Who is your bio written for?

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In my work as a consultant, there is a mistake I see individuals and groups make with an astonishing frequency. To see if you are making this mistake you need to ask yourself one question:

Who specifically is your bio written for? 

If you can't answer this simple question I bet I can answer it for you. If you haven't targeted a specific group of people with your bio then chances are very good that you wrote it for someone you know quite well:

Yourself.

One of the most common problems I see people make is writing their bio as if they were the intended recipient.

If you are writing the bios for a chamber group (both the collective bio and that of each member) who wants to be a touring ensemble performing on different concert series around the country, who is your target audience? (Hint: Who does the hiring for those series'?)

The answer is concert presenters. The answer for me would also be "not fellow tuba players."

A fellow tuba player may be impressed that I have studied with Sam Pilafian, Rex Martin and David Fedderley. 99% of concert presenters have never heard of a single one of them. They also don't care that I went to Northwestern.

None of these facts will help that presenter sell tickets or sell you to her board of directors (who she generally reports to.)

So why do the bios of so many musicians start with where we went to school and who we studied with? The answer is because we were writing the bio for ourselves and not for a targeted audience.

I frequently challenge people and groups I work with to do the following:

  1. Identify exactly who the target audience is for their bio.

  2. Put yourself in their shoes and figure out what in your bio they'll be most impressed with.

  3. Write the bio using words and terms that your target audience are already using.

If you take these three steps when writing your bio you will nail it every time.

Finally, it should be noted that each person or group should not necessarily have only one bio. If you end up targeting different audiences with your various skill sets (which almost all of us do in this age of the "portfolio musician") then you will get very different results from the above three steps depending on who you are trying to reach.

 

 

TEM25: Jennifer Rosenfeld & Julia Torgovitskaya of iCadenza and Cadenza Artists on dealing with fear, the power of simply asking and incorrect assumptions musicians make about the music business

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Jennifer and Julia are two of the bright young stars of the next generation of the music business who are wise well beyond their years. Their discussion in this episode of dealing with fear and the incorrect assumptions people make about the music business are must hear.

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TEM24: Find reasons it will work (TEM Short)

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TEM24: Find reasons it will work (TEM Short)

Finding reasons why something won't work is easy. But as Ron Davis reminded me in Episode 19, sometimes the key is finding reasons why something will work.

Links:


Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

Shows you should listen to: The #AskGaryVee Show

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The #AskGaryVee Show is an absolute must watch (or listen) for any musician with even one entrepreneurial bone in their body. It is hosted by Gary Vaynerchuck whose energy is manic and contagious.

askgaryvee.jpg

Gary is a marketing and entrepreneurial genius who is really great at quickly breaking down any topic or problem to its core and stripping away everything else.

His book "Crush It" is what led me to start andrewhitz.com which then led to Hitz Publications and eventually Pedal Note Media and The Entrepreneurial Musician. The passion he puts forth in that book made me believe that I could do anything I set out to do and I was off and running.

The #AskGaryVee Show is just Gary answering questions submitted by his fans. The episodes range from insightful to life changing. You never know when a nugget is going to fall out of his mouth.

You can find the show on YouTube as well as a podcast via iTunes or your favorite podcast app.

TEM23: Michael Davis of Hip-Bone Music

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 TEM23: Michael Davis of Hip-Bone Music

Michael Davis is the owner of Hip-Bone Music and has performed and recorded with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, James Taylor and Buddy Rich.

Topics Covered:

  • What inspired him to launch Hip-Bone Music long before it was common for people to self-publish books and albums

  • Why listening as a human being is just as important to success in the music business as listening as a musician

  • How he was able to establish himself as a freelancer in a crowded scene like New York City

  • What the hardest part is about owning his own company

  • How he has funded over 10 different recordings

  • How he approaches product development

Michael's Website:

Books Referenced:

Links:

You can help offset the ongoing costs of producing the show by making a small donation at http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

TEM22: Load the bus first (TEM Short)

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TEM22: Load the bus first (TEM Short)

My interview for Episode 21 with Max and Scott McKee reminded me of the great book by Jim Collins, "Good to Great". In that book, Jim makes the argument that you should start by putting the right people on the bus before you figure out where it is headed.

Links:


Book Referenced:


Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

Article: 8 Effective Email Marketing Strategies Backed by Research

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Here is an article from the blog at Buffer on email marketing strategies. Some of the conclusions were surprising to me:

  • Between 8:00 pm and midnight is the best time to send a marketing email

  • Mobile accounts for almost 50% of all email opens

  • Sending email campaigns on weekends is a good idea

Email marketing, yes, good old-fashioned email, is still a vital tool in engaging customers and in converting sales. There is lots of data to back this up. This article lays out a lot of the strategies you should be employing.

8 Effective Email Marketing Strategies Backed by Research

TEM21: Max & Scott McKee of the American Band College

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TEM21: Max & Scott McKee of the American Band College

Max and Scott McKee own and operate a music education empire which includes the American Band College, the Western International Band Clinic, and Bandworld Magazine.

Topics Covered:

  • How hiring the best people in the world even at the expensive of losing money in the short term was a successful strategy

  • Why forging personal relationships with both your employees and your customers is vital to success

  • The importance of getting happy customers to do your marketing for you

  • Why passion drives everything they do

Websites:

Links:

Books Referenced:

You can help offset the ongoing costs of producing the show by making a small donation at http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician. Your support is greatly appreciated!


Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

TEM20: Are you fungible? Hopefully not! (TEM Short)

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TEM20: Are you fungible? Hopefully not! (TEM Short)

This is in reaction to my interview from TEM19 with Canadian jazz pianist, composer and entrepreneur Ron Davis. Ron mentioned the dangers of being fungible in today's music business. If you are simply selling skills that many people can do at or nearly at your level, prepare for the race to the bottom in terms of compensation.

The key is to market yourself rather than simply your skills, just as Ron has.

Links:

Books Referenced:


You can help offset the ongoing costs of producing the show by making a small donation at http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

Article from The Guardian on the state of the music business

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Here is a thought-provoking article from The Guardian commenting on the state of the music business and then need for more "portfolio musicians" in the workforce.

Here's a great quote from the article:

"However, the professional development of classically trained musicians still primarily focuses on the pursuit of excellence in relatively narrow terms: interpreting and performing great works of the past at the expense of experimenting and progressing musical skills relevant to the needs of today’s society."

I highly recommend the full article by Sean Gregory.

TEM19: Ron Davis, Canadian jazz pianist, on the dangers of being fungible,why sales is such a huge part of what musicians do and how he is the prototypical example of a portfolio musician

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TEM19: Ron Davis, Canadian jazz pianist, on the dangers of being fungible,why sales is such a huge part of what musicians do and how he is the prototypical example of a portfolio musician

Ron Davis is one of the preeminent jazz musicians in Canada who is known for his innovative collaborations and forward thinking. He is a performer, writer, arranger and teacher who has taken a fascinating route to get to where he is today.

He began his professional career by becoming a lawyer. He then got his PhD in French and became an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. Then incredibly, after 10 years of not playing a note, picked music back up and became one of the most successful jazz musicians in all of Canada.

On Today’s Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

  • The courage it took for him to get out of his well-paid and steady "cul-de-sac" of a job to become a full-time musician again

  • How he is the prototypical example of a portfolio musician

  • Why sales is such a huge part of what musicians do

  • What drives the innovative collaborations that comprise his project Symphronica

  • The dangers of being fungible

Links:

 Books Referenced:


You can help offset the ongoing costs of producing the show by making a small donation at http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

Networking isn't about instant gratification

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"Networking isn't about instant gratification. It is about fostering relationships over a career."

-Jeff Conner of Boston Brass from Episode 7 of The Entrepreneurial Musician

Networking is just like learning a really difficult recital program. It takes a plan and it takes having the discipline to execute that plan over the long haul.

A lot of musicians are good at networking. Not many are great.

That is an easy point of differentiation for anyone in the business who is willing to put in the effort.

TEM18: Are you on a cul de sac? (TEM Short)

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TEM18: Are you on a cul de sac? (TEM Short)

Here is my reaction to my interview with former Boston Brass and current Pedal Note Media partner Lance LaDuke. The most striking thing about Lance's career to me is that he has had the courage to bail on three different high profile jobs when he realized that they were personal cul de sacs.

That is easier said than done and Lance is a great example of making things happen in your career rather than waiting for things to get better.

Link:

Books Referenced:


You can help offset the ongoing costs of producing the show by making a small donation at http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

TEM17: Lance LaDuke of Pedal Note Media

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TEM17: Lance LaDuke of Pedal Note Media

Lance is not only one of my best friends but one of the sharpest business minds I've ever encountered in the music business.

This guy has quit the US Air Force Band. He has quit the River City Brass Band. He has quit the Boston Brass. Every time he quit was because he figured out he was on what Seth Godin calls a cul de sac and he had the courage to do something about it.

This is a fascinating interview about having the courage to pull the trigger, making things happen rather than sitting back and waiting for it to come to you, and how his family environment growing up led to him being so good on the mic.

This interview is all over the map and yet is completely cohesive. If you don't know Lance you will quickly figure out why I wanted to start a company with him after we both got out of Boston Brass.

Lance's entrepreneurial endeavors have led him to a career in consulting, performance, media, and academia. He does a little of everything and amazingly does it all well.

There is so much actionable advice in this episode you'll want to take notes!

Topics Include:

  • How the point of differentiation that won him the Boston Brass gig was his business expertise and vision and not anything musical

  • The importance of being yourself and speaking your mind in interviews

  • His approach to programming and how every aspect of it is intentional and considers a number of factors

  • How Lance and I used the Business Model Canvas to create Pedal Note Media

Links:

Books Referenced:


You can help offset the ongoing costs of producing the show by making a small donation at http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

Ignore the path and leave a trail

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“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'm not sure you could get better advice in less than 20 words for someone making a go of it in the music business today than this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson (who obviously wasn't speaking about the music industry in 2015!)

If your plan is to play in a string quartet that is very similar to the Kronos Quartet that simply does it better than them, good luck to you.

If your plan is to write a book that basically mirrors the message of The Savvy Musician by David Cutler and simply write it better, good luck to you.

If your plan is to play in a brass quintet that mirrors the repertoire and persona of the Canadian Brass and simply do it a little better than they do, good luck to you.

To be clear, I'm not sarcastically wishing you luck because any of those three things are impossible. To the contrary.

You can absolutely do what Kronos does a little better. You can absolutely write a better book than Dr. Cutler did. You can absolutely be a better version of Canadian Brass. (Although all of these will be incredibly difficult to accomplish!)

The point is that the market place is not looking for a book that is 2% better than The Savvy Musician. Why was it such a wild success? Because there were no books like it. People talked about it. People shared it. People spread the word.

No one will get excited about a slightly improved version of anything that already exists and that's if they even notice in the first place.

But if you leave a brand new trail that is interesting, people will do your marketing for you. Just ask Time for Three, Gustavo Dudamel, Alarm Will Sound, and countless other artists and ensembles.

It's been done many times before and the beautiful thing is there's always room for more trails. Always.

Interview for A Musician's Guide to Hustling

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Earlier this year I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Seth Hanes of "The Musician's Guide to Hustling" about a whole bunch of topics including:

  • How I went from graduate school right into Boston Brass

  • Developing Passive Income Generators (or PIGs)

  • Simple tools that any musician can use to market themselves

  • The importance of your reputation preceding you when it comes to networking

It was a very fun conversation that covers a lot of ground on the business side of the music business. Thanks again to Seth for the opportunity!


TEM16: Become irreplaceable (TEM Short)

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TEM16: Become irreplaceable (TEM Short)

Here are my reflections on my interview with Mike Nickens from Episode 15 and how he went above and beyond his job description to make himself irreplaceable.

I also share a business lesson that my father taught me almost 30 years ago that are some of the wisest words I've ever heard on the subject. He was an electrical engineer but this lesson applies just as much to the music business as it does to engineering.

Links:

You can help offset the ongoing costs of producing the show by making a small donation at http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

Networking exercise

(This originally appeared at my music performance and pedagogy blog, Andrew's Hitz.)

I recently read about a great exercise for growing your network. (This comes from the fantastic book "Book Yourself Solid" by Michael Port.)

Make a list of 20 people in the music business that you don't know personally but would like to know. Think in terms of impact. Who can most help you to achieve your goals in the business.

(Note: The most successful networking is done between two people who can help each other, not just a one-way street. That's a topic for another day but very important to mention!)

Next, try to figure out proactive ways to introduce yourself to the people on your list. Maybe you will be attending the same conference. Maybe they are passing through town with a touring orchestra. Maybe they are good friends with your current or former teacher.

Figure out some kind of commonality with the first person on your list and plan your first step towards connecting with them. Always think about whether your route to connect with them will be convenientfor them. This is very important.

As anyone who has ever seen me present or perform knows, I am always happy to speak with anyone afterwards. But there have been plenty of times when I had another engagement (particularly at a conference) and only had 10 minutes to speak with the eight people who wanted to introduce themselves.

Maybe send someone an email ahead of time explaining who you are and get creative about how you might introduce yourself. If we are in the music business, we are creative people by definition! (Or we shouldn't be in the business!) Use this creativity for things like networking and not just how you finish a phrase.

This is a topic that could be covered in detail over 20 different blog posts. This is just one small idea of how you can proactively attempt to grow your network.

While you have to have the skills to back everything up (or everything else is moot!), the music business really is all about who you know. So do something about it!

TEM15: Mike Nickens of the Green Machine

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TEM15: Mike Nickens of the Green Machine

Mike Nickens (aka Doc Nix) is my colleague at George Mason University and the director of the university's pep band, the "Green Machine". He created a tenured position for himself which is basically unheard of in this day and age. In short, he made himself irreplaceable.

Topics Covered:

  • How a tenured position was created for him by the dean

  • How networking helped him create a community around the Green Machine

  • The thought process behind his image and branding as the group's leader

  • The benefits of systemizing goals

  • Maintaining relationships in business and in friendship

Links:

Books Referenced:

You can help offset the ongoing costs of producing the show by making a small donation at http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

TEM14: Let them tell you no

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TEM14: Let them tell you no

The Entrepreneurial Musician is now posting weekly! 

I will still be posting an interview every other week but the following week will now feature a very short episode with me discussing one of the topics the previous guest touched on. 

In this week’s episode, I am reflecting on my interview with Alan Baylock from Episode 13. Alan emphasized not shying away from opportunities because you might not feel ready or qualified but in reality, that is not something for you to decide. “Let THEM tell you no.”

Links: