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AI can handle most of the grunt work. Its ability to complete the task to your satisfaction depends heavily on the quality of the instructions given. But it’s hard to deny that automation is now well within reach for the average person. It’s just a matter of how you utilize it.

In this episode of The David Andrew Wiebe Show, David explores how business models have been changing in the age of AI, and how artists can adapt these models to their careers.

In This Episode:

• How James Schramko has adapted to the AI age, and what that means for artists
• The psychological effect of giving everything away
• The multi-step funnel model
• Why capturing emails is still essential
• The supporter model
• New ways to leverage your content and frameworks
• Why singular calls to action (destinations) are crucial
• How you can better leverage platforms like Patreon and KLEQ
• The educator model
• Positioning your content to attract your target audience

Key Resources:

• Trapped in Your Own Business? The Model That Frees You (Two Decades of Receipts)
• Patreon
• KLEQ

The “Free Frameworks, Pay for Personal Access” Model

Entrepreneur coach James Schramko has been in the online space for 20 years. In that time, he’s never seen faster change in the last year.

The core of his business model remains the same. He runs a membership site that gives his students access to his knowledge and expertise.

What has changed is the number of offers he promotes (which is down to one, called Mentor, which he charges $1,800 USD per month for), and the number of things he’s giving away (ALL of his playbooks).

This is, effectively, the “Free playbooks, pay for personal access” model.

Playbooks

James used to charge for what he calls his “playbooks,” which we could also call processes, frameworks, secrets, whatever word rings true.

This is what he’s now giving away, entirely for free.

The psychological effect, as David points out, is “Whoa, I can’t believe he’s giving all of this away. But I’m not sure how to apply it. So, I should hire him to show me.”

Paying or Personal Access

What can’t AI duplicate? Personal experience, taste, judgment, accountability. This is not to say there won’t come a time when AI won’t be able to do these things, mind you.

The point is, even if you’ve got all the information in hand, if you don’t understand it, find it too cumbersome to implement it yourself, or want to ensure you’re applying it correctly, your instinct is going to be to pay for access to the person who created the frameworks in the first place.

And as someone who’s opening the kimono on everything, don’t you think you should charge more for access to you?

The 3 AI-Age Artist Models

David shares three possible AI-age artist models. He quickly admits there may be others and would love to hear your thoughts. Here are the approaches covered in this episode:

1. The multi-step funnel model. Give away everything upfront. Make your entire discography available for free in exchange for an email address. When visitors enter their email address, they are taken to the next page where they’re introduced to your offer – e.g., private membership, monthly live calls, merch items, etc. for $127 per month.
2. The supporter model. Post your lyrics, guitar tabs, and sheet music to your blog. Set up a podcast where you share all your music, commentaries, interviews, and other audio content. For video, create lyric videos, music videos, behind-the-scenes content, and rig rundowns. Drive all traffic to Patreon or another subscriber-based platform that can be monetized.
3. The educator model. As a music producer, you’d showcase your recording process, gear, techniques, software, approach, microphone positions, and so on. Position your content for the audience you want to attract. Then, charge a premium to hire you. This is just one example of an educator model, and other approaches can work.

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Until next time, stay empowered.