The Best and Worst Times to Enroll in a Music Business Course (And How To Make The Most Of It)

Educating yourself in the business side of the music industry is all important. I'm guessing you know that if you're reading this article. 🙂

If you've read all the free guides you've found online and are ready to take your music business knowledge to the next level, you may be at the stage where you're considering enrolling in a music marketing course, or one that will help you increase your income from music. But believe it or not, it's not always a good idea to join a course if you don’t already have certain things in place.

In this guide I'm going to look at the best and worst times to take your music learning further. Hopefully this should help you find out if you're ready to further your learning or not.

Note: In this guide I'm talking more about learning the business side of the music industry, rather then how to play a musical instrument and other talent related things.

The Wrong Time to Enroll in a Course for Musicians

So, let's start with the wrong time to invest in your musical education. If any of the items below apply to you, you may want to consider sticking to free learning for now.

You Don’t Have the Money to Pay

Online and offline music courses generally cost money. If you don’t have the money to pay for them, then of course it's not the right time to enroll in one.

If it's simply a case of you having to cut back on eating out for a few weeks, then go ahead and save for a course instead. But if enrolling in one will literally mean you don't eat for a few weeks, it may be best to stick to free education or now.

Your Talent Isn't at a Shareable Level

If you're still starting out in the music industry and you're still practicing your talent, then you don't yet need additional help. It's best to use this time to improve your talent, and find out what kind of musician you are.

These courses are designed to get your music in front of more people and make more money, so if you can't yet make a good song but still want to make people hear it, this will do more harm then good.

When You Should Consider Investing in Some Music Business Education

So now that you know when not to enroll on a course, here's when it's a good idea.

You've Proven That You've Reached a Good Level of Talent, but You Want More Exposure

If you can make good songs and have been getting good feedback about your music as a whole, now is the time to learn those extra strategies that will get your music out there on a wider scale.

You Want to Learn How to Make Money from Your Music

Getting yourself known is one thing, but completely different actions are needed if you want to earn a livable income from your music. If you're still struggling to make money from your music career, you may want to join a course which will help you do just that.

Best Practices For Following Along With A Music Business Course

So while enrolling on a good and well respected course will be beneficial for your music career in itself, there are certain things you should be doing to make the most out of this education. After all, if you're paying for it, you'll want to make sure you get your money's worth.

Here are three things you should definitely be doing anytime you enroll a online music business course.

1. Put Into Practice What You Learn

While this might sound obvious, believe me when I tell you that not everyone will put into practice all the things they learn. This is both a waste of time and money. The knowledge is no good by itself; only when you actually use that knowledge will you see benefits.

Don't hesitate applying what you learn to your music career, as the longer you do, the longer it'll take for you to get where you want to be.

2. Take Your Own Notes

Even if you're going through a written course like the ones I've mentioned above, it's still a good idea to take your own notes as well. There are two main reasons for this:

1. They'll be easier to go over. If you only take notes of the most important things which will have the biggest affect on your music career, then when you go over your notes you'll have a list of things which will have a big impact when implemented.
2. It'll be easier to understand. You naturally write in a way you can understand, so this might be the best way for you to go over things a few times with ease.

And if it's a audio or video based course with no transcript, even more reasons to take notes.

3. Re-Read The Lessons And Your Notes

The more you read over the course and your notes, the more likely things are to stay in your head. Furthermore, you may find you missed something the first time around, or only a few months down the line realize how important something is. So be sure to do this every three or so months. Or when you first enroll, at least two times in quick succession.

Conclusion

So there you have it, the right and wrong times to take your music marketing education further. But what do you think? Are there any other good or bad times to invest in a music course? Let me know your opinions and experiences.