Episodes
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For artists trying to build their music careers by growing and monetizing a fan base, improving the music itself is not always the best starting point...
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa discuss how to reverse engineer your music business growth by improving the processes that help you create, capture, and monetize your fans' attention! Learn why only focusing on developing your product might get you stuck at the starting line, how to set achievable goals to release music and content, and to structure offers and promotional cadences based on real fan feedback!
If you want to fine-tune the processes that will actually grow and scale your fan base and your career, the insights from this episode have you covered!
DISCOVER:
How Circa Started Indepreneur With Personal Conversations
Why Growth Isn't Solely About Creating Better Music
How To Set Realistic Goals For Long-term Success
How To Use A 9-word Email To Engage Your Audience Effectively
How To Build And Reverse Engineer A Promotional Cadence That Fits Your Strategy
What Artists Can Learn From Taylor Swift About Maximizing The Value Of A Release
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Are you gearing up to release your next single? Don't pick your release date until you maximize your efforts in the stages before, during, and after the launch!
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa pick apart the foundations of single releases so that you can plan your waterfall releases to have the biggest impact. Learn about the myth of fast releases, dive deep into what assets and content you should have ready for both pre-release and ongoing marketing efforts, and best practices for distribution and effective pitching to playlists!
Before dropping your next song, let this episode be your checklist with strategies and tips to make it your most successful release yet!
DISCOVER:
What Assets And Content You Need For An Impactful Pre-Release And Post-Marketing
Best Practices For Distribution And Timing
How To Utilize Spotify For Artists For Playlist Pitching
What Spotify's Audio Profiling Means For Your Tracks In The Recommendation Engine
When To Consider Pre-save Campaigns
Why Post-marketing Is The Most Critical Phase Of Your Release Strategy
When To Consider Using Paid Traffic To Boost Your Visibility
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
How To Kick Start A Fanbase With Content
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Missing episodes?
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Are bottlenecks in your creative business slowing down your progress? Identifying and removing these barriers can be the key to unlocking your creative output AND fan base growth...
In this special episode of Creative Juice, Jack is joined by Jonah McLean (aka DUX), a lead strategist and coach from our IndieFounder program, to dive into the most common bottlenecks he finds in artists' creative businesses! Learn from Jonah's experience consulting and coaching hundreds of artists and explore the three biggest bottlenecks he's observed in music marketing, from the challenges musicians face after an initial burst of audience growth to the paralysis caused by indecision and overthinking!
If you're stuck in your music career growth and not sure why, this episode covers it all. From simplifying your music business systems to managing your work and failing forward in your marketing, use these tips to get yourself back on track!
DISCOVER:
How To Tackle The Three Biggest Bottlenecks Jonah Sees Musicians Face
Where Artists Struggle After Initial Audience Growth
How To Handle Indecision And Overthinking To Keep Your Projects Moving
Why Failure Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool
How To Simplify Your Music Business Systems
What You Can Learn From Tim Ferriss and A Simple To Do List
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Work With An Indepreneur Coach To Build Your Music Career!
How To Run Your Music Business and NOT Burn Out w/DUX
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Feeling stuck in your music career? Not sure what roadblock is holding you back? If you're at a standstill, diagnosing the root cause is the first step...
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa dissect the major reasons why artist careers slow down and how to diagnose and avoid these pitfalls. Learn about maintaining a consistent release cadence, keeping your enthusiasm to engage your fans, navigating the honeymoon phase of music marketing, and the common breakdowns in artists’ traffic systems!
Don’t let your music career falter without a fight. This episode will give you a diagnostic approach to help you keep your career on a growth trajectory with strategy, tactics, and stories from our agency and coaching clients!
DISCOVER:
What It Takes To Maintain Momentum With Your Music Releases
How To Keep Your Engagement High And Your Fans Excited
Why Navigating Past Early Success Is Crucial For Sustainable Music Marketing
What Causes Most Music Career Stalls And How To Overcome Them
Where Email Marketing And Tour Marketing Collide
How To Overcome Revenue Slowdowns With Offers
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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For artists and bands looking to fuel their growth with effective music marketing strategies, there's a dizzying array of options constantly being advertised to you...how do you know what opportunities to focus your time, effort, energy, and budget on?
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa break down opportunities in the industry for marketing your music so that you can choose the best vehicle for your growth! Learn about the differences between digital marketing, influencer campaigns, playlisting, and PR and the pros and cons of each strategy.
Whether you're looking to work on your own music marketing or build a team, this episode will help you you survey your options and choose the most effective ways for you to grow your fan base, revenue, and business from top to bottom!
DISCOVER:
Why Having a Large Fan Base Offers More Leverage for Monetization
How We Structured Our Agency to Seize Music Marketing Opportunities
How Email, SMS Marketing, and Paid Ads Can Predictably Grow Your Career
The Pros and Cons of Influencer Marketing
The Risks Associated With Playlisting and How to Navigate Them
Why PR Is Effective for Building Brand Authority
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Visit the websites of your favorite artists and bands and you'll probably find a form with the call to action "Sign Up For Updates". Tough question: how many fans do you think actually sign up just for updates?
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa answer one of the biggest questions on growing your list of fans...how to actually get fans to sign up! Learn about the top email list-building offers we use with our IndieX agency clients right now, choosing the right offer based on your audience size, and what emails to send to your fans after they sign up for an offer!
If you've tried email marketing before and want to give your fans a solid reason to sign up, this episode unpacks everything that we see working for artists in the wild today!
DISCOVER:
Why It's Important To Properly "Bribe" Your Fans
How To Build A Permission Offer Based On Your Audience
Why Early Access Offers Perform For Email List Growth
How To Craft An Effective Giveaway Campaign
Where Email Marketing and Tour Marketing Collide
How To Create The Ultimate Offer Around Your Album
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Will 2024 be the year that email marketing proves to be dead, buried, and useless for artists? The answer might surprise you...
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa spill the beans about the future of email marketing for musicians with facts and figures, case studies, and client stories showing how email is one of the highest ROI channels! Learn why music industry folks think that email is a thing of the past, why poor strategy ACTUALLY makes email marketing appear dead, and how we've used email marketing at our agency IndieX to drive five, six, and seven-figure e-commerce campaigns and operations!
Want to make email marketing work in your business? This episode dives deep into stories, strategies, and automation tactics so that you can transform your email marketing into a powerhouse!
DISCOVER:
Why Email Is NOT Dead In 2024
How Poor Strategy Leads to Unsuccessful "Dead" Email Marketing
What Makes Email Marketing a 4200% ROI Channel
How An IndieX Client Did $40k in Vinyl Sales In One Day Through Email Marketing
Why Owning Your List of Fans Is Critical for Success
What Offers and Email Automations To Use In Your Marketing
RESOURCES:
Learn Email Marketing For Musicians Inside IndiePRO
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Planning an EP or album release this year and overwhelmed with options for building the marketing strategy? There are two camps when it comes to launching an album in 2024...
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa share album launch strategies that set our IndieX agency clients up for success so that you can apply them to your releases - and profit! Learn about the common pitfalls in EP and album launches, the interplay between singles releases and full album launches, how to get your fans excited about your launch, what you need to get started, planning a release timeline, and building an album launch funnel that converts!
Don't release an album in 2024 without a roadmap for engaging your fans and maximizing sales! This episode is packed with strategy, tactics, and stories from successful launches to help you plan your most successful launch yet!
DISCOVER:
Why Is There A Gap Between Production Costs and Marketing Budget For Artists
How To Build An Effective Album Launch Funnel
How To Engage Your Fans for a Successful Launch
What You'll Need for a Successful Launch From Music and Tools to Content and Beyond
How to Plan Your Release Timeline
Why An Album Launch Funnel Has Long-term Benefits
PLUS: Get Our Free Album Launch Workbook
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Get Our Free Album Launch Workbook
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Compared to every other industry around the world, the music industry is notably bad at data consolidation and artists suffer the most from it! There are a dizzying amount of digital marketing tools that can help artists capture and monetize fan bases...So where do you start?
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa discuss the marketing tools every artist should have in their arsenal and unpack the features that are non-negotiables! Dive into website platforms, email and SMS marketing tools, e-commerce platforms, funnel builders, and automation tools and learn why "music" specific tools often don't measure up to broader digital marketing solutions!
Don't let the lack of the right tools hold back your fan base growth and revenue! This episode provides a roundup of the digital marketing tech that we use day in and day out for marketing for artists and bands of all kinds!
DISCOVER:
What Essential Marketing Tools Every Artist Should Have
Why Broad Digital Marketing Solutions Outperform "Music" Specific Tools
How Email Marketing and SMS Marketing Should Differ in Your Strategy
What Real Value Automation Brings Artists and Common Misunderstandings
Examples of Simple and Complex Automation
PLUS: An Inside Look at the IndieCRM!
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Ever felt like your music is the roadblock in your marketing journey? It's time to rethink, reassess, and re-strategize!
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa reveal what to do when your music marketing strategies hit a roadblock and how a critical evaluation of your music could be the key to unlocking audience growth. Learn why social content fails and how to diagnose yours, as well as when to fine-tune your music from gathering and analyzing feedback to refining songwriting, production, mixing to create a better product!
Don't let your music hinder your marketing efforts. If your music needs some fine-tuning, this episode has you covered with tips to transform your music from a stumbling block to a spark for your career!
DISCOVER:
The "Do Not Pass Go" Moment in Music Marketing
Why Content Fails and How to Diagnose It
What Steps to Take if Your Music Needs Work
How To Gather and Analyze Feedback For Your Music
When To Look Critically At Your Music
How To Refine Your Songwriting, Production, and Mixing Processes
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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What separates a good artist from a great artist brand when it comes to merch? Here's a hint: It's all centered around customer experience...
In this episode of Creative Juice, we're joined by special guest Seamus Menihane, founder of Down Right Merch to get his expert insights on merchandise and fulfillment for artists and brands! Learn about how Down Right Merch got its start in the industry as we discuss what artists often overlook about merch and fulfillment, how to create unforgettable customer experiences, and the pros and cons of print-on-demand, the different types of merch deals, and much more!
If you're looking to make your merch operations great, the insights from Seamus on this episode will give you a dive deep into merch from design and product to fulfillment, bonuses, and beyond!
DISCOVER:
How Seamus Built Down Right Merch After Time On The Road
What Artists Miss About Merch and Fulfillment
How To Create Amazing Customer Experiences
What Pros and Cons Exist For Print On Demand Merch
How To Understand Different Types of Merch Deals
What You Can Learn Merch Operations of Artists Like ICP, Taylor Swift, KISS, Misfits, and More
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Learn More About Down Right Merch
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Wondering why the buzz around music NFTs seems to come and go? Want to know what's behind all the hype about web3 and the music industry? A lot has happened in the last few years...
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack grills Circa on the latest developments at the crossroads of blockchain technology and music! Dive into the recent changes in web3, AI disruption, why blockchain became so attractive to the music industry and uncover the REAL reason web3 has become a hot topic in music!
If future tech, monetization, NFTs, and the metaverse catch your interest or baffle you, this episode is a helpful primer on the basics of web3 and predictions of its future in music!
DISCOVER:
What Is Web3 and How Does Blockchain Technology Play A Role In The Internet
Why Blockchain Became Attractive to the Music Industry
The REAL Reason Web3 is a Hot Topic in Music
How Web3 Has Changed Over Market Cycles
What The Future of Music NFTs Looks Like
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
A Crash Course in Web3 and Music
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Ever worry about aging out of a music career? Concerned that running ads will kill your organic growth on social media? Artists shouldn't let these myths get in your head...
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa debunk common misconceptions that plague the industry and dive into the mindset of highly successful artists who keep their goals laser-focused! Learn how to build systems to prevent self-sabotage, how to attract attention without labeling your genre, tips for writing better hooks, and what you can learn from influencers and other industries about building a fan base!
If music industry myths keep you from executing, this episode will help reshape your perspective on your music career!
DISCOVER:
How Paid Advertising Does NOT Kill Organic Traction
Building Fan Engagement Systems to Avoid Self-Sabotage
How To Gain Attention Without Labeling Yourself or Your Genre
What You Can Learn from Influencers Like Grant Cardone and Other Industries
How To Write Better Hooks
How to Smash Online Trolls Romantically
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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In 2024, your music distributor may not make or break your career, but knowing what opportunities are out there for you is critical to your success as an artist...
So in this special episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa are joined by special guest Dame Ritter, the Director of Communications at the music distribution company Too Lost to talk about all things music industry, from distribution deals, to artist management, monetization, and more! Learn about the current state of music distribution in 2024, how Too Lost stands out among distributors, and Dame will share insights on what artists may not know about the opportunities they might be missing!
Dame has worn many hats in the music industry, from running a record label to artist management, and now brings his wealth of knowledge to the Too Lost team. Don't miss this episode as a chance to learn from a seasoned music entrepreneur and professional!
DISCOVER:
The Current State of Music Distribution in 2024
How Distribution Became a Commoditized Service
How Too Lost Stands Out In The Industry (and How To Get Involved)
What Opportunities Artists Miss When Working With Distributors
How Artists Can Adapt Their Mindset To Succeed
What Advice Dame Passes On To Artist Managers Today
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Too Lost
Keep Up With Dame on Instagram
Launching a Digital Event and Offer with Dame Ritter
EP178: How 6 Artists Made a Collaborative Album in ONE WEEK! w/ Damien Ritter
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Independent artists and bands are stacking wins and breaking records daily! They just need a bit more publicity...
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa share the stories of Indies both inside and outside of the Indepreneur community to inspire and show what's possible in your music career! Learn how artists are growing rabid fan bases, selling out shows, cracking chart positions, and building music businesses that support them full-time!
If you're looking for inspiration on how to crush your music marketing from top to bottom, look to the artists highlighted in this episode as models and starting points!
DISCOVER:
How LaRussell Created His Own Market Through Unique Offers
What Artists Like RJ Thompson and Laura Kidd Do To Make The Charts
How Greywind Mastered Their Marketing Hooks for Content
Why Artists Need To Release Music Early and Often
How Dropping The Barometer for Production Sets Up Audience Growth
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Did you know that a fan who is a customer is 5 times more likely to buy from you again? Armed with that fact, it's mission critical for artists to convert fans into customers...
So in this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa open up the strategy vault and break down the process of converting fans into customers using a Free+Shipping & Handling funnel! Learn how this strategy works for artists from pricing and costs, to upsells and the traffic sources to tap into, and get a first hand look at why providing value FIRST is the key to success!
If you're looking to take your first steps at monetization in your music career, this episode will be your guide to taking your fan relationships to the next level!
DISCOVER:
How a Free+S&H Funnel Works for Artists
Why Giving Value Will Help You Succeed as an Artist
The Math and Metrics Behind the Funnel
How To Turn Warm Fans into Customers for the First Time
What Traffic Sources To Use for Your Funnel
How to Price Your Products and Create Upsells
RESOURCES:
Learn To Build A Free+S&H Funnel Inside IndiePRO
How Indie Artists Are Getting PAID to Grow a Fan Base
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Want to unravel the mystery behind marketing funnels and their role in music marketing? While funnels might just sound like marketing jargon, the reality is that they play a critical role in your music business already...
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa demystify the buzz around marketing funnels to show how artists can deploy sales funnels in their music marketing. We zoom out to cover the three fundamental pieces that make up ANY funnel for ANY business, campaigns and processes for each step of a music marketing funnel. and how to set your goals for your music career!
If the concept of a marketing funnel in your music career is still a bit fuzzy or overwhelming, this episode is packed with tips to help you effectively build and manage your own music marketing funnel, based on what you're already doing!
DISCOVER:
Why Funnels are More Than Just Software or Tactics
The 3 Fundamental Steps of Any Marketing Funnel
What Campaigns and Processes Fit in a Music Marketing Funnel
How To Define Goals for Each Stage of Your Funnel
Why It's Critical To Get Your Hooks Right First
How NOT to Retain Your Fans
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Getting Everything You Can Out Of All You Got by Jay Abraham
Andrew Schulz
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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The concept of branding gets a lot of talk in the music industry, but how do you apply it to your music day-to-day?
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa dive into what branding truly means for your music career! Learn about what a brand is (and what it isn't), the misconceptions artists and music industry pros have about branding, how to build your mission and vision statement for your music business, and the ongoing battle between branding and marketing for many artists.
Don't let the term 'branding' intimidate you any longer. Let this episode be your guide on how to effectively apply branding to advance your music career!
DISCOVER:
What a Brand Is and What It's Not
Misconceptions About Branding in the Music Industry
What Elements Make Up An Artist Brand
How To Build A Mission and Vision Statement for Your Music Business
When to Focus on Branding Activities
PLUS: Get Access To Our Artist Branding Workbook To Brainstorm Your Brand Elements!
RESOURCES:
Learn Artist Branding and Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Get Access To Our Artist Branding Workbook To Brainstorm Your Brand Elements!
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Make no mistake...creating and sharing social media content for your music isn't easy and for artists getting started, burnout can set in fast. So, how do you avoid it?
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa discuss content creation and how music is discovered today and how artists can reframe their thinking and habits on social media growth! Learn how to approach your audience growth online, avoid social exhaustion, and make content creation and social media "social" and fun, like performing live!
Whether you consider yourself a social media machine or you're reluctant to share your first video, this episode will be a breath of fresh air to help you grow online in a way that feels sustainable!
DISCOVER:
How To Think About Social Media Like A Live Performance
Why Social Media Feels Like A Hassle As You Age
Why Brute Force Hustle Doesn't Work For Most Artists
How To Find Your Incentive For Your Artist Online Presence
What To Say And Do To Hook Your Fans With Your Social Posts
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
EP300: Lessons Learned From Over 7 Years of Music Marketing
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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Spend more than two minutes scrolling your social feeds as an artist and you'll be drowned in content about "getting more fans". When does fan base growth become a buzzphrase that doesn't serve your music career?
In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa explore why fan growth is just one leg of your music marketing strategy and why it's crucial to look beyond fan acquisition! Learn why artists often get stuck in the fan growth phase and fall for scams or ineffective strategies, and when to shift focus from fan growth to retention and value enhancement!
Don't let fan acquisition blind you to other aspects of growing your music business! This episode will give you a well-rounded approach to your music marketing strategy that leads to a sustainable fan base.
DISCOVER:
Why Artists Get Stuck in the Fan Growth Phase
The Pitfalls of Overemphasis on Fan Acquisition
Why Social Media Algorithm Hacks Don't Work
When to Focus Less on Fan Growth and More on Fan Retention and Value
How and When to Make an Offer - And When NOT To
RESOURCES:
Learn Top Music Marketing Strategies Inside IndiePRO
Looking to expand your team or need marketing help? Apply to work with IndieX!
Join Us In The Indepreneur Discord Server!
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