Life Style Design And How It Works In Music

In this piece, David Andrew Weibe walks us through his very bumpy journey to musical success, and offers some pointers on how organize the progression of your own music industry career, with an eye toward life style design.

Guest post by David Andrew Wiebe of Music Entrepreneur HQ

I can’t speak for anyone else.

But when I first became a musician, my mind immediately turned to touring.

I wanted to get out there, share my music with the world, meet people, and go from town to town on a grand adventure.

And I was willing to do whatever it took (well, within the confines of my incredibly narrow comfort zone…).

I put a band together, started practicing, and before long, we felt we had enough material to start getting ourselves out there.

The band even released an amateurish EP towards the end of its lifespan:

But the dream was built on the back of a sandcastle, and unsurprisingly, it started crumbling.

Tour Fail

I’ve shared the story of how my band did a bit of a misguided postal mail campaign in my book, The New Music Industry.

The campaign itself wasn’t a bad idea. It was more an issue with strategy than anything.

And the total lack of strategy speaks volumes of the outcomes we produced (or didn’t produce).

We got three responses (one negative, one neutral, and one positive). But ultimately it didn’t get us any bookings.

The band went onto perform once or twice per month, but it was always at the same coffeehouse or pub.

Lead Singer Disease Strikes Again

Eventually, the band broke up. It started falling apart the moment we attempted to bring a lead singer onboard (Lead Signer Disease is alive and well).

It stung quite a bit, but I always figured there would be more opportunities.

In ensuing years, I would perform 300 shows across western Canada, and would even go on a couple of mini tours. It was a far cry from what I had in mind, but I was able to fulfill on some of my initial goals and dreams.

Today, I Live

I’m jumping ahead quite a bit, but fast forward to today, I’ve been able to create the life of my dreams through music.

Not to be down on any of my accomplishments, but the reality is I’m no one special. I haven’t won any awards. I haven’t appeared on any noteworthy releases. I haven’t earned six-figures in music (not yet – but I will).

But I can get up when I want, set my own schedule, take on projects I want to work on, and travel the world. All because of music.

What an amazing life!

If you’re wondering how I got to where I am, it was by engrossing myself in entrepreneurship and business.

And before you run the other way, you’ve got to read this: 4 Insidious Music Entrepreneur Myths Debunked. Because you have no idea what you’re missing.

Music Entrepreneurship?

Artists make a lot of assumptions about music entrepreneurship because they sat in a boring session once.

Hey, I’ve been there too. I can even name the place and time: It was in Austin, TX in August 2019.

It makes music entrepreneurs like me look horrible. I wish those people would resign from their positions and admit they were giving music entrepreneurship a bad name. There’s probably as much chance at that happening as a politician stepping down for telling a blatant lie though.

But the long of the short of it is this:

• Music entrepreneurship isn’t boring.
• It isn’t irrelevant to the average musician (if you’ve got big dreams and aspirations, that makes it even more important!).
• It will benefit you if you take the time to understand a few simple principles and action a few simple habits.
• It doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult if you’ve got the right teacher!

It Took Me a Long Time… WAY Too Long

I admit…

It took me a long time (a decade or more) to learn what I now know. I wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.

I spent well over $100,000 on my business education. To that, some say: “You’re a f*cking liar.” I jest not. You can even read the tale of how I lost $60,000.

They say in a business situation where one person has money and the other has experience, the person with experience will end up with the money. I was robbed blind by people with more experience than me!

The great news is you can bypass most if not all that struggle.

You don’t need to waste years of your life or thousands of dollars trying to get to where you want to go.

You don’t need to spend all your time on things you hate doing, either. Because let’s face it – you’d rather be spending most of your time working on your music. Not on trying to become a Twitter whiz.

The good news is this:

I don’t even think entrepreneurship and business is the toughest part about building a music career. The toughest part is bringing your creative ideas to life. Once you’ve done that, it’s all marketing and business. Those are the only two things that will move a needle on your career once your music is out there.

It’s the only thing standing between you and the success you desire…

But you can get started down that path now and be miles ahead of your “competition”…

Or you can wait around, hoping that a better, prettier ship will come along to save you.

But now that you know what’s available, the onus is on you. Will you continue to struggle in silence, enduring the pain of obscurity? Or will you take one small action to transform your music career TODAY?

What’s the small action I’m asking you to take?

I wrote the ultimate guide to music entrepreneurship called The Music Entrepreneur Code. It’s clear, succinct, and easy to read. And it’s got everything you need to get started, get going, and make huge strides in your music career.

Get your copy. NOW.

This post originally appeared on http://www.davidandrewwiebe.com/ on August 10, 2020.