The Recession Proof Musician: Week 3 ~ HUSTLE

Week 3 of “The Recession Proof Musician” is probably one of my favorite sub-topics of music marketing:
The Hustle!

An important part of being a musician or band is putting yourself out there so that people know that you exist. There is NO way around this, so if you’re not comfortable promoting yourself, fake it ’til you make it.

For those of you hoping that a Big Time Manager will somehow find you, pull you from obscurity, and then do all the self-promotion for you, please remember that A) You’ll have to do a bit of marketing yourself just to get into the same breathing space to even meet a Big Time Manager, and B) Big Time Managers primarily want clients who are already hustling (and will make money for them!)

If all you have to offer is talent, take a number. It’s your drive to succeed that provides the sparkle. Go back to Week 1 of The Recession Proof Musician series, and write down your Vision for your career. Then read Week 2, and think about how you honestly feel about finding success.

If you’re still with me, this week, I intend to Blow Your Mind. In the last 6 months alone, I’ve come across great music biz blogs and writers with inspiring words and great ideas, and I can’t wait to share them with you. Each day this week will be filled with multiple guest blogs on the topic of promoting yourself and your music, and I can’t wait to share. My music biz cyber colleagues such as Ariel Hyatt, Kavit Haria, Bruce Houghton and MANY others have agreed to contribute guest posts to the Recession Proof Musician series, and I’m so excited that I even updated my own articles for the occasion.

And wait til I tell you that the Great Squid himself, Seth Godin, has ALSO agreed to contribute to my blog. He has an article that is perfect, and I’m so excited that you’ll get to read it here at Rock Star Life Lessons. Can I tell you that I am over the moon? His article will be featured later this month, before Thanksgiving in the US, so stay tuned!

Since I’m not doing the heavy lifting this week (writing-wise anyway), I’m doin’ a blog contest. Yeppers, that’s right! I’ll be doing one of them old-fashioned blog contests, offering a $25 iTunes or Amazon.com gift certificate to a lucky blog reader. But shh! I’m not officially announcing this yet. All I’ll spill now is that I’ll be asking to know your favorite posts during “The Recession Proof Musician” series this month. If you haven’t found your way through this great month of guest blogs yet, I highly recommend it!

This weeks guest blogs will start tomorrow, but keep your eye out later today for an updated version of my article, “A Hustler’s Guide to Gig Promotion”.

Shake your Tailfeathers, Baby!

The Recession Proof Musician: Week 2 ~ MONEY

As we begin Week 2 of the “Recession Proof Musician” series, I have to warn you that we’ll be talking about MONEY!!!

Next week’s blogs will feature articles about how your access to money affects your music career. We’ll be discussing how your beliefs about money affect your music career, as well as sharing ways for you to make money with your music.

In other news, two of my music biz “cyber colleagues” are also providing “Recession Proof Musician” guides: Bob Baker, the original “Guerrilla Music Marketer” is releasing a free report, How to Recession Proof Your Music Career while Ariel Hyatt from Ariel Publicity has just completed her newest ebook, which is titled The Recession Proof Musician. I’ll be providing more info for both reports later this month.

The economy is on everyone’s minds, but resources for musicians abound!