Your Band Sucks (At Business)

By Malcom Owen-Flood & Marcus Manhas

A podcast on the business of running a band. Each week we will discuss ground breaking principles and strategies in marketing, networking, branding, booking, and more. Listen in weekly to Your Band Su... more

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FAQs about Your Band Sucks (At Business):

How many episodes does Your Band Sucks (At Business) have?

The podcast currently has 83 episodes available.

Your Band Sucks (At Business) episodes:

January 26, 2021 Hacking Your Phone To Boost Productivity, Instead Of Killing It
What if you could stop your phone from being a huge time wasting distraction, and instead use it to your advantage to constantly remind you to get back to working on exactly what is most important?

To find out how, listen to this episode or check out the written breakdown here:

Support us on Patreon to get merchandise discounts, join our members only mastermind group, get in-episode shoutouts, and more!

Malcom started a DIY Recording Youtube Channel and you should go subscribe and check out the videos! You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@malcomowenflood

And Marcus is killing it on the road with multiple bands! Keep up to date with him via his website, here: https://www.marcusmanhas.com

As always, we love hearing from our listeners! Hit us up on our instagrams!
...more
15min
January 19, 2021Should You Be A Solo Artist, Or Start A Band?
As a music producer, I've come across this situation more than a few times: an artist is solely handling all writing, booking, managing, and financing their 'band'.

My immediate reaction is usually something like, 'Why are you giving away a majority stake in your business to people who do nothing more than play your songs?'.

It's an obviously crazy decision when you think about it that way. Take the scenario described above and apply it to a 4 piece band (which is a real scenario I've seen), and the sole operator/songwriter has agreed to give the other musicians equal stakes in the business - meaning that every member in the band is getting 25% of the businesses revenue, even though they aren't doing anything other than performing your songs.

Don't get me wrong - performers deserve to be compensated fairly - but are they really contributing to the growth and future of the business? In most cases, no - and instead they should be paid for their services, as a fee rather than in ownership.

In this episode we break down:
Why solo artists are often too afraid to bring this up with their musicians
The importance of discussing this with your band as soon as possible
Why it might be better NOT to go solo (in a lot of cases)
And much, much more!
Listen to the podcast now to find out more!

PS - if you enjoyed this content and would like to support Your Band Sucks (At Business) please share this episode with someone who you think would appreciate it, and consider becoming a Patreon member by clicking HERE!

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Join Our Mailing List for free content and other cool stuff!

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Stuff We Mention In This Episode:

Band of Rascals (Marcus and Malcoms band)

Canva (what we use for graphic design)

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Stuff We Use / Affiliate Links:

Distrokid (our recommended music distribution service)

Close.IO (Malcoms recommended CRM)

Transistor.FM (A great podcast hosting platform)

BackBlaze File Backup Services (Malcoms recommend data backup service)

Printful - Print-To-Order Merchandise Service

Quickbooks Accounting Software (What we use to run our books and process credit card payments)

SquareSpace Websites
Malcom started a DIY Recording Youtube Channel and you should go subscribe and check out the videos! You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@malcomowenflood

And Marcus is killing it on the road with multiple bands! Keep up to date with him via his website, here: https://www.marcusmanhas.com

As always, we love hearing from our listeners! Hit us up on our instagrams!
...more
38min
January 12, 2021Joining An Established Band | With Sean "The Noche" Marcy
The legend of Noche is an odd and mysteries saga. No one really knows where he came from, or quite how he became "the Noche", although there are rumours (and he claims to know). All we know for sure is that his real name is Sean Marcy and he is the bassist in Band of Rascals with Marcus and I.

Sean joined Band of Rascals a few years into our career, weeks before we got our management deal, and Marcus and I realized that his transition into the band might have been an interesting learning experience for him.

Anyone who has ever started a new job can relate to this. The weird feeling of wanting to perform, but not quite knowing what is expected of you by your new employers. It's the same for joining a band that has already existed in some form. Are you meant to do the same thing as the last person, or are you meant to do something new? Are you involved in the songwriting, or is that something you're not privy to? Are you now a part owner of the band and the corresponding revenues, or are you just a hired gun?

These are all questions that have to be navigated when you join a band - and it can be a painful experience depending on how it's handled.

In this episode, regardless to if you're joining a band, or having a new member join you band, you'll learn:
Why it's important to set and determine expectations in advance
The benefit of a probation period
Why you need to explain why certain duties are being delegated
And more!
If you enjoy our content, please share this episode with someone you know, and consider becoming a Patreon supporter by clicking HERE!

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Join Our Mailing List!

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Stuff We Mention In This Episode:

Bend Sinister

Jesse Roper

Rock The Shores Music Festival

Redwood Green (Seans old band)

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Stuff We Use / Affiliate Links:

Distrokid (our recommended music distribution service)

Close.IO (Malcoms recommended CRM)

Transistor.FM (A great podcast hosting platform)

BackBlaze File Backup Services (Malcoms recommend data backup service)

Printful - Print-To-Order Merchandise Service

Canva (what we use for graphic design)

Quickbooks Accounting Software (What we use to run our books and process credit card payments)

SquareSpace Websites
Malcom started a DIY Recording Youtube Channel and you should go subscribe and check out the videos! You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@malcomowenflood

And Marcus is killing it on the road with multiple bands! Keep up to date with him via his website, here: https://www.marcusmanhas.com

As always, we love hearing from our listeners! Hit us up on our instagrams!
...more
48min
January 05, 2021 Should Your Band Release New Music During A Pandemic?
When the pandemic hit the music scene (if we are honest) died. And while some parts of the industry are still lifeless, it's not entirely dead either!

For most, and not sure in the music industry, the gut instinct was to halt business, and more or less just freeze. Things can't get worse if we don't do anything right?

Well, as we now know, this pandemic is lasting a lot longer than we thought it would have - making us have to reassess the question that has been on a lot of bands lips: "should we wait for the pandemic to end before we release our new music"?

Spoiler alert:

As you will find out in the podcast, we strongly feel that you need to release. There is just no way to accurately gauge when this will end, and even when it does end, there is no guarantee that the industry will return to "normal".

The music industry has changed, and we need to adapt. If we had released at the beginning of this pandemic you could already be releasing another release by now!

I love to draw comparisons between the stock market and the music industry, and one of the statistical facts of the stock market is that 'time in the market trumps trying to time the market'. I can't help but believe that the same is true for the music industry.

Why?

Opportunity cost.

Opportunity cost is the expense you incur by NOT releasing music. When your music isn't released you are missing out on potential opportunities - no record A&R reps, no booking agents, no festivals, no one is hearing your music and considering using it.

Your song might not hit its stride until years after it's released, but that can't happen if you don't release it. Time in market = more exposure to opportunity.

We cover this, plus plenty more, in this episode so go and listen now and update your strategy accordingly!

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Support YBS and the podcast by clicking here now!

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Want free stuff and cool tips? Join Our Mailing List HERE!

Stuff We Use / Affiliate Links:

Distrokid (our recommended music distribution service)

Close.IO (Malcoms recommended CRM)

Transistor.FM (A great podcast hosting platform)

BackBlaze File Backup Services (Malcoms recommend data backup service)

Printful - Print-To-Order Merchandise Service

Canva (what we use for graphic design)

Quickbooks Accounting Software (What we use to run our books and process credit card payments)

SquareSpace Websites

Malcom started a DIY Recording Youtube Channel and you should go subscribe and check out the videos! You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@malcomowenflood

And Marcus is killing it on the road with multiple bands! Keep up to date with him via his website, here: https://www.marcusmanhas.com

As always, we love hearing from our listeners! Hit us up on our instagrams!
...more
25min
December 29, 2020How To Set Goals You Can Actually Achieve
It's that time of the year again. Time to dust off the thinking cap and try to plan your life out for the next 12 months for what hopefully will be an incredibly transformative year!

Well Marcus and I decided that we had better make an episode to help you out with your goal setting. To help ensure that your goals go further than the page that you write them on, there are some incredibly useful tips to consider following.

In this episode you will learn:
How to utilize the SMART principle to your goals
Why it's important to actually write your goals down (and say them out loud)
Why your subconscious DOES care about manifestation.
And much more!

Enjoy Your Band Sucks (At Business) and our content? Consider supporting us by clicking here!
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Join Our Mailing List!

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Stuff We Use / Affiliate Links:

Distrokid (our recommended music distribution service)

Close.IO (Malcoms recommended CRM)

Transistor.FM (A great podcast hosting platform)

BackBlaze File Backup Services (Malcoms recommend data backup service)

Printful - Print-To-Order Merchandise Service

Canva (what we use for graphic design)

Quickbooks Accounting Software (What we use to run our books and process credit card payments)

SquareSpace Websites
Malcom started a DIY Recording Youtube Channel and you should go subscribe and check out the videos! You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@malcomowenflood

And Marcus is killing it on the road with multiple bands! Keep up to date with him via his website, here: https://www.marcusmanhas.com

As always, we love hearing from our listeners! Hit us up on our instagrams!
...more
39min
December 22, 2020Understanding Radio Promotion | With Oscar Furtado of Tandemtracks
Rewinding many, many years, back to my fledgling years as a gigging musician, I found myself at a little invite only showcase concert for an artist named KO during Rifflandia Music Festival in Victoria, in 2010. I can't remember if my drummer and I had won tickets, or if we just showed up in hopes of getting let in - but in any case, we did get in - and, as fate would have it, were sat down next to this episodes guest: Oscar Furtado, owner of Tandemtracks, one of Canadas premier Radio Promotion agencies.

We covered a huge variety of topics, ranging from:
How your current relationships will affect your career later in life
Why Oscar is still trying to build new networking connections, even after all his success
The importance of having passion for what you put your energy into
The stakes of playing Foosball in Spain.
What a radio promoter actually does!
and much more!
This was one of our favourite conversations to date and Oscar has been a guest that I have been wanting to get onto the Your Band Sucks (At Business) podcast since we started up - and it was a complete blast finally connecting for this. We thank him for his time, his knowledge, his infectious good attitude, and for taking the time.

Enjoyed this content and want more of it? Join our Patreon membership and get some amazing perks!
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Stuff We Mention In This Episode:

Tandemtracks (Oscar Furtados Radio Promotion Company)

Nettwerk Record Label

Canadian Music Week (CMW)

Indieweek

Billy Decker (Music Mixer)

Machine (Music Mixer)

KO (artist playing when Malcom and Oscar met. Oscar was promoting KO's radio campaign)

Dave Sawchuk

Jason Mraz

Sound and Science (Malcoms old band)

R3hab

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Join Our Mailing List!

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Stuff We Use / Affiliate Links:

Distrokid (our recommended music distribution service)

Close.IO (Malcoms recommended CRM)

Transistor.FM (A great podcast hosting platform)

BackBlaze File Backup Services (Malcoms recommend data backup service)

Printful - Print-To-Order Merchandise Service

Canva (what we use for graphic design)

Quickbooks Accounting Software (What we use to run our books and process credit card payments)

Malcom started a DIY Recording Youtube Channel and you should go subscribe and check out the videos! You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@malcomowenflood

And Marcus is killing it on the road with multiple bands! Keep up to date with him via his website, here: https://www.marcusmanhas.com

As always, we love hearing from our listeners! Hit us up on our instagrams!
...more
1h 28min
December 15, 2020 Accounting Basics For Your Band | With Brandon Charlesworth
If there is one thing I love, it's the unexpected results of making new connections. For example, we previously had entertainment lawyer, Kurt Dahl, on the podcast and had a fantastic conversation - which led to Kurt introducing us to a gentleman named Brandon Charlesworth - who happens to be an accountant with experience helping bands and musicians!

Obviously we jumped at the opportunity to pick Brandons brain, and the chat was very informative.

As he mentions in the episode, having a conversation with an accountant for your band is often something that happens later than it should, and it could be costing you money!

Brandon had a wealth of knowledge that he was able to share and we truly appreciate him taking the time to share it with us and our listeners.

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Support The Podcast HERE! (NEW TIERS AVAILABLE!)

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Stuff We Mention In This Episode:

Brandon Charlesworth / Robbins And Company Website
Robbins And Company Instagram: @robbinsandcocpa
Robbins And Company Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/robbinsandcompany

Kurt Dahl (Entertainment Lawyer / Drummer For One Bad Son)

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Stuff We Use / Affiliate Links:

Distrokid (our recommended music distribution service)

Close.IO (Malcoms recommended CRM)

Transistor.FM (A great podcast hosting platform)

BackBlaze File Backup Services (Malcoms recommend data backup service)

Printful - Print-To-Order Merchandise Service

Canva (what we use for graphic design)

Quickbooks Accounting Software (What we use to run our books and process credit card payments)

SquareSpace Websites

Malcom started a DIY Recording Youtube Channel and you should go subscribe and check out the videos! You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@malcomowenflood

And Marcus is killing it on the road with multiple bands! Keep up to date with him via his website, here: https://www.marcusmanhas.com

As always, we love hearing from our listeners! Hit us up on our instagrams!
...more
52min
December 08, 2020Youtube Content Marketing | With Steven Ward of Neural DSP
The guest on todays episode is a good friend of mine, and a very talented gentlemen. Not only is he a content creator for Neural DSP (which for those of you who don't know, is a leader in the guitar amp world, and soon to be in the physical market as well with their new Quad Cortex model), but he is also a gifted musicians, audio engineer, and just frankly one of the most honest and genuine people I've had the pleasure of knowing!

I'm talking about, of course, Steven Ward!

Steven and I met, many digital moons ago, via an online mixing community called URM - Ultimate Recording Machine. I needed an assistant engineer to take on some editing work for me and somehow I found Steven, and I remember that I instantly believed that he'd get the job done. That gut instinct proved to be correct and we worked together for awhile afterwards, but all that while, Steven had his own ambitions in the works - in which he succeeded at fantastically!

In this episode you'll learn:
Why the worst events in your life can push you towards making the best choices of your life.
How Steven became a full-time content creator
How to pivot careers at the drop of a hat
and much, much more!

This episode is really the success story of one of my friends, but if you aren't able to pull good business advice from this story - you aren't listening! This is a 'how to get ahead' cheat code to the game of life, and Steven tells us exactly what type of mindset it takes, as well as touching on some very important things, like how content marketing could be a great avenue for your band.

If you'd like to hear (and see) more of Steven Ward, head to his Neural DSP Youtube Channel here!

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Please support Your Band Sucks (At Business) and our podcast by clicking here!

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Stuff We Mention In This Episode:

Neural DSP (Stevens employers and amp creators)

Neural DSP Quad Cortex (New amp they are developing - looks bonkers)

Jordan Peterson

URM / Nail The Mix (Mixing community that Steven and I through. Also host the summit we attended and talk about in this episode).

Spiritbox / Mike Stringer (who just put out a new song by the way!)

Stuff We Use / Affiliate Links:

Distrokid (our recommended music distribution service)

Close.IO (Malcoms recommended CRM)

Transistor.FM (A great podcast hosting platform)

BackBlaze File Backup Services (Malcoms recommend data backup service)

Printful - Print-To-Order Merchandise Service

Canva (what we use for graphic design)

Quickbooks Accounting Software (What
Malcom started a DIY Recording Youtube Channel and you should go subscribe and check out the videos! You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@malcomowenflood

And Marcus is killing it on the road with multiple bands! Keep up to date with him via his website, here: https://www.marcusmanhas.com

As always, we love hearing from our listeners! Hit us up on our instagrams!
...more
1h 10min
December 01, 2020 Making A Lead Magnet For Your Band | Build A Stronger Relationship With Your Fans
How do you build a connection with potential fans visiting your website/socials? The answer: lead magnets!

In this weeks episode we break down some great ideas on how you can implement lead magnets into your own bands marketing.

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Stuff We Use / Affiliate Links:

Distrokid (our recommended music distribution service)

Close.IO (Malcoms recommended CRM)

Transistor.FM (A great podcast hosting platform)

BackBlaze File Backup Services (Malcoms recommend data backup service)

Printful - Print-To-Order Merchandise Service

Canva (what we use for graphic design)

Quickbooks Accounting Software (What we use to run our books and process credit card payments)

SquareSpace Websites
Malcom started a DIY Recording Youtube Channel and you should go subscribe and check out the videos! You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@malcomowenflood

And Marcus is killing it on the road with multiple bands! Keep up to date with him via his website, here: https://www.marcusmanhas.com

As always, we love hearing from our listeners! Hit us up on our instagrams!
...more
33min
November 24, 20204 Ways To Stay Creative (In A Pandemic)
People sometimes make the mistake of thinking that business and creativity are unrelated. Their assumption being that business is a more logical processs, rather than creative - which is something that I couldn't disagree with more.

In fact, I believe that creativity is the foundation of business.

Because what business really boils down to is problem solving - which requires creativity!

But creative creatures tend to be very habitual - and we realized that, for many, the Covid 19 Pandemic has disrupted their creative process.

In this episode you'll learn:
How different obstacles can yield fantastic results
How to give yourself a creative diet
Why you should try creating with other creatives
and more!
Want more YBS content? Join our Patreon here!
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Stuff we mention in this episode:

Ryan Holiday (Author who we recommend)

Chris Graham (Host of The Six Figure Home Studio Podcast)

Nothing But Thieves (band mentioned in episode)

Band of Rascals (our band)

The Self-Recording Band Podcast (Malcom's other podcast)

Splice (Software / SaaS for creating and producing beats)

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Join Our Mailing List!

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Stuff We Use / Affiliate Links:

Distrokid (our recommended music distribution service)

Close.IO (Malcoms recommended CRM)

Transistor.FM (A great podcast hosting platform)

BackBlaze File Backup Services (Malcoms recommend data backup service)

Printful - Print-To-Order Merchandise Service

Canva (what we use for graphic design)

Quickbooks Accounting Software (What we use to run our books and process credit card payments)

SquareSpace Websites

Malcom started a DIY Recording Youtube Channel and you should go subscribe and check out the videos! You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@malcomowenflood

And Marcus is killing it on the road with multiple bands! Keep up to date with him via his website, here: https://www.marcusmanhas.com

As always, we love hearing from our listeners! Hit us up on our instagrams!
...more
41min

FAQs about Your Band Sucks (At Business):

How many episodes does Your Band Sucks (At Business) have?

The podcast currently has 83 episodes available.