I am a 15 year Air Force Veteran that separated from the military in 2015 to start pursuing my career in music. I am a Singer/songwriter and I opened up my office this week for business. I Published and licensed my own music. I currently have under my belt Summa Cum Laude in music production from the institute of Audio Research and currently applying for internships. I also took classes to be a certified vocal coach and I am 16 classes away from my Music Business BA degree from Berklee College of music. After 2 months of setting up my office I am needing some advice in how to set up my music business. I tried contacting people here who are directly involved in music for help but they don't reply back so I am hoping to get responses from people who are willing to help. I have been featured in New jersey as an acoustic performer. I was one of the 26 selected out of thousands of people to be part of MTA(Metropolitan Transit Authority) New York City Subway Arts and Design MUNY(Music Under New York) Program and Also New Jersey Transit's Music in Motion Program. I have tried SCORE and other programs but I am reaching out especially in the Cherry Hill New Jersey Area to maybe even meet and get some help and Idea to get my Business Up and Running. I am very proactive but I really need some direction, a mentor and contacts that can help. You can google my name Oliver Dagum and you will see my work. I hope to talk to you and get ideas. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Oliver Dagum
Answers
Hi Oliver, I went to your website and I was impressed with how beautifully you sang and how terrific everything looked in the videos--very well done! There is no doubt that you are a talent and can be very successful, as long as you can get some traction with a customer base. I know nothing about the music business, but have a few thoughts to consider.
1) You need " connectors" --people who can help you get to your targeted audience and then you can take it from there. Maybe you can consider approaching some other businesses to establish a mutually beneficial relationship.
2) One option could be that you approach a photographer that does weddings and other videos. All these videos have music accompanying the disc or slide montage given to the client. Perhaps you could customize songs specific to the couple or people in the video to make it a very, very, special video. You could ask the photographer to allow some marketing materials in their studio and perhaps a credit to get exposure. Maybe you do it for a discounted rate. The point is you create a synergy where the photographer has something special to offer the client and you get both business and exposure.
3) That same idea could work for any event a photographer does--big religious celebrations , golden wedding anniversary parties etc. The point is you are writing a song(s) specific to the people and the sequence of events being filmed. Again, the office needs to be able to showcase your marketing tools.
4) Consider offering your talent as a voice coach , pro bono, to a local civic organization that targets a cause that you believe in. For example, perhaps there are some future stars in a local youth organization that could benefit from your services because they don't have the finances to pay for it themselves. Your hope is that you get some exposure in the local press as doing something good and people visit your website.
5) Whatever you do with any " partnerships" , get things in writing and use legal representation to protect you.
6) Your website looks terrific, but you need to make your services clearer under the section " services" . Why do I as a customer want to come to you? List what you can do in an easy to understand way.
Good Luck to you Oliver! Stay strong, believe in yourself and don't give up!!
Finally, thank you for your service to our great country.
Best Regards, Mike
Hello,
I wanted to share a few events happening that may help your business.
June/July 2017- Stanford runs a program in the summer (application deadline is 2 March) for Veterans called Stanford Ignite- Post 9/11 https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/stanford-ignite/campus/post-9-11-veterans
23-25 March- VETCON All-Star Speaker Lineup Announced for Inaugural Veteran Entrepreneur Conference Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/3251853#ixzz4a0Nt2hNQ
Let me know if you have any questions about other event. I'd be happy to help you with your application for Stanford Ignite.
Hi Oliver,
Thank you for your time served! I too visited your website and am very impressed! You have great voice! You have multiple talents and web paging for the music and photography specialists is clearly one way to make some money. Voice Over coaching as well as getting into a music school as a coach and music industry or even videographer coach. A college that specializes in music and entertainment would be another option. But these are not the music breakthroughs you're looking for. Bidding for some exposure on "The Voice" could be another option - if you get past the judges - it's a resume booster. Radio: Send a video to radio trying to get some radio time. Get on Linked In. There's opportunities out there as well. Hope these ideas help! Good luck! I know you'll get there with your talents!
Liz C.
Hi Mike, thank you for your insights. I am definitely going to try your ideas in the local community. Especially the vocal coaching. Thank you very much
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