"I just want to make a living as a music creator" is perhaps the most common goal I hear from musicians - and today's podcast explores how the remote marketplace makes that more achievable than ever before.

What if those guitar skills you've developed could earn you income beyond your local band? What if those production techniques you've mastered could serve clients worldwide? What if those songs sitting on your hard drive could be monetised without releasing them yourself?

The golden age of the gig economy has transformed how musicians can earn from their craft. Platforms like SoundBetter, AirGigs, Fiverr and Musiversal have created sophisticated ecosystems where music creators can offer their services to a global clientele without ever leaving their studios. But simply signing up isn't enough - the musicians who thrive in these marketplaces understand the nuances that separate occasional gigs from consistent income.

We dive deep into crafting your offering with precision - explaining why being a specialist rather than a jack-of-all-trades helps you stand out in the crowded marketplace. You'll learn how to structure tiered service options that maximize your earnings while giving clients the flexibility they need. We explore the delicate balance of pricing, rights management, revision policies, and the critical importance of turnaround times in winning repeat business.

Beyond the technical setup, we examine the psychology of successful remote musicians - how controlling your ego when serving others' creative visions, building a compelling profile, and maintaining impeccable professional etiquette can transform occasional gigs into career-defining relationships.

Whether you're looking to supplement your income or build a full-time career, this episode provides the roadmap to monetising your musical skills in the digital marketplace. Subscribe to The Music Business Buddy for more insights that help you navigate the business side of your creative career with confidence.

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What if streaming platforms actually paid artists fairly? This question has driven acclaimed producer Lloyd Perrin (Papa Zeus) to develop Serenada, a revolutionary social streaming platform that could transform how musicians earn from their music.

Perrin's impressive career spans from chart success with "About You" (which brilliantly reimagined CeCe Peniston's "Finally") to scoring films like Street Dance 3D. Despite these achievements, he's witnessed firsthand how streaming economics have devastated artist income. "When I first started, we sold CDs and made money. Then downloads meant less money. With streaming it makes even less money and even less sense," Perrin explains with refreshing candor.

Serenada represents a powerful alternative – a user-centric streaming platform where your subscription fee goes directly to artists you listen to, not into a communal pool where only megastars truly benefit. By combining social media engagement, content discovery, and fair compensation in one platform, Perrin aims to remove the fragmented journey between discovering music and supporting creators.

The platform will ethically utilize AI to enhance music discovery based on emotional resonance and compositional elements, helping listeners find their perfect musical match while ensuring artists get discovered by the right audience. Most revolutionary is Perrin's commitment that all artists – from bedroom producers to established names – receive equal treatment on the platform with no preferential deals for major labels.

This episode offers a fascinating glimpse into a potential future where streaming actually nurtures artistic development rather than treating music as an expendable commodity. Whether you're a music creator frustrated by streaming economics or a fan wondering why your favorite artists struggle despite millions of plays, Perrin's vision for Serenada presents an inspiring path forward for the industry.

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Fifty episodes! What started as a mission to help music creators better understand the industry has grown into a thriving community, and I couldn't be more grateful for your support along this journey. In this episode, I answer questions sent in from the community of listeners.

This milestone episode tackles the questions you've been asking about the music business - the confusing parts, the frustrating parts, and the parts where terminology seems designed to bewilder newcomers. Ever wondered why your distributor sends you most of your streaming money while PRS collects another portion? Confused about what "music publishing" actually means (hint: it's not uploading your tracks to Spotify)? I break it all down in straightforward terms.

The relationship between AI and music creation emerges as a recurring theme throughout our Q&A session. Rather than taking a doom-and-gloom perspective, I share insights about ethical AI companies that properly compensate vocalists and musicians while exploring how these tools can enhance rather than replace human creativity. From Voice Swap to Scalar 3 and DAACI's Generate, we examine practical applications for today's music makers.

For those of you struggling with the relentless demand for social media content, my advice might surprise you. I share an insight into how my former band built a passionate fanbase, along with practical strategies for finding common ground with potential listeners without falling into the trap of constant promotion.

Whether you're wondering how to approach a booking agent, navigate relationships with producers, or simply understand why finishing projects matters more than starting them, this episode delivers actionable answers to questions from real music creators. No jargon, no gatekeeping - just straightforward guidance from someone who's been there.

Got a question I didn't answer? Reach out - I'm here to help you navigate this industry and turn your passion into a sustainable career. Here's to the next fifty episodes!

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Step into the fascinating world of ethical AI music creation with Annemarie Gaillard from DAACI as she reveals how technology can amplify your creative process without replacing the human touch.

What makes DAACI fundamentally different from other AI music tools? "We haven't trained an AI, we have taught an AI," Annemarie explains, highlighting their approach based on musicology and music theory rather than scraping existing works. With 30+ years of research and 70 patents behind them, DAACI have created tools that respect artistry while solving real problems for composers and content creators.

Annemarie's extraordinary journey from classical music training through acting, drama therapy, and startup scaling brings a rich perspective to her role as Head of Partnerships at DAACI. This multidimensional background informs her passionate advocacy for tools that enhance creativity rather than diminish artistic ownership.

The conversation explores DAACI's two main product lines—Adaptive tools for seamless music editing and Generative tools that function as creative co-pilots. Their technology ensures complete traceability from input to output, guaranteeing fair attribution and royalty distribution.

For composers struggling with creative blocks or tedious aspects of production, these ethical AI tools offer a solution that preserves artistic integrity. As Annemarie beautifully puts it, these technologies are simply "another colour in your paint box" that can help express what's already in your head.

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When we cut the roots, the trees don't grow. This stark reality lies at the heart of the UK's current music crisis, where funding cuts to youth music programs threaten to silence the next generation of creative voices.

Matt Griffiths, CEO of Youth Music, joins us for a profound conversation about the organization's 26-year mission to equalize young people's access to music-making opportunities. What emerges is a troubling picture: Youth Music currently turns away 83% of applicants due to limited resources, while 41% of their funded partners face closure. Yet music remains young people's absolute favorite activity, according to their comprehensive 2024 survey of over 2,500 young people.

The consequences stretch far beyond statistics. Mercury Prize and BRIT Award winners Ezra Collective, alongside stars like Little Simz, Laura Mvula, and Celeste, all developed their talents through Youth Music funded projects. These community spaces provide what traditional education often cannot – environments where young people feel welcomed, inspired, and free to express themselves creatively without judgment.

"The problem is not the young people," one young participant notes in Youth Music's powerful "Rescue the Roots" documentary, "the problem is in people not believing in the young people." This sentiment resonates throughout our conversation as Matt shares stories of talented young musicians finding their voice through community programs after being discouraged in traditional settings.

Looking toward 2050, Matt envisions a future where pathways into music careers are clear and respected, where the music curriculum is reimagined through collaboration between educators and industry professionals, and where music is recognized not as a luxury but as essential to the UK's cultural and economic wellbeing.

Ready to support the next generation of musical talent? Check out the Rescue the Roots campaign here:

https://www.youthmusic.org.uk/rescue-the-roots

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The worlds of music PR and marketing have merged into a seamless ecosystem, where storytelling reigns supreme and strategy is non-negotiable. In this enlightening conversation, PR manager Ellie Sorensen shares her decade of experience helping independent artists navigate this complex landscape.

Ellie pulls back the curtain on how she transitioned from performing artist to PR specialist, revealing the importance of mentorship and persistence in building her career. With impressive credentials working alongside artists like Idlewild, Nova Twins, and Crawlers, she offers a unique perspective on how PR has evolved from traditional press outreach to a multifaceted discipline encompassing playlist pitching, audience analysis, and brand development.

At the heart of Ellie's approach is the understanding that every artist is fundamentally a brand requiring a cohesive story. She expertly unpacks how to identify an artist's unique values and communicate them authentically across all touchpoints – from visuals and press materials to social media content. Most refreshingly, she challenges conventional wisdom about digital presence, sharing examples of artists who've succeeded by stepping away from social platforms to prioritize mental health and more meaningful audience connections.

The conversation takes a particularly illuminating turn when discussing DSP strategy, with Ellie revealing her effective technique for pitching to Spotify playlists. Her methodical approach includes researching suitable playlists, incorporating key marketing terms, and highlighting an artist's existing achievements – essentially doing some of the curator's work for them. She also emphasizes the value of third-party playlists as crucial stepping stones in building streaming momentum.

Whether you're an emerging artist, manager, or music business student, this episode provides practical wisdom about brand audits, audience psychographics, and creating sustainable careers in an oversaturated industry. As Ellie wisely notes, there are no overnight successes – just strategic thinkers playing the long game of authentic artist development.

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Standing at the crossroads of streaming and live performance, today's musicians face a peculiar challenge. You might command millions of streams yet struggle to fill a small venue, or pack rooms with fans while your Spotify numbers remain modest. This disconnect represents one of the most fascinating dynamics in music today.

Allow me to take you on a journey through the mechanics of the live music sector, drawing from decades of experience from playing to just two people in a pub to selling out tours within 18 months. I try to demystify the roles that power the live ecosystem: promoters who book and market shows, festival organizers who champion emerging talent, tour managers who keep everything running smoothly, and booking agents who strategically help artists scale up to larger venues and new territories.

Perhaps the most compelling insight comes from questioning conventional wisdom about career building. While playing major cities might look impressive on tour posters, the real growth often happens in smaller towns where dedicated fans return with friends. This grassroots approach, combined with strategic pitching to the right booking agents, creates the foundation for sustainable career development.

The magic happens when streaming success and live drawing power finally converge—when online metrics and real-world audience connection reinforce each other. This alignment creates the kind of market presence that attracts industry investment and opens doors to wider opportunities. For artists willing to embrace both worlds while maintaining authentic connections with fans, the pathway to success becomes clearer, even in today's complex music landscape.

Ready to transform your approach to the live music business? This episode provides the strategic framework and practical wisdom to help you build a thriving performance career, one fan at a time.

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Songwriters seeking to break into lucrative East Asian music markets face unique challenges and opportunities that differ dramatically from Western practices. This deep dive explores the mechanics behind getting your songs cut with artists in Japan, South Korea, and China – three powerhouse territories that consistently rank among the world's top 10 music markets.

The pathway to success requires navigating a specific chain: songwriters connect with publishers in their home country who partner with sub-publishers in Asia, who then pitch to entertainment agencies and record labels. Without these established relationships, Western songwriters face nearly insurmountable barriers to entry. China primarily operates as a "buyout market" where songwriters receive larger upfront payments but minimal backend royalties, while Japan and South Korea function more similarly to Western markets with performance and mechanical royalties flowing back to creators.

When your song is selected for an artist, prepare for translation considerations that maintain your melody while adapting lyrics to fit languages that are typically more syllabically rhythmic than English. This translation process affects song splits, with translators receiving portions of copyright – a standard practice that publishers manage. Production standards must be exceptional, as your instrumental tracks will likely be used in the final release with only vocals being replaced.

The physical music market remains extraordinarily strong in Japan and South Korea, with CDs and DVDs selling in significant numbers. Albums are frequently repackaged in special editions, meaning one placement might appear on multiple products, multiplying mechanical royalties through collection societies that often operate differently from Western PROs.

Success requires thorough research into local culture, song structures, and listener preferences. Though competition is fierce, these markets represent billions of potential listeners and substantial revenue opportunities for songwriters willing to adapt their approach and partner with the right publishers.

Ready to explore these exciting markets? Your next big hit could be waiting in the East.

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