What is the future for young musicians? If they can’t make money from downloads, and very little money from streams, what are their options? Touring is more expensive than ever. Social media is saturated. And during pandemic, everyone and their uncle - including established artists - started their own Youtube channel, in hopes of making some small kickbacks from ad revenue. It’s simply not enough to just be a good at your instrument or at songwriting. You have to be good at something more. My guest in this episode, Pierce Marengo, seems to have a figured this out. Still in his early teens, he’s on his way to becoming a veritable entrepreneur, following in the footsteps of artists like Dr. Dre, Jay-Z and J-Lo. I talked with Pierce about music, fashion, marketing, and how life experiences can drive both creative and business ideas. And why not combine the two? Would it be completely absurd for artists to think about getting Business degrees? I think it might be prerequisite. But that’s just me. Let’s hear what this young artist of the future has to say.

Homepage: https://www.notdefinedbyflaw.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notdefinedbyflaw/

Watch on youtube: https://youtu.be/ds3v5WcXAi8

June 15th is around the corner. California and several others states are planning to fully re-open entertainment venues, and there’s a scramble to book artists for the summer. And the question for artists and venues isn’t whether you’re ready with your new songs, and new haircuts, and freshly stacked bars. It’s what are you going to do differently? What new experience are you going to create to convince people to get off the couch, and spend their money on live entertainment? Don’t just assume that people will come to escape their routine of afternoon Zoom calls with a Bloody Mary just off screen. It’s time to think about your worth ethic. What are you going to deliver to your audience, and what are you going to contribute to rebuild your local scene? And for that matter, what methods still work?

These are the kinds of questions my guest in this episode might tell you to ask yourself. Jeff Lysyczyn is an artist manager, and music educator, and just about the most dialed in person I know in the Nashville music scene. There’s a lot to be learned from him and from Nashville itself about how to keep working, and how to work together. This was a truly enlightening and encouraging conversation for me. I hope you’ll enjoy it as well, and that you’ll forgive the occasional drops in audio. I could have re-recorded this interview, but like any live performance, and as Jeff would say, despite the ups and downs, you’ve just got to stay with it, and something good will happen.

http://musicbusinessafterdark.com

Before pandemic, my guest in this episode was one of the most successful independent music promoters in Southern California. And when I use those words “successful” and “independent music”, I’m basically saying, he didn’t lose money with local artists, and he didn’t make them to pay to play. Now, if you know anything about the music scene in Southern California, you’ll know that’s virtually unheard of. So what’s his secret?

Honestly, it would be a cliche’ for me to say it was just one thing. In fact, it’s better you about it as a kind of methodology - the method of creating a great experience for your audience months before show even happens. Hell, maybe even all year round. Are you up to the challenge? Are you satisfied with just getting obligatory Likes from your friends on social media in support of your music career? Or do you have the discipline to do something more? Before you answer, let’s find out what “something more” really means, and let’s hear it from someone who was a promoter for House of Blues, a financial advisor, and one of the earliest music bloggers. Basically, this guy just knows what he's talking about... which is what you'd expect from someone called "The Gig Boss".