The David Andrew Wiebe Show

It’s important to be aware of the rhythms of life and go with the flow. Sometimes, you need to take time in your schedule to think and reflect. Don’t ignore those moments.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I share why you need to take time to reset.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:18 – Early reflection

00:34 – The holiday season

01:21 – Challenging business decisions

02:04 – important realizations about myself

02:43 – Do less

03:44 – Evaluating the work you’re engaged in

04:06 – Reset

04:55 – Don’t throw pearls to swine

05:48 – The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship Pro Packs

Transcription:

As I record this, we’re headed into the last month of the year.

And, I figured it’s never too soon for a little early reflection. Typically, I would leave that to the beginning of the year, because if you’ve been with me for any length of time, you know I put a lot of effort into the early year content as it were.

This is the time of year when retailers go crazy trying to capture as many sales as they possibly can. The Christmas and holiday music start to spin on high rotation. Christmas lights begin to go up, warming the cold air and lifting our spirits. Well, that’s what it’s like where I live anyway.

I know that if I spent a lot of time scanning Black Friday sales that I could easily be tempted into buying a lot of things, so I try to avoid the hustle and bustle and instead concentrate on my projects.

But this time of year, I also like to spend time relaxing, watching movies, playing video games and so on. The cold winter tends to force me inside, and though I’m a huge fan of summer, this time of year isn’t so bad if you’re intentional about making it fun.

And, as I’ve already hinted at, it tends to be a great time for reflection too.

Recently, I’ve had to make some challenging business decisions.

And, these decisions were in-line with one of my theme words for the year – war.

The idea, from the very beginning, was to wage war on the mediocre and the things that aren’t serving me. But it took a while for the lessons to sink in. I’ve finally come to the point where I’m no longer willing to accept anything less than excellence, especially in the area of fulfillment and payment.

There were several things I said “no” to earlier in the year, and this is something I talk about in more detail in The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship Pro Packs, specifically the ones containing the video titled The Top 10 Lessons I’ve Learned in Music Entrepreneurship.

Little did I know that the hardest “no” of the year wouldn’t come until much later.

But having gone through the personal development work I’ve done this year, I’m beginning to see, with increased clarity, my way of being to this point. I can see that I didn’t have access to a different way of being until I discovered some things about myself.

In the past, I spent a lot of time engaging in pro bono or discounted work. I gave my best in situations where the people or organization didn’t deserve it. I took on projects at the risk of my own health, wellbeing and financial wholeness.

That simply can’t happen anymore. The steaks are much too high now, and the projects I’m working on are more important than anything I’ve every worked on before. I’ve come to the realization that I must protect that with everything I’ve got.

My business coach, James Schramko often tells business owners to “do less”. I now understand this better than I ever did. Doing too much doesn’t allow you to focus on the big domino.

What’s the big domino? The task, project or activity that could potentially make all your other activities unimportant or irrelevant. So, knocking down the big domino could mean knocking down a lot of the little dominos that are taking up space in your mind.

When coaching others, depending on what stage of business they’re in, I will advise them to go after that big domino.

First, it causes you to think about what’s most important in your business right now. Then, it leads you to prioritize it over other plans, ideas and squirrels that come to distract you.

So, clearing space in your life allows you to focus on that big domino. For me, that’s either marketing my current offer or creating my next one.

If I could spend all my time doing those two things, I could get so much more done. That’s not realistic right now because I have other projects, I’m engaged in. Those projects help me make a living, fulfil me in some capacity, or both.

But I am taking a more serious look at projects these days, and I’m letting go of what isn’t the highest and best use of my time.

My naturopath recently shared with me that he asked one of his clients why he was so successful. Apparently, he responded by saying that his secret to success was that he let go of five clients every single year.

Wow. So, doing less is doing more.

Doing less is doing more.Share on X

And, that’s why I’m taking a bit of time to reset and consider my priorities. As with any other year, there are things that have gone well and others that haven’t. I’ve learned and grown a lot, and that has helped me better understand my own value.

That’s probably the biggest realization of all. Like anyone else, I have bills to pay. Those bills don’t get paid when I take on projects that don’t respect me or my time.

I know that some people don’t have this problem. But it’s not uncommon in the music industry for people to charge less than they’re worth. Many musicians take free or pay to play gigs because they simply see no other way.

Business owners serving musicians often mark down their products, so they are well within reach for most musicians. Now, there is a strategic component to that, and I can appreciate that. But you can’t serve others out of scarcity. You can only serve them out of your overflow.

There’s something a speaker once shared with me that continues to ring in my ears. He said:

Don’t throw pearls to swine.

For those who are familiar with the Bible, you will know that this is an excerpt from Matthew 7:6, which reads:

Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

You may have heard the expression, “give an inch and take a mile” before. It’s the same idea.

When people don’t appreciate you or respect you, it’s not worth working with them. They will take more than they give, ultimately leaving you in a worse position than you were when you started.

Michael Port’s Book Yourself Solid and Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek both suggest that you should fire your worst clients. What you gain back in terms of peace of mind is well worth the loss in revenue, which will likely amount to nothing.

So, if you need to reset now, don’t wait until later. Do it now.

Did you get something out of this?

If so, I want to invite you to explore new possibilities for you and your career with The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship, specifically the Pro Packs, which are only available for a limited time.

Go to davidandrewwiebe.com/essential to learn more.

Upgrade to Members Only Audios for more exciting, exclusive training.

How do you build a strong mindset? How do you brainwash yourself into believing in your personal success?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I chat with Richard “Younglord” Frierson, who describes his approach, as well as numerous revenue streams musicians can tap into.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:18 – New podcast theme

01:03 – Monetizing the entire process of being an artist

02:43 – Going for broke and being a full-time artist

04:47 – Getting buy-in from your parents

06:19 – Problem-solving skills

06:54 – Marketing campaigns, outreach and going through the numbers

11:44 – Being prepared for the big breaks

12:46 – People in the music industry don’t have time to blacklist you

13:39 – Cultivating a strong mindset

15:19 – What types of revenue streams are artists missing out on?

21:42 – Licensing your music

27:42 – The value of building relationships in the music industry

30:38 – Other methods of monetizing your career

32:29 – Having a hand in everything

32:50 – What’s the biggest challenge or obstacle you’ve overcome?

35:18 – What has been your biggest victory?

38:06 – Are there any books or resources you would attribute to your success?

39:59 – Rich’s final thoughts

40:55 – Concluding thoughts

Transcription:

Whoa, what was that?

Well, a few months back, someone by the name of Brian Young approached me with the idea of writing some music to the podcast.

He politely pointed out that for a podcast that has to do with the music industry, I had very little music on the show. I thought that was a fair point.

I’d thought about updating the music and adding a few things myself, but I have so little time for that.

Brian offered to put together some new music for me to use in the show, and I decided to take him up on it.

So, what you just heard is one of Brian’s tracks, and towards the end of the episode, you will also be hearing a couple more themes he put together for me.

Be sure to let us know what you think of the new tunes in the show notes.

With that, let’s jump into today’s interview.

Richard "Younglord" Frierson

[Interview with Richard “Younglord” Frierson – transcription coming soon]

Conclusion

And I’m back to wrap up the episode.

I hope you enjoyed the interview. I know I got lots out of it.

You might not know this, but one of the main ways I generate revenue for The Music Entrepreneur HQ is with my books and courses.

So, as always, I’m going to offer a gentle nudge to check out my current offer, The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship.

I’ve received a lot of great feedback on this handbook. Christopher Sutton from Musical U said:

For any musician wondering what it’s going to take to make a living with their music in the modern world, this book is a tremendous all-in-one resource to answer that question for you.

Interested in finding out more? Simply go to davidandrewwiebe.com/essential.

And, don’t forget to check out our limited time offer while you’re there.

Upgrade to Members Only Audios for more exciting, exclusive training.

If you’re looking to achieve anything of consequence, you need a plan. A well-defined plan can help you filter through the many distractions that exist and assist you in becoming laser focused on what you’re trying to achieve.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I explain the steps you need to take to put together a strategy for growth hacking as a musician.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – How to be laser focused on growth

00:49 – The importance of a strategy and how to create it

01:00 – The problem with traditional business plans

01:31 – Your entire strategy needs to be laid out on a single page

02:02 – How to put together your one-page growth hacking plan

03:22 – Creating systems around your strategy

04:06 – Turning repetitive tasks into checklists

06:01 – Defining your target audience

08:11 – Concluding thoughts

Transcription:

As I said in part one of this series, a growth hacker is laser focused on growth.

The problem is that there are many ways to grow. In part one, I mentioned at least eight tactics you could build your strategy around.

If you’re going at this alone, you’re going to want to choose just one tactic and hammer it with everything you’ve got. Even if you’ve got a small team, you may not want to deviate too far from the central strategy.

So, at this point, you may not know what your strategy is going to be. You may want to listen to the rest of this series and then decide how you want to go about this.

Creating Your Strategy

But either way, you need a strategy, and it should be written down.

This is a key point, so I’m going to say it again:

Your strategy should be clearly documented and visible to you always.

And, I’m not talking about a business plan. There’s a huge problem with business plans – the information is laid out sequentially. The reason this is a problem is because each component of a strategy is – and should be – interconnected.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed this, but with most business plans you can’t just start at page one and work your way through to the end. You end up needing to jump around. This is a terrible way to organize information you’re constantly going to be referring to. To be honest, this is an outdated way of doing things too.

Your entire strategy needs to be laid out on just one page, a whiteboard or poster board. If you need more retail space, then a whiteboard or poster board is a better option.

So, one of the first hacks you’re going to execute as a growth hacker is in creating a one-page strategy that makes it clear who your audience is, what resources you have access to, what your value proposition is, what channel you’ll be using to attract your audience, what strategic partners and alliances you could make, how you’re going to make money, and so on.

There are different ways of putting together a one-page growth hacking plan. I think it’s best to make it visually appealing, and it shouldn’t be a wall of text. I recently learned about the Strategyzer Business Model Canvas, and I think this is one tool you could use to lay out your strategy.

Now, there are a few components we’re not going to pay heed to as a growth hacker. The Business Model Canvas has a section for “Cost Structure”, and cost is not something we’re going to pay a lot of attention to. You’re either going to put in a lot of sweat equity, utilize a bit of your own money, or find another source of funding before you even get started.

To me, the most important sections to use with a Business Model Canvas are: “Key Partners”, “Key Activities”, “Value Propositions”, “Channels”, and “Revenue Streams”. You’re going to spend some time thinking about “Customer Segments” but not a lot. We want to get our targeting down to broad strokes as opposed to fine-tuned buyer personas.

As for alternatives to the Business Model Canvas, you could also take advantage of Allan Dib’s 1-Page Marketing Plan or even adapt something like the Kanban system to suit your needs.

Again, the key points here are that you take time to document your strategy, that it gives you a good bird’s eye view of what you’re trying to achieve, and it’s visually appealing. So long as you follow those rules, the rest is up to you.

Building Systems Around Your Strategy

A business owner recently shared with me that there are three personalities in every startup. I’m sure he got this from somewhere, but I don’t know where.

There’s the Hipster, the Hacker and the Hustler.

The Hipster is the creative person who’s skilled at connecting with an audience.

The Hacker is the systems person. They create processes and checklists that enable the team to function at peak efficiency.

The Hustler is essentially the salesperson. They work hard to convert leads into customers.

So, if you’re running a solo operation, I’m inviting you to see yourself as all three. Naturally, you’re going to be stronger in one area and weaker in others.

But for the intents and purposes of what I’m about to discuss, I want you to try on that role of the Hacker. To succeed as a growth hacker, you need systems.

There are many ways to map out processes and procedures, but I’m partial to checklists. When I say the word “checklist”, I probably don’t need to explain it, because you’re familiar with that format and know how it works.

Sequential thinking doesn’t work on a strategy level. But it works exceptionally well at a granular level. Most tasks you do can be broken down into a checklist.

Let’s say you’re planning to utilize social media as a core part of your strategy. So, inevitably there are going to be repetitive tasks you’re going to need to do. Repetitive tasks should always be turned into checklists.

For instance, let’s say you’re going to be posting something new to social media every day. So, here’s what a minimum viable checklist or skeleton might look like:

Post to Facebook.

Post to Twitter.

Post to Instagram.

Post to LinkedIn.

Now, you’re not just posting to those social networks. You’re posting something specific in a specific way at a specific time. So, you would create a description for each step, detailing exactly what needs to be done.

For example, you might add this description under the first step for Facebook:

“Ask a question, such as ‘what do you like most about metal music?’. Use fun and engaging questions that people will interact with. This allows us to gather more information on what our followers like and how we can create more of that. Post at 10 AM each morning.”

Are there tools to help you create and manage your checklists? There certainly are.

For most people, I suggest using a free tool, such as Google Drive or Evernote. In Google Drive, you would simply create a Google Doc and map out your checklist step by step. In Evernote, you can use checkboxes to make your checklist documents more stylized.

If you don’t mind spending a bit of money, I wholeheartedly recommend using SweetProcess. This is an online app that was developed specifically for the purpose of creating and managing checklists. I’ve used it myself in the past and think it’s a great tool.

Defining Your Target Audience

There’s one more thing we need to talk about here and that’s defining your target audience.

Now, your music isn’t for everyone.  So, we need to get specific enough that you aren’t just sending your message out to everybody. At the same time, we don’t want to get so specific that you need to spend ages in research. What we need is broad strokes.

The good news is there are a few tools that make it easy for you to get a good idea of who your target audience is.

The first tool is Alexa. First, you can enter your own website, if you have one, and learn about the location of your audience, what keywords people are using to find your site, who links to you and more.

Now, here’s where the real juice is – you can also enter competitor websites and learn about their audience. So, think of any artist or band like you who has a massive following. Enter their website into Alexa and spy on who their audience is. This should help you construct a solid demographic profile of who you’re trying to reach.

Another great tool for analyzing a website’s target audience is SimilarWeb. As with Alexa, you would simply enter popular websites into their tool, which will provide you with some valuable data.

If you have a good amount of traffic coming to your website, then Google Analytics is also a good place to look. Simply look under Audience > Demographics > Overview and you should get a good sense of the age range and gender of people visiting your website.

Similarly, if you have a sizable following on your Facebook page, you can look at your Insights to get a sense of where your audience is located, what age range they’re in and whether you have a male or female dominated niche.

The tools I’ve just shared with you give you a good handle on your audience’s demographic information. But there is a great deal more you can learn about them if you’re willing to dive deeper.

Neil Patel has a guide on QuickSprout called A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Reader Personas, and that’s a handy resource if you want to create a psychographic profile for your audience.

I think that’s going a little beyond the level of broad strokes, but if you’re willing to do the work, then go right ahead. You can always start hustling after you’ve carefully crafted your plan of attack. Just don’t spend ages in planning, as that flies in the face of growth hacking.

Final Thoughts

Well, we covered a lot of information, but I have no doubt that you got something out of this.

So, as usual, I’m going to offer another nudge to check out The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship, specifically the Pro Packs, as they are only available for a limited time.

Go to davidandrewwiebe.com/essential to learn more.

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So, you’re putting together your latest release and you’re interested in promoting it. Or, maybe you’re a marketer looking to help a musician get the word out about their new album.

But what does a DIY music marketing campaign look like? What can you expect as you look to share your music with the world?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I share five things I’ve learned about executing DIY music marketing campaigns.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – DIY music marketing campaigns

01:17 – Music marketing campaigns aren’t always pretty

02:45 – Take advantage of spreadsheets to manage your data

04:03 – Music marketing is a numbers game

05:08 – How to get funding

06:21 – Powerful tools you can use for your music marketing campaign

08:55 – Concluding thoughts

Transcription:

Right now, I’m working on what I would consider to be my third major music marketing campaign.

I’m anticipating that I will be doing more of these in the future, especially since I’ve been working on a solo EP since August.

I haven’t said much about my EP to this point, though I do plan to create more content around it as the release nears. Stay tuned.

But that is beside the point.

What I wanted to talk about today is DIY music marketing campaigns.

Now, I will preface this by saying that the three campaigns I’m referring to were and are being executed on behalf of my clients. But most of what’s mentioned here is just as applicable to independent musicians or marketers looking to start their own campaigns.

And, if I’ve given the impression that the marketing campaigns I’ve been involved in were on par with what a label might do to market their artists, you should know that I’ve always been working with a small team on a shoestring budget.

But as I’ve discovered, you can do a lot with a little, especially if you’re willing to put in a little sweat equity.

You can do a lot with a little, especially if you’re willing to put in a little sweat equity.Share on X

So, the first thing you should know is this:

#1 – It probably won’t be pretty.

Where others are involved, there is always the chance that things will get messy.

You could end up saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, offending people, posting something to social media that’s not in character with yourself or the artist, uncovering opportunities that aren’t right for you, causing scheduling conflicts, miscommunicating your message and so on.

I admit that this was one of my biggest fears when I was first beginning to promote my music. I was worried that I might offend someone, or that they would berate me for contacting them in the first place.

Incidentally, I had to face some of my biggest fears when I was working with a music industry startup a few years ago. I did offend people and some of them did berate me. In retrospect, it’s not the worst thing that could have happened, and I doubt I’ve been blacklisted by the industry.

Either way, I’m not trying to scare you, but I think it’s important to set expectations. If you’re working with a client, then make them aware that mistakes may be made, but that you’ll be doing your best not to cause trouble.

And, if you’re working with clients, don’t be surprised if they call you a lot or send a lot of emails your way. This isn’t to say that these will all be negative interactions, but many will try to understand why you’re doing things the way you’re doing them and will ask for a lot of direction along the way.

You should be aware that you will have a greater responsibility to your clients, especially if you’re requesting access to their website, email marketing software, social media accounts and so on.

#2 – You should make friends with spreadsheets.

Now, you can use whatever system works for you. For my first two campaigns, I ended up using a Word document to store and manage all my data.

But campaigns requiring more outreach will demand that you be more organized. You’re going to need to keep track of who you contacted, what their contact information is, when and what the status of the request is, and so on. After all, you don’t want to waste time contacting people twice, especially when they’ve already said no.

As nerdy as it is, and boring as it may seem, I think spreadsheets are the best way to handle this type and volume of data.

As much as I enjoy this work, I admit that sometimes staring at spreadsheets is the last thing I want do, and I don’t feel like opening the document. But I will do it anyway because it’s critical to staying organized throughout the process.

Now, it’s also important to realize that you don’t need to collect all the data yourself. With my latest marketing campaign, I decided to enlist the help of freelancers on Upwork to put together a list of prospects for me. I found the quality of data provided was generally good, and I also recognized that creating a list of prospects wasn’t the best use of my time, so this was the right move.

I’ll be talking about some tools you can use to find viable opportunities a little later but suffice it to say getting some help with your research can fast track your progress and allow you to focus on higher level tasks.

#3 – It is a numbers game.

When it comes to music marketing campaigns, numbers do matter.

Website traffic. Social media followers. Email subscribers. Contacts. And more.

Now, you can start from scratch and still get somewhere. But with the campaigns I’ve been involved in, the clients almost always had a substantial following on at least one social network. Leveraging that was hugely important to the success of the campaigns.

And, when I say it’s a numbers game, that also pertains to the number of people you reach out to as well.

You can’t send out five emails and expect every one of those to respond favorably to your request. You can’t mail out 10 CDs to local radio stations and hope for the best.

You must be willing to send thousands of emails. You must be willing to mail out hundreds of CDs.

A percentage of those people will respond favorably to you. That’s just the way it is, and unless you have a particularly unique and brilliant campaign, you can’t expect better results. Some will get back to you, many will not.

Don’t be afraid to go through the numbers. And, don’t scoff at any opportunity, even if it’s just a one-liner on a blog no one knows. You don’t know where that could lead.

Don’t be afraid to go through the numbers. And, don’t scoff at any opportunity, even if it’s just a one-liner on a blog no one knows. You don’t know where that could lead.Share on X

#4 – You may require funding.

Earlier, I mentioned that I’m typically working with a shoestring budget. In the last two campaigns, it was enough to cover the costs and pay the people involved. But I wouldn’t say that those who got paid were rewarded handsomely. The amount to be paid to each person had to be worked into the budget and agreed upon beforehand.

So, those two campaigns were funded. The current campaign I’m working on is not.

I’ve written an article on Music Industry How To about where to find financial support for musicians so I’m not going to get into that in a lot of depth here. You’ll find the link to that article in the show notes.

But just to give you an idea, the money could come out of your pocket, you could apply for a grant, you could take out a loan, you could partner with an investor, you could crowdfund, and so on.

Now, let’s say none of these are an option. What other options do you have?

Well, you could always do what I’m doing right now, which is waterfall marketing. Basically, as the money begins to come in, you can reinvest a portion of that into your marketing. So, you would generate that initial seed money with hard work and sweat equity. Then, as the money begins flowing in, you can purchase tools, pay for advertising, and gradually put your campaign on autopilot.

#5 – You should level up your research skills.

Research plays a key role in the success of your campaign.

Research plays a key role in the success of your DIY music marketing campaign.Share on X

From identifying relevant keywords to finding worthwhile contacts, if you don’t know where to start, you could be at a loss as to how to get your campaign off the ground.

If you don’t understand why this is important, don’t worry, I’ll offer more of an explanation in a moment.

But the main takeaway here is that the more efficient you are at researching and uncovering potential opportunities, the better your campaign will likely go.

Here are several tools I use when working on music marketing campaigns and why they matter:

Ubersuggest: Ubersuggest is the best free keyword research tool available. Now, it might seem like keywords don’t matter. But if you’re planning to produce content to support your campaign – whether it’s videos, podcast episodes or blog posts – then you’ll find immense value in uncovering what people are and aren’t searching for. You can potentially generate more attention for your project by using the right keywords, especially long term. But it does take time to gain competence in keyword research, so don’t give up if it doesn’t all make sense to you right away.

Google Trends: Google Trends is kind of like a keyword research tool. The main difference is that you can see how a specific keyword has been trending over time, and whether it’s on a growth curve or on decline. For example, I tried searching for the term “music marketing” and saw that there is a steady rise and fall in interest that has remained about the same for the last year or so. Google Trends will also show you how much interest there is in a keyword by region as well as related topics and search queries. This data can help you find terms that could make a difference with your music marketing campaign.

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Life presents us with many challenges. And, sometimes we end up carrying our negative thoughts and feelings into a variety of unrelated situations without even being aware of it.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I share how you can “leave it at the door” and be present and fully engaged in everything you’re doing.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – The challenges we encounter in life

00:53 – The costs of burnout

01:43 – Anxiety and depression

02:37 – “No Ego Beyond This Point”

03:17 – “Keep Calm and Carry On”

03:51 – The baggage we carry with us

04:51 – “Leaving it at the door”

05:32 – Concluding thoughts

Transcription:

Every one of us has challenges in our lives.

It could be physical, emotional, mental, financial or otherwise.

At times, everything feels like it’s going great. At other times, it feels like things are taking a turn for the worse.

Adopting a long-term mindset allows us to make peace with all of it, regardless of how it appears upfront. Because it’s through those difficulties and challenges that we grow, evolve and find new ways of being.

There is nothing truly bad. But there is nothing truly good. It’s mostly a matter of perspective, because if your heart is still beating in your chest, there is always the possibility for change. Seemingly bad circumstances can turn around.

But if you’re burned out, it can be hard to see the forest for the trees.

I’m not talking about the kind of burnout where you catch up on your sleep for a few nights and you feel great. I’m talking about the kind of burnout where every positive action you take only brings a miniscule amount of improvement or relief. Maybe 1%. Maybe less.

When you’re going through that kind of burnout, you feel lethargic. You have no energy. You’re extremely sensitive. Things that usually make you happy don’t make you as happy. You waver between bored and restless. You’re not sure what to do with yourself. You may even be depressed or become depressed.

That kind of burnout makes it hard to distinguish what’s going well and what isn’t going well in your life. It all gets painted with one color, because you’re seeing the entirety of life through one lens. You want to see it another way, but your emotions don’t allow for it.

Look, I will admit that I’ve had my fair share of encounters with anxiety and depression – especially in the last two years. There has been plenty to get excited about, plenty to be happy about too. But depression and anxiety are quite common among musicians and entrepreneurs, and it’s worth talking about.

When everything is doom and gloom, you need a support group to lift you up. You need people in your life that will walk alongside you and encourage you. And, as hard as it might seem, you need to take baby steps to restore your health, your wellbeing, your emotional state and your confidence.

You can rest and sleep more, meditate, exercise, eat well, get craniosacral therapy and chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture treatments, massage and more. I’ll talk more about these in a future episode.

If all you can do is put one foot in front of the other, that’s all you can do.

But going through burnout has taught me something important.

I used to own a home studio along with my roommate and business partner. In due course, he hung a little sign above the entry to the rehearsal space that read, “No Ego Beyond This Point”.

Artists can easily become precious about their musical and creative ideas to where they don’t want to make a compromise. But when you’re playing in a band, it’s important that everyone work together and feel like their contribution matters.

So, I think what my roommate realized was that a lot of the conflict in that room tended to come out of a sense of ego. If you allow a song to evolve with the help and input of your band members, it can turn into something amazing. But if you stubbornly insist on your own way, you may cause conflict and achieve far less with your music in the process.

In Calgary, there’s a venue called Café Koi. Several years ago, I used to go to their singer-songwriter open mic nights on a weekly basis.

In the bathrooms, I would always see these words on the wall: “Keep Calm and Carry On”.

Every time I would see those words, I would take a deep breath and say “okay” to myself. Then, I would go back out with a sense of relief.

At the time I didn’t know that this was a poster devised by the British government in preparation for World War II.

Regardless of its original intent, I still recall that those words had an impact on me, even if it was small.

The point is this:

We tend to carry our baggage with us where we go.

Lately, I’ve been recording in the studio, going to rehearsals, attending meetings, looking after my autistic cousin and more.

Having gone through some of the recent challenges I’ve gone through, I’ve realized that it’s important not to drag your baggage into situations where it doesn’t belong.

When you’re at a meeting, you should be fully engaged in that meeting. When you’re recording in the studio, you should be focused on the task at hand.

Literally stepping through a door should symbolize you shedding whatever it is that’s getting in the way of you giving your full attention to what’s in front of you.

Literally stepping through a door should symbolize you shedding whatever it is that’s getting in the way of you giving your full attention to what’s in front of you.Share on X

This is something I think my current roommate does incredibly well. When I spend time with her, for the most part, I find she disconnects from her smartphone, takes joy in the present and leaves work and other struggles in their proper place.

Now, we all have our moments, and burnout is an example of something that can easily get in the way of us not fully engaging in the present. Unfortunately, one area of life can have an impact on every other area of life.

But as much as possible, we should try to “leave it at the door”. Don’t take your physical, emotional, mental or financial baggage into every situation. Clear yourself first.

Don’t take your physical, emotional, mental or financial baggage into every situation. Clear yourself first.Share on X

When entering a new situation, we should bring our full presence to it. Whatever it is we’ve been struggling with, we should leave it at the literal or figurative door and bring ourselves into this moment.

In a very real since, this moment is all there is. Yesterday has already happened. Tomorrow has yet to arrive. Today is all there is, and tomorrow will just be another today, much like today, in fact.

In a very real since, this moment is all there is. Yesterday has already happened. Tomorrow has yet to arrive. Today is all there is, and tomorrow will just be another today, much like today, in fact.Share on X

So, that means happiness must be available in this moment. It is not available in the past, and it is not available in the future. It’s available now, and only now.

Did you get something from this?

Then I would like to offer a bit of a nudge to check out The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship, specifically the Pro Packs, which are only available for a limited time.

You can learn more at davidandrewwiebe.com/essential.

And, I look forward to answering you comments in the show notes.

Upgrade to Members Only Audios for more exciting, exclusive training.

Have you ever thought about composing? Have you already started your career? Are you interested in taking your composing game to the next level?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I talk to composer Steven Lebetkin, who shares about his forthcoming release, Perpetuum Immobile, New Age Chamber Music and his specific way of approaching composition.

Download the PDF Transcription

Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Introductions

00:23 – Who is Steven Lebetkin?

02:23 – Perpetuum Immobile

05:29 – What is New Age Chamber Music?

10:11 – Is it costlier to work with real instruments and musicians?

12:30 – Who are you influenced by?

17:33 – Is there a specific way you approach composition and making music?

22:24 – Is there a specific message you’re looking to share with your audience through your music?

27:32 – What are your plans moving forward?

29:23 – Is there anything else I should have asked?

Transcription:

David Andrew Wiebe: Today, I’m chatting with composer, speaker, and thought leader, Steven Lebetkin. How are you today, Steve?

Steven Lebetkin: I'm great. How are you today, David?

D.A.: Great. Thank you so much for asking. So, for those who don't know, why don't you paint us a picture of who you are and what you do?

Steven: Okay. Well, I'm a composer. I've been doing this for quite a long time. I started out in my young teenage years taking composition lessons and studying classical music, and going pretty much every weekend to Lincoln Center in New York at the Library of Performing Arts as a 13, 14-year-old young boy adolescent.

I just traveled to the library for years learning music, listening to vinyl -- yes, those were the days of vinyl -- and studying scores.

And then went on to college at City University of New York Queens College and had the very good privilege and distinction of studying with about five of the great giant composers of the 20th century. Unfortunately, no longer with us today as we are in the 21st century. Learned a very solid and rigorous background of traditional Great Western compositional techniques.

That forms the basis of all of my work for many decades since then in whatever style I choose to write. Whether it’s classical, symphonic, popular, or commercial, new age, as we're going to be talking about shortly in this interview medium than any other framework.

So, I have a solid foundation of compositional technique which gives me the ability to build and create in whatever language or style is called for at the time.

D.A.: That's great. Composing is definitely an art form. You have a new album on the way and I want to make sure I'm saying this right, although I'm not sure I am. Titled Perpetuum Immobile. What can you tell us about it?

Steven: Well, it's Perpetuum Immobile.

D.A.: Immobile.

Steven: Yes, correct. That’s the title track of the album and the title of that track seemed to get a good sense of what the sound is and who is on that track for the listener.

D.A.: So, what sort of mood were you trying to evoke with this music?

Steven: Well, it wasn't really such a mood. I was actually… I gave a considerable amount of thought and preparation prior to the composition and then ultimately the production of this album to music in the 21st century, particularly for a larger commercial audience as what's going on in the last 15, 20 years and how I could approach a commercial genre with a sense of compositional integrity at the same time but not losing the audience to something that was too deep or too deeply entrenched in the classical or you know avant garde 20th century type of sound.

The idea was consistent with my other works to approach and embrace a much wider audience than classical music generally is able to achieve, which is declining. The audience is declining, that's pretty well established.

The idea was to take a classical set of contemporary techniques, actually a classical set of techniques, and apply that into a very, very appealing set of compositional styles that people can really relate to and enjoy without getting lost. Not too challenging but just enough so that it bears repeated listenings. That's the key.

You want to be able to write music that is not only here for today but will be here tomorrow, where each time the listener presses the play button for one or more of the tracks on the album, hears something new that they hadn't heard or focused on before.

That's the key to writing great music in the classical vein or the jazz vein or any other vein. So that you could hear it again and derive some additional sense of joy that maybe they didn't get some of the other times.

D.A.: Yeah. I think that's great because I think a lot of the music that I've come to love certainly has layers and depth to it that I wouldn't have noticed the first time around. And there's yeah, there's many albums like that that I definitely have an appreciation for. I think you describe this kind of as New Age chamber music. So, what is that?

Steven: That's a very interesting question. A lot of the new age music by definition and the way that music is structured and laid out for the listener has quite a bit of space in it. Whether you’re dealing with music, let's say by Arvo Pärt, which has a great amount of repetition or some of the other contemporary artists like Einaudi, Max Richter, and the late Jóhann Jóhannsson.

So, what I did was… And then a lot of the other New Age artists are heavily reliant on sound design and effects to do to this kind of ethereal, transcendent, universal feel, in a very slow-moving sound palette and environment.

So, in order to go just a notch or two up in complexity but without losing the audience, one of the things that I decided to do in the planning of the music for this album is to start from the base level of actual live instruments.

Live instruments of course are the environment that a lot of great classical music is written. And of course, chamber music, which gives that intimate sound. You want to be able to give an intimate sound even if it's on headsets or speakers. You want to be able to have that sense of human intimacy in music that's not just filled with kind of these ethereal type of sounds and sense and that sort of thing.

The music in this album built from the bottom up where the musical ideas are fully formed and accessible. Purely and easily accessible to the listener and then add layers of some combination of instruments, contemporary instruments or traditional instruments whether its piano or a solo string instruments, and then add synths on top.

So, really, what I've developed here is the first subset of New Age music, which I call New Age chamber music. Now, if you go to the internet and type in New Age chamber music on Google search, you're not going to find anything, so that means I’m the first and successful. If I’m not successful you'll never find another one again.

But you know that being said, the idea was really to create an album using contemporary sounds and sound designs in a way that maybe Mozart would have done if he were alive today. A lot of his music is great sounds and great tunes and melodies. Almost sounded like music that was written for a child. They're very, very simple and elegant but deceptively simple because the melodies and the musical structure is actually quite dense and complex in Mozart but it doesn't really sound that way or feel that way to the listener. They don't have to know how to play this but they have to experience it so I approach this album pretty much the same way at that level to get a sense of great appeal but also wrapped in intimacy and the use of synths and other electronic sound design techniques and samples that would add color but not become the foundation.

Because if all you have is sound design, it’s sort of like having a cake, which is one inch of cake and six inches of cream with sugar. If all you have is the icing and that sugary type stuff on the top and all you have of cake is at the bottom, you're not going to really eat that cake. You’re not going to eat very much of it and you're not really going to go back for more.

But you know in a chamber music environment, if you have the intimate sound of music that is accessible and has the human touch and add to that in a very tasteful way, hopefully done tastefully, the contemporary sounds of the synths and other production techniques that I think which I have is something new that again bears repeated listenings by the listeners and hopefully the desire to hear more in future albums.

D.A.: Yeah. I think creating that type of music is perhaps more challenging just from a practical standpoint. I would imagine it takes a little more time for musicians to prepare and to have the piece the way you want it as well as the fact that it could be more expensive to have real instruments as a baseline.

Steven: Actually not. You would think that. Well, first of all, when it comes to writing music that is a little bit more higher level but not too higher level, so as to turn off a broader audience... But what that also does is severely limit the number of composers, other composers in the world that could approach this new genre, the genre of New Age Chamber, Music which is what we’re calling it here, and make a good faith effort to compose their own version of it. Because you can't really do it unless you have a solid compositional background.

Without a foundation, it's going to be very, very hard to do. You could write sort of sounds that kind of dance around it and so on but if you don't have a solid foundation, there's only a few percentage appointments of composers in the world that can write out of the bo,x which is the use of these DAWs electronic MIDI and sample configurations. Most of them really can't write music at this level, unfortunately. So, it's a much more limited market.

...

There are a lot of social networks out there. And, there are some clear favorites among musicians, such as Instagram, YouTube and SoundCloud. But what about LinkedIn? Could it be used to enhance your music promotion and networking efforts?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, guest Vik Rajan of phoneBlogger.net shares how you can use LinkedIn to advance your career.

Download the PDF Cheat Sheet

Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Introduction

00:40 – Why LinkedIn?

03:14 – Video engagement and native video on LinkedIn

05:19 – Professionalism and posting on LinkedIn

07:42 – LinkedIn Publisher

12:03 – What are some other advantages of using LinkedIn as a musician or music entrepreneur?

18:09 – On LinkedIn, your personal profile is your resume

18:59 – How much time does it take to maintain a presence on LinkedIn?

21:07 – What’s annoying on LinkedIn?

24:28 – LinkedIn groups

25:03 – How do you become a thought leader or influencer on LinkedIn?

28:19 – Networking on LinkedIn

30:13 – LinkedIn was acquired by Microsoft a couple of years ago

32:24 – LinkedIn may not be for everybody, but it’s worth exploring

33:24 – Final thoughts

Transcription:

Coming soon.

Upgrade to Members Only Audios for more exciting, exclusive training.

Do you feel like you could never be a music entrepreneur? Do you feel discouraged by this thought? Then this episode is for you.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, we try on the idea that there are no alternatives or options, that music entrepreneurship is indeed all there is.

Download the PDF Transcription

Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Connection

00:36 – “Music entrepreneurship is not for me”

00:54 – Do you feel incapable?

01:43 – Is risk taking not for you?

02:28 – Are you too sensitive?

03:10 – Do you feel disempowered?

03:43 – Do you feel discouraged?

04:24 – Is music entrepreneurship all there is?

Transcription:

You and I connected for a reason. It didn’t happen by accident.

Maybe you just listen to the podcast every week and never leave a comment or email me. Perhaps you never look at any of my products or books. But you keep listening to the show and you get something out of it.

I think that’s awesome. Keep listening. Even if I never hear from you, I know that you’re learning and growing, and that’s what matters to me.

But while I have your attention, I want to share something with you.

Recently, I had someone tell me that music entrepreneurship wasn’t for them.

So, I decided to give some thought as to why they felt that way.

I asked myself whether I was communicating this message properly. I wondered what it was that ultimately turned them off.

Did they see themselves as incapable of pursuing this path?

As far as I’m concerned, we are all on a path of growth. Some may tell you otherwise, but I don’t believe there’s a pinnacle or a summit to reach. I believe we should all adopt the mentality that we are lifelong learners, and that life is full of fresh and new discoveries every single day.

If for some reason you don’t feel qualified or capable yet, don’t worry – just keep growing. I think we all feel like imposters sometimes. I’ve felt the same way. There are many tensions I feel in my personal and work life – but I’ve been learning to embrace them because I know that’s where the growth happens.

So, it’s never too early to begin your journey. You’re not too young or too old, too small or too big, too white or too black… You aren’t too anything. You are perfectly capable exactly the way you are.

Did they feel like risk taking wasn’t for them?

I believe the best things in life are waiting for us on the other side of fear. I’ve experienced a lot of fear in my life. I even had a full-blown anxiety disorder in 2008. And, I’ve had to deal with iterations of the same anxiety in 2017, and even here in 2018.

And, I’m coming clean here – I still have many fears surrounding the opposite gender. There are subjects I avoid or have trouble broaching with women. I find it incredibly difficult at times to express myself around them, even though I always enjoy their company.

So, you shouldn’t feel like you need to be perfect to take risks. All you need to understand is that when you take a chance and put yourself out there, it’s rarely the giant you made it out to be, and there are rewards waiting for you on the other side of the fear.

Did they feel like they were too sensitive to adopt a tougher mindset?

Look, I’m about as sensitive as they come. Last night, I worked myself into a frenzy and ended up unleashing a violent rampage on my bed because of how things were going in my career and relationship life. No, things weren’t that bad. But I had made a mountain out of a molehill, as us humans tend to do.

There’s no way you’re too sensitive to be a music entrepreneur. Being sensitive is a gift, as it allows you to tap into how others are feeling and what they’re thinking. It enables you to be sensitive and empathetic to the needs of others. I can’t imagine a person more qualified to run a business than someone who understands others. You’ve got the makings of an amazing leader.

Did they feel disempowered?

For several years now, I’ve been encouraging musicians to think of themselves as entrepreneurs as opposed to starving artists. I’m not sure if there is a more empowering message I could share with you.

When you understand where the stereotype of a starving artist comes from, you soon realize it was typically based on people who were outright antisocial, had no interest in promoting their art, or even had a tendency towards self-sabotage.

Does that describe you? Probably not. So, you should feel empowered – you are already doing way more than those artists were ever willing to do for themselves and their careers.

Did they feel discouraged?

Have you ever listened to an interview with a successful artist who shares what they had to go through to get to where they are, only to say to yourself, “I could never do that”? Be honest – I admit that I’ve said this to myself many times before.

What you must understand is that your journey is uniquely yours. It won’t be like anyone else’s. Will there be obstacles and challenges ahead? Absolutely, and I’m always upfront about that. But if you’re passionate about what you do, you will find a way to move ahead with your projects and ideas.

We will all feel discouraged at times. But we can’t keep comparing our bloopers with someone else’s highlight reels. We’re not being fair to ourselves when we do that.

In closing, I want you to try on the idea that music entrepreneurship is all there is.

Go ahead – try it on. See how it feels.

If you’ve listened to the last couple of episodes of the podcast, then you should be familiar with this exercise already.

It might sound extreme, but I want you to try it on anyway. Let’s be perfectly honest here – the chances of you signing with a major label are incredibly slim. But, as I’ve shared before, independent success is available to all of us. We can all be successful on our own terms.

In episode 108 of the podcast, Jules Schroeder shared with us that the unconventional life is quickly becoming the conventional life. She hopes she lives to see the day when people go, “what unconventional life? This is just the way things are now.”

So, is it possible that music entrepreneurship is all there is? Is it possible that this will be the status quo in five, 10 or 20 years?

Unless you just want to make music as a hobby, then you should consider this possibility. You should try it on and see for yourself what’s there.

Closing the back door and making a commitment to yourself can be incredibly freeing. Try it for yourself. See how it feels to only be holding onto one possibility instead of living in a world of infinite possibilities. Does it give you hope? Do you feel encouraged?

How do you feel now?

Well, as always, I’m not going to close this episode without prompting you to check out The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship, specifically the Pro Packs, which will be going away on January 1, 2019.

You can learn more at davidandrewwiebe.com/essential.

I hope you got something out of this, and I look forward to answering your comments in the show notes.

Upgrade to Members Only Audios for more exciting, exclusive training.

Is it possible to forego certain steps to achieve success in music? Is it imperative that you pay your dues to get to where you want to go?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I explore what growth hacking is and how it could apply to the music industry.

Download the PDF Transcription

Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – What is a growth hacker?

00:23 – The norm in the music industry

01:00 – Why the music industry can’t be growth hacked

01:20 – What if you want to be signed to a label?

01:42 – Growth hacking in the music industry requires a different way of looking at things

02:18 – Independent success is what’s available to all of us

02:29 – Monetization opportunities many musicians aren’t taking advantage of

03:17 – What a growth hacker in the music industry looks like

03:47 – An overview of what I’ll be covering in this series

04:15 – Can you do it all yourself?

05:24 – It’s about what you do know that you can do well consistently

06:50 – Concluding thoughts

Transcription:

A growth hacker describes someone who only cares about one thing – growth.

Today, it gets talked about quite a bit in the internet business world, but not in the music world.

In the music industry, typically, people talk about working hard and paying their dues, spending countless hours making phone calls, making a 10-year commitment to their eventual success and so on.

I have nothing but respect and admiration for those who worked their way to the top. And, I don’t mean to take away anything from the efforts they put in to get to where they are. You and I will need to adopt a similar work ethic if we intend to create that level of success too.

When I think of bands like KISS, they were essentially music entrepreneurs. They experienced a lot of hardship early on, and they weren’t promised success, but they just kept going until they found it. That took persistence and resilience to achieve.

So, why can’t we growth hack the music industry?

Well, it’s mostly because of the gatekeepers that exist – namely record labels. Music for the masses is still a big business, though it certainly has its failings. And, the music business is what it is because people continue to consume Top 40 hits at a ferocious rate. Those with the most visibility tend to be the winners.

But what if you want to be signed to a label?

In that case, you need to play their game. There’s no sense in cursing the darkness. If a label contract is what you want, then so be it. Go after it with gusto.

And, to be fair, there are more independent labels out there than ever. So, if you’re not attached to the idea of working with a major label, then your chances of achieving your goal just went up.

But the fact that there are gatekeepers in the industry doesn’t need to stop you from growth hacking in music. If a startup or internet business can do it, certainly you and I can too. All it requires is a different way of looking at things.

Getting signed to a label is the traditional model of success. And yet, even if you do get to sign on the dotted line, you aren’t assured fame and fortune. You can just as easily get chewed up and spat out. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to keep 10 to 15% of your total revenue.

Ironically, if you achieve independent success and build a significant following and fan base, labels may begin approaching you and not the other way around.

Label or no label, independent success is what’s available to all of us. But it may require that we create our own revenue ecosystem along the way.

Does that sound complicated? Well, it doesn’t have to be.

I’ve talked about plenty of opportunities on the blog and the podcast that many musicians have yet to take advantage of. Here’s a short list:

Blogging.

Advertising.

Bundling and packaging your music products.

Membership sites.

Affiliate marketing.

And, that’s just the beginning. I’ve helped many people identify revenue streams for their music careers and businesses. I happen to think I’m pretty good at this.

If you listened to episode 108 of the podcast with Jules Schroeder, then you already know that it’s possible to cobble together many revenue streams to create a living and beyond. But this may not be possible if you focus entirely on music streams and live performance opportunities. That’s just not cutting it for many musicians out there today.

I’ve never talked to him before, but I’ve read many of Tom Hess’ articles, and I know he would agree. If you want to make it in music, you need to create many revenue streams – not just one.

When I think of someone that’s growth hacking the music industry, I imagine someone who’s focused on creating a great product and appealing to a specific audience. I think of someone that’s taking an aggressive approach to their career, focusing on their strengths and making the most of every opportunity available.

Forget the numbers. Costs are irrelevant. You can make it up with sweat equity. Streams don’t matter. So long as you’re trending upward, that’s what counts.

I’m going to be talking more about what that looks like in practical reality in future episodes. But here’s a bit of an overview of the items I will be covering:

Creating a strategy

Making and publishing music

Live performance

Networking

Content marketing

Email marketing

Social media

Building a team

Getting referrals

And, there may be topics beyond the ones already mentioned that are worth getting into. But I will get into each of these and cover them in depth.

Now, can you do this all yourself?

I’ve had people read my first book, The New Music Industry: Adapting, Growing and Thriving in The Information Age and ask, “how in the world do you do this all yourself?”

And, the answer is, you don’t.

As a growth hacker, you would either triage and only focus on the most important things, or you would begin creating a team around you that can take responsibility for areas you can’t.

Even in my business, I know I can’t do it all myself. I’ve tried. It’s not fun to admit but even with everything I know about internet marketing, there are gaps in my knowledge and I’m starting to become even more aware of them.

I can’t let my perfectionism hold me back. And, I recognize the importance of spending as much time in my strength zone as I possibly can. Creating content is one of my primary strengths, and I’m very aware of this.

Though I believe in ongoing self-education, I know that advertising, A/B split testing, list segmentation, analyzing data and many other areas are not in my wheel house. Now, I’ve proven to myself that I can do all these things if I dedicate enough time and energy studying and learning about them, but my time and energy is limited. Focusing on these areas would not be the best use of my time right now.

So, as a growth hacker, it’s not about what you don’t know. It’s about what you do know that you can do well consistently.

You need to be able to forego or forsake certain areas of your career or business in favor of the ones that you are well-versed in. Focus is key. You won’t be an effective growth hacker if you spread yourself thin.

You’ve heard of the 80/20 rule, right? 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. My coach, James Schramko likes to apply this rule to itself, making it the 64/4 rule.

I’ve recently had conversations with other entrepreneurs around this very thing. They come to me with a lot of ideas around what they want to do, how they’re going to innovate and what their plans are for their business moving forward. But they’re lacking motivation and don’t know where to begin.

It’s not that they have bad ideas. But instead of moving forward with their giant to-do list, I encourage them to think about what’s the singular big domino they can knock down right now that will cause a chain reaction and result in all the other little dominos being knocked down. What one thing can you do that could potentially make all other to-do items irrelevant, or essentially moot?

Only you can know the answer to that. It might be getting funding for your business. It may be creating your first product. It could be generating traffic from Instagram.

But whatever that is, that’s what you need to be focusing on right now. The little things don’t matter. The big thing is what you need to tackle. Try on the idea that this is the only thing that will move the needle on your business or career.

Did you get something out of this?

If so, I want to invite you to check out The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship, my latest mini book. You can find it at davidandrewwiebe.com/essential.

Specifically, I would encourage you to have a look at the Pro Packs, which contain additional training, and are only available for a limited time.

I hope you enjoyed this episode, and I look forward to answering your comments in the show notes.

Upgrade to Members Only Audios for more exciting, exclusive training.

Hardly anyone is searching for the term “music entrepreneurship” online. So, why do I continue to talk about it? Does it matter? Is it relevant?

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I discuss why music entrepreneurship matters to you.

Download the PDF Transcription

Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Why music entrepreneurship is for you

00:36 – Why you should take a different approach

00:46 – How you think determines your career and life

01:19 – Doing the same things expecting different results is insanity

02:59 – You are the culmination of the five people you spend the most time with

03:57 – What have you learned about yourself?

04:08 – Creating new possibilities

Transcription:

In episode 112 of the podcast, I shared a little bit about what music entrepreneurship is.

If you’re fed up with no one listening to your music, not getting the results you want, having to pay your dues, being turned down by industry influencers, then it’s probably for you.

To me, music entrepreneurship is about hacking your way to new horizons not previously available to you.

But why take a different approach? Why think of yourself as a business person when you’re clearly a musician? Or, why engage in what you’re already doing in a different way?

There are a couple of things I want you to think about.

Now, what I’m about to share with you isn’t undisputed truth. I’m constantly sharing new ideas with you on the podcast to help you grow and become everything you want to become. But that doesn’t mean it’s all truth. It’s just a way of thinking about and approaching your career.

So, what we’re talking about is a way of thinking. A mindset.

What I want you to do instead is try this on. Try it on like you would try on a pair of shoes. If it fits, wear it. If not, discard what doesn’t make sense and hold on to what does make sense.

First, I want you to consider that doing the same things expecting different results is insanity.

Look, I understand this sounds like a platitude. But I want you to empty your mind for a second and take a moment to see how this applies to your life.

Are you trying it on?

What are you beginning to discover? Are you seeing areas in your life where you’re doing the same things time and again only to achieve the same results?

Have you been playing to the same audience at the same venues for years on end?

Have you been publishing album after album that no one buys or listens to?

Are you trying to drum up affiliate sales, only to be met with the same results month after month?

Now, first off, I want to acknowledge your persistence. Good job for sticking it out.

But is it possible the reason you’re not seeing breakthroughs in your career is because you haven’t changed a single thing around the way you’re doing things?

Dig deep into your experiences. What do you see?

Now, it’s important to acknowledge that we all do this from time to time. It’s human nature. We do our best to get outside of our comfort zones, only to return to our old habits. We’re like elastic bands – we can stretch to fit the core we’re surrounding, but the moment the core is removed, we snap back to the same size and shape.

Doing something different takes work. It may require more planning, more effort and more energy than you’re giving your career or business right now. It may even require a greater financial commitment.

But if we don’t take risks, we risk not knowing what’s possible. We end up living a reasonable life. Keep in mind that this is not what others consider reasonable. It’s what we think others think is reasonable.

Now, here’s the second thing I want you to consider, and it goes hand in hand with the first.

Consider that you are the culmination of the five people you spend the most time with and the books you read.

Again, this may sound like a platitude. But I want you to dig deep. Try those shoes on. How does it feel?

Are you doing exactly what those five people are doing expecting different results?

Do you take advice from those around you?

Do you generally have the same attitudes they have?

Does your financial outlook look about the same as theirs does?

Of course, it does!

It’s not hard to see into your future – I guarantee it. I don’t have a crystal ball. And, rest assured I don’t have a time machine either.

But if I just looked at somebody who is five to 10 years down the track from where you are, I would know exactly where you’re going to end up. If you follow their formula for success, you will end up exactly where they’ve ended up.

Depending on who you’re hanging around, that’s an encouraging thought. But it can also be a terrifying thought if you know you don’t want to end up like them.

So, what discoveries have you made about yourself by going through these exercises?

If you haven’t learned anything, that’s okay. Just stay with it and see what you come up with.

Now, there’s one more thing you should be aware of.

Before we can do anything about our insanity, first we must acknowledge and recognize it.

It’s impossible to create new possibilities for yourself if you can’t see how you’ve been handling your career to this point.

It’s impossible to create new possibilities for yourself if you can’t see how you’ve been handling your career to this point.Share on X

But a new possibility is exactly what you want to create. And, that possibility may not be comfortable. But it probably isn’t the giant you’ve made it out to be.

Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. That false evidence stops us from taking chances in life. We end up doing what we think is reasonable in every situation. But that’s not taking anyone or anything else into account. We end up being reasonable on our own behalf.

You could be making bigger asks. You could be negotiating better deals. You could be finding new ways to share your art or business with the world and be making massive progress.

The question is – will you?

If you’re ready to create new possibilities, then I want to invite you to check out The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship at: https://www.davidandrewwiebe.com/essential

And, I look forward to answering your comments in the show notes.

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