The Musician's Dilemma

When the first singer for my first band KIRRA died in a car accident, I had a moment where I was certain my career was over. We had worked for almost 5 years building a reputation and an audience with his specific style, and losing a lead singer is one of the hardest tings to overcome as a band. Those 5 years were a grind of touring, playing shows (a lot of them close to empty), begging for labels only to end up bickering with them about how long a verse is. My band members and I come from south side of Oklahoma City, and there aren’t a lot of opportunities for musicians. Somehow we managed to create our own opportunities by working hard for years on end to make a name for ourselves, and when Jesse died, it was like watching a door slowly close forever in front of you unless you do something about it. Luckily we found our singer Gabe, and then I discovered how we could take a different approach than the last 5 years. There was a way that we could retain control over our music business, and still get our name out there and keep what we had fought for and earned with our heart, sweat, and tears. It would be a complete fresh start. I knew there had to be a better way to operate a music business! I was 2-3 years into a journey of self-transformation when Jesse died. I was buying books like crazy on everything from investing, real estate, and business to psychology, personal development, and time management. I had been learning the foundations of entrepreneurship and how I was going to use that vehicle to create the life I wanted. I wanted to be able to create my art in peace, but also have a career with it. I wanted the bills to be taken care of, but I didn’t want to stress over my songwriting to keep food on the table. Some call this wanting your cake and to eat it to, but I never understood that saying. The purpose of cake is to be eaten, life to be lived, and artists to create. Including create the lives we want to live. Some of us want just enough to keep the bill collectors away, and give you a little comfort to do what you want to do. Other may want a little more of the extravagance that exists out there in life, and the best part is there is no wrong answer. There is nothing wrong with wanting an abundant life. In fact, if you want to attract an abundant life, you’ll have to start with an abundant mindset. Make peace with the fact you want more out of life. On the flip side, if you want to think about making just enough then that is fine as well. I would be willing to bet however, that once you reach a certain level of achievement, you will want to get to your next level. This book is how artists can start to learn to balance the fundamentals of business with the passion and creativity of their music. You’ve got music that you’re passionate about, but you can’t let some of the noise of society today hold you back and instill false beliefs about what it means to be a successful artist. You’ll hear me talk about about “art” and the philosophy around having art and business work together. This is all designed to give you a perspective that will help you maintain a great relationship with your art. I also knew I wanted to include some great tactics for music entrepreneurs trying to have more success inside of their music business. It’s one thing to balance your art and your business, but what if you don’t really have much of a music business built yet? Well, have no fear! I’ve got you covered. This book is going to give you insights and strategies that took over a decade of trial and error to discover, and hopefully save you from making the same mistakes and capitalize on the same strategies that worked for me! If only one artist out there started to feel more at peace with becoming a music entrepreneur without any false beliefs attached so they could just pursue music with all of their soul, then I will have accomplished my mission. I’ve been in this business since I was about 15 years old, and in that time I’ve seen so much and learned so many lessons that would help artists out there have more success and peace within their music business—or their lives more generally. I knew that creating this book would help musicians all over the world start to have a sense of clarity when it comes down to turning your music into a career and starting to balance all your work in your music business with the art you create. I know some people maybe scared to start becoming more of an entrepreneur because they feel that it will somehow change their relationship with their art. I designed this book exclusively to maintain your relationship with your art in a way that is still productive to your music career. Most people seem to think it’s one or the other and there’s no middle in between. Well I’m here to let you know there is a way to have a career in music without letting the music industry start changing and manipulating your art.