The truth is, we are complex people capable of being many things at once. John Legend was a successful management consultant before he achieved notoriety for his music. Bill Clinton was a respected Jazz Saxophonist. The great poet William Carlos Williams was a pediatrician. The painter Paul Gauguin was a stockbroker. It’s not inability that keeps artists from understanding business (and businesspeople from understanding art), but unwillingness; the idea that ‘that doesn’t apply to me because I’m a....’. The stricter the definitions we give ourselves, the more boundaries and limitations we impose on our own lives and success.
I used to be torn between the artist in me, who wanted to hole up in my house all day and create – and the businessman in me, who wanted to spend my time challenging the music industry and building a career. Both stemmed from a deep curiosity about the world and my desire to be engaged with it, but they seemed to be at odds. Sometimes, the businessman would take charge, and I’d find myself presented with more money, attention, and opportunity, but longing for more meaning and creative time. For a while, the ‘artist’ won, and after a few months, I ended up broke, unhealthy, and completely unfulfilled because, while I was indulging my creativity, I was neglecting another side of myself and I had no one to share my art with. So I changed my perspective. I now believe that a fulfilled, successful person is a fulfilled, successful person - regardless of how many things you do, or how different they may be from each other - as long as you can find a meaningful balance. I soon came to realize that perspective is everything.
In this blog, I’m going to share with you, step-by-step, how I make a living touring. I’m going to give you the documents I use. I’m going to share with you my process for booking, my negotiation strategy, my techniques for promotion, my road procedure, and my techniques for connecting with fans. I hope this opens up discussions that help us all move forward during a really exciting, challenging era for music.
It might sound counter-intuitive, but I recommend that you share this information with every other independent artist you know. The music industry has changed dramatically over the last few years, and the only way independent artists are going to be successful is if we have the good sense to educate ourselves, restore a code of professionalism and responsibility, and respect and help each other along the way. If we all do that as individuals, it raises our value as an industry.
If you’re a performing/recording artist, there are literally tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of people – who are trying to do what you are doing. If you are going to stand out, it is in your best interest to understand this industry and where it's headed. The era of the aloof, distant artist is over. The future belongs to the clear-minded, the courageous, the curious, and the persistent. The pioneers.
I still wrestle with how much of my time to spend on my creative work, and how much to spend on the business side, but I've managed to build a full-time career as a touring singer/songwriter while still enjoying the lifestyle of an artist. I can’t give you the perfect formula; that depends on your own desires and goals. I’m constantly tinkering with the balance. I can give you my secrets, techniques, and the inside advice of the brilliant industry friends I've made over the last six years I've spend as a touring artist, promoter, venue founder, and booking person. My hope is that the more we know, the more it benefits and lifts up all of us.
Music is the love of my life, and I'm so thankful for all I have learned, and all I have to share,
Martin
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