The Worst Thing You Can Do Is Not Start.
If you want to build a successful, sustainable business that you love to work on, you will make mistakes.
How do I know? I made them.
Twenty-one years in, some mistakes almost cost me great projects, my business, and almost my marriage.
We all have the same possibilities, and most make the same mistakes.
How can I pay my next bill? What if I added another service to my business? Where do I start with this new project?
Welcome to the world music business.
Most creative entrepreneurs I have met in my career had these or some iteration of these questions at one point in their careers.
Here are three commonly asked questions, and I hope my answers shed some light on how you can build a composer business and the benefits of asking these questions and getting them answered early on.
How do I get started as a music creator?
When you start as a music creator, nobody cares what kind of stuff you're putting out there. And, yes, that's great because you can experiment.
That doesn't mean that these experiments will necessarily lead to a project, but they might as well. But you get into the habit of creating something, finishing it, and getting feedback.
That's great because receiving feedback well is one of the most significant traits a music creator can have when making money with their music—platform, audience size, plays, likes, etc. - all that doesn't matter in the beginning.
You'll learn what music you like to create, what kind of music is well received, and get better at production.
Take your time developing the skills and look at the data. That will tell you when you're ready to approach a publisher to produce an album for them.
And my recommendation for every music creator is to start with simple production music.
(since you're reading this, you probably know by now)
To recap:
Start creating and shipping when nobody cares
Get better, listen to feedback
Approach a publisher
Should I have different income streams?
Yes, you absolutely, 100% should. Not when you're starting, though. That can become complicated, overwhelming, and ineffective very quickly.
Rather than thinking about all the opportunities at once (and there are 1000s), think about it long-term.
Start with building your catalog and work with great publishers. That can be done quickly on the side while working 9-5.
When you hit 500 tracks, you can think of diversifying.
At that point, you have great relationships with publishers, you've likely received your first royalty check, and you have a great understanding of which tracks work best, and you can double down on these.
We are in the passive income zone now, so you can allocate your time to the following income stream.
And to be honest, this now can be anything you want. I like to pick and choose projects that I want to work on. Not the other way around.
And my decision is based on something different than the project's budget because I am making money already.
What do I do when I have no idea what to compose?
That's an easy one: Start composing. I mean that. Our brain is driven by habit. So anything that feels uncomfortable or new is hard to do.
That is why I have to trick my brain into thinking it is effortless.
How?
I say to myself: I just need to give it 2 minutes. That relaxes my brain because what are 2 minutes, right?
And in 99% of cases, within these 2 minutes, I have created a great starting point and have my tracks finished in no time.
That's another cool thing about library music. You can now readily offer these compositions from these 2-minute exercises to your well-established publisher base.
TL;DR
How do I get started as a music creator?
Start experimenting, finish it, put it out there, look at the data, and approach a publisher.
Should I have different income streams?
Yes, after establishing your foundational income, preferably library music.
What do I do when I have no idea what to compose?
Use the simple 2-minute approach to trick your brain into thinking it is easy.
See you again next week!
Whenever you're ready I can help you grow your creative business.
Book a time with me here!⬇️⬇️⬇️
