Make Music, Make Money 735jg

Make Music, Make Money

Make Music, Make Money

by Marvin Georges Montes

Published by Esemai LLC.

Brockton, MA

Copyright © 2021, Esemai LLC

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

For permissions : [email protected]

Cover by Esemai Media.

Table of Contents

Foreword Make Music Producing & Recording

Home Studio Set-Up Pre-Production Production Post-Production

Packaging & Concept Legal Setup

Contractual Agreements "Work for Hire" Agreements Producer Agreement Liability Releases/Permission Forms Music Registration Masters

Sample Clearance Music Copyrighting Universal Product Code Performance Rights Organization Nieslen SoundScan Mechanical Licenses

Release Preparation

Marketing and Merchandise Album Pre-Release Single Release Listening Sessions

Make Money The Release

Release Party

Touring Campaign

Your Team Media and Press

Merchandising Sponsorship Music Placement & Licensing Becoming the label Final Encouragement

Foreword

Make Music, Make Money. This book is written in order to simplify the creation and release of a music compositions in a way that any independent artist and/or team can generate income. Here’s a little background about myself. I began writing music at 11 years old. At 13 I would record on the Windows 98 voice recorder while playing the instrumental through my computer speakers. At 15 I started running a home studio using Adobe Audition (formerly known as Cool Edit Pro), where I booked sessions for my classmates, family, and friends. From there, I started a music group, which I promoted locally throughout my high school and hometown. After High School I decided to attend college as a marketing major and began working full time. I found my time becoming scarce. This started taking away from my creation of music. After college I tried many different careers in finance, retail, merchandising, and I found myself exactly where I started. Creating and recording music all over again.

In this book, I gathered and simplified all of the information that is needed in order to not only record your music but also building a home studio and market and sell your music to the masses. This information is based on over a decade of research and experience. I will guide you through each step in order in releasing your project. This process will be both fun and stressful. Let’s begin our journey into your new career as a selling artist.

Make Music

Producing & Recording

Home Studio Set-Up

You do not need a multi-million-dollar recording studio in order to start generating income with your music. With the evolution of the internet, the information and software needed to create and publish music has become accessible to anyone looking to jump start a career in music. Home studios are not a new practice. There are many great compositions that were recorded in home-based studios. Examples are “Exile on Main Street” by The Rolling Stones, “Nebraska” by Bruce Springsteen, and “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Now, before putting your next project together, let’s go over the basic parts of the recording ecosystem. These components will allow you to create music whether in a home studio or professional studio. Here are the essentials:

Audio Interface Computer Condenser Microphone Control Surface DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) / Software Headphones Room Treatment Studio Monitors

Audio Interface

The audio interface is the bridge between your recording equipment and your software. It takes various inputs and converts them to digital audio data. This device allows you to connect professional microphones and live instruments to your computer. A live band would need a more intricate audio interface as opposed to an artist who only records vocals. For those on a budget, the more budget friendly interfaces may cause a lag in your recording. Many DAW give you the ability to adjust the latency which will adjust the recording timing accordingly.

Computer

Without being too technical, the computer is the device you use to carry out all of the commands needed to record, mix, master, and release your project. Before buying a computer, make sure to check the requirement needed for the DAW you choose and the plugins you plan on purchasing. Without the proper equipment, your software will lag and you may also see a delay in your recording. The last thing you want in is to be your creative zone with unresponsive equipment. This can not only be a buzz kill but can be very draining to the creative mind.

Condenser Microphone

The microphone by definition is a device that captures. This is what you will us to capture the sounds that your DAW will convert into wave or mp3 files. Low end condenser microphones can be noisy with lower audio quality. Alongside your microphone you will need a microphone stand and a pop filter. This would complete the microphone set-up.

Control Surface

The audio control surface is the interface that allows you to control your DAW. A control surface looks identical to a mixing board. You will find similar knobs and faders on both of these pieces of equipment. The main difference between a controller and a mixer is the handling of the audio. A mixer allows audio to through directly through the hardware whereas a control surface relies on and only mirrors the DAW. Having a control surface improves your workflow.

Digital Audio Workstation

The DAW, Digital Audio Workstation, is the software you use to record your music. There are many options available. The more popular options are Avid Pro Tools or Logic. Some other options Studio One, Ableton, GarageBand, & more. Find a DAW that you are comfortable with and you can begin recording music. The DAW is also where the cleaning up of the audio will be done. Get familiar with the VSTs and plugins the come with your DAW. VSTs and plugins are what allow your software to change the pitch, speed, and sound of your audio. This isn't only used to clean up audio but also to add what I call ear-candy.

Headphones

When looking for headphones there are two types of headphones to choose from. Open and closed headphones. Both of these headphones come in over-the-ear and on-ear styles. The key difference between the two, open headphones tend to leak audio out of the earpiece, closed headphones provide more sound isolation. A general rule of thumb is to use closed headphones in the booth and open headphones for mixing. Not having the proper headphones can create an audio leak that your microphone will pick up during the recording.

Room Treatment

The room treatment is the most important part of your studio setup. This is completed in two parts. First is the soundproofing and second is the acoustic treatment. Soundproofing your recording area will improve your audio by cutting out most of the excess outside noise. This will be done during the building process of your studio. In order to completely soundproof a room, some construction work may be needed. If you're on a budget, I advise finding a quiet time of the day to do your recording.

The acoustic treatment improves how the recording will sound inside of the room by absorbing excess ambiance. Foam padding is the most popular material used in this treatment. Apply padding to the ceiling, walls, & corners of your recording space. A bare room can create a lot of reverb in your recording & the padding will help reduce the reflection of sound in the room. Another form of padding is egg cartons. This is a more budget friendly option.

Studio Monitors

Studio monitors are the pair of speakers you will be using. Any loudspeaker compatible with your audio interface will work. If you are planning to mix your music yourself, you will want to invest more into your monitors. If you're interested in producing records you may want to add subwoofer to your set-up. A subwoofer will bring out the bass in your sound.

Pre-Production

My creative peaks generally happen in the middle of the night or during long drives. A great tool I use to get ideas down is a voice recorder. Most smartphones have one or you can purchase a digital voice record at your local tech store or online. This will also help you keep a record of not only great lyrics but also catchy melodies. Many of my voice notes are simply me humming catchy melodies with no actual words. I then go to my home studio and begin filling words into the melodies.

Also, I may play instrumentals and play around with flows until I find one I like. For those who are not producers, there are many websites where you can browse and purchase beats from various producers. Social media platforms are also a great place to network with other producers. Start networking with other writers and producers to start piecing your project together. Having a main producer overlook your entire project will keep it sounding cohesive. There are many other benefits of committing to a producer.

Historically there is a list of artist producer duo that create their own unique sound and following. One of the best artist and producer duos was Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson. Jones and Jackson agreed to work together during the production of “The Wiz” which grew into “Off the Wall”, “Thriller”, and “Bad”. Other duos include Drake and Noah “40” Shebib, Usher and Jermaine Dupri, and indie duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

Now that you have your ideas flowing and your production picked out it’s time to start recording. If you plan on having features or co-writers, this is the time where you will be collaborating. If you have a home studio setup, begin recording. For those booking studio time, prepare your songs and be ready to record before booking your time. Having the proper preparation will keep you

within your allocated studio budget.

During this creative process keep as many visuals of your recording sessions. This will be later used during the release of the project. Recording and releasing a successful project will require much more than a playlist of songs. Keep the process fun and well documented. Maintain communication with everyone involved in your project. This is your team. Maintaining positive relationships with all parties will only benefit the ending product. Be open to and apply without straying too far from your original vision.

Production

During the production of your projects there are steps that you will want to protect your work and also to gain the most exposure during your release period. For those not using a home set-up, you will begin finalizing your production and booking your studio time. Make sure to book this time in advance. Studio time can become pricey without proper preparation. Also, make sure to keep the producers updated. A general pet peeve that I’ve come across, it is frowned upon not to communicate effectively with your producers. Even if you may not always like their work, having that productive conversation will allow growth both in your relationship and your sound. Like yourself, producers spend many hours on their craft. They are just as eager, if not more, to showcase their work.

With every relation you make during your career as musician, you will want to have an agreement. Best practice is to have an agreement in place prior to your release. This goes for producers, writers, engineers, and all other parties involved in the creation of your project. This will deter any future financial conflicts that may arise with the release of your project.

Make sure you keep visuals of this process. Damon Dash, founder of Roc-AFella, and Sean “Diddy” Combs, founder of Bad Boy Records, are both known to have a camera man on their team to document their experiences. Moments like studio sessions, writing sessions, rehearsals, meetings, are all great times to maintain a visual record. This will be used later as both behind the scene and promotional material for your project. You may even use it at a later date as a tell all documentary of your career. During your career as a creative, you will want to connect with your fans with more than just a music. I enjoy promoting positivity and using video blogs in order to share tips that may help others in their own process. I find that a great way to organically gain fans is to include them in your growth as a recording artist. The completion of your project will include more than just the music itself. It will include visuals, interviews, events, etc.

Post-Production

By now you have your songs done, you have folders of videos from the process, and you’re getting ready to prepare for the release your project. You’ve added all the final touch, ad libs, sound effects, and you’re ready for the mastering stage. Mastering is the process of taking all of the audio files and creating the final mix for distribution. There’s a chance that songs were recorded in different places and mixed by more than one engineers. The mastering stage is where you clean up the music and give your project an even clear sound. Quite often this step is overlooked and skipped by creatives. You may have a song that you consider your best work, but sonically lacks the appeal to be used commercially. Commercial music does not mean that it needs to be radio bubble gum music but clean audio that can be presented to the masses.

Latrell James, Boston artist and producer, landed on a cheerios campaign called “Good Goes Round”. Latrell stated via social media that the majority of his music is recorded from his home studio. Do not take shortcuts with your creative process. You may very well create a hit record or an international campaign from your home studio. Make sure to book your mastering engineer early to have your final mixes on time for release. I like to have the music completely done prior to going into packaging and branding. This helps prevent premature announcements.

Packaging & Concept

This is where the excitement starts for me. The music sounds good, your single is picked out, now you’re for the final presentation. This step will require photographers, videographers, and graphic artist, in some cases your legal staff and management team. First comes the strategy then the execution. Your album artwork and promotional photos should be taken and selected. It is advised that the visuals and promotional material coincide with one another. During this part of the process, gather all credit information from producers and writers to prepare for publishing. Make all remaining payments to any engineers and studio you may have booked.

With every great product there is great packaging. You will need to put together your artwork concept in order to complete your project. Packaging for your album would be the cover art, final track-list, in some cases artist may have creative sleeves and CD cases for their album. Creatives can use out of the box packaging in order to help market their project.

There are no limitation on how creative the packaging of your project can be. Creative packaging dates all the way to the era of vinyl and cassette tapes. One example of a quirky album package is the “School’s Out” release by Alice Cooper. The casing was created to resemble a flip top desk and when you flipped the cover you discovered a desk filled with school material and a sling shot. A more modern example would be the “Tyranny” album by Julian Casablancas+the Voidz. This album was packaged inside of a lighter that contained a USB drive. The songs were given as MP3 files that you were able to on your computer.

Maintaining a release budget plays a key factor in releasing a profitable body of work. If you don’t have the budget to incorporate hard copies with your release,

there are ways to get your music to the masses with little to no cost. New innovations in the industry allow independent artist to release projects on all major streaming platforms from home. For as low as twenty dollars, even free in some cases, you are able to release an unlimited number of albums and songs within a year’s time. If you decide to have a digital release of your project, consider purchasing hard copies for your tour campaign which we will touch upon later in this book.

Legal Setup

It is important to have agreements amongst all the parties involved in your project. The splits or distribution of income of your project should be agreed upon prior to the release. It is highly recommended to have these agreements in writing. This applies to all work for hire, investors, your management, publisher, and any other party that will be involved in your campaign. Once all parties are in agreement to , you may begin the registration of your music and release of your completed project.

Contractual Agreements

"Work for Hire" Agreements

For anyone hired to be part of your sessions, including engineers and studio staff, it is recommended to have a “work for hire” agreement, to avoid any future claims by those parties stating that they are owed royalties or have any ownership of your content. This should be completed prior to recording.

Producer Agreement

If you are using a producer outside of your camp, there should be a signed agreement, defining how production cost will be handled, what advances will be paid to the producer, if any, and also what royalties will be paid to the producer. Similar to the “Work for Hire” agreement, this should be done before the recording begins.

Liability Releases/Permission Forms

Liability releases and permission forms would be used in various scenarios. These forms are used when you are using visual content that may belong to an outside creative. Same goes for using logos or trademarks owned by a third party. Before this content can be shown on your artwork, you will need to obtain consent from those parties. You may also use release forms to keep your content from being leaked early. Having written consent with all parties involved on the confidentiality of your project will keep the project from being heard or seen prematurely.

Music Registration

Masters

Your masters are your entire project in audio files. The best form of storage would be to create stems for every session. Stems are individual tracks of each audio wave that will be used in a song. They include each line of vocals and instrumental sounds. Stems simplify the loading of your session allowing it to be opened in any software. Producers can also give you the stem version (also known as track out) for their composition. Many require additional payment before sending their composition in stem form. You hear a lot of talk in the music industry always discussing ownership of their masters. Acts such as Prince fought during the decline of his career to own all of the masters of his extensive catalogue. A more publicized event was Jay-Z and Damon Dash’s disagreement on the masters of “Reasonable Doubt” during the split of the label Roc-A-Fella Records. As you see, masters are crucial to actually owning your content.

Sample Clearance

You will want to find out from each producer if the composition given to you has samples. Samples have to be cleared with the original in order to be used to generate income. You will want to submit this as early as possible. There may be instances where the publisher denies the use of the composition or the licensing fee may be outside of your budget.

Music Copyrighting

As a creative, you will want to copyright all aspects of your original work. The copyrighting forms can be easily found on the Copyright Office’s website. There are 3 forms you will need to copyright your work. The three forms are “Form SR”, “Form PA”, and “Form VA”. Form SR is the Sound Recording form. This form is used to published and unpublished audio recordings. Form PA is the Performing Arts form. This application is used for any published work that is going to be performed. Published works include musical works, dramatic works, motion pictures and other audiovisual works. Form VA is the Visual Arts form that will be used to all album artwork. This form allows you to copyright all visual art forms including but not limited to two–dimensional and threedimension graphics, photographs and prints.

Universal Product Code

In order to track sale and stream activity, you will need to acquire a Universal Product Code (UPC) for your single or project. For information on obtaining a UPC, you can visit the Uniform Code Council website or them by phone. Many of the digital distributors provide this service at an additional fee. You want to make sure that the UPC you have is an original and not associated with someone else’s record. This will be needed for all registrations of your release.

Performance Rights Organization

If you have a release date already established, you can begin ing your songs with your performance rights organizations (PRO). A PRO is the middleman between the copyrighted work holder, which would be you, and the organizations that would like to use the work publicly. When your work is picked up by movie studios, radio or shopping centers, the creative is owed a payment known as royalties. The PRO works with the artist in order to collect to funds. Popular PROs in the United States are The American Society of Composers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music, Inc (BMI). Registration to a PRO may require a fee to be paid before being able to your work. You will want to do research about which performance rights organization are available in your home country. To complete the PRO registration, you will need to have all of the production and writing credits readily available. Double check and make sure all of that information is accurate in order to properly your content to collect royalties.

Nieslen SoundScan

If you anticipate high sales, you will want to your release with Nielsen Soundscan. Privately owned, Nielsen Soundscan compiles sale data traded under your UPC from sales at retailers and then sells that information to other Soundscan subscribers. Those subscribers would be the major labels. This is a great way to bring attention to your product from the record label. You can your work directly on the Nielsen website.

Mechanical Licenses

A mechanical license is used for cover songs. You will need to obtain a mechanical license from the original owner of the work in order to authorize cover or remake to be placed for sale. These licenses are obtained by the original song’s publishing company. In most cases, you can acquire a mechanical license from The Harry Fox Agency. This process does have a 6 to 8-week turnaround time. For cover work that cannot be cleared through Harry Fox, you will need to the publishing company directly. Publishing information can be found on the Performance Rights Organizations websites.

Release Preparation

Releasing your project is where things really start moving. After investing time and money into your project, you will want to make sure all steps are aligned prior to final release presentation. Do not miss steps in your process. Shortcuts can lead to you taking the long path at a later point. Now that your music is ed and completed, it’s time to create the demand for your content. The general perception on internet releases is that if your song is a “banger” someone will pick it up. There’s a lot of clerical work involved in getting your release the right exposure it needs to have impact. Creative marketing and industry relationships will help drive fans to your content. This is the time to polish you’re your online presence.

Marketing and Merchandise

This is what brings everything together. Social Media, your website, your blog for those who have one. Once your project is ed to your BMI/ASCAP and Nielsen Soundscan, you have to prepare your campaign. Your campaign will include all visual content, including digital banners, posters, flyers, and promo videos. You can create the awareness of your project using this content on social media. Before your release would be a good time to release behind the scenes footage of the creation process and previews to your music.

The second part of your marketing campaign is product. You need merchandise to give away and other merchandise to sell. Products can include clothing, branded everyday items (lighters, mouse pads, phone cases), hard copies of your project, and more. Also think outside of the box when it comes to using merchandise and product. During one of my clients’ earlier releases, my day job had given me a brand-new Apple iPad. I already bought and owned an iPad and my first idea was to sell it. Now making a quick $400 sounded appealing at that time. Rather than selling it, I ran a month contest giving away the iPad, a free digital copy of the unreleased project, a hard copy of the project, and a T-Shirt with the project name. The winner was announced the day of the release on the artist website.

Marketing outside of just the music will help you get traction for the release. With the giveaway, I was able to use sites such as TheBalance.com to promote the contest as opposed to the release. Ultimately all of the artist received all of the traffic from people interested in the iPad. This generated a hefty mailing list of 500+ emails and names for my client that would be used through the release. This also created a bump in my client’s website analytics and AdSense revenue. Everyone won in that battle.

Album Pre-Release

Let’s begin with the digital distribution. We already discussed options for music aggregators that can distribute your music, at this time we want to schedule the release. It is recommended to submit your project at least 4 to 6 weeks in advance in order to avoid any delays with your release. Some music aggregators will allow you to have pre-sales. This is a great way to begin marketing your project as soon as the pre-sale is available on the streaming platforms.

Once ready for distribution you will want to the work to Soundscan also known as BDS and your Performance Rights Organization. Soundscan similar to the PROs tack online and hard copy sales. Soundscan is how billboard singles are tracked. Without a Soundscan registration you may lose out on many sales which affects those release numbers. These statistics are crucial to being able to receive funding for future projects. As far as the PROs, some of the aggregators will charge a fee to your material. I personally go in and the music through ASCAP myself considering it’s just me. For those looking to run a label you may benefit from that service.

During this period, you will round up all of your marketing material. Schedule a photoshoot with a professional photographer and you will want to hire a publicist. The publicist will take all of the marketing material and prepare them for the release of your project. By definition a publicist handles public relations and media for the artist. The marketing material will include but isn’t limited to images, video, and your short biography. Prior to the release you can begin your online campaigns. If your release date is already set you will want to begin sending the music to radio and club DJs.

Single Release

Some artist release singles before the release of the full-length project. A single is a good way to get your fanbase excited and to let them know that new music is on the way. A single should be release roughly 4 weeks prior to the album release. This would give you time to promote and also release a visual for the single. The single should be released to radio, DJs, influencers, and anyone else that can play the record or gain exposure for the record. It is recommended to also release a lyric video.

With radio, you may want to consider hiring a radio tracker in order to get your single in the right markets. The radio track will be the go-to person when trying to gain exposure on radio. It is best practice to follow up with the radio station and introduce yourself once your record has been placed. This will start building your network. Your network will consist of individuals in different professional areas that s your work. You can also work with your radio tracker and publicist in order to schedule a radio press run visiting different stations for onair interviews.

Listening Sessions

Before booking these listening sessions, you should already have a release timeline in mind. All of the contracts are agreed on, samples cleared, and your music should be ready for release. My listening sessions are broken down to both private and public. Once the project is completed, it’s time to get from the people who will be promoting your project. Book studio time for these listening sessions and prepare all of your files for playback. Capitalize on these listening sessions to really build relationships with the guests. They will be your team for the length of your release campaign.

#1 Creatives Session

Guest:

Featuring Artist(s) Producers Videographers Music Bloggers

This listening session is where you will have the creative . Invite the artists, the producers and sound engineers that took part in the project. This listening session is where the creatives will get a complete listen and give final on the music. Every creative would like to be heard at their own standards, so it is important to make sure everyone is pleased with the project sonically. You also want their fans to hear your music and become your fans as

well.

#2 Promotional Session

Guest:

DJs Radio Personalities Promoters Entertainment Bloggers Magazine Representatives

This listening session will be geared towards radio personalities, DJs, and promoters. During this session you can go over your first single to prepare it for radio play. Prepare any clean versions you may need to send for radio play. During this session you may also prepare drops for the DJs and radio personality. Make sure you have digital marketing content for the promoters to leave with. Having these players on the same page for your release timeline will give your single or project a lot more exposure with information being shared simultaneously. It’s best practice to have the parties leave with all of the content they need.

#3 Multi-Media Session

Clothing Companies

Photographers Models Actors Programmers

This listening session is for the clothing brands, miscellaneous bloggers, and visual artists. This will be your multimedia session. During this session you will be able to see which brands, magazines, and blogs fit the style of music you’re releasing.

Final Session

This listening session is the public session. Invite anyone you want including previous guests. At this listening event, you may choose to perform your songs. I recommend having this event at a small private venue with a stage setup. Keep in mind that by this point in your release timeline, your project is completed. This is a great place to begin selling hard copy pre-orders and merchandise to your friends, family, and fans. This recording session should be well documented. You may release video clips from this event to build anticipation for your project through social media platforms and YouTube.

Make Money

The Release

Going back to the visual content, begin putting together video blogs. There are two formulas that are popular for releases. The element of surprise or heavy promotion. Many big acts such as Beyonce, Jay-z, Rihanna, Drake, and more, have used the element of surprise when releasing albums. Albums like Lemonade, Magna Carta Holy Grail, & ANTI were all released publicly by surprise which led to a surge in blogs and social media conversations. You may want to use the more traditional approach as a new artist.

During this period, you will be giving your brand a facelift. With all of your marketing media available you can update your website and social media banners to match the branding of the project or current single. You will want to add release dates, shows, and any other news you think will appeal to your fans. Continue posting updates across social media to create awareness around your project. For those paying for ads, make sure you know the demographic that you are trying to reach.

You can start flooding social media with your content. Behind the scenes videos of the project being worked on are always great. You can also push snippets of radio interviews recorded during the single press run. The goal is to create hype around your release. For the artist still working with hard copies of your project, you can drop off the project to Music directors of your local radio stations. By now the initial single may start to peak and slow down streams so you will want to have your second single ready. You will duplicate the same process without the radio press run.

Release Party

Now that you are officially releasing the project, doing a release party is very common when releasing a project. A release party is very similar to the final listening session with the exception of being open to a larger crowd. You can team up with a local promoter to execute your release party. This can be held at lounges, nightclubs, or any private venue of the artists’ choice. Another difference between a listening session and release party is that with the party you can have opening acts. With influential opening acts you are able to capitalize on their exposure bringing a larger crowd to your release party.

Touring Campaign

Touring is a crucial part in gaining exposure. For an artist starting out, you can call venues in different cities where they host open mics or other small events to find out if they have anything going on that night. After collecting enough locations and dates, you can create marketing material with all the dates as a tour. This is a cheap but affective way to get on the road. During any tour you want to capitalize on merchandise sales. CDs, T-Shirts, posters, and other misc. products should all be things that are included in your merchandise setup. Let’s go into further details of your touring setup:

Your Team

At first one person may have to fill multiple roles in order to accommodate a smaller budget but let’s go through your list of teammates:

ant Publicist Booking Agent Cinematographer/Photographer Entertainment Lawyer Street Team Graphic Designer Manager Marketing Consultant Road Crew

––––––––

ant

This person will be in charge of the money coming in and going out. Their job will be to stay on top of expenses to make sure that you are not exceeding your budget and that your tour remains profitable. It is very important that you find a professional or someone that you really trust. It is recommended that you also keep an eye on your money. Do not completely leave it in the hands of someone else.

Publicist/Public Relations

While you are on tour, your online presence is what will help you have the most outreach before being backed by radio. Your publicist will be in constant communication with blogs, magazines, and news outlets giving them a constant update of your moves. A publicist can be expensive to hire. During the Revolt Music Conference 2017, one of the gems that was given to me is that you can have any of your friends be your publicist. This person should be well spoken and able to write professional content about your brand.

Booking Agent

A booking agent will be the person that will be arranging all of your concert and club engagements. They are described as the middleman between the artist, the fans, and the venues. The booking agent will sell your brand to the venues. They are a big part of connecting you to your fans in cities that you would normally be unable to close a performance. Having a booking agent can alleviate a lot of the work needed to have a full tour schedule.

Cinematographer/Photographer

The cinematographer and photographers will be the eye of the people. The hold the content that the world will see. As we mentioned previously during the creating process of your project, content is very important to promote your brand. Having these players on your team will also help your publicist when ing the blogs and news outlets by having exclusive images that can be sent alongside the write-ups. The more people see you the better.

Entertainment Lawyer

This teammate is pretty straight forward. A lawyer is important in any situation where a deal can be made. Your lawyer will look over all contractual agreements between yourself, venues, producers, etc, making sure that everything is in order. When you start picking up momentum with your brand, you may be approached by labels, management and distribution companies that may take interest in what you are doing. You’ve probably heard of a 360 deal where the labels take a portion of all of your generated income. Your lawyer will be the person alongside your manager that will make sure that you are getting a fair contract and also that all parts of your agreement are met.

Street Team/Promoters

Your street team and promo staff are your voice. While you’re preparing for shows and doing your press runs, your street team will be out gathering the fans by handing out flyers to your shows, selling merchandise and CDs, and ultimately spreading the word of your up and coming brand. Having a solid street team will help you fill up the venues for your shows and create the proper buzz in every city you visit.

Graphic Designer

This teammate is also along the lines of your social presence. During your tour, you will need flyers made. Generally, all tour marketing will look similar. You will want to keep the marketing uniform. This includes but is not limited to press runs, pop-up shops, and meet and greets. While you are touring in cities outside of your hometown, it is important that you promote where you will be so that your fans may connect with you.

Manager

Your manager is considered the team captain. Your manager is in will all parts of the team making sure that everyone is completing their tasks so that the brand can thrive. Earlier on, your manager may be playing multiple roles of the team. He may be the ant, booking agent, publicist, and at times even capturing visual content for your brand. Being a recording and touring artist, there is a lot of the back-end work that you will not be able to complete all on your own without the . Your manager picks up the pieces that you can’t reach. This may be the most important player on your team.

Marketing Consultant

Your marketing consultant is your strategist. They will help you put together a game plan to have the most impact with your up and coming brand. The help you create your overall brand message and help execute your game plan to get your message out to the masses. Your marketing consultant should have some expertise in the consumers you are trying to reach to be able to adjust your branding to your fan base. They generally create he interest for the people to want to buy your product. The beauty of being an entertainer is that you can create the interest just by being yourself and connecting to your fans. The marketing consultant looks at this fanbase from an analytical stance and focuses on strategy.

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Road Crew

This team will become handy when you start touring with your own equipment such as lights, screens, fireworks, etc. Your road crew sets up the stage that you will be performing on. This team is built of technicians that travel with you and handle all parts of the show production with the expectation of the performance itself. Your road crew makes sure that your stage looks great and that your audio sounds just as amazing.

Media and Press

With the help of your teammates, there are a few key parties that you will want to approach during your touring campaign. These parties are how you will expand your brand and get massive outreach. We will go over some less mainstream options while still having the mainstream impact.

The parties are as follow:

Radio Magazines Blogs Personal Vlog

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Radio

When it comes to radio, the ideal would be mainstream radio and iHeartMedia. When looking at radio, you may want to take a look at the smaller players in the field such as internet radio and college radio. Connecting with these stations will help expand your fan base. There are college and internet radio stations playing all across the globe. Just find the ones that are playing your genre of music and start reaching out. I highly recommend asking all of the

radio stations if they are in need of radio drops. Sending a drop with your music is a great way to establish a long-term relationship with the station.

Magazines/Blogs

Magazines and blogs will go hand in hand. Interviews do not have to be in audio or video format. There are plenty of indie magazines and blogs that cover independent artist and are also looking to expand their catalogues. With the help of your photographer and publicist, you can reach out to blogs and magazines with write-ups of your project, single, and tour. Similar to radio, make sure the blogs you are ing have an interest in the genre of music you are making. Do no limit yourself to digital media. ing local newspapers about your tour is also a great way to get exposure. Capitalize on all outlets that are giving information to the masses.

Personal Vlog

Vlogging is growing to be one of the most popular ways to connect with your fans. Social media now gives you to ability to stream live and have the public talk to you through chat. Live streaming is great to show behind the scenes and to connect with your fans as a normal person. This removes the barrier of fans not getting to know you and opens up a more personal interaction. Having a mix of live and promo videos will keep a constant flow of content. Try not to rely solely on one alternative. Having the ability to professional media and live media will uphold the balance between your artistry and the personal connection you have with your fans.

Merchandising

Merchandising is the most prominent way to generate funds not only on tour but year-round. One time, I went to a showcase in New York where this was capitalized on heavily. Throughout the show, the host was giving away merchandise found at the merchandise booth placed next to the bathroom entrance. This was the area with the second most traffic after the bar. Your merchandise booth should consist of bare minimums. Physical copy of your new project and posters. With a bigger budget you can add clothing and other miscellaneous items. Merchandise is a big part in generating money on the road. Do not limit your creativity when it comes to merchandising. Make sure that the merch compliments the message you are promoting during your tour.

Sponsorship

Most popular sponsorship item is clothing. With many brands coming up, building a relationship can gain exposure for you the artist and the brand you are promoting. Event sponsors are also great for release parties and concerts. Sponsorships give you a chance to cross promote different brands. Most artist only promote brands that they believe in, but you will also find sponsorships that are backed by monetary incentives. With your sponsors you will want a clear understanding on the product you’re promoting and what is expected in return. Many sponsors will want general promotion, but you will also come across sponsors will want to be exclusive to your brand. For example, getting a contract with a big player such as Nike or Adidas may require that you wear their brand when being seen publicly in exchange for clothing and accessories.

Music Placement & Licensing

Getting a music placement is something that many producers and artist aspire to accomplish. For producers this may mean getting one of your compositions picked up by an artist on a major label. For artist this may be getting one of your songs picked up for a television show or motion picture. Another popular up and coming placement is video games. Now what a placement means is that your song or composition was put in a major project giving you the opportunity to collect royalties and gain massive exposure.

Once your project is completed, you can begin the process of shopping your masters to partners that can connect you with production companies looking to license music for film or video games. Boston artist, Cousin Stizz, has appeared on NBA 2K18 and NBA 2K20. Getting these placements creates another avenue for your music to generate income for you. Typically, a good publisher would go out and seek these opportunities for the artist.

Becoming the label

Now that you’ve had a successful release and you are confident in your new set of skills, you may want to extend this service to other creatives around you. The internet gives you the capability to run a label from your home studio. Now in order to begin publishing and marketing other people’s music, you will want to make sure that all of your business registrations are completed.

The first step would be ing your publishing or recording company as a stand-alone entity. The most popular entity type is a Limited Liability Corporation, also known simple as LLC. Read about the different entity types before registration as your business needs may be different. You will need to obtain a Tax ID from the IRS and complete all required registrations in your home state. These requirements vary from state to state. There are many services online that aid in completing this process at a fee. You can also complete this process by visiting the IRS and your home state’s website. This process is fairly easy and can take anywhere from a couple of hours to several weeks. This time frame also varies from state to state.

Once the business has been ed, you will want to apply as a publisher to the different PROs. Both ASCAP and BMI provide royalty collection for publishers. When ed as a publisher, you will be able to duplicate everything found in this book for others. You will want to have a publishing agreement and label agreement with the artist to make sure all of the splits are agreed upon by all participating parties.

Final Encouragement

Thank you for taking the next step in generating revenue with music. One thing that must be said is prior to every step in this guide what’s needed first and foremost is ion and creativity. Without ion none of the things in this book will help your cause. There’re times myself where I’d like to walk away but there something always pulling me back into that creative space. Creativity is they tool needed to stand out. Keeping your content fresh and innovative will help you combat the saturation in the music industry.

With your creativity make sure you study the business of the industry you’re entering. Having creative control and ownership of your content will keep you flexible, engaged, and ionate about the creative process. Also, make sure you set a budget and keep it. The amount of money spent may vary for each individual. Make friends on the road, make new s, build your network and most importantly, enjoy the process. Good luck in the next step of your musical career. I’ll see you at your next release.