Music Growth Talks: Podcast For Musicpreneurs

Tommy Stalknecht is the founder of Single Music, a Nashville-based company offering a music distribution component to Shopify. Over the years Tommy has overseen the development and management of many high-profile websites, including Sam Hunt, Kenny Rogers, Josh Turner, Larry The Cable Guy, and The Americana Music Association, among others. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Tommy explains how they help record labels and artists to sell directly via their official web sites with instant reporting to Nielsen for official Billboard chart tallying. We talk on what "direct to consumer" means in music today, the pros and cons of integrating with another platform, and the importance of great design in ecommerce. Listen to the episode in full to learn the tricks major artists use to increase "scans" on Billboard, how to run a crowdfunding campaign on Shopify, and much more. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt135-single-music for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcas

JP Evangelista is Vevo’s Senior Vice President of Content, Programming & Marketing. His teams work with artists, managers, and record labels to secure and promote music videos, exclusive premieres, and live events across the Vevo platform. Over the course of the last 18 months, Vevo has been pushing original content creation and promotional strategies to support emerging artists, championing acts like Billie Eilish and Alessia Cara. On this Music Growth Talks episode, JP explained how their DSCVR and LIFT programs work for artists at different stages of their careers (regardless of label affiliation), and gave tips on optimizing music videos for the YouTube environment. Listen to the episode in full to learn why a long intro in your video will hurt its performance, as well as how to appear on Vevo's radar for potential inclusion in the DSCVR program. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt134-vevo-jp-evangelista for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Bec

Amadea is the COO of Pex, an LA-based video and music search engine with a fingerprinting technology that identifies reused content – even if it's a half-second sample in a remix, a GIF, or your song's melody in a cover video – across the whole web. This enables rights holders to understand the virality of their content, and claim copyrighted material at scale. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Amadea explained how Pex works, why their solution is more precise than YouTube's Content ID, and how Pex is opening the platform to indie creators. With data showing that 99% of fan engagement comes from reposted versions of popular artists' content, understanding where these reposts happen becomes more important than ever. As Amadea said, "it's no longer a one-platform game out there". Indeed, you have little control over your music or video popping up on the likes of Tik Tok or Giphy (and to be clear, most of you want that to be happening). We also talked about the recently approved by EU Copyright Directive's A

Taishi Fukuyama is a co-founder and COO of Amadeus Code, an AI-powered songwriting assistant. The technology behind this mobile app breaks "centuries of melodies" down into constituent parts and transforms them into data, allowing the tool to generate an endless stream of melody. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Taishi, who's also a contributing writer at WIRED Japan, shared his thoughts on the current state of artificial intelligence in music and explained how his team aims to help songwriters and foster creativity with Amadeus Code. Listen to the full episode to learn why each song needs a story (which can only be created by a human), how you can collaborate with the AI inside the app, and more insights from Taishi Fukuyama. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt132-taishi-fukuyama for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Greg Wilnau is the founder of Musician Monster, where he teaches independent artists to succeed in the music business, with the focus on branding and earning sustainable income through live shows. In his second appearance on Music Growth Talks, Greg focused exclusively on branding. He listed three steps to defining a music brand, explained the importance of understanding how you want to impact others and why traditional branding doesn't work well for music, and showed how artists can integrate personal stories into their brands. Listen to the full episode for Greg's merch advice, the 3-part music story framework, and more. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt131-music-branding for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

After a decade of fighting for the rights to the .MUSIC top-level domain, alongside other applicants like Google and Amazon, DotMusic's application for the registry prevailed in April 2019. .MUSIC is now a community-based domain name extension, supported by thousands of the most influential music organizations worldwide, representing over 95% of global music (probably including yours). Constantine Roussos, the founder and CEO of DotMusic, shared with us the complicated history of the project, the numerous challenges they face prior to launching the domain next year, explained how artists will be verifying their identities, and commented on the security measures designed to protect creators' rights (and fight cybersquatting or piracy). Listen to the episode in full to learn how to claim your .music domain today, the potential cost of registering, why Constantine doesn't recommend using it as a redirect to your existing website, and more. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt130-dotmusic for the s

Alexey Kochetkov is the CEO and founder of Mubert, an AI generative music app. Mubert's algorithm creates unique audio streams from samples and loops uploaded by various electronic music producers. Each such stream is an infinite 'live' track that is constantly changing in real time. Listeners of the mobile app can choose from channels based on genres (e.g. Chill, Dub Techno, Hip Hop, House) and actions (e.g. Focus, Work, Sleep, Relax). On this Music Growth Talks episode, Alex talked about musicians' role in the future of music AI; the increasing interest in generative music from commercial brands, games, and social media platforms; the fair monetisation model where producers earn money from the sounds they've uploaded; and a lot more. Listen to the episode in full to also learn how to create a personal generative stream consisting only from your samples with Mubert. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt129-mubert for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Bec

Aaron Bethune, the author of “Musicpreneur: The Creative Approach to Making Money in Music” and founder of Play It Loud Music, Above the Noise and JAM, is back to Music Growth Talks. Listen to episodes #29 and #80 for more on Aaron. This episode starts with the discussion of a blog post Aaron wrote about last year's scandal around the LA metal band Threatin, who faked their whole online presence to land a European tour no one attended, which led to the promoters exposing the band online. Was the case all that shockingly new to the music industry though? Did Threatin go too far, or didn't they go far enough? Listen to Aaron's insights on this controversial topic, with examples of Elvis Presley and Taylor Swift applying the "fake it till you make it" mindset at early stages of their careers. Aaron then broadens the theme of con artists, and gives examples of how his artists and himself have been attempted to be scammed. There is a few crazy stories involving Def Jam, president of UPS, and US Secret Service,

Matty Harris is a music producer, mixing and mastering engineer from Boston, now based in LA. After touring with bands as a drummer as early as at the age of 14, he studied Music Production and Engineering at Berklee College of Music. Since then, he has worked on numerous records for Atlantic, RCA, WB, Sammy Adams, A$AP Rocky, and many more. He worked on the Grammy Award-winning song “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson and won the 2008 Boston Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Engineer and Producer. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Matty talked about a range of topics, from singles taking over albums and who to have in your music team, to "wah wah west" and avoiding the common mistakes a lot of DIY musicians make when recording at home. Listen to the podcast in full to also learn about trends in mastering music for streaming platforms, and to discover the "hidden" benefit of hiring a professional to help you finish a song. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt127-mattyharris for the show notes and http://m

Elmo Lovano is a professional drummer, musical director, producer and founder of Jammcard, the invite-only music professionals network. Dubbed a "LinkedIn for musicians" by Forbes, Jammcard is currently available in Los Angeles, Nashville and Atlanta. Even if you don't have an account on the platform, there is a lot to learn from the educational content Elmo has been putting out on Jammcard. He interviews some of the world's most successful freelance musicians for backstage stories, gear insights, and the nitty-gritty of how they've landed their dream gigs. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Elmo talked about the different ways you can prepare yourself for being hired, networking in the physical and digital worlds, and how they merge the two at Jammcard. Listen to the episode in full to learn how to improve your social media game, and how to master a working musician's "funnel": from being discovered to closing a deal. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt126-jammcard for the show notes and htt

Darryl Ballantyne is the founder and CEO of LyricFind, the global leader in lyric licensing. The Toronto-based company handles the vetting, licensing, and royalty splits and payments when lyrics are displayed in Google Search, Apple Music, Amazon, Shazam, Pandora, Deezer, and many more platforms and services. LyricFind works with over 5,000 publishers around the world to ensure that songwriters and rights holders are paid when their lyrics are shown. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Darryl talked about their recent African deal with CAPASSO, explained how and why to submit your lyrics to LyricFind, and showed the creative ways that they turn lyric publishing into revenue (hint: one of it is through merch). Listen to the episode in full to learn how your songs' lyrics might bring you exposure (probably more than money if you are a developing artist), and hear Darryl's thoughts on how lyrics enhance a listener's experience. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt125-lyricfind for the show notes an

Rich Redmond is an influential drummer, having toured and recorded with the likes of Ludacris, Kelly Clarkson, Bryan Adams, Joe Perry, Chris Cornell, and dozens of others. As the drumming powerhouse behind Grammy-nominated Jason Aldean, Rich has recorded 23 #1 singles with sales over the 10 million mark. Also a successful entrepreneur, speaker, educator, and an actor, Rich truly knows how to laser focus on his goals and to be one of the most prolific people in the business. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Rich shows how he's not only survived in the music industry, but has been thriving in it. He talks about building multiple income streams as a musician, such as teaching and offering speaking engagements to corporations. Rich also explains his "C.R.A.S.H. Course For Success"™ presentation, which he refers to as "edu-tainment." C.R.A.S.H. is a practical concept, applicable to Fortune 500 companies and music artists alike. Listen to the episode in full to hear time management tips from the person who jug

Stephen White, who served as the President at Gracenote from 2012-2014, is now the CEO of Dubset, an innovative music marketplace for DJs, artists, labels, publishers, and distributors. Dubset gets mixtapes, remixes and DJ sets the licenses they need to be distributed on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, and hence monetized. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Stephen talked about Dubset's history (some of you may still remember it as a place to host your DJ mixes), explained how complicated the clearance process has been traditionally and how a DJ, a producer or a label can do it differently using Dubset's MixBANK. Stephen also shared details of the recent project by J.PERIOD, featuring hip hop legends Rakim, Pharoahe Monch, and Black Thought, which is a live mixtape that was recorded in one take. This is the first time such a mixtape has been cleared for commercial distribution. Listen to the episode in full to find out more about Dubset's recent partnership with SoundCloud, and learn wh

Mandy Aubry is a director of Global Business Development and Client Relations at Songtrust. Once named a "Top Music Startup" by Billboard, Songtrust now powers the publishing administration technology for over 150,000 songwriters and 20,000 music publishers worldwide, as well as more than 1 million copyrights. One out of every five new songwriters in the US use the Songtrust platform today, and the number seems to be growing steadily. As you will hear, Mandy has a fascinating music industry background, having worked at Mercury Records, Roadrunner Records, and Fintage House prior to joining Songtrust's team in their Amsterdam office. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Mandy talked about Songtrust's rich background and what makes the platform unique, explained how to collect publishing royalties from streaming, clarified a difference between publishing administration and a publishing deal (and why the latter may in fact be bad for you), and shared her thoughts on if you should sign up with your distributor's

iLLvibe is an acclaimed hip hop artist from Toronto, Canada, who also runs a lyric video company, LyricVids.com. He came on our radar after speaking at Future Music Forum in Barcelona, where he hosted a session called "The Importance of Musicians/Artists Thinking Like Content Creators". As someone who creates a lot of high-quality content for himself and others, Illy had much to say on this Music Growth Talks episode. He gave examples of when lyric videos come particularly handy, explained why filming a low budget music video can “brand you down”, and talked about reaching new fans through video on social media. He shared tips on using targeted ads and crafting your brand’s story, as well. Listen to the podcast in full to also learn why being an underdog can boost your growth, and what kind of call to acton to give to you superfans. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast/mgt121-illvibe for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret po

Betsy McHugh is the Founder and Chief Product Officer at Hurdl, pioneering "the next generation of fan-based marketing" at live events (the statement which we endorse). Event attendees get an LED wristband upon entering a venue, which can then be activated via SMS to answer a short set of questions. Those who choose to answer survey in turn become a part of the light show, get special offers, merch deals, and any other incentives determined by the artist's team. The Nashville-based startup claims to identify 8 times the data on who is in the audience versus other methods (for the organiser to then start a conversation with those fans). The system has a 67% average audience opt-in rate with 95% of those who do so answering up to 5 survey questions. On this Music Growth Talks episode Betsy shares how acts like Deadmau5 and Why Don’t We have already benefited from the platform. Listen to the episode in full to learn about the new ways to enhance fan experiences at your live shows, and to hear Betsy's take on

Jesper Skibsby's life journey has taken him from working at a sea shipping company in Denmark to "shipping" a music tech startup, which is now the most accessible platform for tracking radio airplay. WARM, standing for World Airplay Radio Monitor, claims to be the first large-scale airplay monitoring service built specifically to serve individual musicians. On this Music Growth Talks episode Jesper explained the technology behind WARM, and how they manage to track song plays even on small radio stations across the globe. You may be surprised where your tracks are being played. He also talked about two general reasons why you would want to monitor worldwide airplay for your songs, and reminded us that the music is truly global these days—meaning you, as an artist, may see more success with your genre internationally than locally. Listen to this podcast episode in full to also hear Jesper's thoughts on how difficult it is to put a monetary value on a single radio spin, yet how many insights you can gain from

Kevin Breuner, CD Baby’s VP of Marketing, is back to the Music Growth Talks podcast to talk about this year's DIY Musician Conference, which took place in Nashville on August 24-26th 2018. On this episode, recorded a couple days after the event, Kevin explained what DIY means for a music artist nowadays, shared encouraging stats on musicians' royalties growing thanks to streaming, discussed the importance of understanding how platforms like Spotify and YouTube work to get the most out of them, and told a story of an artist who makes a living releasing cover songs. Listen to the episode in full for some great knowledge from Kevin, and watch the video recordings of selected DIY Musician Conference sessions on CD Baby's YouTube channel for even more insights. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast/mgt118-diy-music-conference for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/a

As a musician and a record label executive, Chris Tanner has gone through the challenges all indie artists face when marketing their music online. Equipped with programming skills and frustrated by the lack of simple solutions for their promotional needs, Chris and his business partner Greg Ashburn started working on a set of scripts for their own projects. The two musicpreneurs quickly saw a huge potential and demand in what Chris was developing, and so Spektrol was born – a collection of marketing, analytics, and business apps now available to everyone in the industry. Today, there is over a dozen tools offered within the platform (most are free), and new features are being added weekly. On this Music Growth Talks episode Chris and Andrew discussed the different ways Spektrol and its underlying growth tactics can be used, and talked about Spotify playlist marketing, cold outreach, and even the Atlanta music scene. Listen to the episode in full to learn a bunch of new marketing hacks such as finding influe

Phillip Ryan Block has been involved in a range of jobs, from sales to investment consulting, prior to pursuing his dream and launching the Independent Ear record label. The imprint is a "testament of his abilities to analyze, predict, project, produce and then change it all up when one business model doesn’t fit the next," according to Mr. Block's bio. As a prove to the latter statement, Ryan recently turned Independent Ear into one of the world's first non-profit labels. An experienced marketer and branding expert, he continues to work with various music projects, and also does a lot to raise awareness of mental health issues in the music community. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Phillip Ryan Block talked about his new show, The Open Heart Collective, where his guests open up and share their life stories. The listeners can then learn what to do better in their own lives through these stories. Besides talking about the mental health awareness, Ryan also explained how he's been connecting his labels' a