FAVOR FOR FAVOR

YOUR

FORMS OF

CURRENCY

/

MEETING YOUR NEEDS

Today, I want to discuss a critical topic for anyone looking to get started in the music business in 2022: the importance of resources. We've all heard the expression "it takes money to make money," and there is a lot of truth to this statement. It's much easier to create a billion dollars of wealth if you start with a million dollars. Donald Trump's story is a perfect example of this: if he had simply invested the "small loan" of one million dollars his father gave him into the stock market, instead of going into the real estate business, he would be richer today.

Indeed, money is a powerful ingredient when it comes to creating more money, but it's not the only one. If you don't have a lot of money to start with, you must be resourceful. You must be creative and think of ways to accomplish your goals without simply buying things that will get you closer to your goal. There are many ways to move forward and create wealth and a successful career in the music business, even if you don't have a lot of resources.You must be creative and think outside the box, but if you’re in the music business, you’re probably already creative to start with. So it shouldn’t be that hard to come up with ways you can achieve your goals that don’t require you giving people your cold hard cash.

To give you some ideas on how this works, here are a few things I’ve done over the years to achieve my goals without having to pay people upfront:
1. I've secured free studio time by offering producers a percentage of my back-end royalties. This has been a great way to get my music produced and licensed, but it did require me to have a few placements under my belt that I had paid for upfront. Once I had a bit of a track record, I was able to convince different producers I’ve worked with to produce my music for free upfront in exchange for a percentage of my songs’ back-end earnings.
2. I've had vocalists and musicians perform on my tracks in exchange for a percentage of back-end royalties. This is similar to my deal with the producers, but for a smaller percentage, usually five to ten percent. I've found that many musicians are willing to strike deals like this, especially if you already have a track record of placing music. Most musicians understand the challenges of getting music recorded and many are eager to create their own portfolio and build their resume, so you can create mutually beneficial situations with other musicians quite easily.
3. I've had producers produce my music in exchange for promotion of their services. I've built up a sizable email list of musicians through my website, with around 10,000 readers of my blogs and newsletter. This has enabled me to do some interesting bartering, where I've had tracks produced in exchange for promoting producers and their services via my platform. This won't apply to everyone, but perhaps you have another valuable service or product you can barter with.

4. I've had producers and musicians create content for my website for free in exchange for promotion. This has been a great way to get quality content for my website without having to pay for it. This one also won’t apply to all musicians, but perhaps it will give you some ideas in terms of ways you can network and earn more money without paying anything upfront.

Over the years, I have had many contributors to my website who have provided content and resources free of charge in exchange for the promotion and exposure my platform offers. Every collaboration is unique, and while some contributors are compensated with money, others are compensated with exposure or a percentage of profits. For example, I have had people join my webinars or provide content for my site without any upfront payment, but instead they agree to contribute for the promotion it brings or a share of the profits from a course I charge for.

These are just a few of the ways I have been able to get the job done without spending money upfront. There are many other ways to compensate people, and money is only one of them. Money is simply a unit of value, but most of us have other valuable resources we can use in lieu of currency that we may not be aware of.

Your skills are a form of currency. Your knowledge is a form of currency. Your time is a form of currency. Anything that others deem valuable is a form of currency that can be traded for resources. Your skills, knowledge, and time are all forms of currency that can be traded for resources. Many people mistakenly believe that if they don't have enough money to purchase something, they can't have it. However, this isn't always the case; depending on the product or service, there may be people willing to trade for your own products and services. This is especially true in the music industry, where many professionals understand the challenges faced by musicians.

If you want to make money from your music, it's up to you to figure out how to make it happen. Don't be afraid to think outside the box and come up with creative and resourceful ways to get things done. Instead of making excuses for why you can't achieve your goals, brainstorm and come up with a list of ways to reach them. By being creative and resourceful, you'll be surprised at the number of ways you can make your dreams a reality.