Class is in session - DIY Musician Podcast

Join host Keyz in this episode of Class is in Session as he welcomes special guest Yking, a music industry expert, to explore the essential strategies for monetizing music and growing a fanbase. They dive into the benefits of forming LLCs for musicians, providing liability protection and financial management. Discover the power of leveraging Other People's Money (OPM) to fund and expand your music business through partnerships and collaborations. Yking walks listeners through the process of establishing an LLC tailored to the music industry, while also emphasizing the importance of establishing a line of business credit. Tune in to gain practical insights and guidance for thriving in the modern music industry.

Follow Yking on Instagram:

Join us for an eye-opening episode as we dive into the challenges faced by women of color in the music industry. In this inspiring conversation, CEO Janishia Jones joins Keyz to share her personal experiences and the valuable lessons she's learned along the way. Tune in and explore the groundbreaking work of the JukeJoint Foundation, an organization that is actively transforming the music industry for women of color. Gain insights into the efforts being made to create a more inclusive and empowering space for underrepresented artists. Don't miss this empowering episode on pioneering inclusion in the music industry!

Here's you can get connected with Janishia:

https://www.jukejointfoundation.org/

https://www.pubroyaltyqueen.com/

https://www.instagram.com/pubroyaltyqueen_podcast/

But that's not all - we also want to remind you of an exclusive opportunity to learn more about monetizing your music following. Our host is offering a free training where you'll learn how to grow and monetize your fanbase, all while introducing you to their system for turning that into consistent profit.

Do you know you're missing out tremendously if you aren't building community? Once I realized this I switched gears with my marketing. Since then I've always been focused on better ways to attract new folks and entertain my current community. Numerous times I've heard the name Audius mentioned but I wasn't quite sure why this name kept popping up. After some investigation I found they take community building to an entirely different level. So I had to satisfy my curiosity ya'll and I'm glad I did. Clayton Blaha, Head of Partnerships over at Audius, and I discuss the platform. I had to find out why this platform has over 5 million daily active users. They also have some very invested notable figures utilizing as well. Take a listen to this episode and what you'll find will shift your mind. 

Want to learn about a few different ways to get paid and some current events you may not have known about? In this episode that's exactly what you're getting. I have a few members of The Indiepreneur Club join me on this episode as we discuss current events and some newly developing ways to get paid. Hear about the mistakes we've made and what you should really be leaning towards. 

The music industry is difficult to navigate for both businesses and artists, and for artists, labels are defining success by their number of streams and top hits. The problem is, not all music is created for the standard hit-producing formula played on the radio. Artists are making authentic music filled with creativity, storytelling, and emotion that fuels their passion for music. Labels won’t see this music as successful: the artist needs to define their own success, but how?

Join President of CD Baby, Joel Andrew and I as we speak about artist and label success norms and new ways we can set better guideposts for artists to achieve their goals

One-stop shop your music career:

How many of you reading this still work a 9-5 while pursuing music? I'm willing to bet the answer was yes for most if not all. Working a day job and pursuing music is hard as hell. It's seriously tough work but let this episode be a testament that it can be done. I was blessed enough to cross paths with phenomenal artist, marketer, consultant, public speaker Ace Patterson aka Ace Legit. He works at Google by day and by night he is a charting hip hop artist. The way he manages the balance with finesse and grace is remarkable. He and I talk deeply into what fuels him to manage himself this way. 

I promised you part 2 of our Metadata discussion and here it is. I wanted to make sure you had a firm understanding of metadata before we jumped into the next phase of things. Now that we've cleared that part I wanted to bring a resource to you that requires your metadata and promises SERIOUS gains. Tap into this discussion between Harvest Media owner/ceo Angus Hayes as he explains a service that could completely separate you from the musical herd. 

As a coach I get the same questions time and time again. I wanted to do my part and start a series where you get these common questions. I spiced it up the first episode and brought some artillery. Tom from The Collective joined me today to address questions he and I get far too often. More specifically we discuss 1. Practical ways to gain fans 2. How to release/promote music 3. The Lack of branding. Check us out and be sure to take the Release readiness quiz on my Instagram to see is your next song is ready for the public.

I bet some of you are already like what on earth is that?! I expect it and it's okay that's normal. What I'm aiming to do today is introduce you to it and explain why it's absolutely 100% worth investing your time in. This episode is part 1 of a 2 part series. I have a special guest coming up next episode and in order to get the most out of that episode this pre-text was necessary. Tap into this and then be on the lookout next week for a jam packed episode full of eye-openers. 

Here's the link to 'The 5 Secrets' workshop:

Took some time off but I hade to return with some heavy firepower. Music publishing is something that is HARDLY discussed but the irony is how important it is to succeed. Nobody talks about it and honestly it's the most thrilling thing to learn so I understand being unaware of it's importance. That doesn't make it any less of a thing you need to wrap your mind around. After all...why would you not want to learn how you're going to earn revenue from the music you create? Makes 0 sense to me. Like with all things there are fun parts and not so fun parts, for the not so fun parts self-discipline must take over. Dive in to this episode now where Lauren and I discuss topics that are for certain to send you moving in the right direction.

I am always pleased when I see an artist taking care of business the right way. It makes me want to reach out and genuinely commend them for their hard work. Occasionally I'll invite them up to my podcast so we can chat more and that's what happened here. I wanted to bring a different perspective. A view from somebody who is going through exactly what you're going through. This way you can get the rawest story and hopefully feel inspired to keep pushing your brand further. Take a deep dive into this interview between my good brother iAMM and I. Caution - gems will be dropped.

Professional songwriters often have a hidden vault of amazing, yet unused material. Emerging artists are often on the lookout for these songs, yet do not have the resources to find them. Rocket Songs is now changing this trend, democratizing how artists find songs by offering licensed, high-caliber originals via the world’s first online marketplace for original songs. The songwriters and content providers have worked with artists such as Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson and much more. Listen along as chief creative curator Jonathan Stone and I talk about this amazing platform and more!

If I've told you once I've told you 1,000 times, new music must be planned before released. I couldn't stress that enough so much to the point I needed someone else to come and back me up. In this episode I came with more fire power and his name is Luke Mendoza, the co-founder and CMO of Beatchain. Luke comes with a plethora of experience in music biz and the tool he and his team have built for indie artists is second to none. With a following of over 35k+ followers across the Beatchain and Artist_growth_tips Instagram accounts the presence of dedication and expertise is clearly there. Listen along as Luke and I discuss the details in the release process as well as how Beatchain can help you crush it!

Follow my guest and his platforms:

I know its tough out there on social media needing to stay in front of peoples faces and what not. Trust me as effortless as it may seem on my end I struggle with it too.  It's important to know what your options are and that's what I wanted to talk about today. I wanted to deliver some things you can do on social media to make sure you stay in the front of peoples minds. The more ideas you have the more it's going to make it easier to push content out like this to people. You have to remain consistent for people to catch on and if you have nothing...or the same things you're supplying them it's going to be tough. Tune into this episode to hear me give you ideas you can use to post on social media. As always take advantage of my free resources to help you stay ahead of the game.

I was doing my regular reading and research and I came across a quote like this. I paraphrased it but basically this is what it boils down to. You are an indie artist but you must market yourself the same way a major label does their roster. So it's important to market yourself like a major label BUT on an indie budget. How do you do this you ask? No worries, I'll go over this in the episode today. Listen and take notes because I'm going to do my best to change your perception on this subject. 

The caps in the title are totally intentional. That's because I'm so passionate about resolving this problem I keep seeing. We all know Instagram only gives you the ability to use one link and one link only. You must use this wisely and quite honestly I have seen plenty of artists NOT doing this.  There's a huge chance if you're doing this thing I keep seeing artists do you're killing opportunities you didn't even know existed. Tune in so we can talk about what this is, how you can change it, and resources that'll help out. 

Play this episode today!

In my career as an artist development coach I've had several coaching calls with a bunch of musicians. I've narrowed down the top 3 things artists struggle with and I wanted to discuss these in detail. To help out I've brought my good brother Zoorass on the show to drop gems. Zoorass has numerous accomplishments which makes him a wonderful example for artists to take notes from. He has a four-track EP that has been the #1 Album on I-Tunes in Ghana and #6 Reggae Album on iTunes in America. He has also been featured on VH1, MTV, and is partnered w/ Livenation. Know that I only bring people on the show that can offer value.  Tap into this episode to hear about pain points that you too may be facing!

I love what I do for all of you and by now you should know that. From time to time I like to bring someone on that has a similar mindset and passion. In today's episode I bring on artist manager and consultant CeddyP. If you like the information I provide and how I've built my platform then I can assure you Ceddy brings heat as well. In this discussion we talk about his experiences working with his artists, branding, disadvantages of trend hopping, and how he's been working with his team to weather the storm from the pandemic. 

I've been getting an overwhelming amount of inquiries from artists that follow me about offering management services. Or coming to me because they feel like they urgently need management. I tell these people the same thing every single time which is you don't need it, not now at least. I totally understand feeling overwhelmed and like you need a helping hand. Newflash for you though...that's normal and very expected just starting out. Your career is pushing you to be better for yourself and you have to take the responsibility head on. Once you master everything at the beginner level and have something to show for it, it's then you explore the next level. Anywho...take a listen and get a little more into my mind about this topic and as always here's some supporting resources for you:

People primarily support music they can develop a strong emotional connection with. This is just LAW. Change your mindset of how you view a camera and understand from this point forward it's a TOOL. This tool will allow you to document your journey so people can really explore you! People want to see your highs, your lows, where you're from, you're inspiration, you at work in the studio. Level up your content and never get caught dead without a camera again.

Ever hear the phrase "hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard?" Well....I have and that certainly applies here. Sometimes it ain't always about who has the most talent. There's plenty of musicians out there with talent that you'll never hear about. You know who you will hear about though? The ones who GRIND! In this episode I go off (almost literally) about how important it is to understand that marketing is the secret sauce to success. Check it out!

This episode is for all the artists with a hefty catalogue of music. Yes...this is for YOU. I would like to remind you that your old music is STILL NEW to the public. That means if you're still choosing to constantly record new music you should stop. Well...maybe not stop, but SLOW DOWN and redirect your focus. Your claim to fame may not be new records but the old ones you have chose to forget! Listen to this episode and find out why.

In this episode of Let's Talk Music I bring very special guest Jason Payne. Harvard graduate and CEO of his own artist development agency. Jason is the proprietor and driving force behind Estabrook Road. Beginning with running a small open mic night at a small nightclub in the Fenway district to the running the biggest weekly nightclub in the New England area. Mr. Payne then took his career on the road, managing and promoting numerous artist such as Notorious BIG, Onxy and the artist formerly known as Prince.  Jason then began to work with the A&R departments of record labels such as Epic &  Capitol Records. It was from his experience with these labels that he was exposed to the gap in development and started contracting with labels.  Since Jason has worked with so many up and coming talents it was only right to talk about artist development. Specifically some of the most common areas that artist need improvement after being evaluated by his team of professionals.  Tune into the show to find out what these things are and how to improve if you're lacking. 

In this episode of Let's Talk Music I have guest speaker, artist branding strategist, and music marketing consultant Amy Loné, She runs a thriving platform on Instagram called Cherriesontop.co where her primary goal is to help artists build their brands and find highly engaged fans. In this episode we discuss the importance of branding, what it means, how to optimize your IG account, and several other strategies that turn followers to committed fans. Amy also discusses her proven 3 key brand pillars that helps artists harness the true potential of branding.

In the premiere episode of 'Let's Talk Music' I bring on a special guest, Sierra AKA TheGenzExec on Instagram.   We discuss topics involving Networking, Selling yourself before selling your music, Monetizing/Protecting your music, and TikTok as it pertains to independent musicians  If you're on the go you can listen to this as a podcast by clicking this link: