Everything They Didn't Teach You in Music School
Dr. David Cutler is one of the most brilliant people I have ever had the privilege of working with in my career. He is the author of The Savvy Musician and is filled with ideas for how to be remarkable in today's music business. This and TEM 78 are some great ideas to help anyone figure out what their next move should be.
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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
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TEM75: Idea sex
This episode is about the James Altucher concept Idea Sex which I learned from his book, Choose Yourself, and a very simple exercise you can do on a daily basis to learn how to produce great ideas.
Topics Covered:
How old ideas and new ideas mate to become their own idea
The importance of taking any ideas or inspirations you have and putting them into action
Doing James Altucher's incredibly simple 10 ideas a day challenge for one full year
How at some point you need to stop just watching YouTube clips of great basketball players and actually play some basketball if you want to become a good basketball player
How I answered a student when they asked "How do I get my first income stream?"
One of my ideas from the past that seemed really good and really wasn't
Why you really have to reserve your name .com as a URL if it is available even if you don't do anything with it right away
Links:
Choose Yourself by James Altucher
The James Altucher Show
"How To Have Great Ideas" by James Altucher
Jessica Meyer: Episode 73
andrewhitz.com/tem
facebook.com/hitztuba
instagram.com/hitztuba
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:
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TEM74: Write it for them, not for you (TEM Short)
This TEM Short is in response to my interview with composer and violist Jessica Meyer in TEM73.
This episode explores how whenever writing anything, from a bio to a grant proposal, we always have to keep the recipient in mind when choosing the channel, wording and messaging and have to avoid writing as if we ourselves are the intended audience.
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
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TEM73: Jessica Meyer on not waiting for the phone to ring, becoming a professional composer at age 40 and writing a great grant proposal
Jessica Meyer is a violist, composer, entrepreneur and music business consultant based in New York City. I absolutely love her approach to the music business and to life. Quite inspiring!
Topics Covered:
Jessica had two degrees from Juilliard, was living in New York and yet her phone wasn't ringing because she was primarily only hanging out with her husband and not intentionally networking
How when missing two notes in the 6th round of the Buffalo Philharmonic audition prevented her from winning an $18,000/year job she realized there was a problem with the traditional orchestral model which inspired her and her husband to start their own ensemble
The incredible number of things like grant writing, budgeting, making a website, branding and many other things which they had to suddenly learn how to do (and which their top-notch Juilliard educations didn't prepare them for)
How running your own ensemble is like owning a house rather than renting (you get to customize anything you want but any repairs or upkeep are your problem)
The very large ensemble they hired (at a large expense) which lead to their first New York Times review which in turn has lead to a review every single year
How Jessica became a professional composer at the age of 40 (Spoiler: She relied on her pre-existing network that she had intentionally developed)
The importance of her being able to stand in front of people and succinctly tell them about her music
The key to writing a great grant proposal (It's easier than you think!)
Why she starts her networking seminars off by having people figuring out exactly what makes them them
Why it's important to practice stating within a conversation what you do in at most two sentences (and why you should have one of these soundbites for each different thing you do)
Why you have to be your own advocate for what you do (and why Jessica prefers the term "advocate for yourself" rather than "selling yourself")
How even if you have management you need to be out there "shaking the trees"
Why it's important that when you find yourself in a serendipitous moment (career-wise) you need to speak up and get the ball rolling
Why solving problems for other people or making random introductions for no reason will serve you well in the long run
Gary Vaynerchuck's 51/49 Rule
How all relationships are feeding your career (which means more than just liking Facebook posts)
Links:
Favorite Quotes:
"You have to spend money to make money. That's how it works."
"(Grant writing) is like networking. It's not about you. It's not about how great your art is. It's not about how great you play. It's not about how great this composer is. How are you making the lives better of the people you are serving."
"How can I advocate for myself and my colleagues?"
"You just keep asking. And there'll be a lot of no's. And you just keep asking anyway."
"The people who are successful...are the ones willing to do the mundane things that other people are not."
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:
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TEM72: The who and the what make the how pretty straightforward (TEM Short)
This TEM Short is in response to my interview with Susan de Weger of IgniteLab in Episode 71.
I discuss the two things you need to put into focus in order to figure out how to proceed with your business.
Links:
"It's Not (JUST) About the Gig: A Musician's Guide to Creating the Mindset Which Leads to Career Success AND Fulfillment" by Dana Fonteneau
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
Susan de Weger is a thought leader and change agent for 21st century creative careers in Melbourne, Australia who has had tremendous success in both the music business and the IT world. She brings a unique perspective on today's music business that is must hear.
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TEM70: It's all about your pitch (TEM Short)
This TEM Short is in response to my interview with Seth Hanes, author of "Break Into the Scene: A Musicians Guide to Making Connections, Creating Opportunities, and Launching a Career", in Episode 69.
I discuss how Seth gave the perfect pitch to an influencer in the music business which led to a job and helped to launch the most current phase of his career.
Links:
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
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TEM69: Seth Hanes, author Of "Break Into the Scene", on the value of being willing to learn anything, the best time to take risks in your career and turning your skills into leveragable assets
Seth Hanes is a musician, author and digital marketing consultant.
Topics Covered:
Seth's humble beginnings in music and how he came to become a professional musician
The day he realized the "traditional" path in the music business didn't align with his desires
How the tumultuous environment for professional orchestras in 2010 and 2011 sparked a curiosity in him which led to him learning a lot about why many orchestras were having financial troubles
How Seth leveraged his job at a parking garage to gain access to an influential person in the music business who eventually became his boss
The value of knowing that even if you lack a specific skill that you can always learn it
His battle of knowing he needed to move on from a job that was no longer a good fit yet being afraid of quitting
The great advice he received that led to him going all in on working for himself rather than just seeking a better job than his last one
My opinion on Pat's vs. Gino's
Why the best time to take risks in your career is when you are young
The importance of turning the skills you have into assets you can leverage
The difference between a freelancer and an entrepreneur
The myths of freelancing
Why success in the music business is about a lot more than just being really good at your instrument
Why meeting even one person a month you wouldn't otherwise meet could eventually lead to tens of thousands of dollars
The importance of pitching people the right way (where they are getting at least 51% of the value of the exchange)
Why you have to believe what you're doing is going to make the world a better place
The bonus materials available for free at breakintothescene.com (you don't even have to buy the book!)
Why you should look for how you can be valuable to other people
Examples of non-musical things you can do for someone else to connect with them in an authentic way
Links:
My Appearance on Seth's "A Musician's Guide to Hustling" Show
"The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield
"Choose Yourself" by James Altucher
Favorite Quotes:
"Even if I don't know how to do it, I know I can figure it out. That's always my perspective on everything. And to this day I still take on projects like client work and things that I don't necessarily know all the answers to but I know I can figure it out."
"Action expresses priorities."
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:
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TEM68: Start small but start now
Topics Covered:
You don't need to go to school for four years to learn marketing - you have to market stuff
Don't wait for things to be perfect - you have to start somewhere
Don't talk about things instead of doing them
The importance of networking a lot so you can get good at it
Market for a small charity as practice
How soon can you start
Links:
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:
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TEM67: Mistakes I made in my kickstarter campaign (TEM Short)
This TEM Short is in response to my interview with Ariel Hyatt, author of "Crowdstart: The Ultimate Guide To A Powerful & Profitable Crowdfunding Campaign",
I discuss the mistakes I made when executing the Kickstarter campaign for Pedal Note Media's Brass Recording Project in 2013.
Links:
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:
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TEM66: Ariel Hyatt, author of “Crowdstart: The Ultimate Guide to a Powerful & Profitable Crowdfunding Campaign”
Digital marketing and branding rock star Ariel Hyatt returns to TEM to discuss her brand new book.
Topics Covered:
Trends she has noticed about crowdfunding through her own campaign and helping countless clients with theirs
The most common mistake people make when running a crowdfunding campaign
Why you have to be so direct when asking people for support
The importance of building a crowd before you ever launch your campaign
Why you need a compelling name for your campaign and a compelling pitch that tells a story
The importance of having a very specific schedule for the duration of your entire campaign
Links:
Favorite Quote:
"The assumption is everyone saw (your campaign) and nobody wants to donate when the truth is that nobody saw it and everyone wants to donate."
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 Joey Santillo
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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:
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TEM64: Andrew Hitz of Pedal Note Media on leveraging your unfair advantage, using a business model canvas and transitioning from one main gig to doing lots of things
The tables were turned for this episode of TEM and I was the one interviewed for a change! I thought this would give those in the audience who didn't know my entire backstory the chance to get to know me a little better.
A huge thank you to Lance LaDuke for interviewing me!
Topics Covered:
How I got started playing the tuba
The moment I realized I wanted to become a professional musician
How instrumental my parents were in my success
How my lack of being even remotely entrepreneurial while in undergrad lead to me playing only two paid gigs in four years despite receiving a lot of praise
At what point in my career I started to veer from focusing primarily on being an orchestral player
What my two college teachers instilled in me that "gave me permission" to follow my own path
How I got my first big break in the music business and how my training had me prepared for it
What led me to start thinking like an entrepreneur after many years in Boston Brass
Why my first two ideas for a website were failures
How Lance and I used a Business Model Canvas to come up with the idea for Pedal Note Media
How we identified our "unfair advantage" to give us a head start
How the Band Director's Guide Series came about
How and why Hitz Publications has morphed over the last five years from selling through traditional channels to directly selling to customers
What's next for Pedal Note Media (Spoiler: It's ecourses)
How both Lance and I have gone from doing one thing 100 times a year to doing a whole lot of things a few times a year and how that is a different challenge
Links:
Favorite Quote:
"The key to having great ideas is having lots of ideas."
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 Joey Santillo
Listen via:
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TEM63: The number one trap for artists (TEM Short)
This TEM Short features thoughts about my conversation with Jason Heath, bass player, podcaster and entrepreneur in TEM62.
Links:
Jason Heath: Episode 62
Seth Godin Blog Post: "The Paradox of the Flawless Record"
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
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:
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TEM62: Jason Heath of the Contrabass Conversations Podcast on finding your voice, executing on a great idea and his advice on starting a podcast
Jason Heath is a professional bass player, a very successful podcaster, one of the most read bloggers in the classical music world and teacher.
Topics Covered:
How he had a rather sudden realization when he was a graduate student that he needed to figure out how to make money and what actions he took to make that happen
How he was able to find his voice and exact target audience when he first started blogging
The combination of finding a good idea and then doing the work over an extended period of time
How Jason no longer caring what people thought led to him creating more personal content which made his blog really take off
Why the notion that you must have a very specific voice in order for a blog to be successful may not be true all of the time
How Jason's reach through the blog and podcast led to 56 bass players auditioning at DePaul his first year of teaching there
His advice about starting a podcast
How having an interview-based podcast has many benefits including making you a better listener and networking
How hosting a podcast in the arts is still a blue ocean
How to repurpose your content for new content
How long it takes for Jason to fully produce a one-hour episode of Contrabass Conversations
Why regularity of content is so important for a podcast but how you have multiple options for when to schedule episodes
The equipment Jason uses to produce his podcast
Links:
Favorite Quotes:
"In your 20's and 30's you obsess about what everyone thinks about you. In your 40's and 50's you realize they aren't thinking about you as much as you think they are. In your 60's and 70's you figure out they were never thinking about you in the first place."
"The best possible time to start a podcast is five years ago. The second best time is right now."
"Done is better than good."
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 Joey Santillo
Listen via:
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TEM61: 1,000 True Fans
This episode of TEM features my thoughts on the famous "1,000 True Fans" concept by Kevin Kelly. Be sure to read the blog post at the top of the links below!
Topics Covered:
Why you only need "1,000 true fans" to make a good living as an artist
Why the easiest way to get a fan to give you $100 each year is to produce a lot of different content
How the key to cultivating true fans is direct contact with them
If you gain one true fan a day for three years you will end up with 1,000
Stop procrastinating and regularly ship the art you are working on
Links:
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
You can also help other people find the show by leaving a rating and a review over on iTunes.
The Entrepreneurial Musician is produced by Joey Santillo.
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TEM60: Where the world is headed (TEM Short)
This TEM Short features thoughts about my conversation with Garrett Hope, composer and host of The Portfolio Composer, in Episode 59.
Links:
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
Listen via:
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TEM59: Garrett Hope of the Portfolio Composer Podcast on the skills needed in the freelance economy, thinking about art as a business and the power of outsourcing
Garrett Hope is the host of The Portfolio Composer Podcast, a composer, a bass player, owns a piano tuning company and is a consultant.
Note: Since we recorded this interview, Garrett has rebranded his podcast, Composer On Fire, as The Portfolio Composer Podcast.
Topics Covered:
How entrepreneurial thinking led him to ultimately choose bass over guitar as his primary instrument
The factors that led to him getting turned off by academia which led him to becoming an entrepreneur
How starting a piano tuning business made him realize he needed to apply the same entrepreneurial principles to his music career
The skills musicians need as the world moves more and more towards a freelance economy (and they don't teach them in music school)
The challenge of thinking about art as a business
Why it's imperative to identify exactly who your audience is
The importance of having a rich network to utilize when trying to serve a specific niche
How Garrett came to have world-renowned thought leader Seth Godin as a "guest" on his podcast
The audacity of asking
The power of asking "And then what?" to get to the bottom of fear
The Brand Fascination Assessment Test
The power of outsourcing (even though it can be scary to spend money on things)
Understanding cash flow as a small business owner and the importance of keeping good records
Why we've all networked already on some level
How networking is the bread and butter of a musician's life
How to create a spreadsheet to get organized about your networking
Links:
Books:
Favorite Quote:
"In 10 years, more than 50% of the workforce will be freelancers. That's where we're heading and musicians need to be prepared for that."
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:
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TEM58: Are you willing to change course? (TEM Short)
This TEM Short features thoughts about my conversation with Lauren Pierce, bass player, teacher and entrepreneur, in TEM57.
Links:
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