Resources for Your Music Career – Instead of New Gadgets

Two days ago on the official Instagram account for the weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast I put up a post about my four-volume eBook series that provides tips for aspiring entertainers for on and off the stage.  The questions that I put in the description, though, bear repeating here.

Are you putting limits on the value of your music career?  Do you invest in material objects but not in knowledge?  Are you saying No too much yet wonder why you don't hear Yes more in your career in entertainment?

I’m thinking of the lyric in the Meatloaf song when they sing, “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that.”

Perhaps without realizing it, are you taking the approach of, “I would do anything for my music career, but I won’t do that”?  Or, maybe, “I would spend anything I need to for my music career, but I won’t spend it on that,” meaning, the educational aspect?

Sure, there’s something to be said for hands-on learning.  Playing gigs, going into a recording studio, and sitting down to write a song alone or with someone else are practical ways to learn and get better in those specific aspects of the business.  But what about the business itself?  What about you as a brand?  Remember, you’re trying to get Yes a whole lot more than you get No, so whether you like it or not, you do have to focus on being a business.

For example, in my eBooks I give tips across a wide range of topics, from promoting yourself to booking to crowdfunding, and yes, even recording, songwriting, and much more.  And that’s just across the four volumes that I’ve published.  Meaning, there are lots of other resources out there that you should invest money and time in so that you’re putting yourself in the best possible position to succeed.

While everyone wants to get booked for a showcase, there are also great educational sessions at conferences, which will most likely start happening in-person again now that the pandemic seems to finally be winding down (thankfully).

Similarly, I have put on workshops at songwriters festivals in the past, so if you go to such an event to perform, go the proverbial extra mile to see if such offerings are part of the event too.

Just like my eBooks mean that there’s no physical object you have to carry around thanks to downloading on your phone or tablet, there are also online courses, which mean you don’t need to buy a textbook or go to a physical location, not to mention the overwhelming majority of them being on-demand, so you don’t have to be in front of your computer or tablet or phone at a specific time.

You can also invest in yourself and your career with one or more personalized, one-on-one consultations so as to get help with whatever challenges you’re having, rather than ignore them, be at odds with them, or guess your way through unsuccessfully.  I have been working with artists across the U.S. for more than 15 years and would love to help you too so that you can overcome those areas that you feel are holding you back.

Listening to podcasts, of course, requires an investment of time only, and – at least in the case of “Now Hear This Entertainment” – allow you to hear from other performers just like yourself as to how they’re having success, and, of course, hearing my input too as drawn from the work that I do with clients like you and like my guests on NHTE.

We all want the newest toys but that instrument or those plug-ins or even the swag that you think your fans should want, are potentially impulse buys.  Knowledge is power and will last a lot longer and add a lot more value than that pedal that you bought three years ago but still have never unpacked and spent significant time trying to figure out.

You don’t know what you don’t know.  So again, ask yourself, isn’t your career worth it?

Take charge of where you’re going in entertainment.  Buy one or more volumes in my eBook series today.  Book a private, video consultation with me.  Listen to one or more episodes of NHTE.  Commit to growing in your knowledge and spending more time in professional development.