A podcast for music artists, record labels, start-ups, and industry professionals. Hosted by Andrew Apanov, the founder of the Dotted Music marketing agency and WeSpin.co musicians community. On each episode, the world's smartest representatives of the music business share tactics and strategies you can use to grow your own music brand. Subscribe at http://musicgrowthtalks.com and access the Secret Music Growth Talks Feed at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

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Music Growth Talks

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt136-streaming-promotions for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Michael Sloane is the CEO of Nashville-based Streaming Promotions, a company specializing in music placement in streaming platforms. They primarily focus on Spotify, which gives artists more ways to market their music than any other competitor on the streaming market as of today.

On this Music Growth Talks episode, Michael covered some of the most common topics surrounding the Spotify promotion. From avoiding companies who offer "guaranteed" streams and the differences between third-party and Spotify-curated playlists to how the platform's algorithm works, and why music will soon be mostly curated by "robots".

Listen to the episode in full for more insights, such as the importance of your Monthly Listeners metric, getting traction in the first week of a release, converting streams into fans, case studies, and more.

MGT136: An Ethical Way To Spotify Promotion – Michael Sloane (Streaming Promotions)

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt137-bif-naked for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Bif Naked, called the “Princess of Punk” and the “Rock Goddess”, is a Canadian recording artist and author. Her career heights have taken her around the world on tour for twenty years, with numerous hits in 90s and 2000s, and, quite recently, her candid memoir called “I, Bificus”.

On this Music Growth Talks episode, Bif talked about everything... from social media to activism, vulnerability, veganism, embracing limitations, straight edge being a true representation of the DIY ethic, and more.

Listen to the full episode for Bif's practical career tips, and to learn more about her upcoming book on cancer.

MGT137: Save Your Rage For The Stage – Bif Naked

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt138-steve-welty for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Steve Welty is a successful entrepreneur and singer-songwriter, who, as many of you, has to juggle a lot on a daily basis: from running a business and spending time with family to creating and promoting his music. The San Diego-based artist doesn't only practice healthy approach to living a balanced and fruitful life, he also shares his ongoing experiments and insights with others on Instagram and in the "Lit Up Life" video series on YouTube.

On this Music Growth Talks episode, Steve talked about defining your "fascinating and motivating" category of activities, finding other songwriters to collaborate with, not stacking your losses, bringing values to others, delegating work, and much more.

Listen to the episode in full to hear Steve's tips on becoming comfortable with showing up on social media, as well as the secret to doubling your rate of success and being unstoppable.

MGT138: Tips From An Indie Artist And Entrepreneur On Songwriting And Life – Steve Welty

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt139-ari-herstand for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Ari Herstand is a musician and the man behind Ari's Take, a music business blog which became the go-to resource for independent musicians on how to run a successful music career. He's also the author of "How To Make It in the New Music Business," originally released in 2016.

The second edition of the best-selling book is out this week, and Ari shares what was changed and added with the Music Growth Talks listeners.

Listen to the episode in full for Ari's practical tips on building authentic brands and communities of fans, as well as numerous real-world examples of how indie musicians "make it" without major record label deals or touring today.

MGT139: The Artists Who Make It In The New Music Business – Ari Herstand

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt140-katie-zaccardi for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Katie Zaccardi is a wellness and career coach for women in music, as well as host of The Out to Be podcast, focused around mental health & self-care in the music industry. She's also a songwriter, artist, and certified yoga instructor.

On this Music Growth Talks episode, Katie shares her personal journey after being diagnosed with anxiety, and explains why we have to change our mindset around the "starving musician" stereotype and the misconception that in order to be successful you must work hard all the time. She then talks about finding triggers and coping mechanisms if you suffer from anxiety, depression, bipolar, or other mental disorders. Katie also shows how you can take care of yourself through time management and a wellness routine.

Listen to the episode in full to see if musicians are more prone to suffer from anxiety and depression or not, and to learn practical techniques for avoiding a burnout.

MGT140: Mental Wellness & Coping Techniques For The Music Industry – Katie Zaccardi

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2019/podcast/mgt141-jordan-valeriote for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Jordan Valeriote is a music producer and engineer who started selling online courses around 3 years ago. Since then, he's generated over $1.5M with his courses, and now teaches other musicpreneurs how to do the same thing.

On this Music Growth Talks episode Jordan talks about the opportunity musicians have to supplement their income by teaching and selling their own online courses. He answered the questions you may have if you're new to the idea, such as the costs involved, how to find out what your followers want to learn, or how to combine your "artist" and "teacher" identities.

If you're considering to start your own course, you will hear a bunch of practical tips here as well: comparison of self-hosting and third-party solutions, how to sell your course before it's created, and a lot more.

Listen to the episode in full to also learn several examples of successful niches ("drumming for dads" FTW!) and the artists who have done this.

MGT141: Musician? Make Money With An Online Course – Jordan Valeriote

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt142-indie-bible for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

David Wimble started The Indie Bible over 20 years ago as a way to help independent artists across genres get their music reviewed and promoted.

Finding receptive resources and contacts that will actually make a difference for your music and give you the exposure you need can be tricky. The Indie Bible has your back with the directory of over 7,000 radio stations and music blogs, as well as 3,000 Spotify Playlists and 2,400 booking agents.

In this episode of Music Growth Talks, David goes over the daunting task of pitching your music to curators as an independent artist, making the most of The Indie Bible, and getting placements on Spotify playlists. He also shares the story behind the directory, the benefits of its digital format today, and how you can make new real connections that’ll matter for your music. 

Listen to the show in full to learn how they’re keeping the directory fresh and up-to-date, and to hear David’s thoughts on when you need (and do not) to follow-up with the curators.

MGT142: Your Guide To Music PR And Spotify With The Indie Bible – David Wimble

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt143-be-solid for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

D Grant Smith is a syndicated radio host, personal development coach and speaker. He has two decades of experience guiding artists and creatives to become the best version of themselves. D’s latest venture is the exciting world of publishing, and in his latest book, Be Solid: How To Go Through Hell & Come Out Whole, he shares tried and true advice on how artists can overcome hardship, trial, challenge and difficulty for greater personal and professional success.

According to research from Record Union, the most underestimated and often misunderstood element required for building a successful career as a professional musician is having the right mindset. 

73% of independent musicians suffer from symptoms of mental illness.
Nearly three-quarters of independent musicians have experienced “stress, anxiety and/or depression” in relation to their work.
1 out of every 10 musicians struggles with suicidal thoughts. 

On this Music Growth Talks episode, D explains the importance of telling your story through your music to build better relationships with your audience. To do this authentically, you must first learn to love yourself and develop confidence. 

If you often find yourself doubting your abilities, not believing in your talent or leading yourself down a dark path through comparison, tune in to hear D’s transformation through the simple practice of ‘rewriting your narrative’ to love yourself and overcome hardship, trial, challenge and difficulty.

MGT143: The Power of “Being Solid” – D Grant Smith

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt144-beatchain for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Steve Jones is a musician and co-founder of Beatchain, an online music marketing platform that offers guidance and growth tools to up-and-coming musicians. Several years ago Steve became interested in creating a platform where his band could advertise their content without the help of a record label. This later turned into a bigger project that now helps other artists grow their careers online.

On this Music Growth Talks, Steve explains how a combination of music and tech backgrounds of its co-founders created a platform designed to be a one-stop-shop for an artist’s marketing needs. He goes over Beatchain’s features, from distribution and collecting all the artist’s online data in one spot, to advising artists on creating engaging content for their audience.

Here are some of the topics we covered with Steve in our conversation:

• Introduction to Beatchain and how it came to be.
• The tools and functionality of the platform.
• Simplification of online ads placement that grows your audience.
• How machine learning is used to track valuable ad performance.
• Steve explains how artists can create engaging content for their audience without spending much money.
• Creativity wins over big budgets.
• How both Facebook and Spotify are used for data collection. How artists are able to make the right career decision based on the information provided on the platform.
• The sign-up process.
• Upcoming features for managers.
• How email marketing is incorporated into the platform.
• Why artists need to view music as a business. The impact of social media on music today.
• Understanding the difference between entertainment and business social media accounts.

Music Growth Talk

MGT144: Meet Beatchain, a One-Stop Platform for Indie Artist’s Marketing Needs – Steve Jones

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt145-nat-jay for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Nat Jay is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has a vast experience in sync licensing: getting her music placed in movies and TV shows. She recently released a 10-song album which saw her make a shift from folk-pop to electro-pop while working with a new producer.

In this Music Growth Talks episode, Nat talks about how signing with a one-stop licensing company has lessened the burden of doing everything all by herself. She goes into detail about how the sync licensing industry works for both established and emerging artists.

Nat not only shares her story, but also gives valuable insights into the industry for anyone planning to take on the journey of sync placements.

What you will learn from this episode:

Transitioning to a new music genre.
What is a one-stop music company? What are the benefits of being a one-stop artist?
How has the sync placement industry changed over the years?
Who is a music supervisor, what’s their job, and where do you find them?
Tips on how to approach music supervisors at conferences. Building a friendship wins over pushing your music.
What to do and not to do when choosing a sync licensing agent or doing it yourself.
The importance of an artist getting interested in the business aspect of their music career.

MGT145: Making It as a Sync Licensing Artist – Nat Jay

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt146-five-vectors for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Andres Lauer is a former UMG exec who is now a co-founder of Five Vectors, alongside an esports/gaming expert Wasae Imran. They are building a technology that will enable independent artists and labels to engage with gaming communities in their native environment.

In this episode of Music Growth Talks, Andres shares how music impacts people’s identity in the social space like gaming and how they’re using that to market artists’ music. He then explains how Five Vectors is going to create a new music interaction layer for gamers, while presenting new revenue opportunities for independent artists.

Andres talks about the scale of the gaming industry, describes the importance of understanding gamers and what type of music they may be best responding to (it’s not only EDM!), and looks into the future of music.

MGT146: New Revenue Opportunities for Artists in the Gaming Industry – Andres Lauer (Five Vectors)

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt147-viberate for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Vasja Veber is a co-founder of Viberate, the biggest live music network designed to bring artists, promoters and fans together. It makes performing acts’ life easier by giving them a better version of an EPK, or even a traditional website. Viberate features over a million profiles of musicians, venues, events and festivals and employs over 100 people all over the world, with the majority in their offices located in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

In this episode of Music Growth Talks, Vasja shares how he launched the project with a fellow music manager Matej Gregorcic and a world-famous techno producer, UMEK, originally as a simple website that measured DJs’ social media metrics. Vasja shows what Viberate does today, how they keep artists’ profiles up-to-date, and reveals plans to make the platform the world’s biggest marketplace for underrepresented artists to be found by promoters.

Listen on in full for an in-depth explanation of how Viberate gets information on live events and how you can use the app to research venues to perform at.

MGT147: A Powerful One-Sheet for Booking Shows You Didn’t Know You Had – Vasja Veber (Viberate)

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt148-jammber for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Marcus Cobb is the CEO of Jammber, a company behind North America’s first self-serve, end-to-end royalty management platform called Jammber Splits. The app streamlines the process of metadata collection to help creatives receive proper credit and faster payment for their work. Jammber was founded in a Nashville's music tech accelerator, and has acquired over $5.5M in investor funding since 2013.

On this Music Growth Talks episode, Marcus demonstrates how broken the current workflow is, with musicians often not being able to receive money owed to them, and describes the three key features of the Splits platform: tracking the creators working on a song and their ownership, automatically registering that song across North American agencies, and collecting royalties via Jammber Money.

Listen to the episode in full to see how easier it can be to agree on song shares via a mobile app, and to learn about Jammber’s other upcoming products.

MGT148: Don’t Enter a Recording Studio Without the Splits App – Marcus Cobb (Jammber)

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt149-judah-holiday for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Judah Holiday is a Miami-based singer/songwriter who delivers a timeless breed of pop music. He just released his first album, Feelings in My Head, and is already working on his next two, while performing across the US.

In this episode of Music Growth talks, Judah talks about how his music calendar is planned out, shares the story of his drug addiction and how quitting has impacted his life’s mission and music career.  
Listen in to hear what advice Judah has for up-and-coming musicians who are confused about where to start and how they can turn their passion into a business.

“We don’t get penalized for our misses, but we get awarded for our wins.”

Key Points:

• Judah talks about the aggressive release strategy he chose to meet the obligations of his record label.
• Finding trustworthy people to be on his team.
• Judah explains his view on how technology has impacted putting out content.
• He explains how he first got addicted to prescription pills. The side effects of drug addiction and his turning point.
• How is Judah’s life after recovering from addiction?
• Why Judah believes he’s not in a safe place emotionally to fight for better mental health care for others.
• How did addiction affect his music creativity?
• There are many avenues of harm if you’re not careful: it’s not just drug addiction.
• Judah’s advice to anyone planning to succeed in the music industry.

MGT149: Beating Addiction to Find Success as a Musician – Judah Holiday

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt150-matt-bacon for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Matt Bacon is a consultant, A&R man, and journalist specializing in the world of heavy metal. The founder of Dropout Media, Matt has worked with the likes of Phil Collen of Def Leppard, Coven, Exhorder as well as labels including Prophecy Productions, Artoffact Records and Ripple Music. Matt has also been dedicated to helping and developing young bands, through his numerous educational resources, the daily Instagram #BaconsBits series, and his podcast, Dumb & Dumbest.

In this Music Growth Talks episode, Matt talks about his journey from an unemployed 19 year-old college dropout living in Brooklyn to an industry expert working with some of the biggest acts in the heavy metal world, and the methods he used to grow his career. In particular, we go over creating content at scale, and being “unreasonably” aggressive in your marketing to stand out.

Listen to the episode in full for Matt’s practical tips on understanding your community, making the “one to many” experience feel “one to one”, and being on as many channels as you like.

MGT150: The Unreasonable Way To Market Your Music – Matt Bacon

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt151-bas-grasmayer for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Bas Grasmayer is a digital strategist who has held various roles in music & tech over the last decade, most recently as Product Director at IDAGIO, a music streaming service dedicated to classical music. He’s the founder of the MUSIC x TECH x FUTURE newsletter and the Music Tech Network community.

On this Music Growth Talks episode, Bas talked about one of his latest ventures, MUSIC x GREEN. Designed to “create more visibility for organisations and initiatives that make the music industry less impactful on the climate and ecology”, MUSIC x GREEN makes it easy to browse through various projects which can make music greener, without “greenwashing.”

Listen to the episode in full for the examples of how others make performing greener, and to see if moving from CDs to streaming has actually reduced music’s carbon footprint (it may not be what you expect).

We also encourage you to subscribe to Bas’ most recent MUSIC x CORONA newsletter, for daily updates “for the music business on the coronavirus,” at musicxcorona.com.

MGT151: How To Make Music Greener – Bas Grasmayer

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt152-muyinza for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

This week’s Music Growth Talks guest – an artist, songwriter and producer Muyinza – shows how he has been using his creativity to overcome hard times and succeed in business.

Muyinza’s family emigrated from Uganda to Canada in the mid-90s. After losing his mother to cancer in 2001, Muyinza and his family relocated to Boston, Massachusetts. Living in a dangerous neighborhood, Muyinza stayed home a lot to make music.

Starting to work at 13 years old to pay for studio time, eventually he would go to college for music, release two full-length albums, move to LA, and win multiple awards. In 2014, Muyinza established a successful online business, which enabled him to focus on making music full-time.

On this Music Growth Talks episode, Muyinza comments on what the creative community around him experiences during the current difficult times, and gives actionable tips on how you can create excellent content, engage with your fans, and grow your music career during the lockdown.

MGT152: Thriving as an Artist in the Face of Adversity – Muyinza

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt153-jonathan-stone for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Jonathan Stone is a highly regarded music-publishing professional and co-founder of Rocket Songs. Jonathan’s career highlights include executive positions at ATV Music, MCA Music, Quincy Jones Productions (where he handled A&R for the likes of Michael Jackson, Patty Austin, and James Ingram), and Windswept Pacific Music Publishing, a company that published the works of Bruno Mars, Kings of Leon, Beyonce, The Spice Girls, Snow Patrol, and many more.

On this Music Growth Talks episode Jonathan explains how Rocket Songs works for music artists who are looking for original songs to record, and for songwriters who want to “sell” their songs to other creators.

Listen to the conversation in full for Jonathan’s insights on exclusive vs. non-exclusive rights, how A-list artists find songwriters, and what areas of the music publishing world you may want to educate yourself about before signing up for Rocket Songs.

MGT153: The Original Songs Marketplace – Jonathan Stone (Rocket Songs)

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt154-portnoy-brothers for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

The Portnoy Brothers (also known as PORTNOY) is an Israeli duo, Israel & Mendy, who recently released their new album called No Complaints. They successfully raised over $30,000 in an IndieGoGo campaign to fund the record.

On this Music Growth Talks episode, The Portnoy Brothers reveal which tactics were most impactful for their crowdfunding success, share how they almost launched the campaign on PledgeMusic (right before the company ceased their operations), and give content and networking tips.

Listen to the episode in full to also learn about their recent single, an anthem for musicians struggling with the digital reality called “Spotified.”

MGT154: On Raising 30k Through A Crowdfunding Campaign – The Portnoy Brothers

⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2020/podcast/mgt155-jason-davis for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Jason Davis, described by The 700 Club as “a music mogul,” has been in the music industry for more than two decades as an award-winning songwriter, author, president of a record label, executive TV producer, and entertainment consultant. Davis has worked with numerous worldwide stars, including Boyz ll Men, Sugar Ray, P. Diddy, Alabama, Lonestar, Dolly Parton, among many others. He has secured record deals with CEOs of companies like Capitol Records, Sony, Interscope, Island / Def Jam, Epic, and more. 

Davis has also launched and runs several major companies, including One One 7, Radar Label Group (Jimmy Eat World, Plain White T's, Neon Trees, The Unlikely Candidates), Awaken Records (Austin French), and Care For Kids.

On this Music Growth Talks episode, Jason Davis talks about his approach to the development of up-and-coming artists, finding new talent (and why he only meets new artists in person), as well as what changed his whole approach to life and business—something he wrote two books about.

Listen to the episode in full to learn how they develop very particular artist skills at One One 7, and to hear Davis’ insights on what many people in the entertainment industries get wrong.

“The [artist’s] gift is always hidden, and it takes a lot of love and care to uncover it.” – Jason Davis

MGT155: Turning Artists Into Pearls – Jason Davis (One One 7)

A podcast for music artists, record labels, start-ups, and industry professionals. Hosted by Andrew Apanov, the founder of the Dotted Music (http://agency.dottedmusic.com) marketing agency and WeSpin.co musicians community. On each episode, the world's smartest representatives of the music business share tactics and strategies you can use to grow your own music brand. Become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov to access a secret feed with exclusive episodes.