Entertainment / Music
1ns And 2s With DJ-Sticha - Producers and MusicianS: Stop Complaining and Start Innovating
15 Jan 2016 at 09:38hrs | Views
I'm a nice guy and I really don't say much, but this post is something I've had on my mind for a while and this really needs to be said. My intended audience for this post is producers and musicians who used to make their primary income off of selling Exclusive beats and songs. I know you don't like what's going on with the beat and song selling market today, but times change and you have to find your unique way of changing with them. Ngizogxila kakhulu kumaproducer ngoba yibo abathi uma beproduc(e) udaka bese becabang' ukuthi bayazondwa if umsebenzi wabo ungakhwabithwa. . Hopefully this article will provide you with the knowledge you need to get to the next level in this new business climate.
Over the years, I've heard complaint after complaint from producers about the "beats" market. I've even been the subject of some of those complaints at times. Many producers strongly dislike and complain about the overall business model of what producers are doing today. A lot of this complaining stems from the desire for things to be how they "used" to be. But realistically, nothing stays the same. Things have evolved in good and bad ways. You can't expect to use the same methods from decades ago and still be profitable today in a totally different business climate. And you can't complain about or be mad at another producer for using "newer" strategies that allows him/her to feed their family. If you want to remain profitable or scale your profitability, it's time to open your mind and start innovating ngaphezu kwalokho, yenzel' abantu umculo omnandi and stop being a cry baby if things don't go your way.
A common complaint I hear (or receive) from producers and musicians is that because other producers are leasing beats, it's preventing them from getting sales. Not true. Nobody is holding you back from being profitable. Only YOU have that power. It's YOUR responsibility to be a savvy business person. Survival requires you to be crafty and creative in your strategies so you can adapt with change. There's no set it and forget it or easy buttons. You MUST have the ability to assess your target market on a regular basis and consistently create new ways to benefit from the strengths AND weaknesses of your market. You MUST have the initiative and drive to go above and beyond for your target market. The reality is that we're in a bad overall economic environment. Many artists just don't have the money to pay the prices we used to get on a consistent basis (keyword being consistent)bills come every month consistently so you NEED a plan that allows you to take care of your financial obligations with the least stress possible. Be honest with yourself. You're upset because you're not making the kind of money that you used to make off of music and that is the main reason you are complaining. It's not anybody's fault and it's OK to be upset. Things simply change and there's nothing we can do to prevent change. It's time for you to adapt to the changes so you can get back to your desired income level or above. Here is the solution for you.
You MUST find a way to create a downloadable product that is based on residual volume sales. Automation is the name of the game. Create a product that is of high quality, is affordable, and is available 24/7/365 on auto-pilot to a wide pool of customers in your target market. A product like this will save you TONS of time and energy and be MUCH more profitable than only selling Exclusive beats. Why does this work so well? Because it's a win win for everyone!The customer gets what they want, at the price they want, and at the time that they want it (instant downloads)you reap an amazing financial benefit and you save A LOT of time. You get to reinvest your newly found surplus of time into making better products for your customers. As long as you genuinely work hard at creating high quality products for your customers, they'll continue to support you. Leasing beats happens to be one of the easiest and most profitable ways to accomplish this. There are countless artists all around the world who want to take a chance at getting in the music industry but they cannot afford to buy quality production Exclusively. You meet their demand by licensing them industry quality production at a price they can afford. But, if you dislike leasing, here are several other ways to innovate and create a residual volume sales product for producers.
1. Maybe you should create and sell beat tapes. You can sell high quality beat tapes at affordable prices on auto-pilot to ANYONE who enjoys music!There are many people out there that just love listening to music and if you have something unique, and are savvy in how you present/market it, you can make a pretty penny!
2. If beat tapes aren't your thing, maybe you should make some type of tutorial or information based subscription website model. Selling unique and highly sought after information is very lucrative. If you provide high quality info/tutorials and can get a mass amount of people to subscribe to your website, that's money every month on auto-pilot!You could even use a multi-level subscription package strategy to cater to a variety of budgets (Gold package, Silver Package, Platinum Package, etc. )another spin on the website idea is you can create a website or blog that is open to everyone but offer paid advertising spots to companies and music professionals. This route will take a while to become lucrative, but it is possible to make money via getting a percentage of sales from ads you place on your site or getting paid upfront for a CPC (Cost per Click) or CPM (Cost per impression) campaign. I'll make an example ngami apart from music production, I have Stichtainment school of Djing and 5th Dimension events co. that hires out sound equipment and Djs, engikushoyo yikuthi yenza something eceleni ungathembel' entwen' eyodwa.
3. If you don't want to do a full website, create an information or tutorial product! Things such as eBook courses, video courses, or audio courses are very lucrative. If you can put together a package with all three elements (eBook, video, audio, and even some type of merch), you'll be on your way!
4. If that still doesn't sound appealing, sell your own sound kits!Producers scour the internet looking for new sounds everyday! If you provide a unique product that meets the demands of what producers need, you could make some really killer money on auto-pilot!
5. The old school method is placements. The goal is to get as many placements as you can and watch the royalty/publishing checks pile up! The problem with this method is that placements are not abundant, at least GOOD placements aren't. So there's no consistency in this route. BUT, placements are excellent supplemental income and by building them up overtime, you could start to see a nice chunk of change every quarter. You may even catch a lucky break and get that placement that brings in the BIG check but don't chase that big check so hard that your day to day life is unstable financially. Especially if you have a family.
There are many things you can do but these are just a few things I'm throwing out there to get your wheels turning. The key to making a residual volume sales strategy work is excellent marketing. If you're not particularly skilled in marketing, then hire someone to market for you. Grind smart and create multiple streams of income.
I've experienced what I'm talking about first hand and am telling you all this to HELP you. When I first started selling beats in 2013, I relied 100% on Exclusive sales. I managed to get sales every week but it wasn't anything crazy. Some months were really bad. Bills came up so I would have to lower prices drastically quite often in order to get sales and pay the bills. I did the first half of 2013 while still working as a club Dj in several night clubs and the second half of 2013 Full-Time on beat making. I started leasing my beats (residual volume sales product)I happened to be the first producer to provide that kinda service ekasi lam. My income TRIPLED in 2014. And since then through much hard work, savvy multiple-income strategies, and a quality over quantity mindset, I made my entire 2015 year income selling, leasing beats and sound hire. If I had decided to "stick to my guns" and never innovate, my business would not be around today GUARANTEED.
I know this article is long, but I'm really passionate about this. I really want you to open your mind and look beyond how things used to be. If you've found yourself struggling, it's time to switch things up. Find out what makes you unique and find a way to turn that into a downloadable residual volume sales product. Try as many strategies as possible because in this day and age you MUST have multiple streams of income flowing in. I know you're used to doing things a certain way, but one strong trait of a successful business person is having an open mind. The more closed minded you are, the more your profitability will suffer. If you take my advice to heart and DO IT, your stress level will decrease, your time availability will increase, your creativity will increase, and you'll just feel better overall because you won't have to work like a Hebrew slave only to earn below your worth. I actually started losing hair to stress at one point lol! Don't be like I was. Innovate! You have everything already inside of you to make it happen fam. Pressa Phusha Phanda.
Asabelane ngolwazi, asikhule emculweni
Enjoy your weekend and take good care of yourself
Ngoba I love you all, thatha nans' into for your weekend, free mahala. . http://www. datafilehost. com/d/9e9d3398#. Vpf7wtramuD. facebook(if you click download bese kuvela an advert, don't click on it press back and try again, the download button is grey in color)
Facebook: Dj-Sticha Mixking
Twitter: @DeejaySticha
Over the years, I've heard complaint after complaint from producers about the "beats" market. I've even been the subject of some of those complaints at times. Many producers strongly dislike and complain about the overall business model of what producers are doing today. A lot of this complaining stems from the desire for things to be how they "used" to be. But realistically, nothing stays the same. Things have evolved in good and bad ways. You can't expect to use the same methods from decades ago and still be profitable today in a totally different business climate. And you can't complain about or be mad at another producer for using "newer" strategies that allows him/her to feed their family. If you want to remain profitable or scale your profitability, it's time to open your mind and start innovating ngaphezu kwalokho, yenzel' abantu umculo omnandi and stop being a cry baby if things don't go your way.
A common complaint I hear (or receive) from producers and musicians is that because other producers are leasing beats, it's preventing them from getting sales. Not true. Nobody is holding you back from being profitable. Only YOU have that power. It's YOUR responsibility to be a savvy business person. Survival requires you to be crafty and creative in your strategies so you can adapt with change. There's no set it and forget it or easy buttons. You MUST have the ability to assess your target market on a regular basis and consistently create new ways to benefit from the strengths AND weaknesses of your market. You MUST have the initiative and drive to go above and beyond for your target market. The reality is that we're in a bad overall economic environment. Many artists just don't have the money to pay the prices we used to get on a consistent basis (keyword being consistent)bills come every month consistently so you NEED a plan that allows you to take care of your financial obligations with the least stress possible. Be honest with yourself. You're upset because you're not making the kind of money that you used to make off of music and that is the main reason you are complaining. It's not anybody's fault and it's OK to be upset. Things simply change and there's nothing we can do to prevent change. It's time for you to adapt to the changes so you can get back to your desired income level or above. Here is the solution for you.
You MUST find a way to create a downloadable product that is based on residual volume sales. Automation is the name of the game. Create a product that is of high quality, is affordable, and is available 24/7/365 on auto-pilot to a wide pool of customers in your target market. A product like this will save you TONS of time and energy and be MUCH more profitable than only selling Exclusive beats. Why does this work so well? Because it's a win win for everyone!The customer gets what they want, at the price they want, and at the time that they want it (instant downloads)you reap an amazing financial benefit and you save A LOT of time. You get to reinvest your newly found surplus of time into making better products for your customers. As long as you genuinely work hard at creating high quality products for your customers, they'll continue to support you. Leasing beats happens to be one of the easiest and most profitable ways to accomplish this. There are countless artists all around the world who want to take a chance at getting in the music industry but they cannot afford to buy quality production Exclusively. You meet their demand by licensing them industry quality production at a price they can afford. But, if you dislike leasing, here are several other ways to innovate and create a residual volume sales product for producers.
1. Maybe you should create and sell beat tapes. You can sell high quality beat tapes at affordable prices on auto-pilot to ANYONE who enjoys music!There are many people out there that just love listening to music and if you have something unique, and are savvy in how you present/market it, you can make a pretty penny!
2. If beat tapes aren't your thing, maybe you should make some type of tutorial or information based subscription website model. Selling unique and highly sought after information is very lucrative. If you provide high quality info/tutorials and can get a mass amount of people to subscribe to your website, that's money every month on auto-pilot!You could even use a multi-level subscription package strategy to cater to a variety of budgets (Gold package, Silver Package, Platinum Package, etc. )another spin on the website idea is you can create a website or blog that is open to everyone but offer paid advertising spots to companies and music professionals. This route will take a while to become lucrative, but it is possible to make money via getting a percentage of sales from ads you place on your site or getting paid upfront for a CPC (Cost per Click) or CPM (Cost per impression) campaign. I'll make an example ngami apart from music production, I have Stichtainment school of Djing and 5th Dimension events co. that hires out sound equipment and Djs, engikushoyo yikuthi yenza something eceleni ungathembel' entwen' eyodwa.
3. If you don't want to do a full website, create an information or tutorial product! Things such as eBook courses, video courses, or audio courses are very lucrative. If you can put together a package with all three elements (eBook, video, audio, and even some type of merch), you'll be on your way!
4. If that still doesn't sound appealing, sell your own sound kits!Producers scour the internet looking for new sounds everyday! If you provide a unique product that meets the demands of what producers need, you could make some really killer money on auto-pilot!
5. The old school method is placements. The goal is to get as many placements as you can and watch the royalty/publishing checks pile up! The problem with this method is that placements are not abundant, at least GOOD placements aren't. So there's no consistency in this route. BUT, placements are excellent supplemental income and by building them up overtime, you could start to see a nice chunk of change every quarter. You may even catch a lucky break and get that placement that brings in the BIG check but don't chase that big check so hard that your day to day life is unstable financially. Especially if you have a family.
There are many things you can do but these are just a few things I'm throwing out there to get your wheels turning. The key to making a residual volume sales strategy work is excellent marketing. If you're not particularly skilled in marketing, then hire someone to market for you. Grind smart and create multiple streams of income.
I've experienced what I'm talking about first hand and am telling you all this to HELP you. When I first started selling beats in 2013, I relied 100% on Exclusive sales. I managed to get sales every week but it wasn't anything crazy. Some months were really bad. Bills came up so I would have to lower prices drastically quite often in order to get sales and pay the bills. I did the first half of 2013 while still working as a club Dj in several night clubs and the second half of 2013 Full-Time on beat making. I started leasing my beats (residual volume sales product)I happened to be the first producer to provide that kinda service ekasi lam. My income TRIPLED in 2014. And since then through much hard work, savvy multiple-income strategies, and a quality over quantity mindset, I made my entire 2015 year income selling, leasing beats and sound hire. If I had decided to "stick to my guns" and never innovate, my business would not be around today GUARANTEED.
I know this article is long, but I'm really passionate about this. I really want you to open your mind and look beyond how things used to be. If you've found yourself struggling, it's time to switch things up. Find out what makes you unique and find a way to turn that into a downloadable residual volume sales product. Try as many strategies as possible because in this day and age you MUST have multiple streams of income flowing in. I know you're used to doing things a certain way, but one strong trait of a successful business person is having an open mind. The more closed minded you are, the more your profitability will suffer. If you take my advice to heart and DO IT, your stress level will decrease, your time availability will increase, your creativity will increase, and you'll just feel better overall because you won't have to work like a Hebrew slave only to earn below your worth. I actually started losing hair to stress at one point lol! Don't be like I was. Innovate! You have everything already inside of you to make it happen fam. Pressa Phusha Phanda.
Asabelane ngolwazi, asikhule emculweni
Enjoy your weekend and take good care of yourself
Ngoba I love you all, thatha nans' into for your weekend, free mahala. . http://www. datafilehost. com/d/9e9d3398#. Vpf7wtramuD. facebook(if you click download bese kuvela an advert, don't click on it press back and try again, the download button is grey in color)
Facebook: Dj-Sticha Mixking
Twitter: @DeejaySticha
Source - Dj-Sticha
