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🎙️ The Key to Financial Freedom | For Musicians

They Don't Teach This In School

Author

Joey Holli
August 08, 2022

Pressplay Newsletter

PressPlay brings you the latest news covering the audio industry and music news all in one quick 5 minute read!

Quote Of The Day:

“ Our future is our confidence and self-esteem.”

Tupac Shakur

PressPlay Newsletter Update

Look, we get it... We've been sending these newsletters each Friday and we feel like we've made a mistake. Monday is a day for motivation, and Friday is a day for the party. We've decided that we'd like to officially start sending these informative newsletters over on Mondays because we get that you guys are busy and might not need that extra kick of information on Fridays~ you've been working hard all week!

We're not going anywhere, we just realized that we've been doing you a disservice by not starting your Mondays off right!

Hit Song Friday

The top performing songs released last Friday!

If You Don't Understand This You Will Lose

So the music industry is simply growing beyond just musical talent, money is becoming a vital factor. If you're unable to "wow" a crowd with incredible content, and consistency, you're going to need some money... Well, I shouldn't say some, you're going to need quite a bit. Well, what could help us use money that isn't our own? I've got the answer to that question!

When I say this is the most important information we've ever shared in this newsletter, I mean it!

So let's imagine this scenario; You decided to playfully use an instrumental that you found on Youtube that you really liked. For some unknown reason, you decided you loved the song so much that you're going to post it on Spotify, Apple Music, etc. You post *said song* and it blows up. Ok I understand... You would never do this because you're an intelligent human being and know that you need to purchase a license before doing so, but this is just a simple example.

Nonetheless~ the song blows up, and the producer catches wind of this song. This producer is now frustrated because he/she finds out that you never bought a license. Well, this producer now has the ability to sue you for everything you have! In this case, you don't have an LLC (Limited Liability Company.) With an LLC you have the ability to completely separate your business as an artist, and your personal assets.

To put it simply, if you don't have enough to cover what you're being sued for, the court can seize your personal possessions such as vehicles, homes, etc. I understand that the example is extreme, but anything can happen! An LLC protects you from all financial obligations as an individual.

Let's take this a step further...

Remember when that big ordeal happened with Donald Trump not paying taxes? Well, he didn't actually do anything wrong at all, to be honest! (Waka Flacka Flame will vouch for this.)

An established LLC allows you to write off a ridiculous amount of expense, which in turn will allow you to essentially get things such as ads, musical equipment, dinners, clothing, etc for free in a way. Now when I say free, I mean the money that you will save having an LLC will allow you to avoid paying tax, which will total up to a figure that will be near the amount that you spent on that equipment, ads, etc. Crazy right?

Now for the best part...

So I have an LLC, now it's time to use others' money to make money! Yes, this is a real thing! The richest people in the world often don't own debit cards, do you know why this is? Because the rich use others' money instead, it's called credit! As an artist with an established business, you're also capable of this.

I sat here for hours trying to write a paragraph to explain this to you and decided why not just show you how a pro would do it? Watch this video to get an incredible explanation of how this whole process works!

Want to start an LLC for yourself? We suggest Legalzoom!

Social Proof Is Everything

Lately, everyone has been complaining about algorithms when it comes to social media. It's easy to blame the algorithm, but what exactly are you putting into the algorithm? You're not getting any "likes" on Tik Tok and Instagram? Well that must be their fault, right? No, it's never their fault, it's always yours... Have some ownership!! It's simple, we work in a game that requires you to adapt to the changes made, don't blame the changes. How can we fix our social media engagement?

RESPOND TO COMMENTS, YOU EGOMANIAC!!

Look, if you're even reading this part of the newsletter it means you can most likely relate. If I had a penny for the number of times that I see a small artist ignoring valuable comments, I'd have a lot of pennies. The fact that someone is commenting means they're clearly interested in what you're doing, especially if they don't know you in real life. Respond to each and every one of these comments because it's going to make it easier for that same person to comment next time! (I'm one of the egomaniacs myself, working on it...)

What are you posting?

Again, I find myself guilty of this same concept... Let's make sure that we have intention based on what we're posting. The time of volume posting is gone! (This means posting a lot.) It's more beneficial for you to post one piece of content per day that can actually get traction, rather than posting 3-6 pieces of content that you just forced out because you felt the need to! This point has actually been confirmed by TikTok itself. Now users no longer need to worry about being consistent, they need to worry about the quality and watch time.

What do we need to consider?

  • Good captions

  • An engaging hook

  • A description that coincides/sparks a comment

  • Camera quality

  • A relatable/fun story

Stir em' up...

Ok, this is going to sound rude, but short-form content has turned the common populous into very opinionated jackwagons. People are beginning to love the drama of our current world, CAPITALIZE ON THAT! I'm not saying to become a full fledged conspiracy theorist, or a politician, just be okay with the fact that you might be able to tie your music into current events and include your opinion. The truth is that it's only going to help you grow in the long run, people want to know your take, especially your super fans!

The Most Versatile Sound On The Market

Do you want to sound like any big artist in the game? This pack can literally do it all. The sound selection from the Vocal Sauce Vol. 3 preset pack provides a plethora of vocal mixes reflecting most modern industry mixes.

Simply drag and drop a preset onto your vocal and sound radio ready immediately. It seems that Baywood Audio just gets better with each and every pack they drop... MAKE MORE MUSIC!

Artist of the week: Harry Mack

Not even gonna lie, when I first discovered Harry Mack I thought he was cheesy for the first few seconds, then I was blown away as I watched. This man literally can freestyle off the top better than anyone I've ever witnessed.

Harry literally hops on Omegle on a regular basis and just freestyles 3 words provided by whoever he gets connected to and kills it each and every time.

Even more daring, he often goes in public to populated areas and shoots content freestyling for people using the words they give him as well.

Who should be the featured artist next week? Submit your song here!

Freestyle Friday: Kendrick Lamar

I mean do I even have to explain this? The goat, the greatest of all time, he simply kills everything he touches. I mean this is 7 years old but I still watch it at least 3 times a year, what does that tell you? Pure perfection.

Notable Lyrics:

Now when I flip it, I flip the beat as my enemy/

You thought I was timidly, on point like a widows peak/

Kendrick Lamar

I mean seriously, this whole freestyle is off the top aside from the beginning and the widows peak line has always stuck with me, absolute GAS!

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Reply with a link with one of your best songs for a chance to be featured as artist of the week!

Signing off for now!

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