Tag Archives: music business podcast

Guit-A-Grip Podcast #6: Lessons Learned From A Small Town Store

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Hello everyone!

Guit-A-Grip podcast #6 is now out! (And the links should be working now!!)

Subscription Notes:

  • You can subscribe through iTunes here:

(https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/guit-a-grip-podcast/id638383890 )

  • You can use this link to subscribe with any other feed based service:

(http://feeds.feedburner.com/GuitagripPodcast)

  • or you can right click here to download it.

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Guit-A-Grip Episode #6 – Show Notes

Stewart’s is a family owned company that has convenience stores in upstate NY and Vermont.  The Drake brothers started by making ice cream at their farm in 1921.  In 1935 they start Saratoga Dairy out of their barn.  That same year pasteurization of milk is required by the state and many local farmers use Saratoga Dairy for this service.  1938 they expand into producing other milk and milk based by-products such as cheese, powdered whey and casein.

Stewart’s has come a long ways.  Their Wikipedia page sites 324 stores and 1.4 billion (!!) in sales of Stewart’s branded products such as coffee, soda, milk, chips and ice cream.  You can find out more about them here.

In contrast, Wemple and Edick’s is a small ice cream shop on the outer edge of Johnstown NY.  Run from an old-fashioned general store that’s been there since 1826, they make hard ice cream, and baked goods.  They’re only open seasonally.  They don’t have a web page – but you can find their Facebook page here.

Stewart’s makes a lot of money.  They do a lot of things.  Wemple and Edick’s basically does one thing, but even though they’re only open seasonally they make enough money to keep the doors open doing what they want to do.

In typical Guit-A-Grip fashion relating aspects of each of their merits to what you do as an artist/entrepreneur is at best a gross over simplification, but you might be able to get something out of the contrasts that are presented.  (Also, that part of the podcast apes the Seth Godin Start Up School presentation style in manner that was unintentional when I did it, but eye rolling on play back.)

If you travel anywhere in upstate NY – you’ll find a Stewart’s – but you have to seek out Wemple and Edick’s (and many’s a time I went and was crushed to find out that they weren’t open).

While on the surface this is a music business post, at its core the topic relates to both the how and the why of whatever it is you’re doing and I hope it helps in some way.

As always, If you like the podcast please let me know. If you really like it – leaving a rating on iTunes would be really appreciated!

More posts and podcasts are on their way.

Thanks again!

-SC

 

Guit-A-Grip Podcast Episode #5 – What Is A Fan?

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Hello everyone!

Guit-A-Grip podcast #5 is now out!

I was thinking about the earlier podcasts and one thing I wanted to experiment with is really focusing the podcasts into short take aways that can be acted on immediately.  Kind of motivational and philosophical licks if you will.  So the next posts will be short but I’ll continue to intersperse them with longer posts for people who want more information.  I’m trying to find the ideal format here, and I guess I’ll wait to see what springs up.

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Subscription Notes:

  • You can subscribe through iTunes here:
  • You can use this link to subscribe with any other feed based service:
  • or you can right-click here to download it.
  • or you can stream this episode below.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/guitagrip/Guit-A-Grip_Podcast_Episode_5.mp3

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Guit-A-Grip Episode #5 – Show Notes

So this episode goes all into the lifeblood of any artistic longevity, your fans.  I mentioned the “Don’t Stop Believing” documentary in the podcast and while it should be out on DVD eventually, you can stream it now right here.

Arnel comes across really well in the video – and what the video doesn’t highlight is that Arnel was a 40 year old singer in a Manilla based cover band.  In the often ageist rock and roll market, that’s a time that many people consider a death sentence for achieving their dreams.  One incredible fan may have given him the platform for Neal Schon to find him, but it’s his talent and energy that put him on that stage.  He kept working even when logically, there wasn’t much point in his doing so.

Perhaps the greatest lesson in the movie comes at the point where he’s blowing the audition.  Arnel relates that he has this burning question of, “How am I going to let my true self come through if that want a classic sound?” during the audition which he finally answers with the realization that they brought him there to do a job and that that’s what he’s going to focus on.

If you commit to something and do your best – you don’t have to worry about whether or not you’re going to come out of your shell because people will see you for who you are.  How many times have you gone to see a band and walked away with an observation about one player? “The band was good…but that drummer was unbelievable!”  And I’m not talking about just dumping a lot of chops here, I’m talking about how great players transcend the material by being in the moment of what they’re doing.  They say something real and the audience gets that message.  Then you get players like Vinny Golia who have all the expression and chops in the world and is just a force of nature on a bandstand where you’re never going to doubt who that guy is.

(I’m off topic here but I will, yet again, plead with anyone who will listen to me that Vinny Golia is one of the closest things that we have to a national treasure and I can think of no one in the arts more deserving of a MacArthur fellowship than him.  Please tell all your friends – particularly the ones who submit nominations.)

As a secondary lesson, it acts as a great reminder about opportunity.  When opportunity knocks most people ignore it because they don’t recognize it as an opportunity. Arnel was going to blow off the e-mail from Neal Schon because he didn’t think it was serious.  Keeping options open makes it easier to answer the knock of opportunity when it happens – even if it just sounds like someone tapping their fingers on something.

Jason Becker

Additionally, if you’re looking for an inspirational guitar documentary –  I would implore you to buy the Jason Becker documentary.  Jason Becker, an astonishingly talented guitarist on the eve of his greatest guitar victory (securing the guitar slot in David Lee Roth’s band) get’s diagnosed with ALS which ultimately robs him of the ability to play guitar.  The documentary about Jason showcases his early story but is also about Jason’s refusal to stop making music and how he is still composing music using eye movements to enter in midi notes.

I have a movie review (and a transcription of one of the excerpts from the film) on Guitar-Muse, but the heartbreaking thing is that while Jason has a legion of well meaning fans that many of those fans uploaded all of his recorded material (including his DVD) to web, which deprives he and his family from income that could help maintain his life.

If you have Netflix, you can stream the documentary (which might put a few pennies in his pocket) but it’s also available for purchase on dvd or you could make a donation directly to the family here.  If you’re a fan of his music, it would be a great way to give something back to someone who really needs the help.

next time

 

Back to the podcast – If you like the podcast please let me know. If you really like it – leaving a rating on iTunes would be really appreciated!

More posts and podcasts are on their way  Next time, I’ll talk about the best ice cream shop in NY that you never heard of (unless you know where Sammonsville is)!

Thanks again!

-SC

 

Podcast #2 – Should You Go To Music School? (Answered By Someone Who Did Go – Twice)

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Hello everyone!  As promised, here’s a stream of the new Guit-A-Grip podcast:

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/guitagrip/01_Guit-A-Grip_Podcast_Episode_2.mp3]

(Once again – this podcast was recorded in the same marathon session as the first one and there’s some weird gain issues going on.  So it’s a little gritty sounding on headphones and only slightly more forgiving though speakers – this will be fixed by podcast #4 – but in the meantime my apologies for the crunchy vocals.)

Man O-man!

This was such a deep topic and deserving of way more detail than my little 1/2 hour exploration.  In light of this travesty of brevity and over simplification I need to add a few basic points that will hopefully fill in the spaces.

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Guit-A-Grip Episode #2 – Show Notes

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The Flippant Answer (and the lengthy explanation)

I don’t want to cop out by answering this question initially with a maybe, but it really is situational.  No matter how well designed the curriculum is and how well developed the facilities are, there is no “one size fits all” solution.  Some people are going to thrive in   settings that other people will be miserable in.  But I hope the podcast addresses some of the economic realities of what people are getting into when they go to school, the realities of the job prospects when they leave school and the real reason to go to school (it’s as much about the why of your development as it is about developing the skill set of how you’ll develop).

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The Community College Oversight

At an early point in the podcast, I set aside the issue of public/community colleges for private ones but I misspoke my motivation why.  Private ones are not necessarily where everyone seems to go, but they are the ones that seem to get the most attention in the public eye.

The only questions behind going to any college are questions of intent/purpose and long term cost. Since the cost behind going to state schools (for in state residents) is often a fraction of what private schools cost – I set state schools aside as the issues for or against going to one are largely the same.  So while there are large differences, from a motivational standpoint the issues are largely the same.

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The sideman / private teacher money breakdown

At the 12:00 mark or so is yet another moment of me misspeaking.  I said that working as a side man that you’d likely be viewed as an independent artist – but I meant to say, “independent contractor”.  Both may be true but the independent contractor will have much larger financial implications down the road.

I quoted 40% for Independent contractor taxes – which is higher than standard with holding for an independent contractor – but is not completely outrageous as in addition to sate and federal tax withholdings – the additional taxes on self-employment put you in a much different tax bracket if you’re not writing everything off.

For example, for a $15/Hour independent contractor vs a $12/Hour for payroll employee, the take home pay after taxes will be about $9.75/hour for the independent contractor and (depending on withholdings) just below $10/hour for the payroll employee.

If you have a manager, agent or lawyer (and if you’re making $1500 a week as a side man it’s very likely that you have at least one of those people) – your expenses will have you holding back closer to 40% (if not more).  People filing Section C on their 1040’s are more likely to get audited and hopefully you’re paying quarterlies so you don’t get NAILED at the end of the year.

In other words 40% isn’t completely outrageous as a figure but it is high.  (FYI – When I paid taxes and penalties early on as an independent contractor for teaching at a music store my take home percentage of original income was closer to 50% all in.)

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Networking – or emphasizing a big reason to go

In a speech I used to give entering art students I used to say something like this on orientation,

“Look around at the people around you – because these are the people you are going to rely on for the rest of your career.  These are the people who are going to throw gigs and referrals your way.  These are the people who are going to give you a couch to crash on when you’re in town and will lead you to the other connections that you need to make to succeed as an entrepreneur.  So get to know these people.  Make introductions, get to know what people do an work with the best people you can.”

The irony is that the value of this lesson is generally only learned years later and it’s the one that (generally) no one will teach you.

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Expanding your aesthetic

This is one thing I largely skipped in this podcast.  One huge thing that I got out of college was exposure to a lot of things that I didn’t know about before.  I didn’t like everything I was exposed to, but the process of understanding why I didn’t like those things completely evolved my aesthetic.  You don’t have to go to a formalized school setting to have that happen – but when you have the right teacher to guide you and help you understand what to look for you’re going to get access to insights that would have ben much more difficult on your own.

The Faculty

I skipped this in the podcast entirely as I think it’s a given that you’re going to get access to professional faculty – but realize that you are going to probably find a few amazing teachers, some so-so teachers and some people who are just uninspired.  I had a few faculty members in my undergrad who made the material so listless that I couldn’t engage it either.  Having said that, there were some faculty in my undergrad were so amazing that it made up for the bad experiences (I should mention that almost all of the music faculty at CalArts I came into contact with at CalArts fall into the inspired category.)  But teachers can only teach if the student is willing to learn, and while every student may be present, without having a vested interest in the lesson and/or the subject matter – they may not be ready to learn.

Nothing says you have to do it at 18.

Boy, that was the biggest lesson I learned (and thanks to Reg Bloor for reminding me about that lesson!) I really was not in the headspace for my undergrad experience.  I’m really happy I did it for a number of reasons, but academically it was a wash for me.

Again, I was someone who read a lot – but knew very little.  I might have come across as mature and articulate on a good day, but none of it was based on knowledge of anything (and certainly not anything musical).  I got so much more out of my graduate experience years later just because I had a little living under my belt and knew what I wanted to get out of it (although that didn’t work out exactly as planned – more on that later).

Get the dumb stuff out of your system and then if you want to go to school – you’ll have a more solid reason for doing so (and a better chance of getting a deeper return on your investment).  Some people get the dumb stuff out of their system before they’re 16.  It didn’t happen for me until well after my college days.

A quote sometimes attributed to Mark Twain:

“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.”

When I was 18, an older version of myself traveling back in time to counsel me could not have talked me out of going to music school.  I would have done anything to go there.

A real key is to have passion and determination so take any positive or negative aspects of the experience with a grain of salt.  If you look at the downsides and say, “I don’t care.  I’m going to do what I have to do.” then you’re ready to go.  There’s a lot to be said for sheer determination and while that can get you somewhere – it generally won’t get you to your final destination on it’s own.

The secret agenda

This podcast has as much to do with the current state of the industry, as it does the current economics of going to school but really, it’s just another examination of understanding the why behind taking any course of action to work in harmony with the how.

As always, thanks for reading and listening!  A much shorter podcast is on the way next week!

Part three next week is the last of the weird initial edit/recording sessions so better sounding audio is on it’s way!

Finally, If you like the podcast please let me know. If you really like it – leaving a rating on iTunes would be really appreciated.

Thanks again!

-SC

Subscription Notes:

  • You can subscribe through iTunes here:

(https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/guit-a-grip-podcast/id638383890 )

  • You can use this link to subscribe with any other feed based service:

(http://feeds.feedburner.com/GuitagripPodcast)

  • or you can right click here to download it.