How to Build a Sustainable Music Career and Collect All Revenue Streams

Guest Akin Aliu, a booking agent at CAA, discusses booking shows, maximizing live career aspects, and efficient touring strategies. Topics include artist growth platform tools, strategies for success, innovative tour strategies, insurance coverage insights, show promotion strategies, the evolution of virtual events, and the significance of team members in the modern music industry.

Melissa Garcia is a Founding Partner at Collective Entertainment and Host Emily White’s business partner. Melissa also serves as the Chief Marketing Officer of #iVoted Festival. In this episode Melissa and Emily cover FOMO or “fear of missing out” in the age of Instagram and what to do about it, how to announce your release effectively, social media best practices, maximizing Spotify and Pandora, as well as modern PR whether you have a budget or not. Additionally Melissa and Emily break down radio promotion in the United States, music videos in the modern era and discuss brand partnerships. Here we go! Today's episode is brought to you by Songtrust, the world’s largest and most accessible music publishing administrator. Sign up now to join over 300,000 songwriters and collect your publishing royalties from more than 215 countries and territories. Use promo code SUSTAIN20 at signup for 20% off your Songtrust registration. Follow Melissa Garcia on Instagram and Twitter. Questions? Reach out to @EmWizzle on Twitter ⁠Book this podcast was based on (Second Edition):⁠ 10% off w/ code PODCAST Email List to be directly contacted when S2 & the book's next edition drops: https://bit.ly/SustainableList CREDITS: Creator, Executive Producer, Producer, & Host: Emily White Engineer: Nathan Cain Music: Matthew Wang Sponsorship: info@c-ent.com Graphics: Neelu Mohaghegh 

Part three of our distribution episodes explores digital distribution companies such as The Orchard, Redeye, and of course Symphonic which today’s guest Nick Gordon is the GM of in New York City. He additionally serves as Symphonic’s Chief Client Officer. Today we’re going to explore the inner workings of this form of distribution as well as the physical distribution of CD’s and vinyl. Host Emily White also explains what SoundExchange is and why now is the time to sign up if you haven’t already. Happy listening! Artist Growth is a platform that simplifies music industry operations by offering tools for event planning, financial tracking, tour coordination, and project management. It integrates various aspects of business management into a centralized system, enhancing collaboration and efficiency for artists, managers, record labels, and production teams. ⁠Book this podcast was based on (Second Edition):⁠ 10% off w/ code PODCAST Email List to be directly contacted when S2 & the book's next edition drops: https://bit.ly/SustainableList CREDITS: Creator, Executive Producer, Producer, & Host: Emily White Engineer: Nathan Cain Music: Matthew Wang Sponsorship: info@c-ent.com Graphics: Neelu Mohaghegh 

In the previous episode, Host Emily White discusses the importance of "direct to fan" distribution as the foundation of building a sustainable music career. The next step on a musician's journey is to distribute to "DSP's" or digital service providers - e.g. Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, etc. In the book this podcast is based on, Emily explains when artists should use CD Baby and when Tunecore is the right fit. Since its publication Emily has been asked by musicians how DistroKid fits into the space. This episode explains exactly that. Our episode's guest is Milwaukee based musician Cullah, who has been releasing an album a year on his birthday since he was 15. Now 30, Cullah recently released his 15th album 1/2, as he has been releasing music for half of his life. Emily and Cullah discuss aggregators and dig into how Cullah is building a sustainable music career. Happy listening! Check out Cullah at Cullah.com & @CullahMusic Artist Growth is a platform that simplifies music industry operations by offering tools for event planning, financial tracking, tour coordination, and project management. It integrates various aspects of business management into a centralized system, enhancing collaboration and efficiency for artists, managers, record labels, and production teams. Questions? Reach out to @EmWizzle on Twitter ⁠Book this podcast was based on (Second Edition):⁠ 10% off w/ code PODCAST Email List to be directly contacted when S2 & the book's next edition drops: https://bit.ly/SustainableList CREDITS: Creator, Executive Producer, Producer, & Host: Emily White Engineer: Nathan Cain Music: Matthew Wang Sponsorship: info@c-ent.com Graphics: Neelu Mohaghegh 

"Direct to fan" distribution is the foundation of building a sustainable music career. Technology companies are the most valuable entities in the world. Why? Because they have all of our data. Musicians and creators need to view themselves through this lens, instead of just giving their fans' data away to technology companies without knowing who is listening to their music. Musicians can do this by collecting as many email addresses and mobile phone numbers as possible to communicate with their audience directly forever. This episode breaks down why you need to be selling music through your website and on Bandcamp. Bandcamp has been at the forefront of the direct to fan revolution, paying out $751 Million USD over the past decade to artists and rights holders. To dig in further on this crucial topic, host Emily White interviews Bandcamp founder Ethan Diamond. Also! Today’s episode is brought to you by the amazing folks at Bandzoogle. Built by musicians for musicians, #Bandzoogle is an all-in-one platform that makes it easy to build a stunning website and EPK for your music. Head to Bandzoogle.com & try it free for 30 days, +use the promo code “SUSTAINABLE” to get 15% off the first year of any subscription. Happy listening! Questions? Reach out to @EmWizzle on Twitter. ⁠Book this podcast was based on (Second Edition):⁠ 10% off w/ code PODCAST Email List to be directly contacted when S2 & the book's next edition drops: https://bit.ly/SustainableList CREDITS: Creator, Executive Producer, Producer, & Host: Emily White Engineer: Nathan Cain Music: Matthew Wang Sponsorship: info@c-ent.com Graphics: Neelu Mohaghegh 

Lauren Ross is an incredibly talented sync pitching representative, music supervisor, musician, and more. She has managed St. Vincent, launched Kill Rock Stars' licensing division and founded Terrorbird Media's sync pitching department. In this episode, Host Emily White interviews Lauren, taking listeners through steps that put musicians in the best position to land a "sync" placement. “Sync” is short for synchronization, which is when music is synchronized with picture - examples used in film, TV, advertisement, web show, etc. Happy listening! Questions? Reach out to @EmWizzle on Twitter. ⁠Book this podcast was based on (Second Edition):⁠ 10% off w/ code PODCAST Email List to be directly contacted when S2 & the book's next edition drops: https://bit.ly/SustainableList CREDITS: Creator, Executive Producer, Producer, & Host: Emily White Engineer: Nathan Cain Music: Matthew Wang Sponsorship: info@c-ent.com Graphics: Neelu Mohaghegh 

Music publishing has brought fear and confusion to many songwriters over the years. And Host Emily White understands why! There are horror stories of songwriters signing their publishing rights away for a nominal advance in the 20th century, only for their catalog to go on to make millions. But first, what *is* music publishing? And how do you collect on it? The good news is, music publishing is more simple than you might think, and the modern music industry offers ways to collect on that revenue while also retaining your rights. This episode explores all options for collecting on your music publishing revenue. Emily interviews Songtrust President Molly Neuman for a deeper dive into this topic, while also discussing Molly's incredible career. Happy listening! Questions? Reach out to @EmWizzle on Twitter. ⁠Book this podcast was based on (Second Edition):⁠ 10% off w/ code PODCAST Email List to be directly contacted when S2 & the book's next edition drops: https://bit.ly/SustainableList CREDITS: Creator, Executive Producer, Producer, & Host: Emily White Engineer: Nathan Cain Music: Matthew Wang Sponsorship: info@c-ent.com Graphics: Neelu Mohaghegh 

All songwriters need to sign up for a performing rights organization or "P.R.O." in their country. Unfortunately Host Emily White has met many songwriters who have been fearful to do so. She’s also met young songwriters who figured they would join a PRO when they're further along in their career. This episode is here to quell those fears and encourage you to sign up for a PRO in your country NOW. Emily interviews special guest Loretta Muñoz of ASCAP to explain how to do just that while discussing best practices in working with a PRO. Happy Listening! Questions? Reach out to @EmWizzle on Twitter. ⁠Book this podcast was based on (Second Edition):⁠ 10% off w/ code PODCAST Email List to be directly contacted when S2 & the book's next edition drops: https://bit.ly/SustainableList CREDITS: Creator, Executive Producer, Producer, & Host: Emily White Engineer: Nathan Cain Music: Matthew Wang Sponsorship: info@c-ent.com Graphics: Neelu Mohaghegh 

This episode covers Chapter 4 of the book this podcast is based on, "How to Record With or Without a Budget." Host Emily White does so by interviewing veteran musician, producer, photographer Patrick Sansone of Wilco and The Autumn Defense. Emily and Pat discuss his successful career through the lens of the book. While also sharing best practices for recording whether you're just getting going or would like to learn and grow through hearing from Pat's experience in the studio. beatBread is a pioneering music and finance company that empowers artists to take control of their careers without giving away ownership of their music or their decision-making power. Founded in 2020, beatBread brings together a team with deep experience in music, finance, artificial intelligence and machine learning to create new opportunities for artists. beatBread provides independent and unsigned artists with financial advances that are repaid through a limited share of revenues from streaming and airplay, over a period of the artist’s choosing. beatBread's funding platform leverages its proprietary ⁠⁠⁠chordCashAI⁠⁠⁠ technology, and millions of dollars from beatBread’s ⁠⁠⁠Investor Network⁠⁠⁠ as well as institutional funds to provide advances that let artists and labels control their marketing and distribution partners while maintaining ownership of their underlying IP. Happy Listening! Questions? Reach out to ⁠@EmWizzle on Twitter⁠. Patrick Sansone on Instagram: ⁠@Sansonic1⁠ ⁠⁠Book this podcast was based on (Second Edition):⁠⁠ 10% off w/ code PODCAST Email List to be directly contacted when S2 & the book's next edition drops: https://bit.ly/SustainableList CREDITS: Creator, Executive Producer, Producer, & Host: Emily White Engineer: Nathan Cain Music: Matthew Wang Sponsorship: info@c-ent.com Graphics: Neelu Mohaghegh 

The next chapter in the book this podcast is based on is "How to Record With or Without a Budget." Host Emily White initially thought of Imogen Heap for this episode, as she is the first woman to win Best Engineered Album at The Grammys. However Emily realized she'd be remiss if the interview was limited to recording, and instead interviews Imogen on her iconic career through the lens of the book. Emily used to tour manage Imogen and we hope you enjoy this special conversation where they catch up on Imogen's wide ranging career. And how she is transforming the music industry for artists and us all via the launch The Creative Passport. Enjoy! Questions? Reach out to @EmWizzle on Twitter. Imogen Heap's Creative Passport for Musicians: https://www.creativepassport.net/. Artists should sign up now to truly revolutionize the industry through the power of artists owning and controlling their data. ⁠Book this podcast was based on (Second Edition):⁠ 10% off w/ code PODCAST Email List to be directly contacted when S2 & the book's next edition drops: https://bit.ly/SustainableList CREDITS: Creator, Executive Producer, Producer, & Host: Emily White Engineer: Nathan Cain Music: Matthew Wang Sponsorship: info@c-ent.com Graphics: Neelu Mohaghegh