Living as an independent artist - Finding a mentor
Even though I'm in the middle of releasing my new EP "Acoustic Dreams" I wanna share some insights of what has led me to reach the point where I am today, having a solid fan base and made a ton of friends in the music world.
1,5 year ago I stopped paying for promotion and plays etc since I realized that only worked to boost my own ego. I also stopped buying new plugins and stuff for my studio each month and instead I started putting money in educating myself through internet courses and mentorship.
I know there's a jungle when it comes to finding a decent mentor and that's why I wanna recommend three people I've been working with personally and I've been using both their free material as mailing lists, podcasts and so forth but also paid for their premium material like members-only courses, 1 on 1 mentoring sessions and so forth and I can really assure you that I got amazing value out of it.
D Grant Smith
I follow his mailing list and listen to his amazing podcast where he interviews different kinds of influencers in the music industry and he's actually the guy who got me on the right track when it comes to connecting with people thanks to his book "The DIY Musician's Radio Handbook" that I recommend to everyone.
I also done a few one on one sessions with him and I haven't met many people that are as encouraging and insightful as D.
Check out more at http://dgrantsmith.com/
Steve Palfreyman
Also here I follow his mailing list and he usually have a few projects every year he shares on it. He also runs the great community and learning platform Music Launch Hub and offers a 1 on 1 mentorship program. And he's actually the guy I've been working with the last 6 months and is a huge part of the amazing reach I got for "Always a Rebel EP".
Not only does he teach practical ways of becoming better att building a fan base, the best thing is that he teaches principles that you can implement in your own work flow in what ever way that suits you and the different channels that works best for you.
You can check him out more on http://musiclaunchhub.com/
Carlos Castillo a.k.a Captain Schwilly
He runs Schwilly Family Musicians and I followed his mailing list since half a year and the knowledge he shares for free is just mind blowing. My own strategy to connect with other artists and listeners on Twitter are highly inspired by his approach that he shares for free.
He also has a premium membership program (Musicpreneur Apprentice Program) that I haven't used my self (yet) but according to what I've heard from others and the quality of his free content I can assume it is worth every penny.
His services can be found on http://schwillyfamilymusicians.com/
So until I have some more time for writing more tips my self, check these guys out and stop paying for promotion, start investing in yourself and your career!
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Most kewl Jon and they are all happy looking chaps! Great read and info! Nice 1! :D
best of luck with it all jon, great advice
So cool of you to find the time to share this, we know how busy you are mate. Thanks :-)
They call me crazy for a reason ;)
Haha :-)
Useful information @jonmagnusson! Thanks for sharing - there's another online music course that I invested in called "The Online Musician" run by the Savvy Musician Academy which I am working through too. There's a mentoring program as such but it's also a "blueprint" for not paying for promotions.