So, How Do You Engage Fans?

I know I promised a post on the seven points of fan contact, but I just read this blog entry. Read it and learn how to engage fans. $10,000 in 48 hours for a band that is only nine months old? I am intrigued. They obviously know how to ENGAGE potential fans and make them into fans. Read the post and the related posts. Adapt it for your band. Nothing wrong with stealing their ideas - they blogged about it so obviously they want you to.

http://www.wearelistening.org/blog/10000-in-48-hours-without-a-label/

Coming up next time - the seven points of contact and how to use them ... I promise.

What You Can Learn from Blue Rodeo Part II

This is a more in depth look at what you can learn from Blue Rodeo, and I think that two other people have done a good job of spelling it out.

First, Shauna de Cartier's comments on my original blog post on this subject tell you a great deal about what you can learn from Blue Rodeo. First, they treat people well. Learn from that and treat everyone well including fans, volunteers, people you hope to work with, and anyone you do work with. As well, realize the importance of what Shauna said "they are a model of how to make fans and keep them" (Thanks Shauna!). In other words, Blue Rodeo understand relationship building and that dealing with fans is not about 'buy my CD' and 'come to my show' and ignoring fans the rest of the time. Blue Rodeo are interesting and engaging all of time, and as Shauna says - presales for fans, their website itself, and the way they conduct themselves is all about building the relationship with fans. Over the 20 some years I have been a fan of Blue Rodeo, I have met members of the band in various settings. The first time "Try" was already a hit so they were already famous. What has struck me every time I have been in their presence is that they were appropriately courteous to the situation. And they have always been more courteous than many indie musicians who are just starting out and who are trying to build a career. That says volumes about them and that brings me to the next point - professionalism.

Loren Weisman wrote this great blog post on Music Think Tank today. If you read it and follow his advice you will go a long way to modelling yourself after Blue Rodeo. In other words - being professional. http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/ten-tips-that-every-musician-should-apply-to-their-career.html

Being professional, polite, and courteous is just common sense. And then remember "Hear, Like, Engage, Buy". You want to build a fan base and you can do that by modelling yourself after Blue Rodeo and others like them who get it. Your job with everything you do is to get your music in front of as many people as possible. That way they can hear it and have the chance to like it. Once they do, you must engage them. As Loren said "As a musician, give them something that will draw them in as well as make them want more". You need to ensure that all of your seven points of contact with your fanbase or those who might become your fans are interesting, appropriate, and most of all engaging. That's what will build you a fan base and that's what motivates people to part with their money - to buy.

Can't name seven points of contact with your fans? That's my own theory and I will expand on that in the next blog post.

What You Can Learn from Blue Rodeo

I am a Blue Rodeo fan and have been for 21 years. I think that whether or not you are a fan, you can learn a lot from them. Before you protest and say "but they have a team and I don't" - stop whining, read this, think about your career, and start copying!

Blue Rodeo has a new double CD (and double vinyl) due out next week. I am like many of their fans - we tend to like the older songs more than we like new releases. Why? Familiarity perhaps. I also admit that I haven't even purchased many of their recent albums even though I am a devoted fan. But I am very excited about this new album and I can't wait to have it in my hands. What's different? They have done two key things to make me interested and engaged. And you can easily copy and adapt these to help promote your next album or promote your music.

What has Blue Rodeo done? First, they have streamed the new album on their website for the past several weeks. Not the whole album at once - one side of the vinyl per week. The music player launches in a separate window and I admit that I have let it play the 4 or 5 songs over and over while I do other things. The result is that I am quite familiar with the new material and I love it. Do I love it because it is better than their other recent albums? I don't think so. I think I love it because it is already familiar to me. And I can't wait to have the new songs in my hands so that I can play what I was listening to two weeks ago!

The other thing that engaged me (and many others) was the acoustic show that Jim and Greg played here Monday night in a small venue. This promotional tour was about showcasing their new material. They played songs from the new album and told stories about the songs. The stories made me intrigued to listen to those songs again ... particularly the two songs about the same subject (Jim and Greg each wrote a song about the same incident without being aware the other was writing about it). Again, can't wait to have the album in my hands!

What does this mean to you? Recognizing that "Hear, Like, Buy" has always been the rule for selling music; you need to engage people in your music by having them hear it. I say 'engage' deliberately because I would add "engage" to the spot in between "like" and "buy" because I don't think we buy everything we like. We buy that with which we become engaged. So, think about what you can do and in my next post I will write about some ideas that I have on what you can do.

Blogs I Read

Hello to any of you who heard me at the Alberta Music Industry night tonight.

Here are links to some of the music industry blogs that I read. I will write another post linking to free online books and other resources.

This is a great blog that brings together a variety of industry professionals.
http://www.musicthinktank.com/
Loved this guy's entry today on 7 ways to destroy your career.
http://www.bob-baker.com/musicpromotionblog/index.html
I think this one might feed into musicthinktank but it has Indie Artist X on it.
http://www.knowthemusicbiz.com/index.php/BIZ-BLOG/2009/November/
Not a lot on this one but it has some good information.
http://www.newmusicstrategies.com/
And another ...
http://www.stevelawson.net/wordpress/

Reading these - particularly the first two will give you a great education in the music industry. Also in other blog entries here you will find links to websites that are not necessarily blogs - the guy from the Salt Lake City Examiner has some great stuff. (See my entry "More on the Need to Plan" for a link to his articles). Feel free to contact me via email if you have any questions. I can't promise to answer right away, but I will answer you. Good luck!

Stop Whining and Start Working

I have a problem with many of the musicians I meet. Simply stated - they tell me that they want to make music their career; but in conversation it is apparent that they are completely unwilling to work to make that career happen. They want someone to do it for them. If I suggest some DIY steps they could take, they tell me that it is too much work. If I suggest resources on the internet (blogs, free books) they tell me they don't read much. They whine and say that if only they could get signed to a label or if only they could get a manager; then they could "concentrate on their career". In other words - what they want to do is play music and live what they think the musician's life is.

Serious reality check - it isn't like that. Particularly for you - the Canadian indie musician. Managers and labels only want to work with artists who are doing all of the things to create success for themselves. They want to work with artists who are committed to their career. But if you aren't willing to do it - they don't want to work with you. And I am at the point where I won't even give a few minutes of my time to the whiners.

This is a prime example of what I am talking about. I was running a FACTOR jury and chatting at a break with another juror about the fabulous opportunities available to musicians today. She shared what one of the artists she works with had done - which was a great idea. I mentioned the artist on Twitter with 800,000 followers who does what she calls 'couch sessions'. Her followers suggest a song she should cover, she learns the song, videos herself singing it, and posts it on YouTube. Another juror (a musician) joined the conversation to say that both of our ideas "sounded like a lot of work". That's not the first time I have heard a musician say that and it probably won't be the last time.

Your career is yours to make. That's the beauty of the industry in its current state. However, you are going to have to WORK at it. If you don't want to - fine. Then music is your hobby.

But if you are serious and want to do things to build your career - I suggest you follow this project - http://blog.artistshousemusic.org/post/137058530/indieartistx
Some music industry professionals/bloggers in the USA have joined forces to:

The goal of the Indie Artist X Project is to develop a basic, actionable music marketing plan designed around simple strategy, prioritization of tactics, tools and a reasonable budget that can be implemented by any indie artist who has the inclination to follow it.

The musician at the centre of the project is an indie artist with the goal of making music his full-time career. Why not use this as a research template for your career? Stop whining and start working. Once you do that - you will realize there are a lot of people who will help you.

More on the Need to Plan

"Bands need to learn to create a plan, set goals, create roles within the band where everyone takes ownership of part of the process and has a job description". Great interview/blog post with the founder of http://musicnomad.com/. (Link to the full blog post below).

Personally, after three years in the industry and 'knowing' this because of an extensive business background, it is nice to get some validation through the many, many music industry blogs that abound now. The music business is a business. If you are going to put a price on something and sell it - you are in business. The music industry is not exempt from that because it is creative. If you want success, then you need business basics. Visioning, planning, and executing that plan. Each and every day.

“This new music business will require a new level of business sophistication. So the artists who learn the business and have a good business head will be the ones who survive and thrive.”

If music is your hobby - then it can still benefit by being treated as a business, but it doesn't need to be treated that way. If you aren't relying on your music industry income to live; then it is less of a necessity. There is nothing wrong with having music as a career or as a hobby. What becomes problematic is when you say you want a career, but you don't want to treat music as a business. Get clear with yourself. If you want a career, set goals, make a plan, and then execute the plan. Live that plan ... every day.

http://www.examiner.com/x-16453-Salt-Lake-City-Entertainment-Industry-Examiner~y2009m9d15-Music-Nomad--a-philanthropist-to-Indie-artists

You Are Not Entitled to Anything

I read a great blog entry in Music Think Tank this morning. It was titled "Artists Are Not Inherently Entitled To Monetary Compensation" - I could not agree more. The bottom line is that until you have built a following that wants to see and hear YOU (not just any musician/band), you are simply a commodity. Until that following is large enough that you can negotiate with the promoter because you know you can fill that room; then you get paid what the market deems you are worth. And what you are worth is very little because there are lots of other artists available who can fill that spot. That's what a commodity is - something that there is lots of and there is little distinction between the items in the group. No one owes you a certain amount of money simply because you are an artist.
Instead of complaining about how little you get paid; why not work to build your following? It has never been easier to do that. You have many tools available to you and many blogs that explain how to use them. Working to build your fan base is part of the job of a musician. It is not beneath you. Or, I guess you can choose to be above it; you will simply remain at your current level of earnings.
Your choice.
The entire blog post can be read here.
http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/artists-are-not-inherently-entitled-to-monetary-compensation.html

Follow the Plan

I'm not the only one who thinks that a career in the music industry requires a plan. It is a business - to succeed you need to make a plan and follow the plan. I could blog about how to make a plan for yourself - but I didn't need to. Someone else did that for me so I linked you to a great blog on career planning in the music industry complete with a template. And now, if you wondered whether it was just that guy and me who thought you need a plan ... here's a link to a blog entry called "Keeping with a Plan and When it is the Right Time to Change" http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/keeping-with-a-plan-and-when-it-is-the-right-time-to-change.html

As Loren Weisman says in it:

"It takes a lot of patience, professionalism and effort to put together a good plan of action, whether it’s a business plan or an attack plan when it comes to your career. It takes tens times as much when it comes to following through with that plan. All too often artists, and even business people, will set up a great plan, but then slack on it, cut corners, change it without a solid reason or just go in an entirely different direction. Much of the time, this results in failure because a hodge podge of unorganized and erratic work leads to problems". As Loren points out, there are good reasons to change the plan and bad reasons. "Just changing something because you are tired of doing it, feeling frustrated or just lazy is not a good way to go". Couldn't have said it better myself!

There are tons of resources out there for you. Through this blog, I am simply going to link you to some of them. I know that you want to believe a career in the arts is different and that it is not like business. I disagree, if you want a career in music you are in business. So find the resources to help you build that career and use them. But most of all, make a plan for your career. Follow the plan. Adjust the plan as needed, but keep working toward your career goals. Otherwise ... as Loren says, you end up in failure.

How to Write a Plan

Whether you have decided that your passion for music is something you want as a hobby, or something you want to pursue as a career - neither choice is wrong. Nor is it wrong to have your passion for music be both.

If you have decided that you want to make music your career; then you need to recognize that it is a business. Just like any start-up businesss; it is going to take time, money and a lot of effort to create a successful career. If you read the last post with the 20 Brilliant Questions, then you have a good idea of where your career is now, and where you can improve.

I'd suggest that a good next step is to develop a written plan for your career. There is a great series of blog posts on the subject right here ... along with a template for how to write your plan!

http://www.musicthinktank.com/mtt-open/2009/7/8/how-to-write-a-music-business-plan.html

As he says, writing a good plan takes time, and it should be re-visited often. If you are simply going to write a plan for the purpose of getting money from a grant program - go ahead. But remember that a plan should be more than a way to get money; it should be something you execute. So read Kevin's blog posts on the subject (his main blog is http://eleetmusic.com/), and take a stab at creating your plan for your career.

As it says in the plan:

"The real value of creating a business plan is not in having the finished product in hand; rather, the value lies in the process of researching and thinking about your business in a systematic way. The act of planning helps you to think things through thoroughly, study and research if you are not sure of the facts, and look at your ideas critically. It takes time now, but avoids costly, perhaps disastrous, mistakes later."

Brilliant 20 Questions

This article asks 20 questions that you need to answer if you are considering trying to make a career as a professional musician, or trying to decide if you should keep on trying to make it.

http://www.examiner.com/x-16453-Salt-Lake-City-Entertainment-Industry-Examiner~y2009m7d22-20-questions-every-band-should-answer

As he says, you need to answer the 20 questions he asks with a simple "Yes" or "No" and you will know where you are on the path to music industry success. The questions are hard-hitting but he has put into words what I have heard at seminars - he just has it summarized and direct!
Answer his questions - honestly, and you will know where your career is headed. Thanks to my friend Kyle who brought this to my attention.


For simplicity, I have copied the meat of the article here. Please note, this is not my material - it was written by Christopher Harding. Here are his questions and how to evaluate your results.


What you do
Simply answer “Yes” or “No” to the following questions (and by the way, if your answer isn’t a solid, unequivocal “Yes,” then it’s “No”—and remember, honest answers will give you more valuable feedback, so tell it like it is):
1. Can you take genuine feedback easily and are you willing to hear ways you could improve without becoming defensive (i.e. are you committed to continual improvement)?
2. Are you willing to push beyond your limitations even when it’s hard and very uncomfortable?
3. Do you talk about how awesome it is when other bands reach a level of success you haven’t yet reached (does it inspire you and stoke you up to do better)?
4. Do you (or your band) regularly write songs that people (beyond your friends and family) are hungry to buy (in whatever format you have them in)?
5. Do you practice at least 3 times a week (for periods of 3 hours or longer)? And yes, gigs can count as practice. So if you're out gigging multiple times a week and are constantly improving by doing so, great! Just make sure you are also spending the time outside the gigs to improve your performances where needed.
6. Do you regularly rehearse your established sets as if you were doing a live show in order to perfect your entire performance (and get it embodied at the cellular level so you have the freedom to effectively improvise)?
7. Are you fully committed to blowing your audience away every time you perform regardless of where you are and how many people are there (i.e. do you perform full out 10 times out of 10)?
8. Do you regularly make wise, well thought-out decisions in life (do you seek advice from people who are more experienced than you)?
9. Do you have a strong, viable, grassroots fan base that promotes you and serves as your Street Team and your die-hard advocates?
10. Are you accumulating a fan info data base that's in a useable format (including email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, whatever you can accumulate from mailing lists, fan clubs, social networks, etc.)?
11. Do you create opportunities to interact with and associate with your fans in ways that also allow you to celebrate who they are and what they’re passionate about while still leaving them wanting more?
12. Do you have a website, Facebook site, MySpace site, and a Twitter following that you regularly update and utilize to build fan loyalty and interaction (a key ingredient of successful communities)?
13. Is destiny calling you so strongly that you are convinced an essential part of your nature has to do with bringing your music to as many people as you can reach?
14. Is your musical career at the top of your priority list (right after your ethics and your key relationships)?
15. Are your ethics aligned with and key relationships enthusiastically and unrelentingly supportive of your dream and goals about a career in music?
16. Do you regularly get into the studio (how ever large or small) and record your music, work out arrangements, master the art of studio performance (vs. live performance) so that your recorded music captures the verve, vitality, and vibe of your live performances?
17. Is your passion for music and success greater than your ego (i.e. can you drop your sense of self-importance or your story and become results driven vs. ego driven)?
18. Are you comfortable not being home and being on the road in far less than elegant circumstances?
19. Do you have a job(s) and/or the lifestyle that enables you to take time off and hit the road?
20. Are you an incredibly dedicated, tenacious, hard working person (or group) who never gives up?

How To Evaluate Your Results
If you answered “Yes” to at least 18 out of 20 questions, your commitment level and your chances of excelling are high (if you’re in this category and also answered “Yes” to Questions 13 through 20, then your odds of expanding beyond a local and regional level are greatly increased).
If you answered “Yes” to at least 15 out of 20 questions, your commitment level indicates that you have a moderate chance of excelling (and you may likely be better served to stay local or regional).
If you answered “Yes” to less than 15 out of 20 questions, it's likely that you are either not ready to “go for it” or may not have the level of passion needed to take your talent beyond friends, associates, or regulars at the bar or local hang out (and that’s fine, by the way—you can still have a very enjoyable experience sharing your music at the level that works for you).
Now, if you scored lower than you’d like, take a look at the questions you answered “No” to and ask yourself why you didn’t say “Yes.” Is this something you’re willing to work on, learn from, and improve? If so, naturally you can increase your score over time and your odds of taking your musical dreams to higher levels. If not, and you think this questionnaire is bogus, that’s okay too. There are exceptions to every rule and I’d genuinely love to have you prove the survey wrong.
Just one thought about that approach, however. In a business that’s already got one in a million odds, do you really want to make the odds even more difficult? Okay, so that makes 21 questions, but you get the point.

Talent Plus Execution Equals Success

Derek Sivers, the original founder of CD Baby had a great blog post about business ideas and success that relates to what you need to be successful in the music industry. I think that many people believe it is about talent. It isn't. It is talent multiplied by execution. Sivers' blog post http://sivers.org/multiply is called "Ideas are just a multiplier of execution" and as he explains "ideas are worth nothing unless they are executed". So it is with your music career. Your musical talent (recorded performance and live performance) is nothing unless you execute. One of the key elements of execution is a career plan. What are you going to execute if you don't have a plan? Plans ARE what you execute.

Sivers places values on ideas and then on execution and says that the success is the multiplier of the two. I would like to change that into the following with talent and execution. In talent - I would include both your recorded performance and your live performance. So let's take Sivers idea to the music industry:
AWFUL TALENT = -1
WEAK TALENT = 1
SO-SO TALENT = 5
GOOD TALENT = 10
GREAT TALENT = 15
BRILLIANT TALENT = 20

NO EXECUTION = $1
WEAK EXECUTION = $1000
SO-SO EXECUTION = $10,000
GOOD EXECUTION = $100,000
GREAT EXECUTION = $1,000,000
BRILLIANT EXECUTION = $10,000,000

Then as Sivers says, "To make a business, you need to multiply the two". So, to make a music industry career, you need to multiply your talent level with execution. The most brilliant talent, with no execution, is worth $20. I would also add that your talent cannot be stagnant; to make a career, you need to continue to take your talent to higher and higher levels. Because the bar on "Brilliant" will keep going up.

That's why you need to know where you are going and exactly where your career is now - that way you can make the plan to take you from where you are to where you want to go. And then you will need to execute that plan and adjust the plan and execute some more. That's why businesses need a business plan - it is not something that is completed to make the bank happy. It is essential for success. And that's why you need a plan for your career in the music industry.

Where Is Your Career Now?

Having given consideration to where you want your music career to go, and knowing that you need a plan to get there, you need to assess where you are. Your career, at this exact moment is your starting point. Your plan for your career will need to take you from that point to where you want to go. So, how do you assess where your career is at right now? That’s a big topic that differs for everyone so I will put it this way – you need to determine what pond are you swimming in right now? Is it a local pond, a regional pond, a provincial pond, a national pond, or an international pond? In other words, who are you comparing yourself to? If you are in the local pond - you might be the best swimmer in that pond. But, if you want to make a career - you will need to start comparing yourself to a different standard and start thinking about how to build a career to compete in that pond.

There are three distinct aspects to determining what pond you are in – at least in my opinion. Those aspects are: live performances; recording history (CDs sold, digital downloads, etc.); and presence (press, fan base, etc.). Let’s look at each of those separately.

I will start with live performance quality and history because the bottom line is that live performances drive sales and build your presence. There are isolated examples of artists who sell CDs and digital downloads without touring, but those are the exception, not the norm. I can’t emphasize this enough; you need to think about where you have played and the quality of your live performance so that you can make a realistic plan to build your live performance reputation and with it your fan base.
Live performance history is the easy part (or should be). Where have you played? Are you:
· a local artist/band who has played at some open stages and has had one or two local paying gigs
· an artist/band who has toured a few times in your geographic region
· an artist/band who has toured a few provinces or nationally
· an artist/band who has toured internationally
Where do you predominantly play (coffee shops, bars, theatres, festival stages)?
Have you been the headliner? For what size crowds? That’s not a comprehensive checklist, but I am sure you understand the process.
In addition to knowing where you have played; what is the quality of your live show? Presumably, if you are a headliner drawing big crowds, or someone who is getting a lot of festival shows; it is probably good. But if your career is not exactly where you want it to be, then you need to realistically assess your live performance. This is crucial - you need to assess not by what your mom or your girlfriend/boyfriend says, or what your friends say but by what industry people will tell you. You need to open up to feedback. That feedback is everywhere – you just have to seek it out and not “kill the messenger”. There are professionals who work specifically in this area, but if you can’t afford to hire one, then I suggest talking to people in the industry (in your pond) and asking for feedback. Why not approach a promoter or other industry professional and ask if they would attend your show and give you some feedback? And be open to what they tell you – they are not an asshole for telling you what you need to work on!!! Seriously, the music industry is filled with musicians who are not open to feedback. Feedback is essential if you are to achieve goals. Yes, you need to be able to discern what is real and what is not; but you cannot build a professional career based on your mom's opinion of how great you are.

That’s the first step – understand your live performance in order to start making a plan to improve it because if it isn’t good moving toward great – then you are not going to have a professional music career. That is the bottom line.

You also need to assess your recording/sales history. If you have one CD and you have sold 500 copies, and you are ready to make the next one – then saying you want to sell 10,000 of your second CD is probably not very realistic. Which comes back to understanding where you are so that you can plan where to go. Just a note on sales history, many grant programs require proof of sales history and while you may not qualify for those grants now, you might someday. You need to ensure you understand Soundscan requirements, that you make your submissions and then ensure that you are checking that the numbers are correct. Having 1,000 CDs pressed does not prove 1,000 sold!

The third area is your presence in the industry. This is somewhat more vague but there are some important things to consider. Do you have an email list? How many names are on it? (I’ll devote several blog entries to using social media effectively). Have you had press coverage? Where was it? Are there reviews online of your CDs or live performances? Do you have this information accessible? Do you have a good EPK? Have you showcased? Where? For what reason? Have you made contacts in the industry? Do you have solid relationships in the industry? As I said, this is harder to assess, but you need to consider these things depending on what your goals are.

The above is not comprehensive, but it is the foundation of your career. Just as you build the foundation before you build the house; your music career needs a good foundation based mainly on the quality of your live performance, and then your recording history and industry presence.

Where Are You Going?

So ... you think you want to make a career out of music? Before you make the leap into applying for grant money, spending your (or your parent's) money making a CD, or buying a cheap van to tour in - you need to consider your career plan. During the past few years I have seen over 100 grant applications, and overall, the main thing that stood out is the lack of planning. To go anywhere, you need a plan, but before you can make a plan, you need to get clear on your goals and those goals have to be consistent with your values.

Remember, your goals have to be your goals. Just because you have musical talent doesn't mean that you need to make music your career. You need to be exceptionally talented, and very, very driven to make a success of a professional music career.

So before you leap into the music business as your supposed road to riches, you need to think about what you want. And not just as a career, but overall for your life. How do you want to live in 5 years, in 10 years? What are the things that you value? For example, if you value being home with your family because you have children, or you hate being away from your boyfriend/girlfriend for more than two weeks; then the life of a professional musician is probably not for you. If you want to make a lot of money, you need to be aware there are very, very few musicians in Canada who make their living from music. There are thousands trying to do so, but very few who actually do, or if they do, they are barely making a living. So, with that reality check in place - think about your life and set some goals.

There are any number of ways you can assess your life and see how a professional music career fits in. The Art of Managing Your Career resource that I referred to in the previous post has an excellent goal setting/value assessment tool as part of Chapter 1. Use that or another resource and decide what you want. And if pursuing a music career is part of that - then you need to make a plan for that career. Whether that career is full time right away, or you have a plan to make it your full time career in five years, or you decide that you want it to be a hobby job forever - you need to make the plan that gets your career from where you are to 'there'.

Unfortunately, no one is going to make your success for you; you have to make it for you. If your ultimate goal is to make music your full time career within five years, but you can't fathom spending 20 to 40 hours a week learning the business side of music and working your career plan; then you probably are not ready to make music your career.

So, think about it ... and assess where music as a career fits in your life. Decide where you are going. If you are in a band, then your band needs to ensure that there is clarity between the members and some common understanding of what everyone's goals are. If you are working with a manager or label - the same applies. Anyone working with you needs to understand your goals and your values. When I managed, I asked "what do you want your career to look like" or "what are your goals" at least once a month. Maybe not always that directly - but I understood the importance of ensuring that I knew what the band or artist wanted. You need to honest with yourself, your band mates and anyone else working with you in your career. The industry is difficult enough without having people work different plans because there are differing opinions on what the goals are!

So ... where are you going? Think about that, and next I'll talk about how you assess where you are. Because to get "there" you need to know where you are!!!

A Great Resource

Having just started this blog and being the type who thinks before I act, I have pages and pages of notes that I have been making as I contemplated doing this, along with a list of topics. But, in that age-old way of meaningful coincidences, I just became aware of a tremendous resource that is already complete and covers a lot of what I was going to cover! As I was going through the Alberta Music Industry Association newsletter today, I was interested to see that there was a resource called "The Art of Managing Your Career". As referenced in that newsletter, the Cultural Human Resources Council has recently released a 2009 edition of their resource called "The Art of Managing Your Career - A Guide for the Canadian Artist and the Self-Employed Cultural Worker". This five chapter book is available online and while it is for all artistic disciplines, there is also an accompanying discipline specific series which includes "The Art of Managing Your Career in Music and Sound Recording". If you are at all serious about your music career - take the time to make use of this fantastic resource. I just read The Art of Managing Your Career in Music and Sound Recording. It is 35 pages of general but extremely valuable information along with several pages of links to relevant websites. While I haven't yet read the five chapters of the main publication, they appear to contain helpful information and exercises. The exercises help you evaluate your competency and help you set goals, and then there are chapters such as "You and the Law".

In short, as it says in The Art of Managing Your Career in Music and Sound Recording "The basic assumption of this project is that you wish to treat your musical aspirations like a business. This is no small step - many musicians never make this leap of logic, and spend their careers wondering why their bank balance never seems to equal their talent" (page 13). Quite frankly, that is exactly how I feel. I have listened to many, many musicians lament that they don't earn what they should. I will tell you right now that you earn exactly what you should and if you don't like it - then you need to do something to change it or get out of the business. Don't be like the guy in the seminar I was at this year at SXSW who stood up and said "I'm approaching retirement age and I have no money because this business never appreciated me and paid me what it should". Seriously, whose fault is it that he has no money? The industry's ... or is it his? Personally, I think it is his. I know that is a very unpopular thing to say but it is true - if you are going to put a price on something (your performance, your CD) and sell it; then you are in business. Just like any business, you cannot expect people to line up to give you money. You need to provide something the marketplace wants; you need to create your career. So start acting that way and learn about not just the business side of music but about business in general. The sooner you embrace the business side of music; the better off you will be. Or as an alternative, you can continue to sit around with your musician friends complaining about the industry. Because that appears to be many musician's second best talent - complaining. I suggest that you take the energy you have been putting into complaining, and put it into learning. Your bank account will thank you!

I'll be drawing a lot on this resource as I continue to blog. The next topic up is "Where Are You Going" and I'll talk about making the decision on whether or not you want to make music your career, whether you want to keep it as a hobby, and what factors enter the decision that you need to make. There is no 'right' answer - you need to assess your situation. And I will try to give you some tools to help you do that. In another post I'll talk about goal setting after I help you assess "Where You Are". And then we'll get into the fun of making a career plan.

If you know me at all ... you know I wouldn't forget this ... this is where you get that great resource that I referenced above http://www.culturalhrc.ca/amyc/index-e.asp

The music industry specific information is a "Discipline Enhancement" from the menu on the left hand side. Enjoy reading!

Where Are You, Where Are You Going, and Most Important, How Will You Get There?

In order to really accomplish anything, you have to first decide what it is you want to accomplish. That either sounds dumb or self- evident to you depending on your point of view, but stay with me for a minute. Often, if you ask a musician or band about their career goals they can’t define them. They might say “We want to be stars” or “I want to play my music for people” or even “We want to win a Juno award.” While those might be dreams, only the last one is a goal; although how realistic it is for that particular band might be up to debate. (See the link at the bottom of this post if you are interested in my definition of dreams versus goals).

Even if an artist or band has specific goals (e.g. winning a Juno award); if you try to “drill down” from those goals to the plan to achieve the goals – quite often there isn’t a plan. I think that everyone knows this – you know that you need goals and a plan to achieve them. But you might not know how to get started. Either that or you view goals and plans as something you do to get grant funding; not something you use to manage your career. But plans are essential if you want to achieve anything.

Think of your career like a road trip. Generally if you are going on a road trip – short or long, you have a specific destination in mind. Occasionally you might just get in the car to “go somewhere” (come on … we have all gone on those late night left/right tours or was that just a small town Ontario thing that I did?), but that aside, usually you are going “somewhere." You know where you are, and you know where you are going. This is what I think is missing for musicians. The realization that this is how it has to be with your career. You need to have an idea about your destination - where is your career going? Do you want to be a professional musician? Do you want your music to be your career? When do you want it to become your main source of income (if you do)? What do you want to accomplish? By when? And you need to realistically assess where your career is now because that is your starting point. If you don't know where you are, how will you know how to get where you are going?

Your career is like a cross country road trip, and just like driving across the country, your career will need to have a starting point, an end destination, and interim destinations (the first night we’ll stay at …). Your career needs the big dream goals, and the more immediate interim goals, and most of all you need a plan on how to achieve those goals. If you would like to get an idea of how to assess where you are, how to set some career goals to define where you are going, and make a career plan to get you there – stay tuned.

If you are interested in my definition of the difference between wishes, dreams and goals – feel free to read my blog post on the subject here http://businessdreams.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!3778AE852DC720!140.entry

Making a Plan for Your Career in the Music Industry

Like anyone who blogs, I first asked myself whether or not I had a message to share. In other words, who the hell do I think I am? I don't know the answers on how to create success in the industry. I really don't know if I can help you; I just know that I have some ideas and some knowledge that I would like to put out there for you to consider.

Let me tell you a bit about me. I am no expert on the music industry and I will tell you that up front. I was in the industry (in Edmonton, Alberta) for a while as a manager, and because I am a person who likes information, I went to countless seminars at SXSW, NXNE, and the WCMAs. I read books and blogs. In addition to that, I have been on and have led many grant juries. Through those seminars and the numerous grant juries, I have learned that one of the most common problems seen in the music industry is that musicians don’t have a plan for their career. In many cases they haven't considered their goals at all, and if they have, they don’t know how to set realistic goals. In some cases, if there are goals there is no plan to achieve the goals. Many musicians lack the career skills they need to succeed. I’m not talking musical skills; I am talking about other skills. I know there are many resources out there for you; this is just one more. And it is simply my perspective so if you plan on telling me how wrong I am; either feel free or don't waste your time. I'll repeat, I am no expert. I am a business person with some background in business coaching and some knowledge about the music industry. If you would like to learn more about me; you can check out my website at http://www.businessdreamsconsulting.com/ and from that you can link to my general blog which is about goal setting, business success, and a variety of other things that interest me.

My goal in writing this blog is to share information. If you find it helpful, then I'd love to hear from you via comments. If you think I have nothing to say; you are welcome to tell me that as well.