Here at Music Is My Day Job, we’re always looking for new ways to help you make music your full-time gig, thus our “Musician’s Library” feature, where we look at books, articles and ideas that you should be adding to your reading list. Today, we are focusing on The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris and, more specifically, Ferris’ concept of “Elimination”

(For those not familiar with it, The 4-Hour Work Week is a system developed by Tim Ferris which allows one to reduce the time they spend on business-related items (think selling your music, booking gigs, contracts, etc) to a minimum, allowing you the maximum amount of time to do what you love (writing music, practicing, touring, etc).  While there has been a lot of talk about Ferris, his blog and The 4-Hour Work Week–both positive and negative–none of it has really highlighted how his system can help musicians.)

When Ferris refers to Elimination, he is describing a process of purging your daily routines of those things that produce the least while taking up the most amount of your time, whether that be meetings, difficult clients, email, media/internet distraction or tedious tasks.

Sounds great in principle, but implementation is more challenging.  For example, with regards to media and internet use, his recommended media diet is as follows (from page 87 of The Four-Hour Work-Week):

• No newspapers, magazines, audiobooks or non-music radio. Music is permitted at all times.
• No news websites whatsoever…
• No television at all, except for one hour of pleasure viewing every evening.
• No reading books…except for…one hour of fiction pleasure reading prior to bed
• No web surfing at the desk unless it is necessary to complete a work task for that day.  Necessary means necessary, not nice to have.

Now, we’re not saying that you should be as extreme (though you’re more than welcome to try), but in keeping with the intent of this concept, think about your day for a moment: how much more could you accomplish–writing, recording, practicing, marketing–even if you were to do half of what he recommends?

Out thoughts exactly.

He also has similar suggestions for optimizing use of e-mail and social media (including using auto-responses and improved use of FAQs), eliminating difficult clients and more, but the one section that may help you the most as a musician regards eliminating tedious tasks, and batching those that you can’t eliminate.  He suggests that we should all stop looking at tasks in terms of how much money we are saving, and re-frame them in terms of how much money/time they may be costing us.

For example, let’s assume that you are doing all of your physical product shipping by yourself because you don’t want to pay CD Baby’s $4/CD charge.  So, when you sell a new physical album, while you have to spend 30 minutes to package the album in a shipping container, address the shipment and deliver it to the post office, at least you are not losing $4/album to CD Baby.  If you sell seven albums a week, that is approximately 210 minutes of your time, or 3.5 hours–not much time, considering the week has 168 hours–and you are saving $28/week (CD Baby’s $4 charge x 7).  However, if by spending one more hour each week calling venues and promoters you could book one more gig per week–which pays you $300 for two hours of work–wouldn’t it be wiser to batch all of those shipping-related tasks into one and let CD Baby take that $28 so that you can spend your time booking additional gigs?

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Your challenge for today: make a list of those things that produce the least but take up most of your time.  Create a plan to get rid of the top three within the next seven days through either straight-up elimination or batching.

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You can learn more about Timothy Ferris and The Four-Hour Work-Week by visiting his official website and blog here

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In our Musician’s Library features, we highlight books, articles and essays that can help musicians as they strive to earn a living from their music. Today, we feature some of our favorite articles from around the web that you should consider adding to your library (virtual as that library may be)…

• As we have previously highlighted articles on Josh Freese’s unique album packages, we wanted to be sure you caught this interview with Josh about those packages from Indie 103.1 (via Hypebot–thanks guys!)
• Somehow, between gigs and band practice, Cameron Mizell from MusicianWages.com has found the time to churn out some must-read articles over the last few days.  Here are his tips for musicians looking to effectively create an online presence, and here are his tips for dealing with the challenges that are intrinsic to leading a band. Keep ‘em coming, Cameron!
• Our UK friends over at Creative-Choices.co.uk have interviewed 40+ artists, entrepreneurs, academics and others on the Creative Economy and its evolution in the wake of the current economic melt-down.  The book is free, though you do have to register (we registered, and thus far, we have not received any spam from them!).  You can also read some excerpts here.
• I have nothing good to say about Congressman Jim Cooper’s editorial for Nashville’s The City Paper–to me, it looks like a blatant plea for campaign donations from the RIAA–but it’s good to know both sides of a story, as confused and anachronistic as one may be, right?
• The best thing only good thing about the Swine Flu epidemic? Amazing new ambient music! Experimental artist Stephan Zielinski sequenced the flu’s genetic code, and then translated that into music! You can visit his blog to both download the track and find out more about how he did. The end of the world never sounded so great! (via Idolator)

Comments? Thoughts? More suggestions? Share in the comments below or via Twitter.

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for more articles and useful goodness for independent musicians.

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I finally sat down and spent some time going through the Red Bull Music Academy interview with Public Enemy’s Chuck D from October of 2008, and while it is long (more than 120 minutes!), it’s worth either watching the video or downloading the audio version.

Besides describing his discovery of DJ-ing and providing insight into the early days of hip-hop and the history of P.E., as this was the Red Bull Music Academy, he also delves into what it means to be a modern musician and how to become a successful independent artist, including:

• The importance of musicians becoming their own multimedia networks
• Why you should customize an album to your specific needs, regardless of what others are doing
• Working with your fan community (both in the pre-internet era and in the 21st Century)
• Not resting on past success

From the interview:

…We’re in a different marketplace now than the ‘90s, so 17 tracks in the digital world can be three albums. Who’s to say one album can’t be seven tracks, one six and the other one four. You put your artwork and concept behind it and you can make a digital release of it. Of course, you might have to put 17 tracks on a CD if you’re making one, if you believe the CD is the format of the future. The CD is the format of now, but blank CDs are the ones that sell most. So get yourself out of the ‘90s way of thinking and develop your own way…In the audiovisual age you should be a person who can do it all…



If you don’t have two hours to spend going watching/listening to the full video, you can also checkout the transcript here.

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Comments? Thoughts? Suggestions? Share in the comments below or via Twitter.

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for more articles and useful goodness for independent musicians.

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In our Musician’s Library features, we highlight books, articles and essays that can help musicians as they strive to earn a living from their music. Today, we feature some of our favorite articles from around the web that you should consider adding to your library (virtual as that library may be)…

(NOTE: We were not actually going to post a musician’s library feature today, but we couldn’t not share these essential articles–enjoy!)

• David Rose at KnowTheMusicBiz.com has posted a list of 10 Online Music Marketing Priorities, recapping a recent panel he participated in. We would add a step between numbers 1 and 2 on “Identifying your fans,” but, otherwise, we recommend you read the entire list, as well as the resource list at the end, taking notes!
• We Are Hunted is a new online music chart that pulls info from P2P, Social Media, music blogs and more to determine the most popular tracks and artists each day. Click on through and waste a few hours (via Idolator)
• James Reed at FutureofMusicBook.com has published an essential in-depth look at how different artists are implementing fan-supported models to not just release new music, but earn a comfortable living doing so. From the article:
  
  
  I personally think unless you need massive radio airplay, there’s very little reason for record labels to engage with artists anymore…It’s a relic of the past in that artists today can find other ways to get to the market, to get money, to distribute their product in a way where they have a lot more control.
  
  
  Read more here.

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Yesterday, Digg finally posted their much-anticipated interview with the forward-thinking artist Trent Reznor.  The questions were all written and voted-on by Digg users, and (happily, for us) the bulk of the discussion revolves around new music business models and includes very detailed advice on how music artists can use technology to connect with both fans and potential fans.

In the first twenty minutes alone, he discusses new music business models, using scarcity to drive demand, suggestions for digital distribution through Topspin and much more.  Even when the interview delves in to fans-only territory (favorite video games, etc), Reznor provides insight into diversifying your revenue stream and life as a professional musician.  At 40 minutes long, it may seem like quite the commitment to watch, but we consider this essential viewing for any MusicIsMyDayJob reader.

(note that this is the entire 40 minute interview–if you only want to watch Reznor’s replies to specific questions, go here)

Comments? Thoughts? Suggestions? Share in the comments below or via Twitter.

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for more articles and useful goodness for independent musicians.

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In our Musician’s Library features, we highlight books, articles and essays that can help musicians as they strive to earn a living from their music. Today, we feature some of our favorite articles from around the web that you should consider adding to your library (virtual as that library may be)…

• Excellent overview from the New York Times on the Reggae legend Lloyd Barnes and his updated studio that has just re-opened in the Bronx.  It’s rare that someone this historically important is looking to work with up-and-coming artists, so if you like what you see in that article, we suggest you stop by and set up some studio time.
• Del The Funkee Homosapien has gone the free route with is new album, “Funk Man (The Stimulus Package).” Get it here in MP3 or all sorts of lossless formats in exchange for your email address. We’re downloading it right now, so we can’t tell you how it sounds, but Del has rarely let us down in the past. (Thanks to Idolator for the head’s-up!)
• The always-honest Amanda Palmer describes some of the reasons she is trying to drop her label (i.e., escape from her contract with Road Runner) in a brief reply to Bob Lefsetz.  Among other things, she touches on the ways that she is using Twitter and shows that as long as you have real fans, you can earn a living as a musician.
• Music-focused entrepreneur Chris Purifoy has decided that his mission in 2009 is to define the problems that the music industry is facing and create solutions, culminating with the reveal of his “seven-point plan” to save the industry sometime later in the year.  We’re skeptical based on his relatively un-insightful (and somewhat pro-Major Label/RIAA) initial effort, but you never know, right?

Comments? Thoughts? More suggestions? Share in the comments below or via Twitter.

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for more articles and useful goodness for independent musicians. Too much trouble to remember? Subscribe to MusicIsMyDayJob via RSS or email and let us remember for you.

In our Musician’s Library features, we highlight books, articles and essays that can help musicians as they strive to earn a living from their music. Today, we feature some of our favorite articles from around the web that you should consider adding to your library (virtual as that library may be)…

• AvantUrb’s Primus Luta shares his thoughts on the difference between being an artist and an entertainer, as well as the economies that surround them. Essential reading for anyone trying to come to terms with the fact that, “…you’re no longer a record label you’re a rich media music label…” (via ArtistsHouseMusic.org)
• The one-and-only Chuck D on getting fans to participate in your art through effectively using the internet to involve them as not just your audience, but your investors (via Music Ally)
• Independent guitarist Cameron Mizell has put together a rather extensive guide to self-releasing an album. There is a lot to digest, but it’s worth taking the time to read both the main article and the linked content. (via MusicianWages.com)
• Ever tried to write a proper artist bio? Not the easiest thing to do. Ariel Publicity (with some help from @dprshadeofsoul) have posted an excellent tutorial explaining what should be in an artist bio, and how to compose one that will get people’s attention.
• Trying to create a package that people will want? Wired updates us in on the sales numbers for Josh Freese’s bizarre Since 1972 release–you’ll be surprised as to what has actually sold, including the album with a game of mini golf against Freese and Maynard James Keenan!
• Want to learn how to play the clavinet part from Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”? NoiseAddicts explains how.

Comments? Thoughts? More suggestions? Share in the comments below or via Twitter.

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for more articles and useful goodness for independent musicians.

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Read a good book lately?

In our Musician’s Library column, we highlight books, articles and essays that can help musicians as they strive to earn a living from their music. Today, we look at what you can learn about finding your audience from John Jantsch’s guide to marketing for small businesses, Duct Tape Marketing.

Thanks to the guys at MenWithPens.ca and all of their fine friends, I recently discovered John Jantsch’s book Duct Tape Marketing. Jantsch’s book (and accompanying blog) is geared towards helping small businesses focus their marketing efforts and create a system that allows them to turn curious investigators into paying clients. Read that last sentence again–slowly–and I think you will see the many ways this applies to today’s independent musicians.

Remember, as we discussed previously, you are not just a musician, but a brand and a business, so why not look to small businesses for ideas and suggestions on how best to market what you do (your music) and transform that into income?

While we may look at other parts of the book at some point in the future, keeping with this week’s theme of finding your audience, I want to look at the Jantsch’s suggestions and techniques for identifying your target customer, or in our case, audience.

Identifying Your Ideal Audience

To quote Jantsch:

You can choose to attract clients who value what you offer, view working with you as a partnership, and want you to succeed, but only if you have a picture of what that ideal client looks like.

Think about it–while you may not have ever put it into these terms, you probably already have a general idea who your ideal audience is, including style and appearance, other artists that they enjoy, blogs that they read and venues that they frequent. If you’re at that point, the next step is easy. Again, from Jantsch:

…create an Ideal Prospect Profile.  This is simply a paragraph or two that paints a picture of your ideal client, almost as though you were describing someone sitting across a table from you…

He then suggests using this specific structure for creating your description:

Physical description + What they want + Their problem + How they buy + Best way to communicate with them=Ideal Prospect

This can/should be customized somewhat for musicians and your specific situation; something like this:

Physical description + What they do + How they listen + What they want + Best way to communicate with them=Your Ideal Listener

(Where Physical description=appearance; What they do=blogs read, any particular habits, other artists they listen to, etc; How they listen=vinyl? MP3s? Streams on MySpace? etc; What they want=new music? Interaction/Community? Live concerts? etc; Best way to communicate with them=Facebook? MySpace? E-newsletters? Blog reviews? East Village Radio? etc.)

There is some flexibility here based on your specific situation, but do your best to at least touch on all of these key characteristics, as well as any others you feel are important.

Be sure not to fall into the trap of describing who you want as your ideal audience; I once worked with an artist who so badly wanted to be a Paul Westerberg-worshipping power-pop star that he had to crash and burn various times before accepting that his songs were actually appealing to an alt-country crowd and finding success with those fans.  It’s also fine to acknowledge that you have several tiers or levels of fans (especially as you can never entirely predict who your music will appeal to–I’m far from the what one would describe as the ideal Deftones listener, yet I do have their entire discography), but for this exercise, concentrate on your ideal listener and not the other levels you may discover.  Remember, the closer that you can come to describing who is listening to your music, the easier it will be to turn that person from a curious investigator into a paying fan.

Starting from scratch?

What if you truly have no idea regarding the shared characteristics of your ideal listeners?

What if you make a music so “out-there” that you can’t imagine anyone listening to it besides you and your long-suffering mother?

First of all, don’t forget the lessons we learned from Blip.fm.

Second, check back tomorrow for our thoughts on using social media to find new listeners and determine who your audience is, even when starting from nothing.

What formula(s) would you recommend for describing your ideal listener? Tell us about it in the comments below…

Like Jantsch’s ideas? Be sure to check out his blog or pick up a copy of his book, Duct Tape Marketing.

In our Musician’s Library features, we highlight books, articles and essays that can help musicians as they strive to earn a living from their music. Today, we feature some of our favorite recent online articles that you should consider adding to your library (virtual as that library may be)…

• Add the Counting Crows to the list of bands striking out on an independent path (and in our opinion, they are one act who could have done this several albums back and actually sold more albums than they were able to through their major label deal). In their words:
  

  …A lot of people think it’s a tough time to be a band, but we don’t feel that way. The internet opens a world of limitless possibility, where the only boundaries are the boundaries of your own imagination. We want a chance to push those boundaries back as far as we can…

  Amen.

  More details via hypebot, TechCrunch and the band’s official site.

• From The Phoenix New Times , beloved Alt-Country bible No Depression is back, but not as you were probably imagining it. The website continues with regular updates, but the real action is happening on the Ning site that the publishers have created, community.nodepression.com, where you will find not only everything that is on the more traditional site, but much, much more, including all the social goodness you would expect.  After exploring the community site that they have built for the last week or so, we’re sold–sign up and add me as a friend!
• Ian Heath has posted a brilliant article on how to hire the people who will work with you as a musician, whether it be a manager, publicist or accountant. If more musicians thought this way, more musicians would be earning a living from their music.
• If you have never heard of Ariel Publicity and Cyber PR, then you are truly missing out on an essential resource/service for independent musicians. Last week Ariel featured an excellent interview with Cory Dennis on how musicians should be using social media on her blog, as well as tips for getting involved. Check it out here or on the SXSW Ning site.