TEM185: Becoming a published composer while still in middle school and resisting the expectations of others in order to blaze your own path - A conversation with composer Tyler S. Grant

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TEM185: Becoming a published composer while still in middle school and resisting the expectations of others in order to blaze your own path - A conversation with composer Tyler S. Grant

Tyler S. Grant is a composer, conductor and music educator based in Alabama.

On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

  • The business reason behind adding a middle initial to his name

  • How he ended up meeting and working with his mentor, Brian Balmages

  • The many things Brian has taught him including how to balance your career with the rest of your life

  • There is something we can learn from absolutely anyone in the music business

  • The meaningful connections Tyler made with guest artists as a college student by volunteering to drive them to and from the airport

  • His first composition for band which was only 90 seconds long and took him months to write (which got performed at the Midwest Clinic!)

  • Why he felt like he had arrived when he got that first piece published and as a result didn't release anything in the following year

  • Being that driven from an early age and the lessons he learned along the way

  • Learning to resist the expectations of the industry and others so you can find your own artistic path

  • Why having a degree in something, while valuable, is not a requirement to creating art

  • His decision to self-publish his music and to form an LLC

  • The crazy schedule he kept as a college student to be an in-demand self-published composer (including enlisting the help of his fellow students to get orders out)

  • Hiring a "ghost printer" to keep up with demand and how that kept his sanity

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 iTunes goal is 150 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:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

TEM107: Seth Hanes on how to get guest appearances on podcasts and blogs, getting a self-published book to number one on three different Amazon lists and why strategy should always dictate tactics

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TEM107: Seth Hanes on how to get guest appearances on podcasts and blogs, getting a self-published book to number one on three different Amazon lists and why strategy should always dictate tactics (and not the other way around)

Seth Hanes returns to TEM to tell us all about how he got his book, Break Into the Scene, to #1 on three different Amazon lists.

What You'll Learn:

  • The importance of having specific goals when marketing and of having a feedback loop to verify whether what you were doing was productive

  • Why strategy should always dictate tactics and not the other way around

  • Why the first step should always be identifying a specific problem your product or service will solve for people

  • How Seth built an email list (including the hard part - getting the first 100 subscribers!) and how he used it to help launch the book

  • The importance of validating an idea or product early in the process to make sure anyone will buy it

  • How he was able to get booked as a guest on 10 podcasts and write 10 guest blog posts in conjunction with the book launch

  • Gary Vaynerchuk's advice on how to launch a book (which is really easy for anyone to do for no money at all and applies to anything, not just a book)

  • Why he writes in his own voice in spite of the occasional critic

  • Why the key to marketing yourself as a musician is pushing past the discomfort

Links:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons I Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 50 ratings at iTunes (I'm really close!) by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

TEM79: Emilio Guarino on action steps, the constant of change and the challenges of self-publication

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TEM79: Emilio Guarino on action steps, the constant of change and the challenges of self-publication

Topics Covered:

  • What inspired him to write his first book, "Make It: A Guide For Recent Music Graduates"

  • How 90% of the book is based on personal experiences beginning with graduate school (when he was first on his own financially)

  • The in my opinion awesome fact that every chapter of his book ends with "Action Steps" for the reader to take (I wish more books like this did that!)

  • How your body is going to make a routine for yourself whether you set one or not

  • The incredible percentage of any given day which is just comprised of habit

  • How he keeps a daily journal of all of his thoughts throughout the day and when he goes back and reads them he tries to translate them into actions he can take

  • The importance of blocking out time for something important each and every day where he tells the world to go away and just focuses on that task

  • Change is the only constant

  • The Gig Triangle (the metric I use to decide whether I am going to say yes to something today)

  • Why if you have no entrepreneurial experience, designing and selling a sticker for a project (like a band you're in) will teach you a lot about business

  • The many things (like a book mockup) you have to do when you self-publish

  • What he would do differently if he publishes a second book

  • The importance of customers finding your product in the channels they're already hanging out in

Links:

Favorite Quotes:

  • "Use routine to your advantage. Set small, daily goals that are realistically achievable for you that inch you toward your desired outcome."

  • "I think the master habit that you need to get in place is the habit of reviewing your habits."

  • "I wouldn't recommend writing a book for money. There are better ways to go about that."

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

TEM23: Michael Davis of Hip-Bone Music

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 TEM23: Michael Davis of Hip-Bone Music

Michael Davis is the owner of Hip-Bone Music and has performed and recorded with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, James Taylor and Buddy Rich.

Topics Covered:

  • What inspired him to launch Hip-Bone Music long before it was common for people to self-publish books and albums

  • Why listening as a human being is just as important to success in the music business as listening as a musician

  • How he was able to establish himself as a freelancer in a crowded scene like New York City

  • What the hardest part is about owning his own company

  • How he has funded over 10 different recordings

  • How he approaches product development

Michael's Website:

Books Referenced:

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 and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

TEM9: David Vining of Mountain Peak Music

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TEM9: David Vining of Mountain Peak Music

David Vining is the founder of publishing company Mountain Peak Music and a highly sought after teacher and performer.

He has faced many obstacles in his career, including overcoming distonia, which gives him a unique perspective on the music business and life in general.

Topics Covered:

  • Finding a core customer base

  • The advantages of "drilling down" to cater to a specific niche

  • Not assuming different customer bases have the same needs

  • How his battle with dystonia taught him to not always approach problems in a linear and traditional manner

  • Creating an environmnet where people can create their own improvement rather than follow step-by-step instructions

  • How critical communication skills are to all entrepreneurs

Links:

Books:

Want to help "keep the lights on" and make future episodes of TEM possible? Please visit our Patreon page to see how you can help! https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast

Produced by Austin Boyer of FredBrass