How I went from $0 in music sales to $1000 to $5000, to $10,000 and beyond…
Most people want to shortcut. They want to reap all the rewards without putting in the risk and the work to get there. That’s like signing up for a gym membership and thinking that you should automatically have abs in a month. Ha!
The reality is that you CAN take a short cut: listen to people who are already achieving the results you want. But don’t just listen. DO.
Take ACTION.
But don’t just take action TODAY…. you have to be in this for the LONG HAUL and be CONSISTENT over a long period of time!
THAT is how you get abs and how you make progress in anything!
Why do I bring up revenue as a marker of success? Simply because that’s what musicians ask me about day and night. They want revenue.
They want to fund their passions, dreams, next album and be able to pay the bills from it and quit the job they hate.
Okay then, we can do that…. but it’s going to take a major shift in your attitude.
Here are 10 things you must do to get there:
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1. Create amazing, quality music that the market wants. Quality means it’s in demand, and quality means it sounds great, regardless of the budget.
2. Identify your niche, your “twist” that a smaller group of people are actually excited about. You don’t need millions of fans, you only need a 1000 die-hard fans that are in love with your music.
3. Have a consistent image & brand across all social platforms, your website, and merchandise. What does your brand communicate? What feeling does your imagery create in your fans? If you don’t know, you’re likely missing out on a lot of sales.
4. Be purposeful in what your music stands for and build a culture around your music. People see your music as bigger than just the music. It’s part of their way of life. It’s a lifestyle brand.
5. Have a detailed understanding of how to launch your music online whenever you have a new release. You know how to plan and execute an online campaign, in a matter-of-fact, methodical way. No guessing.
6. Launch your old and new music perpetually to new people every single day. This is called an “evergreen launch”. It is always running, and the sales pay for the campaign.
7. Automate your “lead gen” or new fans. There’s a way to attract new fans every single day, 24/7. You know how to build relationships, and automate the process of taking a new fan from Aware
8. Be fearless when it comes time to sell. If you want to succeed, you have to get over this. But even better, your system does the selling, and you don’t have to even talk to one single person (so yes, you can be successful as a hard-core introvert).
9. Regularly ask for feedback from your fans and survey them. Use the data they give you and you turn it around and make more music, merch products, bundles, and whatever they want based on that feedback. Don’t guess: ASK!
10. Be willing to take a RISK. Stop being afraid of what people will think. Don’t ask “How can I stand out online?” … just put your head down and start DOING what you know you should!
I am currently having my biggest physical music sales month… maybe ever. Mostly selling CDs.
What has taken me from $10,000 to $20,000 per month?
Doing exactly those 10 things over and over and over.
Getting better at it.
Dialing it in.
Then testing and experimenting even more.
Taking more risks.
Sometimes failing.
Learning from it.
Stepping out in faith.
Putting more faith in my fans.
Being more transparent.
And continuing this journey in the Wild West of the New Music Industry!
