Forget what you’ve heard, because there are only two things you need to know…
- Use your unique talents and abilities to add value to others.
- Set up a system so those people can pay you.
That’s it. Internalize those, follow them, and you will have what you need to play your music full time and on your own terms.
That said, there are a few challenges that come along with each of these that make internalizing them difficult…
1. Make The Lives Of Other People Better
Your writing music for other people, not you. If that’s something that you get and you’re thinking “thanks, Greg. That’s not helping.”
Stop.
You’re overthinking it.
Here’s why:
When you’re focused on what you do for others, the guilt, resistance (or whatever you wanna call it) many of us feel for “taking other people’s money” melts away and is replaced with a humble reverence for the work that you are doing, the impact that it’s having, and how the money that you currently have (whether you’re a millionaire or living on the street) must be respected so that you can continue doing that work.
(It’s a totally different feeling than what you get from the money you earn at a regular job.)
The more you focus on what you give instead of on what you get, the more “success” will be magnetized to you.
You may have heard this before, but after personally experiencing the difference this shift in perspective made, well, my brain still boggles every time I think about it.
I talk about that more in my eBook and in episode 25 of the Musician Monster podcast.
So, to summarize #1: You’re adding value through your unique talents and abilities. And those positively impacted by what you do will want to say “thank you”. That’s where the second part of all you need to know about music business comes in…
2. Set Up A System
Let the folks positively impacted by your music say “thanks” by setting up a system that allows an equal exchange of value through a common monetary medium. In other words, empower people to pay you through a system that you own and control so that nobody else has the power to cut your access off to those people.
This system is what others refer to as a “music business”.
And that’s where most of us get tripped up.
Because the number of ways you could set up your system are infinite. And making the decision to do it and then committing to one path long enough to see results is the BIGGEST challenge.
That’s why I love the advice Dave Kusek gives in MMP024. He identifies that there are only three basic paths you can travel to success in music business. Picking one of those paths based on what you want your daily life as a full-time musician to be like, is the the best way to decide how to set up your system.
And, to quote John Oszajca in MMP026, your system needs to be one that you “own and control” (I mentioned that twice because it’s important.)
Just know that you have the freedom to set up your system in anyway that you choose, and there are two ways to do that that I know of.
The traditional way…
….and the new “digital” way.
I’m not going to go into them here, but if you want to know more I created a free mini course about it. For now, just know that either way you choose to go, it is **my opinion** that you should have a hybrid of the two. That’s what I have.
In closing, I knew I had one hell of a task in front of me with this article; convincing you that music business is two simple things, when we’ve all heard differently for many years, would be tough. But I believe in what I wrote because I’ve personally seen the difference it’s made in my own life and music, so I figured “what the hell”.
…And That’s A Wrap
What do you think about the two “pillars” of music business? Helpful? Or is the Crystal Meth I smoke every weekend starting to affect my brain? …just kidding.
You be the judge, in the comments below, Twitter, email, or however you wanna get in touch.
Until next time, rock on and prosper.
