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If you're like many other artists, you keep encountering the same obstacles and wanting to start seeing different results.





Your time, energy and funds are precious and we can all relate to how it feels when you realize the strategy you've been using for so long, just isn't growing your core fanbase. Many independent artists still look to playlist placements and promoting singles as means of reaching financial freedom, from music. This way of thinking is what we refer to as living in the "Play-Tricks." That is when an artist lives in a simulation where streams , "plays," are what gets them paid.


Needless to say, when you're using ad budget to grow fans via "streams," the math doesn't add up. If you can get on playlists at no cost, or your fans shared your music often, then streaming royalties become more profitable (practically 100% profit at that point.) For 2023, Independent Artists Movement partnered with JCampos Entertainment are coaching the artists on our talent roster to re-center their focus from "getting streams" to "building a brand."





When you're building a brand, you tend to ask yourself better questions. As you refine your process of building an audience, you can then test your different brand theories. A long this journey, two things are guaranteed to happen:


  1. You'll solidify the message of your brand and have a deeply rooted understanding of who you are as an artist and what kind of person your audience will (do) perceive you to be.

  2. You'll improve your ability to grow and engage your target audience, with less effort and more effectiveness.


Stepping out of the play-tricks is starting to adapt a realistic approach to building a profitable music career in the modern music business, for self starters. Taking a moment to think about the long term end goal and how the current process is working towards that goal is how we're able to make decisions today to get better results tomorrow.





Follow our Facebook page for more info like this on a more frequent basis. For a professional consultation and one on one coaching session on building your brand, contact us now while the holiday rates are half off for the month of December. In just a 45 minute zoom meeting (aided with visual representations) we can provide an outline and get you set in the right direction in finding yourself as a profitable artist.


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Hello again aSa! Happy Thanksgiving From The Entire iAm Team!! We are happy to announce that we will be offering management services for independent labels and artists through our merger with JCampos Entertainment LLC. We will be posting more information about the merger in the coming weeks along with some opportunities to trial run the new services.

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Grand day aSa! If you made it this far I genuinely appreciate you for taking the time to read this all the way to this point! You're a W for that and I hope you somehow get a big bag of money for being awesome. This is the tenth and final helpful tip to consider on your music career journey. Tip ten is to Understand The Royalties Generated From Licensing your music.

Explanation

Not understanding licensing royalties is like going to work every day and not knowing how the job will pay you. When you own your music, people have to obtain a license to use your music and will pay a fee based on the way in which they use your music.


Consideration

Royalties can be confusing and complicated but I will do my best to make this easy to understand. There are a few ways you earn money from the use of your music (assuming you own the copyright to the music).

  • Mechanical License – Needed when someone wants to make copies of your songs or use the song. For example, if I start an online music store and I want to sell your music in my store. I’m going to need a mechanical license from you in order to sell your music in my online music store for digital download, just like iTunes. So, every time I sell a copy of your music in my store, I have to pay you. But I don’t pay you, I pay an organization that collects the money on your behalf. That organization is called The Harry Fox Agency. That’s a summary of the mechanical license.


  • Performance License – Needed when someone wants to play your music for other people. For example, if I started a streaming service and I want to let people stream your music in my streaming service, I need a performance license from you in order for me to legally make your music available for streaming on my platform, just like Spotify. I have to pay you a royalty, but I don’t pay you; I pay an organization that collects the money on your behalf. You’ve probably already heard of them ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. That’s a summary of the performance license.


  • Synchronization License – or sync license is needed when an entity, like a corporation, movie studio, or advertising agency wants to use your song to be ‘synchronized’ to a video. For example, think about some of the songs you hear in movies, TV shows, commercials, and video games. The companies that produce those had to get a sync license to use the music you hear in the content. They typically would pay a flat fee for the sync license. That’s a summary of the synchronization License.