Musicians are businesspeople–at least the smart ones. While up and coming bands once started their own labels and booked their own tours (full-time jobs alone), they’ve now expanded to crowdfunding album production (Kickstarter, Sellaband), selling merch online without the high distribution percentage cuts (Bandcamp) and much more as DIY is pushed into new territory.
Entrepreneurial successes this summer alone include Crooked Fingers, who raised over $12,000 to pay for recording and manufacturing a limited-edition vinyl 12” of cover songs–twice his goal.
Amanda Palmer realized her goal in mere minutes, selling $15,000 worth of merchandise in 90 seconds with the release of her ukulele-based Radiohead cover album. Not bad for someone who recently left a major label.
Put simply, musicians need a business sensibility when they’re done creating. We’ve interviewed Crooked Fingers, Amanda Palmer and dozens of others who are now taking all aspects of their careers into their own hands.
Check out how Andrew W.K. breaks down the financial sense in spending money, Jakk Frost stresses the importance of saving it, Melissa Auf der Maur thinks long-term, The Decemberists skip MTV for BitTorrent and Matt & Kim view the internet as their personal distributor.
TOPICS: Trendspotting