Most indie artists that I have met create first, and then wonder what to do with their creations. It is vital to realize that an indie artist’s carer only becomes profitable when he (or she) puts processes in place to automatically turn his actions into income. Think about any other manufacturer. Would it be wise for someone to fill their warehouse with products without knowing if , when and how they are going to sell them? Obviously not. You need to think the same way!
Here is an example. What happens after you record and press your CD. Do you search around frantically wondering how you are going to sell the 1,000 CDs sitting in your garage? Wouldn’t it be powerful if any time you recorded either 1 new song or a complete CD or EP. your knew beforehand exactly how you were going to sell it and/or license. Notice I didn’t say that you would be ‘hoping’ to do those things. You need to build the machines that automatically take your actions to the market in deliberate, pre-designed and profitable ways.
What does that look like? Let’s use the example of recording a CD. You might want to establish enough of a fan base beforehand to pre-sell enough CDs to cover your hard costs. You have the digital distribution set up to get it onto the major internet and terrestrial radio stations immediately. You have set up ways to drive the airplay. It means that you are registered with a PRO and Sound Exchange (or your country’s equivalent) so you receive all of the royalties that are due to you. You have lined up enough gigs so that you will sell a substantial amount of your physical CDs in a short amount of time. It might also mean having the right song-pluggers and/or publishers lined up to promote your songs to major artists, film, TV commercials etc.
Take a close look at every one of your actions that pertain to creating and performing music. This includes writing, recording demos, recording your own CD or EP. performing, rehearsing, marketing etc., Build an effective machine around each one of them. That is when you will start to see more constant streams of income from your talents. Once the machines are in place and working, you can proceed in confidence that you are not spending your any of your precious time and energy on things that will not give you a return on your investment.
