The Music Entrepreneur Code: How to Get Paid for Your Passion and Impact More Fans Without Wasting Years of Your Life and Thousands of Dollars is available in Kindle and paperback formats now!
A lot of extra work went into this book (I went over and above in making it what it is), and I couldn’t be more excited to share it with you.
In this post, I will be sharing the story behind my latest book.
How the Book Came to be
I began working on this book last year, and it was going to be titled something along the lines of 50 Steps to Becoming a Music Entrepreneur.
I wanted each step to be about 200 words (quite short), but also link out to a variety of other resources the reader would find helpful.
The title, however, flew in the face of what I was ultimately trying to accomplish. It didn’t take me long to put together the first draft, but the concept just wasn’t resonating.
I had been observing, for a while, that many of the music entrepreneur related resources were overwhelming in scope, length and – dare I say it – academic arrogance. This became especially apparent to me when I attended CD Baby’s DIY Musician Conference last year.
While I do believe it’s good and even wise to conceive a sophisticated marketing strategy for your music career, I don’t think any musicians coming straight out of music lessons or school are going to feel anything less than dumbfounded by the mountain they (allegedly) must climb to enjoy a career in music.
Skimming these resources alone could, sadly, leave some musicians feeling like they should give up before they even start.
And, the resources I was coming across were so far removed from anything I’ve ever taught any of my successful students (set up pre-orders, get to your first dollar, make the product, etc.) that I simply couldn’t leave this injustice unaddressed.
I shared this idea with my mastermind group, and, with their help, I made the switch from 50 Steps to Becoming a Music Entrepreneur to The Music Entrepreneur Code. They have been instrumental in helping me make this book everything it could possibly be.
I then vowed to make this resource as easy to digest as humanly possible. I kept editing and trimming until I felt the key takeaways couldn’t be any clearer. And, I’m proud of what I was able to produce.
Why The Music Entrepreneur Code?
My publishing career to this point might look slightly scattered.
First, I published the best-selling The New Music Industry. So far, so good, right?
Then I published The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship. Considering my main business is Music Entrepreneur HQ, this seems rather fitting as well.
Then came The Essential Guide to Creative Entrepreneurship. Seems like maybe I got off-track, right?
To be fair, though, I was commissioned to write the book for The Indie YYC community, and as you may already know, I’m a co-founder of the community. The book became a best-seller, so I don’t regret doing what I did.
Finally, I launched Start Your Year the Right Way. This book, unfortunately, created more disconnect than expected.
It took effort to put together, and I’m proud of the work, but sadly, best to my knowledge, I haven’t sold a single copy to date.
That’s okay, however, as it likely just means I need to change the title and cover to give it some legs.
If there are any questions about my intentions with Start Your Year the Right Way, I wanted to create a motivational book music entrepreneurs could use to get clear on their goals.
I don’t think the concept is wrong – just that I need to do some things differently to build a proper connection with my audience.
Anyway, you might be asking yourself (as my mastermind group asked), “how does The Music Entrepreneur Code fit in with the rest?”
This question is an important one. In large part, it’s guiding the direction of my projects in 2020.
To create cohesion between my books, I will be reworking and rebranding most of them into what I call the Complete Music Entrepreneur Set.
The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship will become The Music Entrepreneur Mindset.
The Essential Guide to Creative Entrepreneurship will become The Music Entrepreneur Identity.
And, Start Your Year the Right Way will become The Music Entrepreneur Power Year.
The Music Entrepreneur Code fits nicely in between Identity and Power Year.
Mindset gives you the absolute essentials you need to begin your career as a music entrepreneur.
Identity helps you identify your brand.
Code helps you take the right actions at the right time to build your career.
Power Year, which could potentially go at the beginning of the Complete Set, helps with setting goals, devising a strategy and staying motivated.
This is as far as I’ve gotten with how one book connects with the other, but I think I’m well on my way to making sense of it all.
Without Wasting Years of Your Life and Thousands of Dollars?
I know, it’s kind of an evocative subtitle, right? But it reflects my experience quite accurately.
Here, in 2020, many of my dreams have come true. There’s always more to strive for, but I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish.
Yet, I can tie most of my business success back to choices I made in 2014. And, I can tie most of those choices back to 2007, when I began my personal development journey.
13 years isn’t forever, but it’s certainly nothing to sneeze at.
And, while all that was going on, I easily lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to failed business ventures.
I rather like to think of it as an investment though. I got to learn some expensive lessons!
When presented with the facts, many people will choose not to follow that path. They wouldn’t want to go broke, break up with their significant other or run a beater car into the ground multiple times as I did, just to achieve their dreams.
So, if you knew what I now know, you’d be able to shortcut your progress significantly, don’t you think? Thus, the subtitle.
What’s Next?
The book is not an end in and of itself. In many ways, it’s just the beginning.
First, I will be marketing the book. The process has already begun.
By the way, anyone telling you that you shouldn’t market your book (I’ve heard some “experts” say “if you get the positioning right, the rest will take care of itself”) probably doesn’t have a hot clue what they’re talking about.
Second, I’m planning to create a companion course for the book. We all have our preferred way of consuming content, but there’s no denying that some people love audio and video. So, that will be the focus of the companion course.
Third, I’m planning to put together the audiobook version of the book. This may very well come last, but it has the potential to become an important asset all its own.
And, finally, as already noted, I will be fleshing out the Complete Music Entrepreneur Set.
So, the work has only just begun.
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading. I hope my story has been engaging and possibly even inspiring.
If you could take a moment to leave a rating and review for the book on Amazon, I will be eternally grateful to you. You are welcome to pre-order the Kindle while you’re there, too.
And, if you’d like to discuss the project further, or schedule an interview with me, you’re welcome to get in touch.
Here’s wishing you all the best in your various creative projects and endeavors.
