Hello, Fastlane Community!
My name is Anna, I am 27 from Brazil and I am currently living in Sydney, Australia.
I grew up in a humble family in Brazil and I was always very ambitious and driven. When I was 13 I started playing the violin and when I turned 16 I decided I wanted to study abroad. My ambitious led me to move to Bulgaria at the age of 17, and as one could imagine, the path wasn't all flowers.
I finished my bachelor's in Sofia and then received an invitation to go to the Carnegie Mellon University in the US. I later moved to KY and I am now in the middle of my PhD in violin at the University of Sydney, Australia. I have had the opportunity to travel, learn different cultures, languages, play in different cities, and I am really grateful for all of that.
Why am I here?
I read the MFL and about a year or so ago I have realized that although I am now about to realize a dream of getting my PhD in violin, I am broke and I don't know what do to next. I also have realized that I have never focused on money in the past and being broke forever is just not an option for me. I have been teaching one-on-one to make ends meet and I know that's not what I wanna do for the rest of my life. Enough of trading time for money.
I am now torn between my passion and career, that requires a lot of time and it's not financially rewarding (at least I didn't find the fastlane here yet), and new entrepreneurship endeavours.
I am smart, witty, and ambitious but I don't know where to start just yet.
Thank you for the forum and comments are appreciated!
I look forward to learning with you all!
Hey there Anna!
I'm a creative entrepreneur - well sort of (lol!) - as well.
You came here for strategy so let me spitball a few ideas for you, as I'm trying to help a young singer with his brand currently and will be starting on my own as well.
- Get used to putting yourself out there. It's going to feel awkward AF in the beginning, but it's something you need to get used to. And don't listen to any dickfaces who tell you "you're selling out" or "your not being authentic". They're broke losers who will STAY broke because they are coming up with excuses like "I'm staying true to my craft" because they're afraid of doing the real work. And it's going to be WORK. Leave those losers behind and surround yourself with positive people who are trying to make things happen in any field. They'll get what you're doing and will back you.
- CONTENT. You need to make music every day (or at least 3x a week) and put it out into the world. Get some of the latest pop music out there today and make a violin version (or instrumental version). Record yourself playing via video and, of course, with audio. The video, you're going to post on your Facebook page, Instagram, and YouTube.
Use Anchor.fm to record the audio for you to distribute on Instagram (another content asset), Twitter, Soundcloud, and Facebook (again, another content asset). You can create original music as well.
Hell, if I were you - once or twice a week, I'd record improv original music for 2-hours straight and post it on Soundcloud at a random time like 12:37am and name it "The Lonely Hour Mixtape". EVERY. WEEK. Get people trained to be on your Soundcloud at 12:37am every night to catch your latest mix.
- DISTRIBUTION. Start reaching out to every vlogger that has over 7K followers, and even people on Twitch - it doesn't matter what space their in - and tell them they can use a set of music that you have on your Soundcloud for FREE, as long as they credit you IN the video and leave a link in the description. DM them via Instagram or Facebook, but go in for the ask. Why? They have access to a LARGE audience. You want access to that audience, so that they become your fans. Think of a vlogger as a radio station. And there are currently MILLIONS of radio stations with some true fans of what you do.
The more exposure you have, the more brand deals that are possible. The more high paying jobs that will seek you out instead of vice versa. Get me?
- COLLABORATION. Collaborate with singers. And when I say singers, I mean R&B, soul, rappers, rockers, beatboxers, ska singers, funky jazz singers, etc.
Jump into a homemade studio and record a cover as OFTEN as possible. See #2 because you are going to want to record the audio AND video. See #3 for distribution, but also reach out to some online publications that feature musicians and artists and tell them about your cover. Send them the link to the video. You never know, they might publish it on their end - ESPECIALLY if they can get the exclusive.
- LICENSING MUSIC. While you're working on the above, read this article about licensing music by Neville Medhora.
- DON'T GET FANCY. We're artists, we're perfectionists. A lot of times, we can get in our own way regarding releasing the art. Know this - the piece will never be perfect. We will ALWAYS want to tweak it. People will hear the genius, you'll notice the flaws. LET. IT. GO. It's better to have a project out that's 90% perfected than a piece that is heard by 0 people.
And no, you don't need a fancy camera to record. Use your phone if you have to.
You don't need the latest microphone. Find one within your budget that will do for now that has good quality. Or use the school's for FREE whenever possible.
You don't necessarily need a website - though I would encourage you to collect email addresses via a landing page. You can easily make one using Strikingly.
There's more, but I don't want to completely overwhelm you. Hahaha!
But if you're REALLY serious about being a non-broke Musical Entrepreneur, branding yourself, and making money on your gifts - this is a good plan of attack.
Hope that helped, my dear, and good luck! ;D