What's the Deal? Life is Crazy
So you have a side project as a proof of concept that you kind of know what you’re doing, however, you want to take your side hustle and turn it into your main hustle! What you’re missing is full confidence and a plan to accomplish this goal. That's why I'm using Killer Mike's framework for this video today.
Right now you may be making $500 a month and we need to get you to $5000 a month at the very minimum to make music your main hustle. If you are an artist this will be easy, if you’re the label it will be a little more difficult. Now, this may make you feel a little shaky inside because you’re starting to see that this thing really can be real! However, what you shouldn’t be doing right now is sitting on the sideline while you’re making $500 a month because that equals momentum and once you lose it, it's hard to get it back.
I had to regain and maintain momentum with several artists and it was a difficult task. They were all missing a few things that I had 1. to secure for myself and 2. try out myself after I gained the experience from doing it myself since most artists don't want to touch the business.
Make Music your Main hustle in 6 Steps
Plot Goals
Develop a Business Plan
Develop the Strategy
Organize Your Team
Mobilize Your Team
Execute Your Plan
Music Career Step #1 - Plot Goals
When you’re setting goals, it’s important to know what you want and why you want it. This will help guide you towards a practical approach that is realistic enough for your situation, yet ambitious enough for your passion and interests.
You should also consider the time frame in which you wish to achieve these goals, as well as any obstacles that might get in the way of achieving them. The more specific and detailed these questions are, the better equipped we will be when we get down to actually planning our path forward.
Music Career Step #2 - Develop a Business Plan
The second step in changing your music hobby into a music career is to develop a business plan. A business plan helps you focus on what you want to achieve and how you're going to get there.
Your business plan should be specific (make $5,000 a month from music streams), measurable (time), and achievable (increasing at a rate of $1000 a month); realistic (6 months), flexible, and adaptable to change (holidays, low cash, emergencies, etc). It may also include a marketing plan to define your market so you can stay focused on it and in it. Watch How to find a Target Audience for Music Artists Fast if you need a reference.
Music Career Step #3 - Develop the strategy
Next, you need to develop a strategy. There are many different ways to do this and each one will depend on your individual needs and goals. You'll want to consider what you're doing as well as why you're doing it:
Know Your Audience (what are they listening to at the moment)
Know Your Competition (Who are the top dogs related to your sound)
Know Your Strengths & Weaknesses (related to accomplishing this goal)
Know Your Resources (Money, relationships)
Know Your Goals ($5,000 a month in 6 months from streams)
Once you've got all of these things straightened out, it's time to develop the strategy! You should think about how much money or time is going into each aspect of the project (i.e., playlist costs), which will allow for better decision-making later on down the road when there may be tough decisions about where funds should go towards something, like advertising campaigns.
Music Career Step #4 - Organize your team
The next step in your music career journey is to build a team. You don’t need the entire staff of Def Jam records, but you should consider who can help you achieve your goals.
The most common roles that you'll need for this goal are:
Manager - More than likely this is going to be you but after achieving this goal a manager is imminent and will be ready to scoop you up. They will be managing all aspects of your career and make sure everyone is doing their job. Automation and AI can really help you substitute some things.
Social Media Manager - This will be you or a friend you can find to help you stay consistent with posts on social media. You don't have the budget for this yet because these people can start out at a minimum of $800 a month. However, they can be really useful later on. Automation and AI can really help you substitute some things
PR Agent - These are people who promote events or albums and in this case, this will be you. They typically specialize in one area like getting media coverage for artists in magazines, blogs, and radio shows. They connect with bloggers who cover your genre of music for reviews of new albums by bands and individual musicians like yourself! If you have the cash on hand to hire PR for 90 out of the 180-day period cool but don't expend your cash here yet until you start to bring in more revenue from your music. These people can start tapping the $3k-$4k a month range really quickly. Automation and AI can really help you substitute some things
Music Career Step #5 - Mobilize your team
The fifth step to changing your music side hustle into a music career is to mobilize your team. You must ensure that everyone on your team is prepared and ready to work, learn, and be held accountable.
Make sure that the members of your crew are committed to the goals and vision you have set forth for your project. They should also be ready to put in their best efforts when working towards a said goal(s). If they show any signs of reluctance or hesitation, it may be time for some serious contemplation about whether or not this person can ultimately contribute positively to what you’re trying to accomplish as an artist.
If any member of your group isn’t willing or able to meet those standards then it might be time for them to go – nobody wants a team member who doesn't have their back!
Music Career Step #6 - Execute your plan
You’ve planned and prepared, now it’s time to put your plan into action. If you don’t follow through on what you say you’re going to do, then all of your hard work will have been for nothing. Execution is the most important part of any plan.
What if...
Can I really achieve $5000 in music streams a month in 6 months? Yes but only if your music is good and you're not starting from ground zero.
I don't know of any team member that will be competent enough to start. What should I do? I can most definitely plan this out for you in more detail so you have a better chance of succeeding by yourself. just book a call with me.
What do you recommend I start with first? I recommend tightening up your playlist submission process.
Ready, Set, Execute
By using these steps and the ones I provided for you in How to Launch a Successful Record Label with Limited Funds you should be able to achieve your goals!
What else?
I gave you an example of $5000 a month from master royalties however 10% of that money is left on the table at other collection societies. Learn how to get those in my book. The 60 Day record Label Executive Edition.
Book a call with me if you need further help.
At the end of the day...
Once you accomplish this goal you will have many more opportunities to grow in your music career simply because of the popularity that you are gaining through listenership. This is what many artists do not think of but should consider. This allows you to truly quit your job and become the superstar you always wanted to be. If you let your current momentum die then you'll have to start all over again. This will be a tough challenge for you. Don't be that person
You can do this!
Turing your music side hustle into a music career is totally possible even if it didn't seem clear before reading this. At least now you can really show yourself that you can do this and let everyone watch you make it happen.
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Video Copyright © 2022 Casey Graham (www.musicmoneymakeover.com)
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