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Join your hosts Chris Saunders and Jeff Walker in welcoming Michael Walker to the show this week! Michael is the founder of the Modern Musician, a company dedicated to helping musicians grow their fan bases and build sustainable careers in the industry. His story starts in high school, where he formed a band called Paradise Fears with his close friends. Desperate for some exposure, he and his bandmates used an ingenious strategy called “tour hacking” to grow their fanbase. Before long, they were touring the world, climbing the iTunes alt-rock chart, and multiplying their revenue by a significant factor. And the key principle behind this success, as Michael emphasizes, was connecting with fans on a personal level. After a few key conversations at my PLF Live event pushed him in the right direction, Michael figured out how to teach aspiring musicians his approach to personal connection first through 1-on-1 coaching, and then through his patented masterclass. He’s now helped thousands of musicians build sustainable careers and cut through the competition, and established a million-dollar business along the way. Being a modern musician also means utilizing technology, and Michael offers some insight into how the internet and AI have created huge opportunities – and a few big challenges – in the current landscape. Whether you have a creative background or not, Michael’s story is a perfect case study in how to use the entrepreneurial spirit to turn your passion into a lucrative career. 

Key topics discussed: 

• Michael’s “Tour Hacking” Technique; His band would follow successful alt-rock bands on tour so they could sell CD’s and chat with their fans while they waited in line. 

• Failure to Launch: Michael’s first launch was a dud from a sales perspective… but as is often the case, it taught him everything he needed to make his second launch a winner. 

• The Modern Musician: Michael walks us through the pros (freedom, resources) and cons (clutter, competition) of today’s music industry. 

• Standing Out: How Michael focuses on competing with value instead of competing with price, and how personalization is the way of the future. 

Key takeaways: 

• The quality of the product or service isn’t the most important thing. Finding the right audience and communicating with them in a genuine way is what really matters. 

• We all have untapped resources within us and we have to discover how to use them in creative and genuine ways. 

• Once you know your audience well enough, you can cut through the noise by authentically focusing on how to serve their needs. 

• If you’ve cultivated the right audience, selling a high-ticket offer to a small group of customers is no longer a challenge. 

Got a question for us? 

Go to https://www.daretolaunchshow.com/ to submit a voicemail with your question, and you might hear the answer on one of our next episodes!

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