Everything They Didn't Teach You in Music School
Lance LaDuke, my partner at Pedal Note Media, joined me as a guest speaker for one of the music business classes I teach at Shenandoah Conservatory.
Read More
Listen via:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
SoundCloud
Stitcher
TEM199: Thank you
A heartfelt thank you and a look back on the last 100 episodes of TEM.
On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:
A huge thank you to everyone who has supported the show in any way and enabled me to get to 200 episodes
Lessons learned from a handful of conversations that have occurred since TEM100
The cost of not being yourself
Using thoroughly researched methods
Finding your own personal creative rhythm
Giving yourself permission to pursue the passions in your life that you've been putting off
The importance of getting the right message to the right audience in as clean and concise manner as possible
Should you pivot, persevere, or punt?
Links:
Want to help the show? Here's a couple of ways you can do that!
1. Hear an extra TEM episode every single week while helping me get to my next goal of $100 per episode on Patreon by becoming a patron today: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast
2. My next Apple Podcasts goal is 150 ratings and 75 reviews. Take just a minute to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help me get there. Thank you!
And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.
Produced by Andrew Hitz
Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:
Listen via:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
SoundCloud
Stitcher
TEM192: Don't let technology use you - A conversation on productivity with Lance LaDuke
For this week's episode I am joined by my Pedal Note Media partner, Lance LaDuke, for a conversation on technology and productivity.
On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:
If you make something for 90 days in a row and then don't on day 91, would anyone notice?
Thinking of a social media platform as an infinity pool and realizing you are the product
The entrepreneurial lessons you can learn from a trip to the grocery store
The spirit behind minimalism and how it can apply to entrepreneurs
Carving out time to be creative as an individual or as an organization
Finding your creative rhythm and knowing when in the day to do your creative work and when to do your busy work
The shifting collaborative schedule this fall for Pedal Note Media and how we finally seemed to have settled on a good rhythm
Lance's trick to not waste hours a day on social media
Having the self-awareness to know when it would be best for you to change a behavior or some aspect of your life
A system that Lance used this summer to leverage a Sudoku game he was playing into regular productivity
How good we both are at doing busy work done when we have important work to do
Did you know there are two episodes of TEM every single week? TEM Extra is a weekly episode available exclusively to patrons of the show.
On Last Week's TEM Extra:
A tweet by Dan Hockenmaier that exaggerates a point about how passion isn't everything but still hits on something incredibly important
Making art that fills a need
Some wisdom from Yoko Ono via fellow musician Alan Theisen about living on someone else's schedule
Going against the grain of the many different cultures we are all engrained within (and why that's so hard sometimes)
The career course corrections I am constantly experiencing by interviewing such brilliant people for TEM
Head to Patreon to gain access today!
Links:
Want to help the show? Here's a couple of ways you can do that!
1. Help me get to my next goal of $100 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.
2. My next Apple Podcasts goal is 150 ratings and 75 reviews. Take just a minute to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help me get there. Thank you!
And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.
Produced by Andrew Hitz
Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:
Listen via:
iTunes
Spotify
SoundCloud
Stitcher
TEM147: Pivot, Persevere or Punt - A conversation with Lance LaDuke
We all have three options when faced with adversity. The key is figuring out which is the best path forward for any given situation.
This week's guest, Lance LaDuke, is my parter at Pedal Note Media, my former colleague with Boston Brass and the co-host of my other podcast, The Brass Junkies.
What You'll Learn:
The lesson Lance shares with every freshman at Carnegie Mellon right as they walk in the door
Why I named it The Entrepreneurial Musician and not The Musical Entrepreneur
The reason to try something now is because it will never go exactly how you think it’s going to go (it might even go better!)
The three options we have when faced with adversity
Pivot (This wall is really tall and I’m going to keep going but in a different direction)
Example #1: Lance learning trombone in order to win the Boston Brass audition
Example #2: Boston Brass keeping up with the movement of the market by collaborating with both the T'ang Quartet and Imani Winds
Persevere (You hit a wall and you just keep pedaling)
Example #1: The beginning of Pedal Note Media when it was a ton of work and we were losing money (for a good long while)
Example #2: How the Modern Musicking Center at Carnegie Mellon University took shape after years of Lance not quite figuring out exactly what it should look like
Punt (I’m giving up on this task so I can spend my time on something else)
Example #1: A group Lance formed 20 years ago that was great and well received in its short life but wasn’t the right thing moving forward for a host of reasons
Example #2: A show Lance produced called "Lance Learns to Play" (which was great and even got him a meeting at PBS!) that was far too much work for the return so he pulled the plug
Links:
1. Help me get to my goal of $100 per episode on Patreon (only $20 to go!) by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.
2. My next iTunes goal is 100 ratings and 75 reviews. Take just a minute to leave a rating and review on iTunes to help me get there. Thank you!
And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.
Produced by Andrew Hitz
Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:
Listen via:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
SoundCloud
Stitcher
TEM76: Business Model Canvas with Lance LaDuke
The Business Model Canvas is a tool that every single person listening to this podcast should use and this talk with Lance LaDuke is a great place to start!
Lance regularly teaches the Business Model Canvas to his Business of Music class at Carnegie Mellon University and does a great job of explaining why it is such a powerful tool. The Business Model Canvas will help get ideas out of your head and organized in an way that makes clear what your next steps need to be. I can't recommend the process any more highly for anyone.
Links:
Business Model Generation*
Business Model You*
*FWIW I am a huge fan of ebooks and audio books but would highly recommend the hard copy of each of these books. They are quite visual.
Show notes for all episodes of TEM including links to all books and websites referenced in this episode can be found at:
http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes
It would mean the world to me if you felt like making a small donation to support what I'm doing with TEM. You can find out more at:
https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast
Produced by Joey Santillo
Listen via:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
SoundCloud
Stitcher
TEM65: Impact people around you and your phone will ring a lot (TEM Short)
This TEM Short features thoughts about being interviewed by my Pedal Note Media colleague, Lance LaDuke, in TEM64.
Links:
Lance LaDuke: Episode 17
A Conversation with Lance LaDuke on Marketing: Episode 34
Andrew Hitz of Pedal Note Media: Episode 64
It would mean the world to me if you felt like making a small donation to support what I'm doing with TEM. You can find out more at:
https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast
Produced by Joey Santillo
Listen via:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
SoundCloud
Stitcher
TEM35: Are you with the 99%? (TEM Short)
In Episode 34, Lance LaDuke talked about how 99% of the world goes in the same direction when marketing their product or event. Are you with the 99% or is your marketing remarkable?
Links:
You can help offset the ongoing costs of producing the show by making a small donation at http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician. Your support is greatly appreciated!
Produced by Austin Boyer of FredBrass
Listen via:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
SoundCloud
Stitcher
TEM34: A Conversation with Lance LaDuke on marketing
For Episode 34 I welcome back my partner at Pedal Note Media, Lance LaDuke.
Lance is fresh off of an appearance as a Thought Leader at "Marketing Chamber Music: A Savvy Strategy for Success", an event arranged by David Cutler as a part of the Chamber Music America Conference in New York City.
Lance has some really great ideas about marketing and shares with us a bunch of groups that he thinks are really doing the arts marketing thing well. It's a list that really made me think!
Topics Covered:
Using a business model canvas to hone your product and determine exactly what problem you are going to solve for whom
If 99% of people are going in one direction with their marketing that you should be going in the other direction
How marketing is everything (and everything is marketing)
Why you or your product need to be remarkable in the literal sense
Why you must be incredible before you ramp up your marketing
Why only competing on price to make a name for yourself is a losing game
Why how you are perceived is reality
Why you shouldn’t assume that anyone cares that you can do something better than it has already been done
The importance of finding someone who is having success in your corner of the music business and figure out how they’re doing everything they’re doing
Links:
Books:
The Purple Cow by Seth Godin
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Favorite Quote from the Interview:
"Marketing is everything and everything is marketing. Everything you do should be with an eye towards it."
You can help offset the ongoing costs of producing the show by making a small donation at http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician. Your support is greatly appreciated!
Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass
Today's guest blogger is Lance LaDuke, my partner at Pedal Note Media and Thought Leader at the 2016 Savvy Musician in Action Retreat:
I have spent many years and countless hours creating "to do" lists for myself and they have taken many forms, from handwritten lists to sophisticated apps.
They always center around the thing I want to, need to or should do. I have gotten better (thanks largely to the book "Getting Things Done" and the Wunderlist app) at breaking things down into actionable items and prioritizing my tasks.
One area I completely stink at is recognizing when an item no longer needs to be on the list. It could be that my priorities or interests have shifted. Or that what I thought I "needed" to do was an illusion. Or that what I REALLY need to do is to let go of things, instead of adding them.
So I have created a different sort of list. A "to don't" list. I'm not perfect at any of these which is why they are on the list. For the purposes of this post, I am limiting myself to "to-don'ts" related to practicing. They can of course be generalized or modified to fit pretty much any need.
Here's my current "to don't" list:
I don't compare myself to others (only to my own potential or progress).
I don't worry about new toys (or techniques or fads) over basic foundation building.
I don't waste time on unimportant stuff, or things I can already play or do.
I don't beat my head against a wall once I inevitably hit it (breaks the wall and gives me a headache).
I don't let fear control what I do or don't practice.
I don't assume I know how I sound w/out recording myself.
I don't practice haphazardly without clear goals for each year/season/month/week/day/session.
I don't sacrifice practice quality (tone, time, technique) for practice quantity (time on face).
What is your list? What can you stop doing TODAY, that will help you take even a small step towards your goals?
Ignore Nike! Just DON'T do it!
Feel free to fire off questions or comments and grab a free PDF of my book "Music Practice Coach" by visiting me at musicpracticecoach.com.
Listen via:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
SoundCloud
Stitcher
TEM18: Are you on a cul de sac? (TEM Short)
Here is my reaction to my interview with former Boston Brass and current Pedal Note Media partner Lance LaDuke. The most striking thing about Lance's career to me is that he has had the courage to bail on three different high profile jobs when he realized that they were personal cul de sacs.
That is easier said than done and Lance is a great example of making things happen in your career rather than waiting for things to get better.
Link:
Books Referenced:
The Dip by Seth Godin
You can help offset the ongoing costs of producing the show by making a small donation at http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician. Your support is greatly appreciated!
Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass
Listen via:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
SoundCloud
Stitcher
TEM17: Lance LaDuke of Pedal Note Media
Lance is not only one of my best friends but one of the sharpest business minds I've ever encountered in the music business.
This guy has quit the US Air Force Band. He has quit the River City Brass Band. He has quit the Boston Brass. Every time he quit was because he figured out he was on what Seth Godin calls a cul de sac and he had the courage to do something about it.
This is a fascinating interview about having the courage to pull the trigger, making things happen rather than sitting back and waiting for it to come to you, and how his family environment growing up led to him being so good on the mic.
This interview is all over the map and yet is completely cohesive. If you don't know Lance you will quickly figure out why I wanted to start a company with him after we both got out of Boston Brass.
Lance's entrepreneurial endeavors have led him to a career in consulting, performance, media, and academia. He does a little of everything and amazingly does it all well.
There is so much actionable advice in this episode you'll want to take notes!
Topics Include:
How the point of differentiation that won him the Boston Brass gig was his business expertise and vision and not anything musical
The importance of being yourself and speaking your mind in interviews
His approach to programming and how every aspect of it is intentional and considers a number of factors
How Lance and I used the Business Model Canvas to create Pedal Note Media
Links:
Books Referenced:
Music Practice Coach by Lance LaDuke
The Lean Startup by Eric Riles
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port
Bold by Peter H. Diamandis
You can help offset the ongoing costs of producing the show by making a small donation at http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician. Your support is greatly appreciated!
Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass