The Producer Files Issue #20
Read time: 5 minutes
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In this issue (#20) of The Producer Files:
ϟ Discussion: Everyone tells producers they have to be “more entrepreneurial” but are they always right?
ϟ Quick Tip: Using guarantees to land more projects with cold outreach
ϟ Welcome: Dark Label inks consulting deal with Latin super-producer
ϟ Plus our recs (recommendations) of the week!
DISCUSSION: Everyone tells producers they have to be “more entrepreneurial” but are they always right?
Most music business advice on the internet should be taken with a grain of salt.
Not because it's wrong, but because it lacks nuance and context (about your specific situation).
One of the most popular pieces of advice dished out to music makers is that you have to be more entrepreneurial.
But is that always the best advice?
It certainly isn't bad advice (on the surface), but I want to tell you a story that will prove my point about taking random advice with a grain of salt…
A friend of mine, and a producer that I occasionally advise, has a massive music-related YouTube channel where he shares his music-making process and discusses industry topics that he cares about.
To protect his identity, we'll call him Rick.
On the back of Rick's channel is a music production course he sells that generates for him a very healthy six-figure income. He lives in a low-cost city too, so things are very secure financially.
I know Rick very well and know that his true calling is writing, recording, and performing his own original music (and making YouTube videos about the process).
You would think that he's set himself up perfectly to be able to do all of that, right?
Make YouTube videos > income is relatively passive > Go make music. Repeat.
But, he called me up a few weeks back and was all tweaked out about something.
This is what happened…
One of Rick's buddies (who is also a successful music YouTuber/entrepreneur) was telling him about how his own music business had scaled to $1M/year by moving from courses to hands-on coaching.
He started getting into Rick's head, telling him he was crazy for not upgrading his music production course students into some high-priced, hands-on mentorship business.
Remember, Rick's calling is to make music (not to spend all of his time running a team, ads, coaching people, etc.)
But, Rick is also naturally entrepreneurial and struggles to control his ambition. Like many entrepreneurs… He wants MORE, MORE, MORE! He can't help himself.
So, he had this epic battle raging in his head on what he should do…
Should he put his head down and scale his music education business into a million-dollar enterprise?
I suggested no :)
After gathering enough data from our 2-hour phone call,
my advice to him was very simple.
Here's exactly what I told him:
“If I were you, I would be focusing on two things right now.
The first would be learning how to just be happy with what you have. You get to make videos that generate relatively passive income for you and then go make music. You have already “made it” my friend, so enjoy it.
The second thing I would focus on is getting over your fear of going all in on your own music. Every time we talk, you have some new business idea that has nothing to do with the one thing you want to do (make music).
I'm starting to think that you might be distracting yourself from going after your real goals because you're afraid that you might not have as much success there as you've had with your other businesses.”
He agreed, and instantly felt more serene. He told me that as an entrepreneur he struggles to spend time on anything that isn't making money right now.
I reminded him that HE is not an entrepreneur. He is a musician who happens to naturally be entrepreneurial.
Remember that if someone is not an experienced advisor, they are most likely going to give you advice that they would want for THEMSELVES, not necessarily what is best for YOU.
If you are a music producer who is not naturally entrepreneurial then yes… I think there is benefit in developing more entrepreneurial tendencies, and to be around other producers who are entrepreneurial.
However, if you are naturally entrepreneurial then sometimes you have to keep your ambitions in check and learn the lost art of having enough.
It took me about 12 years to figure that one out for myself.
QUICK TIP: Can you guarantee your production work? You might want to…
The hardest part of building a music production business when you are new is: getting artists to trust you.
Because without trust, it's almost impossible to get artists to hire you and get your business off the ground.
You spend so much time cold DM'ing artists and getting a convo started.
Maybe even jump into a co-write together.
But when the time comes to send out a proposal and talk rates…
There is major pushback.
And it feels like time wasted over and over.
Here's something that you could try…
Last Saturday, I was hosting a virtual meet-up on Zoom with some of our consulting clients.
One of them (who is still in Year 1 of his business) mentioned that he had been offering a simple ‘Guarantee’ to the artists he was making offers to (most of them he met via cold outreach).
After he discussed how his fee structure works, he would then mention that he ‘guarantees’ his work by stating:
"If you don’t like what we do together, then I'll return all of your money."
He eliminates any risk for the artist since he is not yet proven (and his production fees are around $1200 / song).
This experiment has worked extremely well so far.
Sure... You do run the risk of someone not being happy and not having to pay, but that is actually pretty rare.
And he's getting so many more deals signed now that it would offset the few that weren't happy.
At Dark Label, our producers optimize for ‘lifetime value’ i.e. keeping clients happy and coming back over and over again.
So, if the artist wasn't happy with the producer's work in the first place, then the likelihood of them becoming a long-term client is low.
If you're a newer producer who is running into trust issues when trying to land new clients, then give this a shot.
Dark Label welcomes Latin super-producer Mr. NaisGai
We're excited to welcome Latin super-producer Mr. NaisGai to the consulting roster here at Dark Label.
Mr. NaisGai's catalog as a producer/songwriter is stacked with some of the most monumental Latin artists in the world, from Rauw Alejandro to Shakira.
He recently launched his lifestyle brand: https://naisday.store/
We look forward to helping expand his reach in the US market and develop new business ventures.
Recs of the week
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Recs of the week 〰️
ϟ We recommend watching this video about the 4 skills most music producers ignore (and regret later).
ϟ Really great interview over on Ari Herstand's podcast with a producer manager who breaks down different terms and deals for music producers. Check it out here.
That's all folks! Thanks for reading The Producer Files and when you're ready, feel free to reach out to us…
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