I guess what we’re here to discuss today is how to is, is how to survive as an indie in the music business. And as I say, I, I did have one major label signing. I was signed to Warner Brothers for three years, three and a half years. I made one album with Warner Brothers. It’s called Angels and Cigarettes. but I went straight back to folk music after that. And folk music is my first love. It’s my life’s work. I very much enjoy writing songs. I have four now contemporary albums with just purely self written stuff, but the bulk of my work is with traditional music and treating traditional music in various different ways, presenting it in various different ways, whether that be jazz, whether that be dance music, whether that be punk.
I was a massive folk punk in the nineties. I was really into my spiky hair and distorted fiddles and stuff like that. So, that is my, that is my first love, and it’s what I’ve always tried to promote. So when it comes to being an independent, I think that, that it’s, it’s important to be true to yourself first thing.
Anyway, so, first of all, I want to talk about, about assembling a team, which I think is very, very important. Now, obviously, I’m a, I’m a performer, so the bulk of what I do is performing and writing. And I am not one of these people that believes that musicians are all special and shouldn’t and shouldn’t be able to understand the business that they’re in and thrive in it by learning other skills at the same time.
I was talking to my manager about this this morning when I was preparing for this class, and he said something very, very salient, which is, there are people out there who have the skills that you don’t buy those skills by that time when you can, so that you can concentrate on being a fast, uh, being a fantastic songwriter, being a fantastic independent if that’s what you want to do.
and I really, really do agree with that. However, I also think it’s extremely important to know your stuff so that you don’t, so that you don’t mislead anyone, so that no one misunderstands you. And also, during my time on Clubhouse, I’ve, I had a bit of a realization that, that no one is going to love you and your mission more than yourself.
I mean, not self-love kind of self-love, but no one is going to love what you love as much as you do. So in order to get your authentic message across, it’s extremely important for you to be as clear as possible and to work with people that you can trust And to work with people that will be, that will be honest and, and into your thing, but will know that you know how to do it too.
They can be better at it than you. Of course they can, and they should be because they, because there are specialists out there. And what I’m talking about is building a team. Get a good lawyer, get a good music lawyer, get yourself a good accountant or a good bookkeeper, but keep an eye on the numbers yourself as well, because it’s very, very important to do that.
And in order to do that, you need to do your research, even if it’s just taking a class. You know, just, just take a class in basic bookkeeping. Just take a class in basic, uh, in basic organization. Keep everything written down. Just make sure that you know what you’re saying to who, and that you are building good people around you.
Because it’s very, very easy to get overwhelmed if you’re thinking, oh my God, I can’t write a song today because I’ve gotta do, I’ve, I’ve gotta do my tax returns. Or I, or I, you know, I mean, the thing is, I’m a single mother, right? I’m a single mother. I have two children, and I’m also a carer for my mom. I’m a part-time carer. My mom’s 82 and, she was a musician. She’s not able to tour anymore. So, I live in the family home, I came back and, and we, we delegate within the house.
You know, my dad looks after her in mornings. I look after her in the evenings. And that works well because it’s extremely easy to get overwhelmed. Do not be afraid to delegate. Do not be afraid to pass out the, to, to pass out the tasks so that you can concentrate on what it is about yourself and your art that you want to get across as honestly and most directly as possible. so yeah, find a good lawyer, find a good accountant, do your research, and then find, find people to help you get it out there, whether that be a manager, whether that be an agent, whether that be a really, really good PR company.
And also, if you’re gonna go for a PR company, don’t necessarily just go for the big guys. You know, part of being an independent is, is building a solid team of people who, people who get you.
And there are some fabulous specialists, PR companies out there. I work with a company called Glass Ceiling, who are extremely good for the folks Specialist media. When I want to, uh, trace says she’s a caretaker too with your sister. Absolutely. when, when I want to promote A contemporary albI will outsource to a different company.
I have in the past used Barbara Sharon, who was Madonna’s PR for a long time. And, she is absolutely fabulous, a good radio plugger as well. Now, all of this becomes possible when you follow the Golden Rule. And the golden rule, as we all know in the TSA, is, don’t be a, you’ve gotta be nice, gotta reach out to people, they’ve gotta like you. And it’s, you know, it’s tempting to throw you weight around when things aren’t going well, but you just gotta to take a deep breath and think these people are working too, and we all have to get along.
When I was with Warners, one of the things that was said about me and my team is that we were really personable and we were always, always willing to, you know, suck it up and move stages if we have to, you know, pack up our things ourselves, help other people do their s**t too.
Always, always reach out, smile, learn people’s names, look ’em in the eye. Know that, you know, know that everyone in the music industry is trying to get by at the same kind of level, and just assume that people aren’t out to get you. Yeah, I’ve been got by people, people have got me. You know, I’m proud to say I’ve never done anyone any harm intentionally, but don’t Be a Dick is the golden rule. And network, network, network as much, as much as you can.
And so the way to do that, I suppose, is what everybody has to talk about these days, which is social media. Now, one of the best ways I think to get ahead at the moment, or not get ahead, but roll along at the moment, is to communicate directly to people via social media. I think it’s, it’s really important.
It’s been more important than ever, of course, over the last 18 months. and I’ve actually developed some really valuable and great relationships with my fans over social media in the last, while it started for me, when I released Ute, I made a mistake. I went with a patron who did us over. I ended up having to pay for a very expensive album myself, you know, robbed Peter to pay Paul, took out credit cards, got loans, did all of that kind of stuff.
and I made, I made the alband then I made another album to pay my band. I did it in my bedroom. And I reached out to my fans on Twitter and I said, my guys got ripped off. Help me out. And they did. And we talked every day, and we sold 1500 copies of the album in six weeks and used it to pay the band, which was, it was one of the most wonderful things that ever that’s ever happened.
And since then, there’s a solid core of people who are just behind what it is that I do. I enjoy talking to them, they enjoy talking to me, and I am able as a result to give them what they want and what I want because they, they know me. So I’m not just producing something just for the sake of it. They know me. They know my core. They know my values. They know, they know, they know how stupid and silly and, and, you know, irreverent I am.
And it’s just fantastic to be able to speak to people that really get you. And the only way to do that is to engage. You have to engage yourself. and it’s not that hard. You don’t have to spend all day on Facebook all over. I admit, sometimes I do. it’s, it’s not all bad. All you need to do is just show up consistently if you don’t already, you know, I mean Facebook, everyone’s saying, oh, Facebook’s out the window, you know, but I, I would still have a decent Facebook band page and a decent, you need Instagram and you need Twitter still at the moment.
I know there are, I know there are other things springing up all over the place, but that solid core, those the big three, just for now, you show up consistently, learn about the algorithms, learn about how these things work.
You know, sign up to one of Rick Barker’s classes or something like that and learn that, you know, you post something twice a day, you do have a special Fridays, you have a, you know, and people will start to expect your content. Get yourself a get yourself a YouTube channel and get putting just little messages up every day. Just like, Hey, here, here I am playing little tune, la la la la I’ll be on the road next week. See you later, kind of thing. And people love it, and they start to expect it. And then you’re just feeding the little tidbits of you, being lovely, just reaching out.
And that’s, that’s a really, really good way to do it.
