Hey there!
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again…
You are your own business if you are trying to get into the music industry as an artist, producer, or songwriter.
You are an entrepreneur.
It’s the only possible framework to think of yourself in the music industry, whether you like the idea or not.
And what do pretty much all entrepreneurs need?
Capital! Aka money (finances to get their business started)
This is why the show Shark Tank is so popular. That’s what everyone going on Shark Tank is looking for.
So, you’re an entrepreneur. You need money. Money is really important for gear and coaching and conferences and hiring bandmates or getting that demo produced etc. etc.
How do you get it?
Well, there are two ways.
1. The “Shark Tank” way (where you find people who already have a bunch of money to invest in you in exchange for a lot of benefits, like you losing ownership of your masters in the case of the music industry.)
2. The self-starter way (where you make the startup money yourself to get things rolling).
Now, in the music industry, a lot of people fantasize about the “Shark Tank” method. The “Shark Tank” method is basically where you get “discovered” by a record label and they put up all the money for “artist development” and getting a record made and going on tour. This sounds great and all, but this model is getting more and more rare. The fact that anyone can make a living in music just by putting up videos on YouTube has driven all kinds of new competition to the record labels, and the competition is fierce. They don’t have a monopoly on the music industry anymore, so they can’t be nearly as “risky” as they were before.
Plus, relying on the “Shark Tank” method requires you putting all of your hope in your career in someone else’s hands. You don’t have the ultimate control. They do. And that’s not why you got into music in the first place.
So, the method we very much prefer to teach is the “self-starter” method. That’s the method where you come up with the start-up funds on your own.
This is how Full Circle Music started, and this is how the majority of musicians these days get their start.
Easy? Absolutely not! But option #2 is easier than option #1.
And in a case where my only options are two difficult choices, I’m going to go with the easier one and the one that can offer me a higher chance of success!
Without getting on too much of a soapbox, it’s easier today than it ever has been to become a millionaire.
And if it’s relatively easy (seriously, just search YouTube for “How to Make 1 Million Dollars in 2023″ or at least easier than it ever has been, then what if you just made 1/10th of that?
If you had $100,000 sitting in the bank, would that change your life? And your music dreams?
You bet it would.
Yes, there are some “starving artists” out there, but that’s not what we teach around FCM.
When we came out with our Music Industry Baby Step Plan, we talked about how serious it was to create a financial plan in step #1 and why that is one of the most important pieces to set yourself up for success.
Some people say we’re crazy. Some people feel like it’s impossible.
But there are literally 13 year old kids out there doing this (and they make it look easy).
If they can do it, you can too.
Anyways, I just wanted to encourage you today and let you know that you can make money in your music career and remind you that it all starts with seeing yourself as an entrepreneur.
I’m going to be sharing some marketing tips and an exciting announcement soon to help you treat your music like a business through our email newsletter, so if you’re not subscribed, feel free to jump in here.
Talk soon!