Make your music pay the bills

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Make your music pay the bills

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• http//machusmedia.com

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Ive Got a Song, Now What? How to promote my
music online and make my music Pay My
Bills. Despite what the naysayers say, you CAN
make your music pay. If youre open to letting go
of your rock star ideologies. Im not advocating
giving up your dream. Im advocating being able
to quit your job at Starbucks by allowing your
passion to provide your paycheck. I use the word
allow here for a reason. If youre in this for
fame, youre closing yourself off from a lot of
lucrative possibilities. Im just saying, open up
to those possibilities.
MachusMedia.com
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Fame is a luck of the draw. And yeah, it happens.
And it could happen to you. But why spend years
doing something you hate, to pay the bills while
you wait for your big break? Or, if you are eking
out a living playing gigs (and good for you!),
why settle for a 20K income (split four or five
ways) when you could be making four times
that? The music business is a business. And
anyone making a living at it, from the guitar
teacher at Sam Ash to Sean Combs will tell you
just that. So before you take off your barista
apron, get your head straight.
MachusMedia.com
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1. Pay off credit card debt. The interest youve
accrued in your past life is sucking you dry. You
dont want to carry debt into a new business. And
you may need a stellar credit score to finance
later upfront costs related to your growing
career. Learn to live frugally for the short
term and pay personal expenses from your bank
account. Believe me, it will pay off in the long
term. 2. Know your tax rights. Youd be
surprised at how much can be written off
Strings, sticks, books, even the guy who does
your tax prep are all write-offs that can save
you chunks of change come tax season. It may even
return a cool refund.
MachusMedia.com
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Word to the wise Unless you know what a
Schedule C is and how to prepare it, hire a
professional. Itll save you time and aspirin.
3. Manage your own business. If you dont know
something, learn it. There are plenty of
resourcesbooks, the Internet, mentors and music
artist promotion services . (A mentor is probably
the best resource you can have. Not only will you
learn from their mistakes, but they have a lot of
contacts and can introduce you to many
services.)
MachusMedia.com
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4. Diversify. You may think teaching or playing
a wedding is beneath you. But the realities in
todays music industry require even heavy hitters
to hawk Coke, perfumes and clothing lines to
maintain their standard of living. Youre
creative or you wouldnt be playing, writing and
performing. Use your creativity to find
innovative ways to make your music pay. Well
discuss way other musicians doing itto the tune
of 50-100Kin the next post. A survey by the
Future of Music Coalition estimates that the
average American musician makes 34K from their
music, before taxes and expenses. Plenty are
doing better than that. You can, too.
MachusMedia.com
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As CEO of Machus Corporation, James
Ussery has navigated the Internet frontier for
nearly 30 years. Hes gone from websites, to
massive international white label online
marketing, and now Machus Media, a stop for
musicians authors to promote digital work via
the Internet and social media. For more
information Please Visit http//machusmedia.com