MUSIC BIZ FINANCE

How would you feel about paying for lunch, only to discover that your bank account is frozen? You're about to embark on a tour you've planned for months, and now it's on hold because your bank account is inaccessible. You run to the nearest branch and discover that all your money has been drained because your silent partner garnished the money and put a lien on the account – and you’re out of busi...

Spencer has been immersed in the business of independent music for more than 30 years. As an artist, tour manager, FOH engineer, album producer, artist manager, or marketing and label manager, Spencer’s experience provides him a uniquely broad perspective which serves him well as advocate for indie artists. We got the opportunity to pick his brains and discuss digital distribution and more.

Sam: Te...

If you're lucky enough to live in an advanced country, your life expectancy is an average 700,800 hours. YouTube creators release 1.3 million videos per day. An estimated 300 hours of content is uploaded each minute, or 432,000 hours per day. To consume one day’s worth of YouTube content, you’d need to spend half your life watching it without sleeping, eating or going to the washroom. Think: if yo...

If you invested $50,000 in Apple stock in July 2006, ten years later your investment would be worth $500,000. What if I was selling the next Apple stock? Would you be willing to invest $50,000 of your hard-earned money in it? What if I told you that there’s a 95% chance that you’ll lose all your money? Most people are risk-averse and wouldn’t make that investment. So why do I see artists putting s...

“Passion for the music business” is the phrase that comes to mind when I think about Julia Train. When she’s not travelling and informing artists about neighbouring rights, she’s attending shows and supporting artists. If you haven’t met her at an industry event, hopefully this article will give you some insight about Julia and her passion.

Sam:  Tell us about yourself and how you started in the mu...

http://libertystonerecords.com/

Sam: Tell us a bit about yourself.

Johnny: I'm the President of Liberty Stone Records, co-owner of Ticketscene.ca, and I have over 15 years of professional sales and marketing experience. I like to think I possess a strong knowledge of digital media that dates back to the early dot-com days. I have an entrepreneurial spirit and an innate desire to create and build thi...

I had an opportunity to interview a legend in the music industry, Chris Birkett, who has worked with world-renowned talent. His story and advice are essential to anyone in the industry.

Sam: Tell me why you wanted to be a musician and how you got into the music business.

Chris: I was passionate about music from birth. When I was eight years old I wanted a guitar, but my family couldn’t afford one, s...

If you want to make a living from your music, you must sell it. You’re probably saying, “I’m already selling it!” because your stuff is on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, etc. And your CDs are available for sale on your website. If you were in the craft beer business, would you be excited about having your product in a massive retail store alongside millions of other craft brewers? Or...

Cindy Sutch is a talent buyer and booking agent at Catherine Faint Entertainment Inc. ("CFE"), and she has implemented the new Artist Management division. With her extensive background in sales and marketing, Cindy’s enthusiastic energy in showcasing and booking artists is a huge asset to not only CFE, but also to the artists who work with her.

Sam Arraj:  Tell me about yourself and your involvemen...

Sam: I love talking music business philosophy with Brian Allen. We’ve both served on the CMAO Board, and over the years, Brian has provided me with fundamental knowledge about the industry. I've had my deepest conversations about the music industry with him, and over the five years that I've known Brian, I've always looked to him for guidance on some complicated subjects.

Sam: Tell us about yourse...