versa. Bringing together all for artistic or storytelling experience.

David: I have some experience with both live and in studio engineering so hopefully there’s some overlap there and I’ll be able to relate to some of the things that you’re going to be sharing about.

A lot of musicians struggle with consistently creating video content let alone using multiple cameras to do it. How practical is it for them to even think about taking the production game to the next level?

Will: Well, fortunately, in today’s world of technology things have become – the barrier, I guess, to putting all this [together] has really been removed in so many different ways. Even the things that we’re carrying around our pockets, in these smartphones, the things that you could do from an audio perspective, they also involve these cameras that you can easily live stream to whatever platform, from a social standpoint very quickly and easily.

But again, taking that I guess to the next level as far as synching up multiple cameras and putting that all together, there is a little bit of complexity. It’s not nearly what it used to be but there is a little bit of complexity that probably is worth talking about to get around.

But it can be done and it can be done pretty quickly.

Music distribution services have made it easy for all artists to get their music on popular online stores and streaming sites.

If you have yet to distribute your music digitally, now is the time to get into it.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I explain the simple process of music distribution.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Music distribution

00:29 – The two types of music distribution

00:43 – Physical distribution

01:01 – Online distribution

01:15 – Is physical distribution worth it?

01:52 – The benefit of getting your music into online stores and streaming sites

02:22 – Music distribution services

02:54 – Choosing a distributor

Transcription:

Thanks for joining me. Today, I want to talk briefly about music distribution. It’s something some artists have been asking about. It’s fairly simple and straightforward, but it’s easy to get caught up in a lot of research and analysis paralysis so here’s a simple guide to distributing your music.

There are basically two types of music distribution. There is physical and digital. Physical distribution has become increasingly irrelevant as CD stores continue to close. Online distribution is where most labels and artist are now paying attention to.

What is physical distribution? It’s simply the process of getting your CDs into stores. There was a lot more that went along with that, and it wasn’t necessarily cheap to do, but it doesn’t really matter that much anymore. I will talk about how physical distribution is relevant in a moment, but it’s not on the scale it used to be.

Then, online distribution is the process of getting your music on online stores and streaming platforms like iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Deezer, and so forth. It’s quite convenient. You can usually do it with just one service.

Is physical distribution even worth it anymore? Well, in some cases it can be if you’re in certain niches. For example, if you have particularly relaxing music, then you may be able to sell it at spas. If you have children’s music, then you may be able to sell it in toy stores. Independent artists of course can make connections with independent record stores or cafés and gift shops.

Other places may be willing to carry your CD on consignment. That simply means they’ll take a cut of your CD sales and give you the rest. But you need to develop that relationship and probably show up on a weekly basis to see where things are at.

Okay. With that out of the way, let’s move on to the more exciting topic of online distribution, which is where most of the party is happening.

The benefits of getting your music into prominent online stores and streaming sites should be obvious. It can boost your credibility as an artist and make it easy for people to discover and listen to your music on familiar platforms.

Oftentimes it is necessary to utilize a music distributor to get your music into the hands of Amazon, Shazam, TIDAL, and many others. Music distribution services include CD Baby, Ditto Music, DistroKid, TuneCore, JTV Digital just to name a few.

Just for easy reference there are only two distributors I’ve used in the past. The first is CD Baby. I’ve used that for many years. I recently started experimenting with DistroKid. The interesting part about DistroKid is you pay a one-time fee to distribute as much music as you want in a full year. That means if you’re prolific in publishing a lot of music, there are certain cost advantages to being with Distrokid.

Music distribution is relatively inexpensive and low risk. Now, some distributors don’t have the best reputation. I’ve heard some are even late on payments or don’t pay you at all, so it’s worth doing some research before you decide on a distributor.

But don’t let your analysis paralyze you. Just get your music out there. You can always use a different distributor next time if you’re not happy with the one that you used last time.

Do you create video content? Are you using YouTube to promote your music?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I explain how to create great quality videos that engage your fan base.

If you’ve ever asked yourself what it takes to create unique video content, this podcast episode is for you.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Creating video content

00:30 – Why video content is essential for musicians

00:42 – Decide what kind of video you’re going to create

00:58 – Prepare your gear

01:39 – Plan your video

02:21 – Capture the footage

02:43 – Edit the video

03:32 – Refine your process

Transcription:

Some people have been asking me about video content, and it really is no surprise. Video is massive right now. People spend more time on YouTube than all other social networks combined. And in this episode, we're going to look at how to create engaging videos.

Video content has become essential for musicians. It's an incredible marketing tool and it also has the potential to make you money. So here are six tips to help you create video content that engages your audience.

Video content has become essential for musicians.Click To Tweet

One: Decide what type of video you're going to create. Is it going to be a music video lyric video, video song, or a vlog? It seems like an obvious step but it is an important one. Decide what you're going to do before you go out and do it.

The next thing you need to do is prepare your gear, and you don't need the fanciest gear in the world to create great looking videos. I use a Logitech webcam and my smartphone for most videos and it tends to be all I need. And if I'm recording my screen, I'm usually using QuickTime to do that these days.

In some cases, you may need a digital SLR camera or even a camcorder to get the quality of footage you're looking for. You may also require a lighting kit, microphones, various lenses, and other pieces of gear to achieve the kind of video you're looking for.

But if you have a limited budget, that's not necessarily a problem because you can still create great video content without having the best tools in the world. The next step is to plan your video.

Now that you've decided what type of content you're going to create, it's time to create a plan for how it's all going to come together. So, think about what you're trying to capture. What's the essence of the story you're looking to share? And why should people care about it? Why does this video need to exist? How is it going to be unique? Why will people watch? How many cameras will you need? Are you looking to capture multiple angles? Who needs to be involved? Who's going to be in the video? And who's going to be part of the production crew?

Storyboard your entire video if necessary. It might seem painstaking at first, but you will end up with a better-quality video if you take the time to plan it.

The next step is to go and capture the footage you need for the video. I would suggest taking your time and not rushing the entire process and capture plenty of B-roll or extra footage you can use in your video, because sometimes the most engaging thing isn't what you think it is.

Your surroundings also tell a story, so think carefully about location. This is a good thing to think about at the planning stage as well.

The next step you need to take is to edit the video and you may have heard some people say the money is in the editing. This is especially true for photography where any number of photographers can capture the exact same photo but depending on the editing process, they’re going to have completely different results, and this is true for video as well.

It's as much what you say as what you don't say. And these days brevity is really key. If you have great footage and great video and a story to tell, it’s okay to go longer. But you don't want to draw out the points either.

Releasing music is a fact of being a musician.

Marketing is the part that sometimes doesn’t come as naturally.

You can have a lot of fun with your marketing once you get the hang of it.

But just like learning to ride a bicycle, it can be a bit of a challenge to figure out how to do it at first.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I explore the five questions you need to ask yourself when putting together a promotion campaign for your forthcoming single.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – A question from a mastermind gathering

00:30 – There are thousands of different ways to market anything

00:44 – Five questions you need to ask yourself

00:55 – Who is your target audience?

02:13 – What marketing channels will you be using?

03:20 – How will you carry out your marketing plan?

03:44 – How will you be measuring the effectiveness of your promotion campaign?

04:18 – When will you call your campaign a success?

Transcription:

Thanks for joining me. I was recently at a casual mastermind gathering. It seems like all masterminds I go to are a casual nature at this point anyway. But there was a question from a fellow musician asking, “I'm releasing my single in 30 days. How do I build as much hype for it as possible?” The interesting part is that there are hundreds if not thousands of different ways to market anything.

The right way to market what you're selling is unique to your situation, your branding, your image, your genre or style of music, and so on. But I decided to take a little bit of a different approach with this. I broke it all down into five questions. You need to ask yourself these questions if you're trying to figure out how to promote your forthcoming single effectively.

First question is: Who is your target audience? Knowing who you're marketing to makes it much easier to market to them. Don't make any excuses. There are easy ways to figure out who your audience is. The first one is Facebook Insights. They collect a lot of data on the people that like your page. You need to look at the demographics. What's the age range of the people? What's the gender?

Another great tool is alexa.com. So, let's say that you have a KISS tribute band and you're trying to figure out who your fans are. You can go to alexa.com. Scroll to the bottom. Find the header that says, “browse top sites”. Then you would enter kissonline.com. You can learn a lot about their audience just by looking at that page.

There's also a great tool called the SimilarWeb. It's similar to Alexa, and you can do a lot of similar research on their site, although it will provide you with more detail. Combining those searches will give you a clearer picture of who your fan base is.

Don't pretend like you don't sound like another artist or band out there because virtually every musician does. So, think of who you sound like. Who have people told you that you sound like? Search for those websites on sites like Alexa or SimilarWeb. You'll gain some insights into people who like that type of music already.

The next question is: What marketing channels will you be using? Your answer to this question should never be “every channel available.” Because like I said at the outset, there are probably thousands of them out there, so you want to narrow your focus.

Personally, I like to 80/20 my marketing. I'll spend 80% of my time doing the things that I know will help me get the best results possible. Then 20% of my time on experimental marketing – trying different things that I don't know whether or not they will work.

But I would suggest limiting your focus based on who you know your audience to be. Although completely unusual, and this probably wouldn't happen, if your audience is not on Facebook, then it's a waste of time to spend your time marketing there, so, why would you? That's just an example. You might pick out Twitter or Google+ or Pinterest as other locations w...

In the last episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I compared music entrepreneurship to creative alchemy.

But I wanted to go deeper into creative alchemy as a practice, and that’s what I focus on in this episode.

Find out why so many artists and creative entrepreneurs are resonating deeply with this term.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Creative alchemy

00:33 – The resonance of the term “creative alchemy”

01:21 – Creative alchemy describes you as a whole

01:47 – Strengths I’ve developed through the years

02:12 – Jobs I’ve had

02:28 – Leveraging many of your skills at the same time

02:41 – Video shoot example

04:01 – Embracing the skills you’ve developed

04:52 – It’s okay to be multitalented

05:10 – What creative alchemy is

05:23 – Creative alchemy as a vehicle

05:33 – My new course

Transcription:

Welcome back. You could probably tell I’m a little stuffed up right now but I am all right.

In the last episode, I talked about the rise of creative alchemy. I compared and contrasted it with music entrepreneurship. Some of the similarities as well as differences that do exist.

In this episode, I just want to explore what it is and why it’s important. It is a term that I’ve started dropping into more conversations. The interesting part is everywhere I go, people are resonating with the term “creative alchemy”.

I find creative people love it because sometimes they have a hard time putting what they do into a box. I think artists naturally shy away from categorization though this can be to our detriment when we’re trying to sell the things that we create.

People latch onto what they can relate to. Think about the way people describe things when they are trying to make a comparison. They might say something like, “It’s like riding a rollercoaster, only in space.” Maybe you haven’t experienced it before but you can kind of imagine what that would be like. That’s a little formula that can work in a variety of situations. "It’s like blank except in blank".

Sales is another topic for another time but creative alchemy describes you as a whole as opposed to the parts that make up the whole. Every experience you’ve had. Every skill you’ve mastered. Every talent you’ve developed. Although it can be hard to know how these things can come together.

My former roommate was a believer that the job that was meant for you was one where you got to leverage everything you'd ever experienced. I rather like that philosophy myself.

The job that's meant for you is one where you get to leverage everything you've ever experienced.Click To Tweet

So, here are some of the strengths I've developed through the years just to give you an example: Drawing, painting, graphic design, web design, video and multimedia design, blogging, writing, songwriting, producing music, mixing and mastering music, playing guitar and bass, teaching, reviewing movies, video games, TV shows, music, and various other products, marketing, social media, and many others.

I've worked in a variety of jobs such as retail, sales, music instruction, audiovisual, ghostwriting, freelance writing among other areas.

Some of you out there have way more talent, skills, and experiences than I have. Especially in the job world because I've been self-employed for most of my adult life. No, I don't necessarily get to use these skills all at once, and yet I frequently find myself in situations where I get to leverage many of them at the same time. I think that is the practice of creative alchemy.

Recently, I was helping organize a video shoot for a client. This isn't something I've done before but everything about it was strangely familiar.

I wasn't the primary videographer but I manned the second camera and I was completely comfortable doing that. I came prepared with scripts in hand so we could maximize the time we had and get the footage we needed efficiently.

Have you ever taken inventory of all the skills and talents you possess?

Are you leveraging them to the degree you could be?

We as musicians aren’t just creatives anymore. We aren’t just business people either. We’re creative alchemists.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, you’ll learn what it means to be a creative alchemist.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – The rise of creative alchemy

00:26 – The excessive focus on self

01:15 – How the artistic cycle is flawed

01:41 – Why we shouldn’t be anti-establishment

02:39 – What is creative alchemy?

03:04 – Thinking like a content creator

03:24 – The need for knowledge and information

03:42 – People already like you, so demonstrate your passion

04:10 – The daily deployment

04:44 – The importance of relationships

05:08 – Collaboration

05:55 – Creating a unique experience for your fans

06:16 – Knowledge alone isn’t power

06:44 – Thanks and leave a comment

Transcription:

Thanks for joining me. Today, I wanted to talk about the rise of creative alchemy. I’ve been an advocate and a supporter for the concept of music entrepreneurship for a long time now. But I’m beginning to see some flaws in what that means for people.

The main issue is how much time and effort we focus on self. We think about how much we know, how much work we’ve put in, the knowledge that we’re gaining, how many books we’ve read, how many podcasts we’ve listened to, what skills we have, what people we know.

It’s all about self, self, self. We forget that there are so many other pieces that make this whole thing work. It’s not just about us, it’s about the fans. And it’s also about the team that you build around you. Without that, you can’t call it entrepreneurship, it’s just solopreneurship.

I’ve talked to many entrepreneurs and some of them even say solopreneurship is not a real thing. That doesn’t even exist.

I think a better place to put our attention would be on building teams and collaboration and working with others in coming up with ideas together because that’s really where some of the best ideas come from –  brainstorming with others and masterminding with others.

The Artistic Cycle

Recently, I’ve been talking more and more about why the artistic cycle is flawed. As it really doesn’t serve the fan, essentially what it is: First, we start writing our album. Then we record and publish our album. Then we promote and go on tour. Then we stop possibly even for several years before we start all over again.

But today, your fans really can’t wait that long, especially your most loyal fans. They want to see more from you. They want to be able to purchase more. I’ve even talked about the fact that they are willing to spend more money with you if you just give them the opportunity.

Anti-Establishment

There are some really interesting ideas out there about music entrepreneurship. Some people seem to be promoting this idea of anti-establishment. In other words, forget the labels, forget the marketing companies, forget whoever else might be willing or able to help you. Let’s just go out and do this on our own.

Don’t get me wrong, I also believe the best way to build your career is often to manage it and oversee it yourself rather than relying on somebody else to make it happen.

But I also haven’t been too quick to say let’s tear down the establishment. Why? Because that establishment could be leveraged.

Essentially what you’re doing, if you’re becoming a music entrepreneur is creating your own establishment. So, it doesn’t make any sense to be anti-establishment. Those two concepts are completely in conflict with each other.

What I believe we should do is connect with establishments just like our own and partner up with them and leverage those connections to further our careers.

We shouldn’t be working with anybody who’s going to be dishonest or disloyal, but at the same time,

Don’t get me wrong – one hit song can make a big difference in your career. And we should all be grateful should such an opportunity present itself.

It is all you need to “make it” in the music industry though? Is that how you’ll make the greatest impact possible?

I believe this is an important question to explore, especially if you’re thinking one big hit is all you need.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Thanks for joining me

00:21 – The significance of one hit song

00:31 – An important question to ask

00:56 – Do you need viral content?

01:16 – The ripple effect of impact

01:33 – Why consistency is important & the compound effect

02:12 – Go after what you believe in

02:41 – Leave a comment

Transcription:

Hey there. Thanks for joining me. This is something I've been thinking about more and more as of late. We're often told that all we need is one hit song. Superstardom, and fame, and wealth, and everything is just one hit song away. That's it.

But I have a question to ask. Is it more important to have a hit song or is it more important to stay consistent at the work that you need to do to get to where you want to go?

I think you can tell from my tone of voice and everything else that I think consistency and showing up to bat is more important really than trying to create a hit song.

Here's why: I don't need a huge viral blog post or podcast episode or YouTube video virtually ever. Those things may be in my future and that's great, and I look forward to the day where I'm reaching more people and my impact is maximized, but I'm more interested presently in making a difference where I am because the ripple out effect is always much greater than where it originated.

I could be a catalyst for a lot of positive change. I may not even see or hear about it, but if I can start that change and be that catalyst, that's what's important to me.

So, if I only reach 100 people with every content piece that I create, that's enough for me. That's awesome.

Here's why: Because I'm going to keep showing up. I'm going to keep going up to bat hundreds of times, thousands of times, tens of thousands of times, or my entire lifetime as I continue to write new songs, put out new videos, write new blog posts, and put together podcast episodes.

The compound effect of everything that I continue to do over time, the impact of that will be much greater than just trying to get to one hit song.

So, I don't want to discourage anybody for going for that hit song because it's awesome. And if I happen to write one in my lifetime – and when I say hit song, it's really just a metaphor for anything you do creatively – but if I happened to write one in this lifetime, awesome. It's not like I'm going to turn it down.

If that’s what you’re going for, cool! But for many of us, the greatest impact we can make is actually showing up consistently, so I encourage you to think about that and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

For many of us, the greatest impact we can make is showing up consistently.Click To Tweet

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Have you ever heard of mastermind groups?

What are they? Who are they for? Should you be a part of one?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I explain the importance of joining and actively participating in mastermind groups.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Mastermind group for musicians

00:18 – What is a mastermind?

00:39 – Why join a mastermind?

01:35 – Does a mastermind cost money?

02:13 – Who are masterminds for?

03:40 – Finding masterminds in your locality

04:10 – Closing questions

Transcription:

Thanks for joining me. Today, I wanted to look at Mastermind Groups for musicians.

What is a mastermind? It’s basically a gathering of people who are committed to achieving more and helping others do the same. It’s often a weekly, biweekly, or monthly gathering.

Sometimes there’s money involved, sometimes not, but everybody is there to talk about their business or what they’re up to and what problems they’re encountering.

Why would you want to join a mastermind? First of all, you can get accountability. So, others will be holding you accountable [to your goals] if you join a mastermind, which means you’ve got to take action on the steps that you decide on.

The other people in the group are going to give you ideas on what you could be doing to advance your career, so you must commit to action after you’ve decided on what it is you’re going to do next.

Masterminds can provide motivation, especially after hearing other people’s stories and what they are up to and the successes they’ve had. It’s inevitable that you’re going to feel more inspired and motivated to take action and take yourself to the next level.

Masterminds can provide motivation.Click To Tweet

Masterminds can help you generate new ideas that will help you take your career further. You may also come across cross-promotion opportunities. Everybody in a mastermind group is generally serious about their career or business and they may look for opportunities to incorporate you into their endeavors.

Does a mastermind cost money? In some cases, it does, but I’m not necessarily suggesting that you should go and join one that’s going to cost you $10,000 per month. To get started, you should either find a low cost one or one that you can join for free.

Another great alternative is to start your own. It doesn’t have to be formal, it could be a loose gathering of six other musicians that you each discuss what challenges you’re encountering and what you’re trying to overcome.

I think you’ll get the most benefit from masterminds when it is done consistently and when there is some money involved because you’re going to take it more seriously but if you just want to start and see what it looks like and try it out for a while then this is not a bad option.

Who are masterminds for? Well, they are not for everybody. It’s for people that are forward thinking and want to grow their careers. It’s for people who are serious about advancing and taking action steps every single day.

If you’re not serious about taking action based on the information available to you, you could even get kicked out of a mastermind so it’s not worth joining unless you are committed to what you’re doing.

You may not know it yet but if you join a mastermind, you’re going to grow as an individual and as a musician. Through that process, you’re going to become more knowledgeable, more resourceful and more able to help others with their businesses and careers. So, you’re going to learn an incredible amount and become a more resilient person.

You could then turn around and use that knowledge and experience to help others and grow their businesses and careers. Joining a mastermind group and staying with it over the long haul will give you opportunities to give back to others and this isn’t this what it’s all about?

Now you may not resonate with that and that’s perfectly okay and that might be one s...

Have you ever heard of affiliate marketing?

It’s pretty cool – you get to promote products other people have created and earn commissions on them. That’s right, you can make money from things you didn’t even have to create!

In this episode, I talk about how to get started in affiliate marketing and strategies you can use to get people to click on your affiliate links.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Overlooked opportunities for musicians and affiliate marketing

00:43 – What is affiliate marketing?

01:06 – What businesses, services, or products can you promote?

01:30 – How to promote affiliate products

01:44 – Strategy #1 – Including links in your blog post or website pages

01:58 – Strategy #2 – Creating a resources or recommended products page on your website

02:24 – Strategy #3 – Create product reviews

02:58 – The importance of affiliate disclaimers

03:35 – Getting started in affiliate marketing

04:00 – Affiliate marketing is hard work

04:15 – Thanks and leave a comment

Transcription:

Thanks for joining me. Recently, I've been talking about some of the overlooked opportunities for musicians, and affiliate marketing I believe is one of those things that is largely overlooked by musicians.

I think there's just a lot of misunderstanding about it and people don't understand it properly in order to be able to utilize it and make money with it. So, it is an opportunity to help you generate more income potentially.

It's not going to work overnight and it may take time for it to work, but that's okay because everything you do is really going to take some hard work.

What is affiliate marketing? It's very simple. It's the opportunity to earn commissions on products you promote.

Affiliate marketing is the opportunity to earn commissions on products you promote.Click To Tweet

Now you can’t earn commissions automatically – you have to sign up as an affiliate with the business's products or services that you are interested in promoting, but there is a ton of affiliate programs already out there so I don't think you're going to have any trouble finding some.

So, what businesses, products, or services can you promote? Obviously, you want to be thinking about your audience and what would appeal to them and what they would be likely to buy. It's no use promoting things that they're not likely to buy.

But other than that, there aren’t really many restrictions. You can just go to any website, any business and find out whether or not they have an affiliate program. Usually there's a link in the footer. You can also just Google it.

How do you promote affiliate products? I've broken it down into three simple ways. I think strategy one and two are relatively easy to do and anybody could set this up. Strategy number three is going to be a little more intense and not for the faint of heart.

Number one, include links in your blog posts or pages. Anybody could do that. All you need to do is copy and paste an affiliate link that they give you to promote your products through and then they'll track it for you and then they'll send you commissions when you've made some money.

Number two is create a resources or recommended products page on your website. To see some great examples, you can go to ChrisDucker.com D-U-C-K-E-R or even smartpassiveincome.com. Just click on “resources” in the navigation bar and you'll see what they've done.

The one on The Music Entrepreneur HQ is not set up very differently as well so if you just click on products and scroll down to recommended products you'll see how I've set it up.

Number three, and again this is the most effort intensive method you could be using is to create product reviews. It could be a blog post. It could be a podcast episode, and it could even be a video. Product reviews that are honest and talk about the upsides as well as the downsides of the product, what you liked about it,

It can be extremely challenging to establish a predictable income in the music industry.

But it seems like many musicians are trying the same things hoping for different results, which is the definition of insanity.

Ready to try something different? In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I explain how to set up your own online fan club.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Setting up a membership site as a musician

00:42 – Why set up a membership site?

01:27 – Who should set up a membership site?

01:52 – What you can offer your members

02:30 – The necessity of promoting your membership site

02:47 – Who will join your membership site or fan club?

03:08 – Building a membership site will take work

03:31 – Setting up a membership site

04:26 – Setting the price for your membership site

04:36 – Leave your questions and comments below

Transcription:

Thanks for joining me.

I found another thing not many people are talking about, but it’s something I’ll be looking at more so here on the podcast and on the blog, and that’s this idea of setting up a membership site as a musician.

You might remember fan clubs. Fan clubs are still a thing. Some people join them, and like to be a part of them. This is a very similar idea, except we’re going to be utilizing some of the best technology that’s out there to make it happen and automate the process and make it simple for you.

So, why would you want to bother setting up a membership site as a musician? This is something I’m working on for The Music Entrepreneur HQ as well, and there will be a membership option for those who want to be a part of it.

The main reason to set up a site like this is to generate recurring revenue. The problem with music sales in general is that you get one here and three there, and it’s hard to get consistent sales and predictable income from that.

Live performance is no different. It’s reliant on your ability to book good shows with good venues and keep them to their word and your agreement.

With membership sites, as long as you maintain or grow your member base, you’ll have consistent income coming in month after month which is much more predictable than most other things you could be doing as a musician.

So, who is this for? It’s obviously not for everybody. I’d say it’s for people with the time and resources to dedicate to it. So, if you can’t see yourself producing new content on a regular basis, if you don’t have a good backlog already, it’s going to be very hard to keep up with your members and to provide them with enough value to want to stay with you.

So, you want to make sure you have the time and ability to consistently produce new content they enjoy.

What should you offer your members? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

You can give them discounted or free concert tickets, exclusive content like songs, audio blogs, or videos, behind-the-scenes footage, giveaways or contests, opportunities to collaborate with the band, vocal or instrumental lessons, or even remixes.

The possibilities are endless. The point is to keep delivering the type of content your audience wants. You’ll figure that out over time. People will begin responding to the things they want, and they won’t talk about the things they don’t want. Or, they’ll give you negative feedback on the things they don’t want. Just adjust your strategy – it’s very simple.

Keep in mind that you will have to promote your membership site to all your fans. If this is not something you’re comfortable doing, I’m not going to tell you not to push yourself, because I think it’s a good idea to keep growing yourself. But if you’re not willing to do it in the first place then there’s no point. You must promote what you’re doing.

Keep in mind that your casual fans may not join, and that’s totally okay. That’s not the goal. You’re not trying to get your whole fan list on your membership site.