7 business tips for artists 👨‍💼💰📈

From an ex-finance-bro-turned-musician-turned-SubStack-writer.

The less you know about business, the more likely it is that sweaty men in suits will convince you that you NEED them to survive.

How do I know?

I used to be one of those sweaty men in suits.

I worked a handful of years as a corporate-bond trader on Wall Street before making the (incredibly financially wise) decision to quit my job and pursue music in 2020.

Now, I’m just a sweaty man wearing his graphic t-shirt as underwear cause I’m at the bottom of a laundry cycle.

But I digress…. here are some business tips for artists:

1. Stop putting “business” on a pedestal.

Every artist I speak with tells me they’re terrible at business, because they assume that “business” means crunching spreadsheets or trading STONKS.

In reality, business is just managing relationships. If you can hone that skill, you can hire someone to crunch your spreadsheets for you.

Unless you enjoy it, in which case…. we’re hiring.

2. Make a plan to get ROI (“return on investment”).

Re-read that, write it on your forehead, and then call your Mom and tell her to write it on her forehead too.

If your business plan for your artist career is to throw money at your art until someone swoops in and proclaims “MY GOD YOU’RE EXACTLY WHAT WE’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR”, then you might as well spend your money on lottery tickets instead.

Trust me, I made this mistake with my own music. I spent loads of money on playlisting services, Instagram ads, etc, with no concrete plan for getting my money BACK.

Spoiler alert: I ended up spending a lot of money, and my artist career still crashed and burned.

Don’t do what I did.

3. Don’t get fooled by fancy lingo.

It’s an open secret that business folks use fancy terminology to convince people they’re more necessary than they really are.

Herewith “The Artist” agrees to license all performing/mechanical rights in perpetuity to “The Company” until the date of the calendar of the Year of our Lord does not exceed 2027 but also herewith exceeds 2024….

Whenever you read sh** like that, it’s just folks in imaginary powdered wigs making themselves sound fancy to justify their $200k Yale degree.

Don’t get intimidated. Ask questions, or find someone you trust to translate it for you.

Just don’t ask me, I’m very busy today (it’s laundry day).

4. Get clear on what you want to sell.

Let’s assume I could snap my fingers and give you 1000 people who are ready to support your music. Where would you send them?

Spotify? A live show? Instagram?

Most folks are so concerned with going viral that they don’t know what to do once they actually have someone’s attention.

But you are smarter than that and are clear on your sales funnel. And if you aren’t, READ THIS.

5. Stop trying to connect with famous people.

Stop DM’ing Lewis Capaldi about your OCD (oh wait that was me), and focus on building something with the people already around you.

I built Mad Records by finding a group of folks who are equally passionate about music as I am, not because someone famous noticed me.

Find a group of people who want to build something with you, and give yourself a few years to do it. You’ll waste a lot more time looking for a shortcut.

Also Lewis, check your DM’s. It’s a really inspiring story 🥹

6. Stop looking for tips/tricks

Well isn’t that IRONIC.

Articles like this are helpful, but everything I’m typing is based on my personal experiences.

Your life is uniquely your own, which means your solutions will be too.

Stop waiting for some stone tablets to fall from the sky telling you what to do, and start trying random sh**.

The most successful artists are the ones who attempt something that HAS NOT been done yet.

They’re also the artists that fail the hardest.

That’s why it’s scary.

That’s also why it’s fun.

7. Exchange value for growth

If you want someone to share your music, or pre-save your new single, or join your email list, you have to give them a GOOD reason to.

Jumping through 10 hoops to pre-save a song (which does nothing for the listener) isn’t a value exchange, it’s a favor.

Streaming a song because you made an Instagram Reel telling me to isn’t a value exchange, it’s a favor.

Get clear on the value you’re offering the audience, AND THEN ask for something in return.

FOR EXAMPLE:

If you enjoyed this article and want more help with monetizing your music career… then subscribe to my SubStack:

See?

See how that works?

See how well that worked?

(And if you aren’t clear on your value proposition, then this article might help.)

Ok, that’s all for today folks.

Don’t stress, otherwise I’ll stress over you stressing.

Long live mad records.

🫡⚔️🫡⚔️🫡⚔️🫡⚔️🫡⚔️🫡⚔️🫡⚔️🫡⚔️🫡⚔️

- michael