Learn How to Make Money as a Musician

Learn How to Make Money as a MusicianLearn How to Make Money as a MusicianIf youre going to go full-time as a musician, youre going to need to make some cash. You might love what youre doing, but its hard to pay the rent or buy groceries if you dont have some source of music industry income. So how can you make money as a musician without resorting to heading back to your day job? It can take a little creativity as you are getting your music career off the ground. These ideas will get you started. Learning to Make Money as a Musician Most of these ideas arent groundbreaking, and you probably already have thought of at least some. But the key to surviving as a paid musician is to put them all together. Heres how Play Live Playing live is an obvious choice when it comes to making money as a musician. You can make money through show guarantees, door split deals, or even by passing around a tip jar. Of course, if you dont have much of a proven track record when it comes to pullin g in an audience, youre not in a great position to demand large fees. Building up to this will take time. Every little bit helps, though, and even if you go home with $15, take the long-term view and treat each low-paying gig as a step towards increasing your earnings potential. Sell Your Music Well, duh, you think. Of course, you should sell your music, but the trick here is to make sure your fans dont have to look far to find it. Digital distribution is a must, whether you go through an aggregator that places your music all over the net for you or if you approach services on your own, one by one. Selling music at shows is also important. You can sell CD-Rs at shows, as long as you price them accordingly and make it clear that they are CD-Rs when you sell them. If youre pressing physical copies, check out your local record shops to get them in on consignment (some shops also accept CD-Rs). Sell Merchandise Diversifying what you have to sell will boost your earning potential . It doesnt mean get 5,000 t-shirts made at some price that will make your credit card weep. Make your own t-shirts, buttons and badges, stickers, and other merch, and sell them at your shows and on your website. Merchandise does especially well at shows after your fans have just seen you play and are all caught up in the spirit. As long as you keep your overhead down, merchandise can give your income a nice little boost. Play Other Peoples Music The musical talents you hope will form your career can help you make ends meet until the day you get to play your own songs exclusively. Session musician work for other musicians can help you bridge the financial gap and make some extra money. As a bonus, youll be honing your own skills and meeting people who can create opportunities for you. Perform Musical Odd Jobs Okay, so the point here is to move away from your day job however, if you need to make some extra money, doing something music related - even if it doesnt specifically involve your music- is a good choice. Much like working as a session musician, the idea here is to use your knowledge and talents to help other musicians (and get paid for it). Are you a great producer? Get some studio work. Are you a pro at booking shows? Do it for other musicians. Got design skills? Do cover art or websites for musicians or music-related businesses. Tap into your music skills to put some extra money in your pocket. More Ideas to Earn Money as a Musician Combine the following suggestions with the ideas above for a plan that really can help you earn enough money to quit your day job. Promotion, Promotion, Promotion Your ability to make a living as a musician depends a lot on your ability to promote your music. You must make sure people know about your music, where they can get it, when you are playing, and so on. How to Use Twitter for Music PromotionReverb Nation Protect Your Assets Its pretty easy to get taken for a ride in the music industry so, it s always a good idea to get things in writing. If you dont understand a particular deal, seek advice before putting pen to paper. Putting things in writing doesnt have to involve huge lawyer bills. Before You Sign a Music Promoter ContractIndie Label ContractsBefore You Sign a Music Manager ContractDo We Need a Band Contract? Learn More About Going Full-Time as a Musician Everyones situation and goals are different, and ultimately, the only one who can decide if it is time to go full-time as a musician is you. These articles will help you weigh up your options Self-Releasing Albums Pros and ConsBefore You Start a Record Label

12 Daily Habits to Boost Your Hire-ability

12 Daily Habits to Boost Your Hire-ability12 Daily Habits to Boost Your Hire-abilityA list of 12 tasks job seekers should do every day to get hired.In Part 1 of this series about elevating your visibility, you learned the secret to a successful job search Anonymity is bankruptcy.So, now that youve begun exerting your distinctiveness expressing your vulnerability and acting smart (not like a smarty pants ) lets advance our discussion by exploring 12 daily practices to turn approachability into hire-ability1. Be radically honest. Next time someone says, Hey Karen - hows it going? respond by cheerfully saying, Still unemployed Three things will happenHe will appreciate your candorHe will become one mora person aware of your situation,He will become more likely to help you find a job.How many people did you tell you were unemployed today?2. Become the observed.You attend chamber meetings, BNI events, job expos and trade shows to look for job openings, right? Well, let me ask you this W hen was the last time you were the guest speaker?Really? Never? Wow. Try this E-mail every single c hamber of c ommerce d irector in your city. Tell them you have an educational and entertaining presentation based on your expertise and career history thats perfect for their membership.If they ask what company youre with, be radically honest and say, Actually, Ive been unemployed for six months, and Ive had a lot of time to practice my presentation Theyll love you. And so will the audience, if you do it right.When was the last time you gave a public presentation?3. Blog every single day.By sharing your expertise with the world, you will accomplish a few things (1) Prove to people that you deliver insight, not just knowledge, (2) Boost your web presence, and (3) Accumulate a reservoir of resources to elektronischer brief prospective employers.Example Imagine if, at the end of your thank-you elektronischer brief to someone who just interviewed you, you included a P.S. that read, By the way, Mr. Randall, I wrote a blog post last week about the four biggest mistakes made by HR d irectors. Just a few things Ive learned in my career over the years. I hope I can help your company avoid these same mistakesWhy arent you blogging yet?4. Print business cards.But I dont have a job Whats your point? All the more reason to have your own business card.Make them yourself. Use Vista Print, pay the 50 bucks, and carry a dozen with you wherever you go.Tips Red stands out. Pictures arent a bad idea. And for the love of God, dont use Papyrus as your font. Oh, and bring them wherever you go. Because you never know. Everybody is somebodys somebody.How many opportunities have you missed because you didnt have a card with you?5. Change your e-mail.If your e-mail address contains the letters AOL in it, change it. If you use it, people will prejudge your messages before they read them. People will also prejudge you before they meet you.Heres the reality AOL is for old people, novices and technologically deficient professionals. Dont be one of those people. Get your own Web site, or, if you must, use Gmail.What does your e-mail address say about your professionalism?6. Dont be clever or cute.Clever is using other peoples conversations as springboards for your little jokes that nobody thinks are funny but your cat. It annoys people and wont encourage anyone to hire you.Cute is sending a pink ribbon on your resume because you think it will get you noticed. Nope. It wont. You need to be smart and strategic. Like creating an online video resume. Thats smart.How much money is being cute costing you?7. Get up one hour earlier.Single best piece of advice Ive ever been given. And just imagine - at the end of three months, you will have put in more than two extra weeks of time. Talk about outworking everyoneWhat time did you get up today?8. Internetworking gets jobs. Whatever social media outlets you currently use - Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, whatever - commit to spendi ng one to three hours every single day leveraging those tools.Comment on blogs. Send messages. Connect people. Write killer posts. It doesnt matter which ones you use it matters that you use them consistently.How e-pproachable are you?9. Leverage branding hot spots. If youre making calls and trying to set up interviews day in and day out, its probable youre asked the question, May I ask whos calling? between 10 and 50 times, right?What do you say? Steve Johnson? Rebecca Jackson? Terrible Imminently forgettable. You need to insert your uniqueness. Something like, The swimmingpool Guy, or The Queen of HR You will stand out among the other 300 people that call that day.How many jobs has being boring cost you?10. Set up your Web site.Doesnt have to be fancy. Doesnt have to be expensive. Heres what you doRegister an easy- to-remember URL - hopefully, something simple like www.yourname.com,Get a professional picture taken of you that does not include that overdone pose with your fist on your chin,Publish pillars or bullet points of your personal philosophy by asking yourself the question, If everybody did exactly what I said, what would the world look like?Include all possible contact links, references, PDFs of resumes and the like.All of this can be done for less than $1,000.Why dont you have a Web site yet?11. Shift your attitude. You may be unemployed. You may be broke. But the reality is, finding a job needs to become your job until you find a job.Let me say that again Finding a job needs to become your job until you find a job. That means structuring your days. That means having regular lunch meetings. That means treating it like any other job.How much television did you watch yesterday?12. Write it first.Now that youre getting up an hour earlier, you can use (some) of that time for writing. My suggestion is to make a list of the Top 100 Interview Questions You Might be Asked.Every morning, pick three of them out of a hat. Then spend a few minutes writing out your answers. If this sounds challenging to you, good Thats why you need it.Writing is the great clarifier. Writing is the basis of all wealth. Most importantly, writing makes you better at everything you do. Your interviews will be amazing if youve already thought out - and written out - your answers.What did you write today?Remember When practiced with commitment and consistency, your approachability will be the ticket to your hire-ability.Let me ask ya this..How many job opportunities have you lost because people perceived you as unapproachable?

Low-Tech Solutions Fight Hunger

Low-Tech Solutions Fight Hunger Low-Tech Solutions Fight Hunger Low-Tech Solutions Fight HungerHamid Oubir lives with his family in a small village in northern Morocco. To sell his produce in the market, he has to make his way to the nearest town early in the morning several times a week. If Mr. Oubir wants to prevent his fruits and vegetables from getting spoiled, he needs to make three-hour treks by foot to reach the market. Each time he leaves his field to go to the market he loses money, both in time spent and the cost of travel.Many families in rural areas face the same challenges as Hamid. In developing regions, a quarter of the grains and more than half of the fruit and vegetable crops are damaged due to poor conditions for storage and processing. This is why comprehensive rural development and sustainable agricultural production play a key role in the fight against hunger. However, the lack of access to water and electricity, as well as the absence of facilities to store thei r produce, makes it hard for farmers like Hamid to reduce decayed produce and to provide adequately for themselves and their families.For You Insight from Human SightThe Barsha Pump, powered by a 1.5-m high waterwheel, can deliver up to 40,000 liters of water per day.Simple technological innovations can play a key role here. Startups by social entrepreneurs and university spin-offs are developing interesting solutions around the world. For example, small farmers could store their produce over the long term using simple refrigeration or silo solutions. With storage, the crops could sell more profitably at a later time, and the farmers could continue feeding their families even after the harvest period. This was the inspiration behind Spencer Taylors Evaptaineran electricity-free mobile refrigeration technology that keeps food fresher, longer, and costs less than $30.Hamid Oubir tried out these simply designed coolers. After using the Evaptainer for a short time he reported that he wa s able to save 4-5 percent extra each month. Not only did Evaptainer help keep his produce fresh for longer but also the time he was able to save had a positive impact on his life and productivity.This example shows the impact that simple technologies can have on everyday life in developing regions and how hunger can be fought over the long term in small but sustainable steps. Thus, helping people to provide for themselves and to make the most of what they produce.The Siemens Stiftungs empowering people network pursues the aim of finding social entrepreneurs with promising, sustainable and low-tech solutionslike the Evaptainerto connect them with peers, promote them sustainably and make them visible to potential partners. An essential aspect involves making the best possible use of local resources and supporting local small businesses in developing a promising corporate strategy.The network database comprises some 100 tested solutions in nine different categories, from renewable ene rgy to information technologies and education to recycling, water saving, and health. Another focus is on agriculture, with many of the inventors and developers confronting the hunger problem in developing regions.The agricultural solutions within the network extend along the entire agricultural process chainstarting with irrigation technology, which can double the yield if not increase it fivefold. Here, for example, the Barsha Pump makes a valuable contribution. Using the 1.5-m high waterwheel, it can pump up to 40,000 liters of water per day to higher elevations. The drip irrigation system from EOS is a low-cost alternative to expensive trickle irrigation. To reduce costs, EOS has replaced commercial components of the irrigation system with affordable everyday items. For $20 the system can irrigate 50 square meters of farmland. This solution is already in use worldwide.Half the worlds arable land is farmed by small-plot farmers. Their needs, challenges, and working conditions are a key starting point for long-term positive changes. This is precisely where social enterprises using simple technologies make a difference every day, enabling farmers to work more efficiently, act more independently, and improve the living conditions of their families and communities.Rolf Huber is managing director of the board at Siemens Stiftung.Read More3D Printing Trains Bomb-Sniffing Dogs10 Ways GDPR Will Affect EngineersRobots Make Self-Repairing Cities Possible