How Smart Artists Are Getting Paid Without Labels, Direct-to-fan.

Smart artists are quietly making more money than label artists — with no team, no tour, and no streaming checks. Wanna know how?

You followed the formula: drop singles, post content, run ads. But you're still broke, burned out, and wondering why nothing’s clicking. That’s not your fault — the system wasn’t built for independents. But this new one is.” You used to build your career for the algorithm but not actual buyers. And that's why in the 19 years Spotify has been active, every artist has been frustrated with them. Record labels used to sell physicals for you and you were still upset. But now? You have to build the whole operation yourself — and nobody's showing you how.

This ends today!

My whole career, I've been trying to figure out how the money flows in this business. When I did, I couldn't figure out why the costs of doing business were so high in this game versus other businesses, yet billions are made in this industry. In this video, I'm breaking down the 4-part Direct-to-Fan system that's replacing record deals:

• Premium core products

• Subscription models

• Live experiences

• Premium value offers

If you set these up right, you won't need millions of fans — just the right ones. To be clear, there is no blueprint for the music game because it's all so new to the independents and majors. This is why I've studied other businesses to understand their models to reapply them to our world.

Old Way (Labels)	New Way (D2F)
Advances = Debt	Offers = Ownership
Monthly payouts	Daily payouts
Playlist begging	Product selling
10% of revenue	100% of revenue

Your Product is the Deal

You don't need an advance. You need an offer. This could be: Limited Edition merch, signed physical copies, or collectibles, but the granddaddy of it all is what I call premium album experiences where you get the music itself, visual information on who, what, when, where, and why it was created, the credentials and contacts of the collaborators, the different versions of all of the records, and so on. Labels used to fund you — now you fund yourself by selling directly to your audience. The money isn't in the stream. It's in the experience around the music. And the best platform to do this on that I've seen in the market so far is EVEN. When you offer this type of product, though it may take some time to create, your supporters will be glad you did and you'll make way more money than you ever would on streaming.

Subscriptions Print Predictable Income

Most artists are broke between releases. Why? No consistent income. Subscriptions fix that. Otherwise known as monthly recurring revenue or MRR. Whatever exclusive content, digital items, or access you can give to your fans for a monthly price, the higher you can let the subscription price rise. Patreon, Kajabi, IG Close Friends — they let fans pay monthly for access. Give them early drops, behind-the-scenes, or bonus content that's not technically finished but allows them to feel appreciated. Build it once. Get paid every month. Again, none of this is easy but it's worth it!

Live Events Beat Streaming Every Time

You don't need a tour to get paid. You need one room and 20 fans. House shows, pop-ups, studio listening parties — sell $25–$50 tickets and bundle them with merch or meet & greets. One night = more profit than 100K streams. It's not always about a traditional show more than doing a paid activation with your fans. So, the thing you would have done for free during a promotion, charge a price. Once you get on this level of thinking, the opportunities are endless.

Premium Offers = Premium Fans

These are the fans who feel seen by your music. They want more — not just songs, but access, guidance, and deeper connection. Don’t overlook them like the labels do. Premium offers are high-ticket offers like: writing session lessons, fan coaching, or even Future Executive coaching. A single $250 offer is 62,000 streams worth of income. These are the fans labels overlook — but you don't have to. You can make an offer of having 3 people shadow you on one of the weekend legs of your tour and call it The School of "Artist name" where they pay a weekend tuition to come learn and intern with you for the weekend. $3,000 per ticket or $1,000 per day! Think about it: your new assistants pay you, you don't pay them! The opportunities are endless.

The Mistake to Avoid

Many of you think music and shows are all there is to sell, but you're setting your sights too low! Get creative. I know the industry put the blinders on you, but if you keep worrying about going viral, you'll stay stuck. If you keep waiting on labels, you'll miss your moment.

You can do all of the old stuff, or you can build your own Direct-to-Fan ecosystems now... and never need anyone's permission again.

The Future Outlook

The playing fields have leveled, and the floodgates have opened. Take advantage of your opportunities before the market becomes riddled with offers that make fans deterred from what you have to offer. When this system is in place, you'll stop chasing playlists, you'll start seeing real revenue, and you'll gain full control of your music business so you can finally build something sustainable, without waiting for anyone to discover you. I've been discussing strategies like this with my music money makers crew for a while now.

Here's what you can do!

You’ve got the talent. Now it’s time to build the system that pays you — forever. Join the music money makers crew and flip your whole career. Because the question isn’t should you do this — it’s how much longer can you afford not to?

Don't Jump Ship Yet!

This ecosystem isn't the problem, as I've found out. You're not too late, too broke, or too unknown. And trust me, you have enough time to build an offer — there's no rush. Take it one step at a time; this is all new, and if you find yourself getting overwhelmed, set a goal and break it down into tiny, doable steps. This concept isn't going anywhere because it's age-old! It actually saves you time.

Once your Direct-to-Fan ecosystems are built, they run while you sleep. No team? No tour? No problem. This works because you're lean.

Don't Become Inactive because it's hard.

The truth? You're not failing — you're following a blueprint that was never made for you. It was made for the labels. But once you flip the blueprint, everything changes. Here's what happens if you don’t: You'll spend months posting for attention but barely scraping by from streams. This causes you to stay frustrated, wondering why your music isn't getting the love it deserves — subconsciously forcing yourself to choose hustle over strategy… when you could've had both.

At the End of the Day

If you were struggling with:

1. Trying to "go viral" just to make pennies

2. Feeling stuck between dropping music and making money

3. Believing labels or playlists were your only hope

Now you've got a new game plan. One that puts you back in control. You can become the independent power player who makes money on demand — without asking anyone for permission.

Your fans are waiting. Your system is ready. Let's build it.