okay so if you're the type of musician that sits on social media complaining about not being heard while screaming from the rooftops that music should be about the art and not about the money this video probably isn't for you newsflash doing music is your full-time career is very much so about the money because without money you don't have a business and where do you think the money comes from for Independent Artists it comes from getting enough attention AKA a fan base crazy concept I know this is something the Pierce Tate talking about because apparently to some people getting paid for the Blood Sweat and Tears you've put into this for years makes you greedy makes you a soulless capitalist who embodies everything wrong with the music industry all right let me calm down a second look I'm here to cut through that played out narrative I'm here to shake you guys a little bit I'm here to convince you that you're worth more than you think and in this video I'm gonna do my best to show you how to make that a reality with strategies that have led some of my most successful students to being able to do music as a full-time career now before I could jump into any of that marketing stuff we have to establish a starting point right right we need to be on the same page if any of this coaching is going to be effective in your music career so there's a few things that we need to agree on now first of all you need to understand that there's no reality that exists where you just make good music and magically you get swept up into having a successful music career say it with me guys good music does not sell itself never has never will now for whatever reason this opinion triggers a lot of people but my argument is that without people hearing a song to begin with there's no chance of it gaining popularity without bringing that song to Market AKA marketing you're just holding yourself back if that's what you think now if you agree with that hit the thumbs up icon to let me know now I want you to write something down if your goal is to eventually sign to a major record label this could be a year from now five years it doesn't really matter and if your goal is to stay independent I freaking love you first and foremost I think this applies to what you're doing as well I want you to write something down record labels sign audiences not songs and side note I'm talking about major record labels I'm not talking about some random dude named Josh running it's Indie label out of his one-bedroom apartment in Vermont that claims he was an a r like 20 years ago those dudes are like mosquitoes these days so I think it's safe to say that I've uh pissed off a few people uh so far in the video and I'm glad you're still here anyway so in the first two videos of this training series I broke down some key elements required to gain momentum as an independent artist and I also shared with you my push-pull content method that'll not only drive reach and discoverability it's also going to nurture relationships with your fans and uh quite honestly I guess that's a great place to start with today's training the way we build an audience or a fan base looks something like this a stranger bumps into your content then becomes a follower from there becomes a fan and eventually if we play our cards right they become what I call family or um some people call it super fans now does that path seem pretty easy yeah the issue is there's too much chaos let me explain now we've been talking about this lately but it seems like everybody and their Grandma are musicians these days and we have Twitter and we have Instagram and Tick Tock and be real and YouTube and Snapchat and I guess Facebook could even be in that conversation now all these people and all these platforms mixed with incred incredibly small attention spans can make it seem as if our music is but a single leaf amongst the endless foliage of the digital rainforest this is exactly why we need to stop hyper focusing on Spotify streams and follower counts and start pouring our focus into connections with people to build a real audience around you as the brand in your music as the product the vanity metrics are going to throw you into burnout and overwhelm which is something you might already be experiencing and that's totally normal it happens to all of us but overwhelm comes from knowing how much we need to do without knowing where to start now if you're taking notes and you should be make sure to write this down the solutions are within the systems the problem is most of us don't have any systems in place and then we're somehow surprised when we get burnt out in order to find success in the music industry as an independent artist you need to put systems in place to give yourself the best possible odds of going full time for a long time right sticking to a proper diet or sleep schedule is a system holding yourself accountable to post consistently on social media requires a system starting a song finish finishing a song requires some sort of system it's a it's a process it's an order of operation it's also something that most creatives avoid like the plague because it can feel stuffy which is ironic because those who have the best systems in place are also the ones experiencing the most freedom in life that's something I think we all aspire to have more of so what systems do we need in place as an independent artist in order to gain momentum and get to a place where doing music full-time is a real possibility well it boils down to seven systems and I know that might seem like a lot but it's going to totally make sense in a second now the first system is an absolute Game Changer that unfortunately a lot of us ignore and that's our health and wellness systems don't worry I'm gonna get to the sexy marketing Secrets here in a second but I can't stress enough the importance of our diet exercise sleep and mental health when it comes to pursuing a music career or any entrepreneurial venture for that matter getting your health and wellness in order is going to have a ripple effect on every other system that I'm about to go over with you so let's dive into the meat and potatoes and if you're not already taking notes pause the video go grab something to write with because I'm about to go rapid fire on these okay so the second system you need in place is a creation system this goes for making music as well as the content you make to build your brand and your fan base we need to have that technical side in order like in terms of camera settings and lighting and audio and we can do that with practice but ironing out the four content buckets your optimized messaging and the visuals that you're wanting to create in terms of photos and then video content are all too often an afterthought for musicians we need to systematize the process of creation just as much as possible without sucking the life out of our own creativity we need to have fun with this but keep in mind that those systems keep you accountable and keep you consistent alright so the next systems that I want to cover are the visibility systems that we need in order to step in front of traffic that already exists if you're familiar with my content or any of my programs then you know I'm always preaching the vco framework which is visibility connections and offers but in your visibility system we need to purely focus on where we want to be discovered this is where you choose two or three platforms that you really want to dominate on and study all the features and tools for each platform build out your plan of attack in terms of the attention-based visibility content where you cast the broadest net to get new followers you're attracting people that leads them to the next system building an adoring fan base requires a real genuine connection with the audience and this is why having a nurturing system in place is so important strangers turn into followers when you get their attention but without nurturing that attention they'll never become a real fan of yours it's like a relationship with the visibility system right providing you with an opportunity to have a first second and third date where you have a fresh outfit on you're smelling good you're making sure that your hair is at least brushed a little bit from there you bring an audience into the nurturing phase where you're more relatable you're more available and you're more willing to open up on a personal level this is like being six months into a relationship and not being afraid to maybe have something in your teeth or worry about throwing on that wrinkled shirt that you just pulled out the hamper I think this is clean you know what I'm talking about the nurturing systems are why major artists and celebrities do radio interviews they do press junkets they release behind the scenes series for YouTube and even more epic their own documentaries this is in place to strengthen connections with their audience as Independent Artists we need to have these systems in place within our content marketing and bucket systems that I just touched on back in the creation systems alright so the next system that we strongly need to consider building out is our automation systems this is going to save us so much freaking time with our marketing automation systems can involve services such as later.com not a sponsor where you can schedule all your social media posts or your email marketing automations that can get somebody in an email sequence that'll drip content to them for weeks or even months without even thinking about it let me know if you want me to talk more about the automation systems in a future video and I'd be glad to share a bunch of the different tools that we use and my students use so let me know in the comments below got another sparkly one for you so that's the promotional systems I mentioned earlier that we need visibility connections and offers so your promotional systems are all about what you have to offer your audience this could be the system you have in place to build hype around your new single or an upcoming merch drop getting attention nurturing that attention has to lead to some sort of offer if you ever want to go full time with your music because the offers are where you finally make money to support yourself and here's some bonus sauce for you right keep in mind that there's really only three types of content that we can create attraction content nurturing content and promotional content in all three fall perfectly into their respective systems here the problem is that most musicians overload Their audience with promotional content over and over again which turns off that audience and stops them from bringing new people into their content ecosystem and trust me when I tell you that once the relationship is built with actual fans there won't be any need to beg for their attention also quick side note when I'm talking about promotional systems I'm not talking about paid advertising anybody who tells you that you should go out and do paid advertising prior to having all these systems ironed out organically is either clueless a con artist or a failed musician posing as some type of tick-tock Guru paid ads are effective once you have the organic systems up and running but if you're tempted to piss away your money on Facebook ads or promoted Tick Tock posts without having any way of capturing that traffic I suggest taking an ice bath maybe having a loved one slap you in the face hopefully snap you out of that nonsense alright so speaking of traffic we need to know what that actually looks like and then modify our plan of attack to get as many conversions out of that attention as we can this is where your tracking systems come into play I think we'd all agree that a lot of people over the past few years have gone viral but they've unfortunately fizzled out and weren't able to capture that lightning in a bottle instead of being hell-bent on one piece of content may be going viral we need to focus on increasing our averages and we can't do that unless we know our numbers off the top of your head how many accounts have you reached on Instagram in the past 30 days what does that look like compared to the previous 30 days how many monthly listeners did you have on Spotify in September compare paired with this month what's your average view duration of a video over on YouTube that's doing the best out of your entire Channel these are all basic analytics that we need to have a handle on in order to adjust and optimize when you reference your numbers quickly you can reference these things off the top of your head you have an unfair Advantage ask any accountant so before I talk about the seventh and final system which is definitely one of the most important I want to acknowledge something guys look I know that this is a lot it might feel like you're drinking from a fire hose right now but this is fundamental proven Frameworks marketing strategies that you need to have in place if you want to do music as a career or if you're already doing music full-time these things are going to help you break through that glass ceiling and actually scale your business now if you're still with me at this point in the video first and foremost thank you but I would bet my money that you are more determined than most artists I think most musicians are seeking out the Quick Fix tips and tricks five secret steps and every other magic pill get rich quick piece of content they can get their hands on those people click this video and then within 45 seconds they clicked on something else but you're not like most people and that's why I'm so excited to announce that in just a couple days I'll be opening enrollment into my cell music Master Class 4.0 program where I'm able to take my time to really help you create all seven of these systems in detail with the resources to get you up to speed quickly and easily but that's just scratching the surface as always spots are going to be limited so if you haven't yet I would highly recommend reserving your seat and joining my early bird waiting list by being on that early bird list you're going to receive Early Access to registration 24 hours before we open the doors to the public now with only 300 total seats available this is going to be a very limited opportunity so make sure to click the link in the description box and get your name on that list as soon as you can now the last and final system that we need to make sure that we have in place is your any guesses your time management system we all have 24 hours in a day and it's what we do within those hours that separate the winners and the losers having a plan being scheduled following through on tasks and learning how to properly prioritize is key to getting your business off the ground I absolutely love and organized color-coded calendar in combination with the productivity planner but there are a ton of different tools out there that you can use one thing I encourage you to do is log your day and write down all the pockets of time throughout your day where you're consuming content then make a log of all the times that you are in creation mode give the world more than you take and you'll find yourself in a pretty dang good situation having a successful music career comes from having dialed in systems consistency Drive aggressive patience talent and of course a little luck but keep in mind it only takes 2 000 engaged fans who are willing to pay you five dollars a month to make 120 Grand a year which is more than 80 percent of Americans that's what two thousand people now if you want to be a little bit more cynical or less optimistic we can cut that in half and you're still making sixty thousand a year year which is more than most starting salaries for those who have a four-year degree now I could throw around numbers and this is not a financial claim but the point I'm trying to make here is that it's very possible you can do this you just need to have your systems in place don't go into this blindly convincing yourself that you'll figure it out get help and save yourself a ton of time and headaches over the past 10 plus years I've scaled two six-figure businesses including my own music career which I did full time for eight years and then went on a scale to seven figure businesses so I'm pretty confident when I tell you that I know a thing or two about implementing systems and making the most of my time that's something that I would be honored to help you with in my upcoming cell music Master Class 4.0 but that's not even the most exciting news or the biggest announcement of this video it's actually my birthday in just a few days and on April 25th which is a Tuesday I want to invite you guys to the party this year to celebrate my birthday we're going to be doing a free live training to help you guys get more fans get more streams and make more money with your music now this is something I've never done before I'll have special guests popping in I'll be be giving away a ton of freaking awesome gifts to those hanging out with me like gift cards music gear books you got to be there live and on top of that I'll be answering all your questions live on the air now we're limited to how many people can join the stream at one time since this is a private party so make sure to register ASAP over at adamivirthdaybash.com and there you'll find the times and all that stuff that's right Adam iveybirthdaybash.com guys let me know in the comments below if you're going to come hang out with me next week for my birthday in which of the seven systems you're going to focus on first again I'd love for you to come celebrate my birthday with me in a free live training uh just go to the link in the description box below or go to adamivirthdaybash.com and I'll see you there