Yo, TJ Bear here. It’s never been easier to be a rapper, and the over-saturation in the rap scene is a testament to this fact. There’s more rappers floating around per capita than ever before. Why wouldn’t there be? The cost and difficulty of resources and accessibility to the rap game is at an all-time…
Whether artists should “pay to play” or not isn’t a new conversation. I’ve been a part of discussions about it online and off, and have read many articles covering many different opinions on the topic. I’ve seen the model take various forms. I’ve heard of artists getting completely ripped off and being asked to pay…
When it comes to marketing your music, it’s important you know what kind of impact your marketing efforts are having. After all, the last thing you want is to keep trying to get your music on a certain website if they’re not sending fans back your way. But how can you check what impact your…
If you’re anything like me (and a lot of other artists) you’re not a natural salesperson. I’ve had jobs in sales and I hated them. But they were valuable learning experiences that pushed me out of my comfort zone. Even if you don’t have a natural aptitude for it, being intentional about improving your ability…
As someone who works around musicians a lot, there are a few mistakes which I commonly see made. One of those mistakes is not getting professional band photos made up. Many instead opt for photos taken on their iPhone, or their mate’s consumer camera. While these often aren’t the worse quality images with today’s technology,…
Landing press coverage can be a daunting task. You know it’s an important component to promoting and marketing your career, but compared to the other marketing strategies required of being an independent musician, it can feel like this one in particular takes up the most time. And has the least amount of results, especially when…
Having a car definitely has it’s advantages. But so does taking the expense of having and maintaining a vehicle and investing it elsewhere. For those of us working musicians who don’t have a car for whatever reason but still have gigs to get to – we have to figure out more creative means of transportation….
You need to have a thick skin if you plan to last long in the music industry. Why? Because rejection is common and success is a moving target. Every time you reach it, you push back your idea of what it is. When you finally break down the barriers in your way, you set your…
Remember that old saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” In an industry like the music business ran by negotiations with hustlers, smooth talkers, hand shakes, co-signs, politics, and popularity contests – that old saying couldn’t ring more true. However, I’d argue that what you know directly impacts who you know. But…
If you play your cards right, eventually you’ll break away from dead-end bar gigs with small crowds. It’s a “paying your dues” phase that most have to go through. How long it lasts is different for everyone, but smart artists that take time to educate themselves can usually shorten the life span. Especially if they…
I’m an independent hip hop artist, talent buyer, and web designer for music artists. My full time job and career consists of working independently within the music industry. Working independently for myself is great because I get to be my own boss, make more money than I ever made as an employee, and have location…
Today we’re going to look at 7 top tools for musicians and those in the music business. This guide should be useful for all musicpreneurs. But before we do that, we need to ask: what is a musicpreneur? At a surface level the term is pretty self explanatory: it’s a combination of a musician and…
A website is an essential asset for an independent music artist to have. Without a strategically planned and executed web design you’re missing out on opportunities to strengthen loyalty and retention with your existing audience, and to gain new fans. Not to mention you’re missing out on opportunities to make more money. The problem is…
For most bands and artists gigging is a big component of their overall strategy. Although their are a few who have successfully taken the road less traveled, the vast majority of artists need to play live if they want to grow and sustain a music career - this is true whether they are megastars performing in packed…