Talking about his new EP, which comes out two days after this episode is released, this southern California singer/songwriter used GoFundMe for the project and shares his experiences with using that platform. He also discusses shows that he’ll be doing in December and January, airplay that he’s getting on FM stations around the U.S., and endorsement opportunities that he’s getting, plus having gotten a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Business as well as publishing deals that he got early in his career.
“People think that if you just start a (crowdfunding) campaign usually, people will just show up and throw money at you. And really, it’s a lot more than that. You have to have a really, a big mission statement behind what you’re doing and the big thing is to market it… If you can get people to help spread the word for you, before you even release the campaign, so they’re all prepared, that’s kind of the best way to do it.”
“This is, I feel, a really key point of information for everybody listening, is, Instagram, there’s only one spot you can click on a link and that’s on your bio on Instagram. So, even if you have 20 or 30 thousand followers on Instagram, the chances that somebody’s gonna go click on the link in your bio, it’s kinda hard to get them there. So, Twitter, actually, personally, was my kinda go-to.”
“We’ve had quite a few people hitting us up, across the nation, actually, wanting us to come play at certain festivals, or different type of events. And it’s great, we just kind of have to pick and choose now. We’ve had an overwhelming response to what we’re doing.”
“You can (record) yourself if you take the time to learn what you’re doing correctly. A lot of people have bad techniques or jump into it too quickly and that probably won’t get radio airplay. But, if you take the time and study what you’re doing, it’s totally possible.”
“A lot of artists jump on every offer that comes by and you really have to be able to stand behind a product if you’re going to promote it… Endorsements work both ways and a lot of musicians don’t understand that… and, it can hurt the company, it can hurt your career.”
“One of the biggest things that I see in the music industry year after year is people taking advantage of companies. All they want is free product.”
“It has been an incredible help to have a PR team and management behind what I’m doing because you’re only one person or you’re only one band and a lot of times the band or the person who’s doing the music is focused on that, you have to be focused that, you have to be focused on your career; simply, being a musician, being an artist, making your fans happy. All the other stuff that comes along with it, it’s like running a business. You have to treat it like a business because that’s the only way that it’s gonna work and become a true career.”
“The first couple years where I got my music certifications, I got them from a local community college that I was very, very, very fortunate to have professors who were teaching at state university levels but also teaching at a community college and, specifically, I had a professor who was a songwriter for Gladys Knight and a couple other really, really big R&B-type artists.”
"Give You the World"
"Drunk Lovin"