5 Big Networking Hacks That Will Transform Your Game

Networking Hacks Feature MEME


Networking Hacks Zeph Logo








Networking Hacks Zeph Demo










Networking Hacks Hughes Logo







He remembered everyone’s name!




David just smiled and said something demure.




Networking Hacks How You Made Them Feel MEME













Nothing is sweeter than the sound of your own name.





The “C” in CHARM stands for “Care”.


Networking Hacks Care MEME












Get it?






That’s what we want.


The “H” stands for “Hear”.


Networking Hacks HEAR Monkeys







Networking Hacks Stephen Covey MEME










But the problem isn’t your retention it’s your attention.







The “A” in CHARM stands for “Ask”.


Networking Hacks ASK











The “R” stands for “Repeat”.


Networking Hacks REPEAT MEME













Networking Hacks Value Bomb MEME








The “M” stands for “Marker”.


Networking Hacks Marker MEME








One was to mentally repeat their names 5 times.






We remember what we see more than what we hear.


You’ve never forgotten a face and remembered a name.


Many U.S. Presidents have used this method to recall names.








Do this.




I want you to win.











 Why You Suck At Networking

Networking Feature MEME



It’s true.


You do suck at networking.Networking Muscle MEME


But it’s because of these 2 reasons so it’s totally fixable.


  1. You think you suck at networking
  2. Therefore, you don’t network.






What is absolutely required for effective networking is

  1. Effort
  2. Perspective
  3. Humility
  4. Authenticity



Networking Show UP















Networking Steve O'Brien








But he was there. Get it?




Networking Perspective MEME





It’s a marathon, not a sprint.






Who was the best?




Networking mannekin

That evening I got my ass KICKED artistically.






Networking Idols










Networking Cards MEME



Does that make sense?




Networking Humility MEME

Without humility, you’re not going to create many relationships.


Especially in the music business.











Networking Messages BLACKED







Always be humble and kind.




Networking Humble and Kind MEME




I did.







I didn’t want to impose.




See how humility worked there?





And finally, Authenticity.



Networking Do You


Just be yourself.


Just be real.











Networking Authenticity Faceless Mask











Networking Them MEME






I get it.




So, what are you waiting for?












Are You Confusing Activity With Achievement?









You must adapt. IT’S ALL ABOUT ADAPTING.



Improvising, adapting, and overcoming is what defines achievement.








Activity Caveman





But not humans.




When we’re born we instinctively know how to suck, but…



We LEARN how to speak.Activity Learning Puzzle

We LEARN how to hunt.

We LEARN how to gather.

We LEARN how to tie our shoes.

We LEARN how to play an instrument.

We LEARN how to be an artist.

We LEARN how to market.









Activity Britney Spears















Growing for any human means you’re going to be uncomfortable.






Activity School Lockers






























Not yet, anyway.




Activity UncomfortableBecause every artist has boatloads of challenges.









Activity Lion





Oh, and hundreds of hours getting your learning curve up.


Activity Crazy MEME Learn to market













activity Clydesdales Bud




Artists must rethink, reimagine everything because the market has changed.






STOP asking yourself these questions:

How can I get a record deal?

Activity Artist First MEME

How can I get on the radio?


START asking yourself these questions:

Where is the traffic coming from?


How can I connect with them?




Activity Traffic MEME








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Are You Sure You Really Want That Record Deal?

Record Deal Feature MEME

Getting a record deal can be a blessing or a curse



Record Deal Blessing Curse MEME






How was that possible?






Record Deal iPhone Broken







Why was this horrific ratio the reality back then?


The answer to all these questions is radio and distribution.






But even in the best days, radio was restrictive.













See how that works?








But we don’t need radio.










Wow. How crazy is that?




Why? Why do you have that dream now?






Record Deal Artists need a deal MEME










The label and radio decided to make you or break you.




Yuck.Record Deal Mr. Yuck






















Is that what you want?


Record Deal Skeleton MEME












Which artist do you want to be?





The difference between the two is the size of your audience.












I want you to win.


Choose wisely grasshopper.









Are You Working Really Hard But Feeling Completely Frustrated?

Frustrated Feature MEME

For one to be rich, someone else must be poor.

Frustrated Crumbs 1% MEME



Money is the root of all evil.



Wealth is like a pie. Because the top 1% have 90% of the pie the rest of us must survive on the crumbs.





These implicit beliefs have us thinking that if we make a profit, we are making someone else poor because there is only so much to go around.


These implicit beliefs have us thinking that we can’t get what we want without getting it from the 1%.


Frustrated Implicit Definition



FYI, the word “implicit” means this is a belief that hasn’t been quantified or proven in any way.





But the truth is quite the opposite. Wealth and power are abundant. Quite abundant.


Just because you haven’t experienced them doesn’t mean there scarce in any way, shape, or form. Rather it means that you haven’t figured it out yet.


In fact, the 99% hasn’t figured it out. The 99% choose to believe these cockamamie urban legends. All of the 99% are held down by these beliefs, not the “man” or their situation.  Some are held back and will stay stagnant simply because they don’t honestly believe they have a chance. They don’t imagine they can do anything great because deep down inside, they believe that they deserve to be poor. Some are just lazy and use these tall tales to justify their lack of motivation and execution as well as their unhappy outcome.


Frustrated 99%It’s always easier to blame someone else than it is to have faith in yourself.


It’s easy to say you can’t do it because you have no money.




Yes, a lack of capital provides some stout challenges along anyone’s journey to be sure.


But, there are PLENTY of iconic artists, influential business people and Presidents like Bill Clinton who have come from utter poverty to reach their full potential.


Frustrated Bill Clinton


Therefore, these monetary challenges are just that; challenges.  These speed bumps don’t define your success or lack thereof unless you allow them to.


It’s easy to say that you can’t do it because of racism.


Yes, there are plenty of idiots in the world, sadly this is a fact. There have been throngs of different races that have been oppressed, enslaved, and exterminated over just the last 100 years. This is also a fact.




But despite all the very real racial issues in the United States, for instance, we just had a 2-term black President. We have many highly-paid and influential minority actors, artists, business executives, community leaders, and good, honest people who make successful livings and raise their families.


Many of these amazing people had to overcome racism and poverty!


Therefore, racism is as big of a blockade as you choose to make it.


Frustrated BlockadeIt’s all about how you think about it, not about the reality.


After all, this is how the United States got started in the first place. Our forefathers were extremely unhappy and chose to believe there was a better life out there. All they had to do was go and get it.


Their reality was oppressive enough to risk their lives and the lives of their children to change it.


But they decided to change it because they believed they could do better. The other option would have been to blame the monarchy for their lot in life and do nothing.


Get it?


We are all held down only for as long as we believe these crappy stories. There are hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of success stories from the poorest, most oppressed people in history. These success stories ALL START WITH the epiphany that the oppressed have an opportunity and a truckload of hurdles to overcome… just like everyone else. The epiphany in these cases marks the end of the blame game. They choose to take responsibility for their own lives and craft a reality with whatever wealth and power suit them.


Frustrated Blame MEME

They choose to believe it’s out there for them and they can get it by focusing on what they have instead of what they don’t have.


Isn’t that interesting?





The second that you begin to compare the real challenges along your journey to the perceived ease of someone else’s journey, you’ve lost.


This is clear proof that Sun Tzu was right, “Every battle is either won or lost before it is fought.”


Frustrated What Do You Have MEMEDid you think about how so many of the wealthy and powerful people came from nothing or do you just focus on their wealth and power which you don’t have yet?


Did you ever wonder how those souls somehow managed to climb out of the most impoverished circumstances growing up to run multi-million dollar businesses and even countries?


Why them and not you?


The reality is they’re living breathing proof that the poor can become rich.


Frustrated Sun Tzu Quote

Don’t they prove every day that the 99% can rise to enter the 1% if they want to?


Doesn’t every poor person, minorities and majorities included, who creates real wealth bust the myth that the 1% is a “closed club”?



So, it’s a choice everyone makes. Either they move forward and succeed by taking responsibility for all their life’s potholes or they choose to give up and blame “the man”.


Here’s a factual reality. This is a list of every country’s GDP growth (or lack thereof) last year. In the United States, our Gross Domestic Product grew 1.6%. This is your proof that the “pie” got BIGGER. There’s plenty of room for you too. When you think in terms of trillions of GDP imagedollars, 1.6% is an ASTOUNDING amount of room. If the reality was that money was finite there would be no growth in the GDP of any country. The rich would get richer and the poor would get poorer with the exact same amount of total money.


There are certain groups of people who believe that being rich and powerful is bad. They believe that somehow wealth and power means you’re horrible, bad, evil, and therefore oppressing others.




Frustrated Belief created by the have nots



This belief was created by the have-nots as an excuse for their lot in life. Can you see that?





The reality is quite the opposite. The wealthy have many businesses which employ many people so instead of oppressing them, they’re employing them. Giving them a job and a way of life. A way to put food on the table and put their kids through college.


How is that bad?


Isn’t it funny how these beliefs can cloud our perspective?


Frustration Mother Teresa


Mother Teresa was sainted by the Catholic Church shortly after her death. She was called “The saint of the gutters”, she gave hundreds of thousands of hugs to the poorest people in India, and even won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.


But that’s all she had to give, bless her heart.


Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and famous multi-billionaire literally wiped out a handful of diseases and saved millions of lives in Africa with one check.




Frustrated Bill Gates Wealth



One check from an evil rich guy changed millions of lives. I’m not taking anything away from Mother Teresa because she gave her heart and soul to providing comfort to the sick and downtrodden. But she didn’t cure any diseases. She didn’t have anything to give these people to save their lives. I’m sure she would’ve if she had it, but she didn’t have it to give.


How do you think about this issue?





Some of you despise the rich and powerful so much you believe that they should spread their wealth around giving “back” to the poor as if they stole from them to get rich in the first place. You want them to pay the masses in the form of a donation, tax, or government redistribution of wealth.


They all do but you don’t hear about it on TV because that news doesn’t sell ads.


Can you clearly see how this line of thinking is subconsciously fostering the idea that there is only so much to go around? If there is a finite amount of wealth, the only way the poor people are going to get theirs is if the wealthy share it.


But if wealth is abundant, the poor can get theirs on their own.


To be clear, there are plenty of wealthy and poor alike who share their money and their far more valuable time. I’m not making an argument as to whether anyone should or shouldn’t share or “give back”.

Frustrated Wealth Money MEME


I am challenging the way you think about these concepts and where wealth must come from.




You give because you have a big heart. You want to see others succeed and move up in society. But we’ve all given too much at times to someone who simply isn’t interested in moving up, only taking.


Therefore, how we think about opportunity, wealth, power, and success is the determining factor to a life’s transformation. It’s not about the opportunities. If it was just about getting opportunities and/or money, your taking friend would’ve transformed. But he or she didn’t step up and just remember how heartbreaking that was for you.


Frustrated Taking Friend

We are humans and as such we are a product of the information we receive. This is exactly why battered wives and abused children think they’re worthless.


It’s because that’s what they’ve been told. It is a psychological fact that if you’re told something enough, it becomes a reality, a truth in your mind. A lie told 7 times by the liar becomes truth in the liar’s mind.


Sadly, there are some countries where accessing the information necessary to transform a life for the better is practically impossible. These are the real victims of the world. They’re being oppressed by their government and the only way to change it is to literally risk their lives and the lives of their families.


Frustrated How To Think MEMEBut if you’re reading this article, you have choices. You have access to information. You have the ability to seek out knowledge and learn how to think. That was what University was supposed to be about in the first place, teaching us how to think.




We all can change the narrative in our minds. We can all become “successful” whatever you deem that word to mean.


True happiness and personal success start with learning how to think, people.


Happiness, wealth, and power are quite abundant in our world. Achievable by all who figure out that the only one standing in our way is us.


P.S. When we do figure that out, it’s a constant battle because we’re always in our own way. The self-awareness helps us to put our energy towards the real problem, but it never goes away.










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Growing Your Audience Is Not About The Music Anymore

Music Second Feature MEME 2

I’m about to piss you off.

Music Second Angry Emoji


But keep reading because it’s important.


Growing your audience is NOT about the music anymore.


It used to be that way because the process dictated it.















Music Second Robe









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Music Second Unanswered Prayers MEME














Why?music Second CBS Radio


They’re losing money.


Why are they losing money?





Music Second Burning Money DODO MEME








Get it?Music Second Jack FM Logo









I PROMISE Cumulus is right behind CBS and Clear Channel.




Because the market has changed.










The marketing strategies must adjust to the changing market.


Music Second Adapt MEME













I thought there has to be a better way.


Music Second Risk












Music Second 12,000








Zero phone calls.


The next week we recorded and broadcast our second show.


Zero phone calls.




Same result too, ZERO phone calls.





Music Second Bozo










Music Second Break Up 5 5 minutes










Music Second Phone CallsYou better know the difference.


The music doesn’t come first online. The artist does.






I’ll repeat that last part.












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 When Creators Directly Connect with End Users, The World Changes

Connect Feature MEME

Connect Fundamental FlawThe biggest fundamental flaw of the OLD AND NEW music business is that the creators and/or owners of the creations have no freaking idea who their customers are.


(Pssst, you’re the creator).



Yes, they have demographics, but they don’t have their contact information so they don’t REALLY know who they are exactly. It also means they can only reach out via mass media like TV and Terrestrial Radio.


Which costs millions.

But nobody is listening to the radio and certainly, nobody is watching music videos on TV anymore. Not like they used to.


Connect Mass Media MEME



Therefore, record sales suck.


Therefore, few new superstars are being created.





Half the artists who were in the top 10 grossing tours of 2016 were over 55-years-old because the market is largely unaware of the new talent. This is because nobody is listening to radio and watching videos on TV.


It’s also because the new artists aren’t trying to connect with their fans. They want to be rockstars like their heroes.


The world would be VASTLY different for indies, signed artists, and labels if they would stop “doing what they’ve always done” and expecting different results.


Connect Crazy MEME 2



Ahem, that’s the very definition of crazy.





Let me tell you a crazy story.


QUESTION: For decades and decades the richest people in Texas were in what industry exactly?


If you guessed the oil business, you’d be correct! The richest oil families in Texas are multi-billionaires and have been for quite some time.


Connect Oil TREATEDBack in the early to mid 90’s a now famous Texan decided to build a widget. He spent the money to hire the team to design the widget. He spent more money prototyping that widget to work out the kinks and get it functioning properly. He spent more money leasing the manufacturing space, hiring the manufacturing experts, purchasing the manufacturing equipment, and the necessary components to put that widget into mass production. Then he spent a literal fortune promoting that creation to ensure he was systematically penetrating the minds of consumers.




He created the product then he created the demand for the product.

Connect Texan






But this future-shaping, trend-setting Texan did one super important thing different.



You see, for centuries all the widget makers, that is to say all the creators, sold their creations through distribution. Typically, a creator would sell their product for half price to the distributor. Then, the distributor marks up the price to the full market value so they can make their profit. But these distributors don’t actually create anything. That was how it always worked if you wanted to sell anything. Clothing makers sold Connect Distributor Collagethrough huge distributors like Macy’s and Nordstrom’s.  Toys were sold through distributors like K-Mart, Target, and Toys-R-Us. Automakers sold through local privately-owned dealerships. Electronic parts makers sold their parts to original equipment manufacturers via huge multi-hundred-million-dollar publicly traded distribution companies. Airline and Cruise companies needed local travel agents to distribute their services. Farms and food companies sold their products to brick and mortar local grocery distribution companies like Kroger.


But our famous Texan was asking the right questions.



Why was it worth selling your product to a distributor for half the market value anymore?


What exactly did a distributor bring to the table thatConnect Distributor Valuable MEME 2 made it worth letting them stick their hands that far down the creator’s pocket?


Answer: A relationship with the customer. For some it was a relationship with millions of customers which made for some very powerful and profitable distributors.


They knew the end-users!


Back in the day, if your creation wasn’t in distribution you didn’t sell anything, period. So, it was mission critical. It was the way our fathers did it, and their fathers did it, and their fathers and so on.


That’s a super tough nut to crack, you know. All that history.


But our Texan didn’t want to sell his $1,000 widget to a distributor for $500. He felt that if he was the one smart enough to create the widget and courageous enough to take the risk of designing, prototyping, manufacturing, and marketing the product he should get 100% of the money for it!


Seems fair.

Connect 100 Percent of the Money MEMEPlus, distributors show exactly zero brand love. Macy’s is just as happy to sell a customer Wrangler jeans over Levi’s. They don’t care what you buy, they just want you to buy!





But there was another way.


A way to bypass the distributor now because we had this new thing called the internet. (I feel like you should say that line in Dr. Evil’s voice using your fingers as air quotes; In-ter-net).


Connect Dr Evil



The internet would allow a creator who formerly had to pay big money to advertise via mass media (like darts in the dark if you ask me considering today’s alternatives) to connect and create a relationship with their customer.





Think about that.


That creator could have complete control over their customer’s experience.


That creator could become profitable faster because they’d have to sell half as many products to make the same amount of money that they would collect via distribution.


CONNECT Dell Computer Logo


You’ve probably figured out that our mystery genius is Michael Dell of Austin, TX. He became the first computer manufacturer to utilize the internet as a tool to create a direct relationship with the end-user/customer that he worked so hard and paid so much to reach.





His plan worked because within 7 years, Dell became the richest man in Texas.


That was in the late 90’s and early 2,000’s.


As of last year, according to Forbes Magazine, Michael Dell is worth 19.1 billion dollars. The nearest oil family is worth a paltry 8.9 billion. Poor babies.


Connect Michael Dell Forbes

That tells me the plan REALLY worked.


But the story doesn’t end there because Dell changed the world.





For decades if you were an electronic component manufacturer and your components were in an Apple product, you HAD to go through distribution because they had a relationship with your end-user that you couldn’t have. So, you sold your $1 diode for .50 cents and made money in the massive amounts of volume.


But after Dell Computer, you built a website and the engineers at Apple could contact you directly about questions, feedback, new products, ideas, etc. Little by little over the following 15 years the parts companies refused to renegotiate their distribution contracts because they didn’t need them anymore. They now possessed the one thing they used to pay the distributor for; a relationship with Apple (aka their end user). As a result, those multi-hundred-million-dollar-publicly-traded distribution companies imploded over time.


Connect Intel Logo

All gone.


All the local travel agencies vanished seemingly overnight.


Now consumers could access cruise lines and airline companies directly to purchase tickets without paying a commission because they didn’t need the travel agent anymore.



Did you notice how quickly the brand name outlet malls popped up around America? Companies like Levis, Coach, Hilfiger, Reebok, etc. couldn’t sell direct on their own but they damn sure could if they clustered with the other brand names and gave consumers a beehive of multiple brand names which sold their products discounted prices from the distributors.


Connect Outlet MallsCompanies that didn’t adapt like K-Mart and Sears fell into crippling debt.


How about the auto industry? GM purchased back tons of once privately owned dealerships because the consumers were only coming on the car lot to test drive the vehicle they wanted to purchase. The consumers didn’t need the salesmen for knowledge. Shockingly, consumers were literally more educated on the product than the salesman when it came to options on the vehicles. Why? Because the end user could research the product directly on the manufacturer’s website.




Mind Blown.


It all happened because one really smart guy was able to adapt in a changing environment.


One clever person was asking the right questions even though he didn’t have all the answers yet.

Connect Adapt MEME


QUESTION: What does Spotify, Pandora, and iTunes have that the labels, signed artists, and indie artists don’t have?


ANSWER: A relationship with their customers.




Which is a relationship with the label’s customers.


Also a relationship with your customers.


The labels aren’t adapting because distribution is always how they’ve done it. Just like all those other computer companies back in the late 90’s.


Make sense, right?


Which means these distributors have tons of information on these customers that would help artists and labels make more money.


But they won’t share that information with labels and artists.


Connect They Wont Share


Why won’t they share that information with you, the signed artists, and the labels?


Because the second they do, they would become irrelevant, just like travel agents.




I wonder how the world will change after artists, labels, managers, and publishers open their eyes like Michael Dell and take total control of our precious creations?











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Traffic Feature MEME

Where is your traffic coming from?

Traffic Record Deal MEME


Have you ever asked yourself that?





Do you want a record deal?




How about management?




Maybe you’re just looking for killer gigs.






To that I say, “Precisely!


Now you’re asking the right questions!!


The answers will be different for each of you.






Simple math.










So where do you find your audience?
















Here’s what I mean.






They present incredible raw talent singing cover songs.




Traffic TV Show Logo Collage










Answer: The TV show.


Why is this important?






Traffic Independence Day




Rule #1: Where’s the traffic coming from?












Traffic The CLIMB Logo











How about live shows?



Traffic Hammerjacks Ent Group Logo








Traffic Pay To PlayAn artist must adapt in this environment.













Traffic Digital Distributors Logos



Where does the traffic come from in digital distribution?


Answer: YOU.






Traffic Music Channels Logos











Where’s the traffic coming from on YouTube?


Answer: Nowhere.




It’s all about traffic.















STOP Thinking A CD Will Make You Famous

CD Ticket Feature

As one of Daredevil Production’s newest members, allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Cody Upchurch, and I started working for the CD Music has always been Essentialcompany a little over two weeks ago.  In that short amount of time, I have obtained an abundance of knowledge that only hands-on experience can provide.  After just 2 weeks, many of my preconceived notions about the music industry still hold true but some of my opinions have drastically changed. This epiphany happened after receiving a deeper understanding of how the business ACTUALLY works.


Like many of you, I have always thought that in order for an artist to be an artist, they first must have a CD or EP but I now know that this approach is categorically false. Sounds crazy, I know, but let me explain.


When I first arrived in Nashville, it became immediately apparent that the city is flooded with talented musicians.  They’re playing at every bar, and they’re damn good at what they do.  If you were to pluck any of these acts off the stage and ask them what they need for a “big break,” I can almost guarantee their first answer would be a CD, EP, or album.  Sure, it would be nice to have an album under your belt, but that’s not the ticket for success. It’s definitely not the first step to artistic success anymore. This is a common misconception that, unfortunately, too many musicians have.


Honestly, I would have given a similar answer before arriving in Nashville, but after working with actual musicians and helping them work towards realizing their dreams, it has become quite clear that nothing equates to the importance of marketing before the CD.


CD Marketing is a vital PillarStructurally speaking, I always knew that marketing was one of the most vital pillars in establishing an artist’s career, but I never realized the extent to which record labels shape their budgets according to this philosophy.  In the label mind, marketing outranks your recording by a landslide.  They care less about what the artist is putting out, and more about how many people will listen to it (because it’s good!).  Labels will do whatever they can to ensure they recoup their investment or at least get as close as possible.  This is done by spending the majority of their monetary resources on marketing.  If the marketing is effective in its intent, enough intrigue can be generated to ensure a substantial amount of people purchase the product.


What would be the point of releasing an album or CD if no one knows it exists?

But this is what EVERY indie artist does, isn’t it? They release the CD first. Then think about marketing to an audience of zero but their artist soul, hopes, and dreams crumble when they discover nobody cares. But they do care. The problem is they just don’t know about the artist and in today’s market, the music is going to change that.


CD Everybody wants to release a CD butThis is a fact that, for some reason, many musicians choose to ignore.  Everybody wants to release an album, but nobody wants to think about marketing.  While you have the power to allocate your money as you see fit, don’t expect that album to be your saving grace if you haven’t marketed YOURSELF properly before releasing it.  And posting on Facebook a week before your album release is NOT marketing.  In a world before the internet, radio did the marketing for us (which meant the music came first), but not today.  Now our phones are the radio, and every individual is the DJ of their own show.  Thus, it is inherent that YOU put YOURSELF onto people’s stations.  This isn’t done by releasing a song and expecting people to slide it into their rotation.


You must make an effort to connect with people on a personal level before you present them with a product to purchase or they just won’t care.

Once these connections are made, it is essential that you maintain the relationships and retain everyone’s information as best you can.  Most artists, labels included place fans into specified demographics.  Whether it be gender, race, age, etc., the analytics only give you a general idea of who your fans are.  While this is extremely helpful in deciding how you should market your material, the most beneficial move an artist can make for his or her own career is to get specific information on each fan.  This allows for surgical precision when it comes time to market the product you are trying to sell.

Another bit of online etiquette that my time in Nashville has taught me, is the importance of being personal with as many people as possible.

CD Shake hands and Make PlansThe most fireproof way to ensure someone supports your future endeavors is to communicate with them, by having REAL conversations.



Social media gives us the power to chat with the people we admire, all without ever leaving our house.  The more interactive the conversation is, the stronger the loyalty between fan and artist becomes.  Back in the day, an artist’s interaction with fans occurred only through live performances, interviews, and the occasional public spotting.  They didn’t have to worry about communicating with them on a regular basis because that technology didn’t exist.  Today, however, it is expected that artists not only have a presence on social media but actively use it to converse with fans.


CD Real Conversation is important

Retweets and Likes are a necessary mission-critical first step but a genuine back-and-forth is the most effective in developing a relationship.




Imagine social media as a sidewalk.  As you’re walking down the street, you see one of your favorite musicians hanging out on the corner.  You immediately begin to wave and express your praise, hoping that he or she not only waves back but speaks to you on a personal level.  Social media presents this scenario on a daily basis and makes it easier than ever for artists to connect with fans on a deeper level.  I see a Like as a slight head nod or wave, a Retweet as a spoken “Hello,” and an actual conversation as just that, a conversation.  Imagine someone that you’re a fan of acknowledging you to the point where they ask follow up questions and keep the conversation moving forward.  Not only would that make your day, but the chances of you supporting them financially (i.e. purchasing their music) increase exponentially.


CD Social media SidewalkOnce you remove yourself from the perspective of the artist and start looking through the eyes of a fan, real interaction begins to make more sense.




Now, you may be thinking what’s the point of marketing if we don’t have something to sell, but did you notice all these tactics I wrote about have exactly nothing to do with a CD or EP? You can start on the “building a relationship” piece of the puzzle right now without one song ever being recorded. It is important to understand this because the public won’t care about your music until after they care about you. If you truly understand this fact, why would you dare wait to begin your marketing strategy? Build up a rabid YouTube and social media fan base and THEN record a single.


I promise you’ll be amazed at the results.


I look forward to diving deeper into this topic, as well as countless others during my time with Daredevil Production this summer.  Just remember, the tools are in your hand, why not utilize them?

Why Do You Keep Making The Same Stupid Mistakes?

Mistakes Feature MEME

No one will care about your music without marketing.


Mistakes ZERO new people MEMEExactly zero new people will hear your music to care about it without marketing yet so many indie artists continue to make these mistakes.


Nobody needs new music so they don’t care about your music because it’s new.


Great art does NOT find its own audience and it never has. There has ALWAYS been a clever, hard-working marketer ensuring that new people are exposed to the artist’s work. PERIOD.


Why do you think record labels have marketing and promo divisions?


Mistakes Record Label Budgets MEME


Whether you want to believe it or not, whether you know it or not, a record label will give you 10% of the budget to make your record. They will use 90% of the budget for marketing.


How does that jive with your budget percentages?



My guess is most of you give zero dollars for marketing or the recipe is severely flip-flopped with maybe 10% going to marketing. It’s these mistakes that will crush you!


Too many artists have a false believe that they “need” to make a 10-12 song CD to succeed.


Mistakes CD You Don't Need a CD MEMEFALSE.


Other artists believe that they need to make a 5-6 song EP to succeed.




You are telling yourself stories if you believe this. This is your ego talking.


I get it, this is and has always been your dream but this is a sure-fire way to FAIL.


Has your dream always been to make a CD or was more like you thought that CD would lead to a career?


Wait, if your intention is to make a CD just for you and yours then you won’t fail. They’re surely going to listen to it. But if your intention or real dream is to be a professional artist, then this is a horrible decision.


When you aren’t clear on your intention, the “dream” can skew your vision causing you to make crippling, sometimes career-ending money decisions.


I remember speaking to a really nice artist on the phone who was hell bent on making a CD. He had a ridiculously small budget of $2,500.

His thinking was that he NEEDED a 10 song CD (because that was his dream) and so he went looking for someone who would record these 10 songs for $2,500.


Mistakes CD Do You Want a Career MEME



Guess what?


He found him.


I PROMISE if you’re hell bent on anything, you’ll find what you’re looking for.  Of course, there were ZERO dollars allotted for marketing from that $2,500 budget.





Which sadly, is probably a good thing, if I’m being honest, because the quality of those recordings at $250 a song (keep in mind the artist was NOT an engineer, did NOT own any recording software, nor a studio of any kind) are going to be atrocious.


Artists need to take a breath and decide, RIGHT NOW, what exactly they are trying to accomplish.


If you’re just recording the songs for yourself, for friends and family, or your significant other, then awesome. There is no wrong answer.


If your intention is to get your music out to the world and you create a crappy sounding product, you will have crappy results. GUARANTEED. Your songs and the recordings have to compete with what’s on the radio right now.

Mistakes Hiding MEME




If you execute zero marketing on that crappy sounding production or on the most beautiful recordings ever, you will have crappy results too. GUARANTEED.





If you manage the budget for your project like it was for friends and family but then grow angry and bitter when the world doesn’t freak out about your art, you’re completely missing the boat. Why would they care if they’ve never heard about it?


I have news for you, your first CD or EP isn’t going to sell. You’re not going to make your money back.


Mistakes Angry Not OK MEME



This is NOT news.





MOST major label artists end up in debt after the first record. The label spends a couple million dollars on marketing a $200,000 record and maybe they sell 50,000 units.  Nowhere near enough to recoup the initial investment.


But the artist’s brand name is now a reality in the minds of a few consumer/fans.


Mistakes In Debt Record Deal MEME



Then the second effort comes out, and things are looking better. The artist has a little rabid fan base that is eager to hear the next release. The second record usually sells far better than the first. Hopefully enough to break even on the recording and promotion costs. You’re hopefully BUILDING the whole time.


Then on the 3rd record, the artist blows up, the records start selling, and everybody starts making money.


It’s a long game.


Marketing your music is NOT like opening a lemonade stand where you make a profit on every transaction or pull up the stakes.


Mistakes Lemonade Stand MEME


Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Tom Petty and Def Leppard all had breakthrough records and record sales on the 3rd release.


Think about that. You need to know this.




Your first record isn’t going to sell because you don’t have an audience to sell it to.


Your first record isn’t going to sell because your future audience doesn’t care about your music right now.


The way Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and Def Leppard accumulated their audience is DIFFERENT than the method you’re going to acquire yours.


Mistakes UnderwearThe old record business was about the music first. I’m not speaking about the quality of music (although it must be AMAZING), and I’m not speaking about the importance of music. I’m articulating THE MARKETING PROCESS.


When you put your clothes on in the morning you start with your underwear. There is a process to execute this task or you’ll look like an idiot.



In the old record business, the PROCESS was to release the music and launch the artist brand on radio where each market had massive reach and repetition. Consumers were essentially forced to hear that debut single multiple times while waiting to hear their “jam” because they didn’t have choices.


I am CONSTANTLY approached by indie artists who want me to “market their CD”.


It doesn’t work that way anymore. If they’re only focused on marketing the CD rather than creating a brand, they’ll be disappointed.


The beginning of your artist journey is NOT about marketing music and merch (although these can be a byproduct), rather it’s about creating a brand.


Mistakes Audience First MEME

Do you want to succeed as an artist?





If you do, you’re going to need an audience. Unlike the old days, your music is NOT going to generate that audience for you.




The artist comes first now.


Mistakes Build An Audience MEME

Guess what? You don’t need ANY tracks, exactly ZERO recordings to begin marketing your brand.


You can start building an audience, aka a fan base by intelligently using YouTube, and all social media platforms.


Build up an audience first and then release one single and GIVE IT AWAY.


You’re not trying to make money at this point, this is what I mean by “long-game”.


You ARE trying to create and deepen relationships.


Then repeat the process on a second single.


Continue to build relationships.


Mistakes Time MEME

If you suck at creating relationships on social media you’ll need to get better because it’s the only way you’re going to be successful.


Your education on this matter will require a little bit of money and TON of time. Find the time or face the facts.




No time means no career. Period. (but this is true of any career, isn’t it?)


If you refuse to spend the massive amounts of time it takes to create relationships on social media, then go get a day job. Your future in the music business will be one of frustration, aggravation, and bewilderment.


Nobody will care about you because nobody will be aware that you exist because you refuse to reach out to them in an intelligent manner.


The new music business industry wants you to be talented, trust me, but they don’t care about your talent. They care about your audience.


If you’re waiting till you finish the project to begin marketing you don’t get it and you’re going to fail.


Mistakes New Music Biz MEMEThis is true for record labels too. They’re still trying to do it the old way spending obscene amounts of money on P1 (major market) radio only to find that nobody is aware of the artist because new artists DON’T BREAK ON RADIO ANYMORE.


It’s all about YOU first.


I’ll say it again, IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU FIRST.


You have to create the relationships first before they’ll care about listening to your music.


The process has changed. Pretending like it hasn’t isn’t going to do a damn thing to help your career.


Underwear first, then your pants or dress.


Find your audience first, then release your single.


Get it?











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