Musicpreneur: Making Money Making Music™

By GSD Productions

You've got the music... You've got the desire... You've got the passion... We've got the knowledge.

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How many episodes does Musicpreneur: Making Money Making Music™ have?

The podcast currently has 50 episodes available.

Musicpreneur: Making Money Making Music™ episodes:

December 14, 2020 Bad Puns, Peeling Potatoes, and the Common Bond that Keeps Us Swimming Straight (With a Special Guest Co-Host!)
James Newcomb here. I'm excited to share this episode with you, and also to announce that this podcast officially has a new co-host!
Jim Lambie is an outstanding bassist in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. He's a former military musician, and in his civilian life continues to teach at the military school of music in Virginia Beach. In a non-pandemic environment, he is very in-demand as a player and private teacher.
Jim is interested in learning the podcasting craft and business, so he's going to whet his chops helping out with this podcast. And it does need help as I've been quite busy attending to many other personal matters, so much so that this show has not been as consistent as I would like.
In this freewheeling chat, Jim and I talk about things like community, camaraderie, a pleasing personality and having a strong network of like-minded people to keep you accountable. These are oft-overlooked but indispensable qualities to achieving success - and then not screwing it up once you achieve it.
I think you'll enjoy it!

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51min
December 01, 2020 "I Choose to Play." European Trumpeter Flourishes In Spite of COVID Restrictions (And How You Can Too)
**This interview aired originally on the Trumpet Dynamics podcast. I wanted to share here because what we talked about is very relevant to entrepreneurship in general. jn
Conversations like this inspire me to pick up my horn, turn on my iPhone camera and just hit "record" and see what happens.
Floris Onstwedder is a trumpet soloist based in The Netherlands and Switzerland. In normal circumstances, he plays the finest concert halls in the world with his stunning virtuosity and lyricism on the trumpet.
In "other than normal" circumstances, Floris remains undeterred from sharing his gifts with the world. And although the present conditions are far from optimal, he has discovered new ways to share his gifts and build a following around the world.
Here are a few highlights of the conversation between James Newcomb and Floris Onstwedder:-Adjusting fire with coronavirus lockdowns...04:05-A thorough smackdown of the "let's wait for the government to validate art" argument...13:43-New opportunities to reach an audience thanks to the lockdowns...21:43
florisonstwedder.com
trumpetdynamics.com

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35min
November 12, 2020 The Universe Rewards Those Who Stay in Motion
I don't blame anyone if they choose not to listen to this episode. I recorded it while walking along the beach near where I live on the oceanfront of Virginia Beach, VA.
I thought since it wasn't that windy, maybe it would be okay. I think it was until I turned around, and the wind was coming right at me.
So it may be a bit difficult to listen to, but what I said was really burning inside me and I wanted to get it in your earballs before it's too late.
Too late for what? I have no idea. I just felt like saying that.
JN
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20min
November 04, 2020 What is the Most Offensive Price Point for the Musician? What is the Point of Making Money Making Music? Jeff Goins, David Cutler, Jennifer Rosenfeld and Yours Truly Have Some Ideas!
This gem of a conversation was recorded in May, 2018. It features Jennifer Rosenfeld - co-founder of iCadenza; David Cutler, author of The Savvy Musician; and Jeff Goins, author of Real Artists Don't Starve.
I had interviewed both David and Jennifer prior to this rendezvous with destiny, but Jeff Goins was fresh fish as far as this podcast is concerned.
It was a fun experience then, and listening to it again to get it ready to publish on this episode brought back a lot of good memories.
There's actually a cool story how I got a "big fish" like Jeff Goins to agree to an interview. I'll share that in an upcoming episode!
Here's a little bit of what we talked about:
-Working for "free" vs. working for nothing
-Stubborn on the vision, flexible on the details
-How to be your own patron
-How Michelangelo became the wealthiest artist of his time
Guest info:
https://www.savvymusician.com (David Cutler)
https://jenniferrosenfeld.com (Jennifer Rosenfeld)
Jeff Goins
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51min
October 28, 2020 "I Can't Work In These Conditions!" Screams Local Orchestra Musician on COVID-Era Performance Environment
The following is written by Allison Ross, who I interviewed after a well-meaning, but tragically misguided attempt at resurrecting a symphony orchestra's performance schedule in wake of COVID-19....
"I set down my violin case, give a signed form to the nurse, and take a needle prick to the finger. How will that feel while holding the bow at this evening’s rehearsal?, I wonder. But there is no choice – a COVID-19 serology test is a requirement to play this concert. Next, the pre-service health screening: symptom inquiry, temperature reading, N-95 mask distribution.
We should be in the city’s performing arts hall; instead, rehearsal is held at a public-school sports complex. For the next few hours, our music director will compete with the volume of a booming voice announcing the football game on the other side of the wall.
I navigate to my seat and realize that we aren’t assigned stand partners. Each chair is placed exactly six feet apart, and we are admonished not to budge them at all or the stage manager will have to readjust with his tape measure.
We’re also told that our issued masks must be worn absolutely at all times. A wind player is called out for having crossed the area with his mask dangling from one ear. Winds are only allowed to remove their masks once they are seated with an instrument to their lips. For string players – even the bassists, naturally distanced due to the size of their instrument – the mask is to remain on from the time we enter the building to the moment we exit.
The situational protocol is not simply annoying. Performing masked means an erasure of basic communication: facial expressions, rhythmic breathing, and necessary cues. When the connection is already lost between performers seated mere feet apart, it’s reflected in the entire orchestra’s cohesion.
Lack of a stand partner is highly disruptive. Most instrumental sections (especially strings) rely on a hierarchy of passing notes: the principal turns around to relay bowing or phrase changes, and their message slowly ripples through the section. This method allows for the edited content to reach every player efficiently and with minimal distraction from the conductor. Additionally, with a stand partner, one player can continue playing the material while the other turns pages and pencils in markings.
But tonight, we are each responsible for our own stand. In the time spent taking down a note, while making sure not to budge our chairs an inch, we’ve missed playing an entire phrase. There are awkward gaps and missing themes as each section player hastily turns pages for themselves and scrambles to rejoin the flow of the music.
This situation will worsen the following day. Since the arts hall is off-limits, our dress rehearsal takes place in the middle of a baseball field, allowing the attendees to remain socially distant. (Though outdoors, we are still required to wear masks for the entire duration of our time
onstage.) The whipping wind gusts cause pencils, music, phones, and sunglasses to go flying across our playing area. Even with clothespins, we spend as much precious time unclipping and refastening our music to the stand than with the bow to the string.
The operations manager makes the call fifteen minutes into rehearsal: this is unsustainable. Everyone go home and we’ll hope things die down before the next service.
His words are a chilling microcosm of the larger issue: Playing orchestra music under restrictive virus protocol has become increasingly difficult – and sometimes impossible.
“It’s better than not playing at all,” has become the habitual response, accompanied by a wry smile and a shoulder shrug.
I do not accept this.
I am no longer willing to make concessions that hinder our work for the sake of nonsensical policies. When musicianship is compromised, it defeats the purpose of taking precautions at all.
Let us play.
Symphonies everywhere are in deep trouble. Some of my musical friends...
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43min
October 20, 2020 The True Meaning of Entertainment, How NOT to Pitch Your Product, Altucher v. Seinfeld: Two Podcasters Geek Out on Podcasting and Life!
It's been waaay too long since I did a podcast for musicpreneur.com. I've done countless podcasts for clients of mine, as well as a weekly show w/ my decent and sturdy wife, Sana.
But sometimes you've got to indulge and do something for yourself. Today was that day. I asked my friend Jason Heath of the Contrabass Conversations podcast if he'd like to do a call, and of course he was happy to do so.
Funny thing, we didn't get around to actually talking about music. But we did cover plenty of preneur - so the mission was 50% accomplished.
In this wide-ranging, and dare I say, entertaining, edition of the musicpreneur.com podcast, Jason and I discussed:
-Why a podcast is like your baby...8:00
-People are into you, not the topic...10:30
-Why put out content when there's already so much out there?...13:00
-Your hero podcaster didn't start out as a rock star...16:00
-The true meaning of entertainment...21:40
-How to kill your credibility while pitching your product...32:10
-An unconventional route to success in the digital media world...43:15
Check out Jason's work at contrabassconversations.com
And James' at musicpreneur.com

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49min
September 25, 2020 Do it for Them, Not You: A Practical Approach to Confronting Performance Anxiety w/ Pastor Tim Conkling
"If you help enough people get what they want, you'll get what you want." --Zig ZiglarThat quote came to my mind as I was listening to my friend, pastor and mentor Tim Conkling share his experience w/ performance anxiety and how he overcame some of his own struggles with it in his younger years.
Tim is an ordained Presbyterian pastor. But he has an extensive history and interest in the trumpet community. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, receiving his performer's certificate before entering full-time ministry.
He also gave Yours Truly some valuable encouragement and coaching when I decided to make music my full-time craft in 2007. Well, he reached out to me a couple of weeks ago and said he wanted to do a podcast on performance anxiety, and I readily agreed.
Here's what he shared:Tim's Performance Makeover...11:13Never practice, always perform
Ungracious performers
Practice vs. performance mentality
Kill the ego when you perform
Perform any chance you get
Break the physiological and psychological cycle...19:40Dry mouth, sweaty palms
Inderol inhibits the sympathetic nervous system
Gradually wean off the beta blockers
Identity is tied up with your performance
"Identity is not tied to my playing"
Enjoy the moment, even your mistakes
What's at the root of performance anxiety?...27:05We don't understand the ego
Our identity gets tied into our playing
A big ego can give you lots of courage or lots of fear
Quit being selfish; become selfless and self-forgetful
https://amzn.to/3bykV6x (The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle)
How to stay in the parasympathetic state (if beta blockers aint yo thang)...31:55Deep breathing
Neck and shoulder massage
What teachers are really looking for in auditions (it's not how well you play)...37:12Tim's take on universities and conservatories in dealing w/ performance anxiety...42:37Resources mentioned:https://amzn.to/3bykV6x (The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle)
http://timothyconkling.com/ (timothyconkling.com)
Episode sponsor: https://beatinpath.media (Beatin’ Path Media)
Want to pick Tim's brain on performance anxiety? Send him an email! [email protected]
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49min
September 08, 2020The Fuel that Drives the KLT (Know, Like, Trust) Model Vehicle
“I’m not good at sales,” many people say.
The truth is, if you have a pulse, you sell. It may not be selling real estate or toilet paper to the local shopping mall, but you’ve got to sell. It could be a child selling his parents on why a cookie before dinner is a good idea. It could be a job interview where you’re selling the person or people on why they should pay you for your services.
It seems that some people are “naturals” when it comes to selling. While these people perhaps have a certain charisma in their personality that others lack, the truth is truly successful sales people have learned and mastered 6 attributes. You may use different words from what I’m using, but it’s the principles I want to focus on, not semantics.
These attributes cause people to Know, Like and Trust (KLT) you. The more of them you can employ in any situation where you’re selling yourself or a product/service, the better off you’ll be.
I liken this to a vehicle. Think of the KLT as the model of the car you drive while you're selling - be it a job interview, selling a course, an audition for the community theater production, lining up a gig at the local coffee shop, selling coaching services, you get the idea. It's what gets you from Point A (no sale) to Point B (the other party is buying).
Any product needs this vehicle. And the higher the value of the product, the more reliable it needs to be.
Now, there are 6 attributes, or elements which I liken to the "fuel" for your KLT vehicle. These things are indispensable for powering the KLT vehicle, and the more of them you can use, the more reliable the vehicle will be. I realize that other words could be used in their place, and there may be one or two other attributes you can think of that I didn't. Whatever the case may be, this list does a good job of summing up the issue.
So here they are:
Expert authority
Likability
Commitment and consistency
Reciprocation
Social proof
Scarcity

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34min
August 31, 2020 Streaming as a Community Service, Why the Musician is Like the Town Baker, and the Ongoing Quest for Community w/ Matt Steady!
When I interviewed Matt Steady on the podcast a couple of years ago, I was so impressed with his humility, talent, and cultivation of genuine community among the people who listen to his music.
So when I was thinking of people I could interview for the new version of the podcast, on the topic of building community as a foundation for the musicpreneur, Matt was one of the first people that came to mind.
Since we last spoke, he's released a brand new album: an intensely personal and therapeutic project that he's shared with whoever wishes to partake. You can listen for free at mattsteady.com.
In our discussion, you'll hear: -Matt's transition from corporate middle-manager to studio musician living off the love (financially and otherwise) of those who love his music...4:27-The first steps Matt took when he left his corporate job to be a full-time musician...8:30-Why musicians are different from other entrepreneurially minded people...16:15-Why Matt uses streaming services (Apple, Spotify, etc.) even though he knows it's killing the music industry...25:00-How community will ultimately keep musicians and the worthwhile venues alive...32:45-And much more!
Check out Matt on the web at mattsteady.com
Episode sponsor: Beatin’ Path Media

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44min
August 23, 20204 Marketing Lessons Musicians Can Learn from the Tourism Industry
My wife, Sana Dorry, was so taken by our previous conversation on how musicians relate to their music as a "product", that she wrote down some thoughts of her own on the subject.
Here they are:
Intangibility
Inseparability
Heterogeneity/diversity
Perishability
I wasn't sure how this would go, as it seems that Sana's expertise in the field of hospitality and tourism (which she teaches at the university level in Hanoi, Vietnam) doesn't gel with the needs of the musicpreneur. But we found a level of heterogeneity with the two topics that I think you'll find works quite well :)
Got a question or comment for Sana or me? Join the discussion at the musicpreneur.com mobile app! Just type in musicpreneur.com/app to gain access!

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33min

FAQs about Musicpreneur: Making Money Making Music™:

How many episodes does Musicpreneur: Making Money Making Music™ have?

The podcast currently has 50 episodes available.