Music Growth Talks: Podcast For Musicpreneurs

Greg Wilnau is the founder of Musician Monster, where he teaches independent artists how to brand themselves and earn sustainable income through live shows, among other music marketing and business topics. Two years ago Greg and his wife sold their house in Florida to start travelling the world and working remotely full-time. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Greg talked about his new lifestyle and finding the reason he was not making money with his own band, and how he acted upon the discovery. Listen to the episode in full to learn Greg's five-phase strategy for earning income at every gig, packed with a ton of actionable hacks, insights in artist branding (and how it's very different from branding a "regular" business), as well as a look into how to sell when you hate being a salesman. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast/mgt115-greg-wilnau 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

Jamie New Johnson is a retired artist manager, author, and educator from Toronto, who started her music industry career planning educational workshops with some of North America’s top artist managers. She then moved on to manage internationally touring artists independently, before shifting her focus back to education and starting Smartist University a.k.a. SmartistU (formerly Smart Band Management). SmartistU is a resource built for aspiring artist managers, self-managed artists, and musicians who want to start working with managers. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Jamie New explained a ton about the world of music management, from managers' responsibilities and the skills good artist managers must have these days, to a typical management deal structure and what managers usually look for in artists they're considering to sign. Listen to the show in full to also hear Jamie's tips for managers on finding great talent, and for artists on finding great managers. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast

Tom Sarig is a music business veteran of over two decades, who has helped a number of acclaimed music artists sell millions of records, either as their manager or as a label A&R, in genres ranging from electronic to rock, pop, and hip hop. Prior to launching the AntiFragile Music label, Tom has run Esther Creative Group, where he's managed the careers of artists such as Lou Reed, Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music, Rickie Lee Jones, CAKE, Against Me!, Blonde Redhead, and many others. For the 11 years prior to starting ECG, Tom served as a Grammy-winning Senior A&R executive at various major labels including Universal Records, Arista Records, MCA Records, A&M Records, and TVT Records, working with the likes of The Roots, Nine Inch Nails, Erykah Badu, Blink-182, Annie Lennox, Mos Def, Imogen Heap, DJ Shadow, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, and so many others. Tom has also produced several feature films, having served as Film Producer for two acclaimed features, Red Shirley and Lou Reed’s “Berlin”, and as a Producer f

Nathan Hanks is the Founder and CEO of Music Audience Exchange (MAX), a company whose mission is to connect brands and artists "to engage fans together". MAX has built a platform for brands to reach their target audiences through "breakthrough" artists, who have growing and loyal fanbases yet who may not be signed to a major label, or selling out stadiums. This new model helps brands reach potential customers in a more authentic and human way, while allowing artists to grow their careers through meaningful investment from brands (e.g. buying radio play for a song, or sponsoring a music video instead of a plain video advertisement). On this Music Growth Talks episode, Nathan shared details on how their matching engine maps 1.8 million artists to the psychographic and behavioral attributes of their audiences, and gave examples of how MAX' campaigns have been helping both the brands and the artists. Listen to the episode in full to learn more about the power of brand partnerships, and to hear a few specific mu

Danny Turner is a Global Senior Vice President of Creative Programming at Mood Media. Danny has over 25 years of experience in the industry, including helping launch XM Satellite Radio, or creating programs for the likes of Starbucks, MTV, VH1, United Airlines, and Oprah. At Mood Media (a company which acquired Muzak, the inventor of background music), Danny and his team of over 65 music curators design custom playlists for some of the biggest brands, like Target, CVS, McDonald's, Whole Foods, and many more. With 500,000 active client locations around the globe, and Mood's playlists reaching 150 million people per day across 40 countries, Danny manages what can truly be called one of the largest music networks in the world. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Danny explained how music affects retail experience, and how they select music designers (one of the coolest jobs in the world). He also described his approach to creating unique music experiences, and what we liked there was that his team is not attac

Muzooka is a free app allowing artists and their teams to manage their media assets across various platforms, such as festival, venue, or ticketing websites (i.e. no more ancient photos and outdated bios), as well as to report setlists to performing rights organizations for proper distribution of live performance royalties. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Muzooka's founder and CEO Shawn Wilson shared his story of building a product based on real needs of the industry, and explained in detail how their asset management and playlist reporting systems work for music acts. Listen to the show in full to learn how the app collects and validates artists' data, to see why you should get on board, and to hear Shawn's practical advice on getting more attention to your festival gig. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast/mgt110-muzooka/ 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.patre

Elroy "Spoonface" Powell (Spoon) is a British voice artist, actor, music publisher and social entrepreneur. After achieving international success as the voice behind a Black Legend hit, "You See The Trouble With Me", he experienced all possible ups and downs the music industry has got to offer. He shares his experience in a new short book he wrote, to offer fellow artists and musicpreneurs support with a focus on balance and wellness. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Spoon talked about his own path to sustainability, and gave a great creative advice to help you feel less anxious about the music you put out, among other topics we covered. Listen to this episode in full to also find out how marshal arts influenced Spoon's mindset, and to learn a brilliant advice on marketing your brand. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast/mgt109-spoonface 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 http

Suz Paulinski is "a mindset coach for musicpreneurs", helping musicians and other music industry professionals reach their goals with custom time management solutions. Suz wrote and published The Rock/Star Life Planner, a tool for creatives to find focus in their daily lives. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Suz shares her journey from working at major record labels (and hating it), to getting a masters in psychology and becoming the Rock/Star Advocate. We talk about musicpreneurs having no choice but to care about their mental and physical health, the dangers of "sleep shaming", maintaining a healthy work/life balance, and the ways musicians can start managing their time more effectively. Listen to the podcast in full to also learn what "the purse curse" is, why The Rock/Star Life Planner is sold as a physical book, and how journaling will make you more creative. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast/mgt108-suz-paulinski for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podc

Cherie Hu is a music tech columnist for Billboard and Forbes, who also contributes to publications like Music Ally, Cuepoint, Inside Arts and the Harvard Political Review. A musician passionate about technology, Cherie has written numerous impactful pieces about technology in the music industry. Her work was acknowledged at the Reeperbahn Festival last year, where she got the Music Business Journalist of the Year award. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Cherie comments on her Forbes article about the rapidly growing label and management company 88Rising, and explains how you can apply the tech adoption life cycle to your music career, something she describes in detail in her Medium post called "The Artist as Technology, Part 1: Breaking The Adoption Cycle". Listen to this episode to also hear why you can't really "break" overnight (neither can't you fake a meme), and learn about the challenges musicians face in the Asian markets. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast/mgt107-cherie-hu/ for the show

Alex Frecon is a hip hop artist and a media producer turned copywriter from Minneapolis. With many funny and experimental projects behind his back, the biggest one so far is a trip Alex made in March 2017... The trip was to North Korea. To play hockey against the North Korean Men's National Hockey Team. Alex brought his GoPro along for the ride, and created a video about the trip. Listen to this Music Growth Talks episode to find out more about Alex' experience in North Korea and how it helped promote his music, to see the true power of storytelling, and to learn how Alex applied the hedgehog theory to his music creation. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast/mgt106-alex-frecon/ 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 http://musicianswebkeeper.com/

Sony Theakanath is the CEO and Founder of Asaii, an automated machine learning lead generation A&R platform serving record labels, Fortune 500, booking and promoting agencies. Coming from Apple, Facebook, Uber, Salesforce, and Yelp, Asaii's team has built a product which focuses on in-depth analysis and prediction, instead of simply aggregating data across multiple sources. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Sony talked about their Discover and Track products, currently in private beta, and explained how exactly their clients use Asaii. He also shared tips for musicians aiming to be noticed by record labels and industry influencers who use data to discover talent. Listen to the episode in full to hear a new reason (in case you haven't had enough) not to buy fake followers and listens, and a lot more. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast/mgt105-asaii/ 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 e

Ryan Kairalla is a lawyer, author, podcaster, and teacher, helping his clients in the music industry with a variety of entertainment and business matters – from recording and publishing agreements, to music licensing, live performances, copyright counseling, and more. He has represented chart-topping artists and up-and-coming musicians alike. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Ryan talked about his “indie music lawyer” practice, including the Break the Business book and podcast, and shared a number of fascinating insights on surviving and thriving in the music industry today. Among the topics we've covered: when to register copyrights for your songs, trusting (or not) major and indie record deals, how to open your own record label, new promising platforms for musicians like Patreon and Twitch (with a cool case study on Meri Amber), and predictions for 2018 (including one which may be particularly liked by cover artists among you). ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast/mgt103-ryan-kairalla/ for the s

Janette Berrios is a marketing director of Symphonic Distribution, a digital music distributor based out of Tampa, FL. Positioning itself as a “One Stop Shop for the Music Industry", Symphonic does more than distribution though, and Janette explains how the company helps their clients on this Music Growth Talks podcast episode. What Janette also talks about in detail is how to communicate about your releases with whatever distributor you're using in order to be considered for a feature by online music retailers and streaming platforms. Learn what kind of information to submit and by when, what factors may help you in getting exposure, etc. And of course, this episodes is full of insights on Spotify! From appearing on Spotify-owned playlists to the platform's hidden features and getting the most out of Spotify for Artists, Janette covers it all. Listen to the show in full to get yourself closer to getting a major Spotify feature. And if you're interested in distributing with Symphonic, use our partner link

Paul Hamill is the CEO of Inflyte, a new music promotion platform that allows record labels and PR agencies to send out promo records to tastemakers such as DJs and media publications. The delivery happens through mobile pop-up notifications alongside clean and easy-to-digest emails. The releases then can be accessed and rated offline, and the sender gets detailed analytics on the promos' performance. Paul, an experienced music artist who knows the needs of the market well, talks on this Music Growth Talks episode on how Inflyte has been helping their clients get more and better feedback on promo submissions. He also shares a few outreach tips applicable to indie artists handling PR themselves. Listen to the episode for a better understanding of how the promo delivery works both for labels and influencers, and to see if you should consider a new promo platform if you run a record label. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast/mgt101-inflyte/ for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscri

Philip Kaplan is a serial entrepreneur whose first widely known project was the Fucked Company blog, mocking failed startups after the dot-com bubble in 2000. Philip has since founded numerous successful companies, including AdBrite, TinyLetter (now acquired by MailChimp), a social networking website for musicians Fandalism, and DistroKid, an independent digital music distribution platform. On this Music Growth Talks podcast, recorded a week before Andrew moderated a fireside chat with Philip Kaplan at the Slush Music conference in Helsinki, the DistroKid founder explained how the service was different from other distributors, and how they're managing to release around 1,200 albums each day with just 8 people in the team. Listen to the episode to learn how much time it actually takes for your music to appear on digital music platforms, what "Leave a Legacy" feature is and what it has to do with your mortality, and how Philip got endorsements from the founders of his two biggest competitors. BONUS! At the

Before launching POP in 2016, Tim Heineke had founded a leading digital music distributor FUGA and a music discovery service Shuffler. POP, "the simplest way to launch your own messenger-bot," allows music artists to reach their fans directly through Facebook Messenger, while giving the ownership of data back to the musicians. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Tim talks about what POP does, explains what a messenger bot is and isn't (hint: don't think of it solely as a chat bot), and makes it obvious how the Messenger is becoming a key channel in Direct To Fan marketing, already being more effective than social media and even email marketing in many ways. Listen to the podcast to also see how to make your communication more targeted, and to learn a few tactics for acquiring new fans on your Messenger bot. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2017/podcast/mgt99-tim-heineke/ for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast.

Joyce Kettering is an experienced full-time musician, and the person to go to if you want to learn about music licensing. In 2016 alone Joyce composed, produced and placed over 50 of her tracks. Naturally, as someone who wants to learn more about music licensing, I talked to Joyce! As the result we've got this Music Growth Talks episode, and here are just some of the topics it covers: how to earn consistently through music licensing, what kind of income to expect, how much time it takes to submit your music to directories, how to research keywords for your songs so they get discovered, what kinds of deals and companies to avoid, how not to undervalue your music, where and how to find good stock music libraries, and so on. There is a lot to take in from this show. Listen to it in full to see how you can start with music licensing, no matter where you are in your music career, and to hear Joyce's answer to the the question, "What kind of music should you write for licensing?" BONUS: Joyce generously decided

Joey Lelieveld, more widely known under his stage name JoeySuki, has been a part of an international electronic music scene for over 10 years. He'd played Tomorrowland and Creamfields, produced a track with Hardwell (one of the top 5 DJs in the world), made the Beatport Top 100 several times, made remixes for Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull, and hit #1 in a Billboard Chart. Joey had achieved the success so many indie artists desire, in other words. But he discovered the dark side of the lifestyle, as well... in 2015, he decided to put his music career on halt and started helping other artists to become successful, and to avoid his mistakes, instead. On this Music Growth Talks episode Joey talked about the burnout he went through, and shared insights on the untapped potential of Direct to Fan approach, email marketing being alive and effective as ever, importance of consistency in branding, and more. Listen to the episode to also hear Joey’s tips on completing your songs, and the reasons touring the world as a s

Mike Goudreau, also known as Boppin Bluesman, picked up his first guitar at age 14 and hasn't stopped playing since. A full-time and prolific musician, Mike has made music licensing a key source of his income. Since 2007, Mike's songs have been heard on hundreds of network TV shows and feature films such as Bloodline (Netflix), NCIS Los Angeles (CBS), Life In Pieces (CBS), Gotham (FOX) , "Passengers" (2016), to name just a few. On this Music Growth Talks episode, Mike Goudreau shares what he's learnt during the 10 years of hard music licensing work. We talk about non-exclusive vs. exclusive deals, finding good licensing companies, reaching out to music supervisors directly, creating a catalogue that doesn't get old, and much more. Listen to the episode to also learn a few file and meta management tips, and the kind of an "exclusive" licensing deal you don't want to get into. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2017/podcast/mgt96-mike-goudreau/ for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to t