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Daylle's News & Resources |
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Issue # 23 |
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Hello
to you all! Spring
is blossoming and bringing new life! I get serious spring fever as
leaves appear on trees and flowers begin to bloom here in NYC. The
warmer weather is also welcome. I hope that like nature, you’ll use
this change of season to add blooms to your music by working hard to
reach new fans. Let it buoy you to greater passionate heights! I recently spoke at the CIA Summit, a Christian music conference near Nashville. I made some wonderful new friends, heard great music, and enjoyed 4 days of incredible energy. It was a blessing to have had the opportunity to participate. Thanks to Keith Mohr for inviting me and providing such a wonderful service for Christian musicians. It was sold out before it began. Keith may need to get a stadium soon if the word really gets out. : ) If you do Christian music, check out his site http://www.indieheaven.com/ --------- Feel free to contact me about my fees if you need CONSULTING on how to make progress in your music career or need a shot of motivation by using my CAREER COACHING. I do it in person and by phone. You can email me at consulting@daylle.com for more info. I now give discounts for booking at least 3 sessions. --------- Please
forward this newsletter to your mailing list or anyone you'd like. If
this was forwarded to you and you'd like to subscribe, send me an email
that says "subscribe" in the subject header with your name and
city/state. If you'd like to post it on your site, please ask for
permission and I'll give it. Read past issues at http://www.daylle/monthly.html
If you prefer to be taken off my list, please say unsubscribe in the
subject header of an email. ------- My
other newsletter, Self-Empowerment Quarterly, for the body, mind and
spirit is free. This
WON’T come to you automatically. If
you'd like to subscribe, please send an email to subempowernews@daylle.com
with you name, city/state. You can read the back issues at http://www.daylle.com/daylle/newsletter-growth.html
------- Please visit my new website, http://www.idontneedarecorddeal.com/ to take advantage of the many resources for developing a career in music.
Please visit my website, http://www.idontneedarecorddeal.com/ to take advantage of the many resources for developing a career in music. I’m
now on MySpace but not sure how to promote myself there, since I’m not
a musician and my time is tight. All suggestions welcome. If I get a
bunch, I’ll include them in the newsletter. Right now I have 8
friends, who I very much appreciate. Please come and be my friend : )
http://www.myspace.com/Daylle. Read my blog at http://www.daylle.blogspot.com or on MySpace. ------ In
this issue, I've got an interview with Jonathan Schreiber, CEO of
Xingtones, a company that allows you to sell ringtones off of your own
website. I
also interviewed Angie DeVore, an indie artist who also co-founded
D-Fest Music Conference/ Festival in Tulsa, OK. This year the festival
is July 7 – 8 and I look forward to speaking there. I highly recommend
attending if you’re in that region. I
also have two guest writers. Terry
McBride, CEO of Nettwerk, Canada’s leading privately
owned record label and artist management company,
gave me permission to share his words about the litigation going on for
file sharing. And, Mark Fox, who specializes in doing taxes for
creatives, has some tips and a great tool for starting your next tax
year on a less stressful note.
I hope that you'll find the other resources in this issue helpful too.
Please write to me with suggestions and questions that I can include in
future issues. Revenge
Productions http://www.daylle.com ---------- 1. Getting Serious About Your Career 2.
Selling Ringtones off Your Site – interview with Jonathon Schreiber,
CEO of Xingtone 3.
Daylle’s Seminar & Books 4.
File Sharing
& Litigation – shared by Terry McBride 5.
Interview with indie artist & founder of DFest, Angie DeVore 6.
Minding Your Music Biz: Conquering Income Taxes 7. Ask Daylle ---------- 1. GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR CAREER: Whether
you’re a musician, manager, agent, or at a major company, career
advancement takes a conscious effort. There are no career wish fairies
to make your dreams come true! Wishful thinking, which takes no energy,
is enjoyable. So is sleeping. But neither will earn you a living if you
don’t get pro-active! My recommendation for how to get anything you
want – really want – sounds simple at first but is the hardest thing
for most of us to do: DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT AND SHOW THAT YOU’RE
SERIOUS. Hmmm,
you might be thinking. “I know what I want and am serious about
getting it.” Ask yourself if that really true. It’s easy to want by
dreaming and yearning, and another thing to clarify your desires and
implement strategies for achieving them. Dreaming is more fun. I want to
help you understand how use your consciousness and maximize your
spiritual support to make it real. Deciding
what you actually want can be the toughest thing you do. Musicians tell
me versions of, “I want to do my music.” Managers say they want to
help their artists. People on the business end say they want to do more
business. I ask what does that actually mean. I get more general
answers. Deciding what you want takes conscious thinking. You can’t do
everything. The best way to make progress is to choose a specific
direction.
* Figure out what you want
right NOW.
* Change wishful thinking
into specific objectives. * Create goals that you can realistically achieve and go for them. NOW
is what counts. If you only look way up the road at what you want,
you’re not working for NOW. Sure, it’s good to have big ambitions. I
do! But you can get there easier by deciding on one goal at a time.
Wishful thinking is harder to implement than concrete career steps. For
example:
* “I want to be a rock
star” is something few musicians accomplish. And it probably won’t
happen for you in the next few months. “I want to increase my
visibility as a musician” is goal you can take action on and achieve
now.
* “I want to be rich from
music” is also a very long-term goal. The first step to getting there
is “I want increase my income by getting more gigs or licensing a
song.” That’s a realistic decision you can work to attain. Define
the first step to your long-term goal so you can focus your efforts onto
making it happen. Once you decide what you want, show you’re serious
with actions. We get supported in what we do, not by complaining, hoping
or making a feeble attempt. Consciously making an effort shows you mean
business. Are you ready to get serious?
* Be prepared to do the work it will take to achieve your goal. A vague
attempt won’t do it. If you call 20 colleges and no ones gets back to
you, call each 20 times. That’s what successful touring musicians do.
Showing you’re serious can take you to the next level of perseverance.
Serious musicians, music publishers, managers, agents, and everyone in
between keep on going and going when things get tough. Those who
aren’t serious whine. * Stop making excuses. People create them when the work gets tough and they don’t want to dig in and work harder. I hear excuses for why they don’t make the calls, search out contacts, book a tour, and other work that takes time and can be frustrating. Excuses are self-created roadblocks. There will always be things in your way. That’s called life. But if you continue making excuses, maybe a music career isn’t for you.
* Figure out how to work
around your day job. I laugh when people explain that they couldn’t do
this or that because they have to work in the same breath that they
complain about that they haven’t been able to book a tour. Ya gotta
pay bills but ya also gotta do the work if you’re serious. When I
started my record label, I taught full time. My social life took a hit.
So did sleep. I sped home during 45-minute breaks at school to make
calls and flew back. Stayed up late doing paperwork. Visited music
stores on weekends. The work must be done! No one will cut you slack
because you have a job. If you want to make music your full time income,
find ways to work around it. Either you’re serious or you’re not.
* Stay focused on one thing at a time. If you want to book a tour, put
all your energy into searching for venues and making calls. If you want
more clients, network like crazy and follow up. Don’t try to do too
many things at once. Being serious doesn’t mean you can’t set
limits. If you jump at every idea, you’ll burn out and not do anything
well. I used to get into a flow until someone called with a suggestion
and I’d drop everything to do it. Then another distraction. I was
exhausted and scattered yet felt like I’d accomplished nothing for
reaching my goal. Choose where to put your energy wisely and save some
things for when you have more time. You can’t do it all but you can
reach a goal by taking it seriously and not letting too much distract
you from it, especially the internet.
* Stay connected to your
spiritual support. Living in faith gives you power beyond measure.
Showing that you’re serious with actions gets your motor running.
Faith fuels it. I believe we get support for our actions. Sitting home
dreaming of the day you’re touring will make you good at daydreaming.
Putting all you can into making them real manifests great support. When
I’m getting into gear for something hard, I often look up as I work
and say, “I’m serious about this!” And I make sure to thank God
for all the support that follows! Decide
what you want and show that you’re serious with concrete actions. This
helps you achieve what you’re capable of. I’m a living example that
this works. I wrote a personal growth book almost three years ago. My
agent at the time loved it but he couldn’t sell it and told me to give
up. Instead, I got serious by asking for a release from our contract and
getting another agent to try. She too failed and advised me to move on.
I refused and continued acting like I had a deal as I searched for the
right agent. Well – I found one, she loved my book and I just got
offered a good deal for it! I was serious, showed it with my actions,
thanked God in advance for the deal I knew I had, and now I have it! Please
don’t let obstacles block you from following your dreams! They only
stop you if you let them. So don’t let them! Once you decide what you
really want, go after it with a vengeance. Consciously show how serious
you are with solid actions and positive determination. Then expect to
get good results and enjoy manifesting! ----------- 2. SELL RINGTONES OFF YOUR SITE: Jonathan
Schreiber is president and
CEO of Xingtone. He’s been a leader of the intersection between
technology and entertainment for seven years. Before that Schreiber was
special advisor to Lyor Cohen, Chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam
Recordings, handling the strategy and development of new business. He
was also founder of Infinite Mobility (a mobile service provider to the
sports and entertainment industries), mobileStorm (a Database management
and marketing ASP) and part of the start-up team for Farmclub.com.
Xingtone’s technology allows musicians to sell or give away their
music on their own website. I asked Schreiber
about it. How
do you feel about independent music? I get very frustrated with the
independent music scene because I feel that they should be embracing the
fact that they’re independent. It gives them additional flexibility,
different financial models and revenue streams, rather than using it as
a weight point to be signed by a major. Independent labels want to be
bought or have a joint venture with a major label and independent
artists want to be signed. The economics has been changing for years and
it’s not necessary to look at it in that same capacity. What
was the original purpose of Xingtone? The CTO at the time wanted a Devo
ringtone and knew that no one would sell him one so he made a tool to
make it himself. I was the first employee. The Xingtone ringtone maker
for your mobile phone takes your content and sends it to your phone. We
started selling the application and got tremendous feedback from artists
who wanted to use it to send their ringtones to friends. The answer was
no, because of copyright. We didn’t want them to be able to send
someone else’s material to someone who didn’t pay for it. That
morphed into exactly what they wanted – a storefront that they could
manage themselves. They can give away a certain amount of free ones
every month and sell as much as they want. It’s an automated
capability – they upload their content and sell content directly from
their site. Independent artists can now get into the mobile content
business. How
does this help independents? You should be trying to monetize your music
every which way. There’s no reason you should be like a major in
deciding to only be a wholesaler. The benefit that an independent has is
the relationship they have with their fans. Why would you want to kick
someone who comes to your site to someone else? We allow people to sell
content for mobile phones directly from their website. They control the
pricing and the content, which is changeable in real time. We allow them
to hit their fans and own the consumer data and the majority of revenue.
You
can’t be a wholesaler. When you look at the digital landscape, the
only ones who are succeeding in any way are ones who use music as a
secondary value. For example with iTunes, music is secondary to the sale
of an ipod. The only reality is to ask what are the tools in front of us
and how do we react to them? iTunes is driving the singles side of the
business and that’s not going away. From an independent perspective,
they need to look at all their revenue opportunities and decide which is
a revenue driver, which is a co-op opportunity, which is promotional.
For many artists I recommend giving away your CD to create merchandise,
concert and ringtone opportunities. It’s a marketing question, not a
right or wrong issue. How
do Xingtone plans work? One is a free site that lets you to upload three
ringtones and give away one hundred a month, for free. If you want to
give away more you can buy coupons. Then we have a $9.95 for twelve
ringtones site. It’s a 50/50 share. The transaction cost is 15% off
the top and we incur that cost. As we get to larger stores where
they’re paying more monthly, they can get up to a 65/35 split and we
incur the cost of a transaction. Can
indies get together and do a co-op sort of deal, where they share the
$9.95 plan? I don’t care
how people segment it out. I would argue that if you can’t sell twenty
ringtones a month to cover the ten-dollar price tag, you probably
shouldn’t care about a ringtones store yet. Use the free one. Get a
hundred people a month your new ringtone. Put a new one up every month
to get people excited. Use it to build your fan base as a promotional
element. When you can start eating that cost, breaking even, or making a
dollar or two, gradually go up the chain. Where do you see Xingtone going? We are going to make more content types available – music for your cell phone, images, video, for giving or for sale. What I’m really excited about, is every one of our in-stores (content partners) will have the ability to sell other people’s content. If you sell content, you’re a content owner across over any of our content stores. If you are the retailer of that content, you get an additional percentage, depending on whether you sell your content or someone else does. Basically, we’re creating a massive affiliate network of a seller community, and through an application of some of our know-how, we’ll hopefully create the other half of that equation - which is the buyer’s community – and we’d be a market-maker. If you have a finished CD, consider creating a ringtone with one of the songs. If you don’t think you can sell at least 20 a month, give it to fans for free – to the first hundred a month who buy your CD or to the first 100 subscribers to your mailing list each month or who join your street team. Make it seem special, like a prize, so people want it. When your song plays on their phone, others may ask what the music is. Choose a real hooky part of your song. Think about how you’d feel hearing it play next to you in a restaurant or train. Run it by others. Get in on the future of music now! http://www.xingtone.com/ ------ 3. DAYLLE’S SEMINAR & BOOKS: My
next Start & Run Your Own Record Label seminar will be in February
2007. Stay tuned for further details. ---------- My
newest book, I Don't Need a Record Deal! Your Survival Guide for the
Indie Music Revolution, continues to do really well! The focus is on
making money from musical talent. It guides you to creating as many
income streams as possible and has specifics on how to pursue the
variety of opportunities, including a whole chapter on venues that pay
and interviews with dozens of music supervisors for film, TV,
advertising, music libraries, and much more. It’s the only book I know
of with so many specifics on how to tour and license music in
international markets. People are surprised to find chapters on taking
care of your physical and mental health too. But part of surviving and
thriving includes taking good care of YOU. “A
major strength of "I Don't Need a Record Deal" is Schwartz's
ability to effortlessly switch the tone of the book from a
cheerleader/motivational to beer buddy blunt honesty . . . For musicians
brave enough to do something with their career other than playing to the
same 20 drunken friends on a Wednesday night "I Don't Need a Record
Deal!" is a must read.” Ear
Candy magazine You
can order this book from me by sending $25 ($20 + $5 priority mail
return) in check or money order (made out to Daylle Schwartz) with your
name, address, and email address. My other books, The Real Deal: How to
Get Signed to a Record Label and Start & Run Your Own Record Label
are also available from me at the same price. Please specify if you want
it autographed. Send it to: Daylle
Schwartz PO
Box 8016, FDR Station New
York, NY 10150 You
can use a credit care at http://daylle.com/daylle/bookinfo_dont.htm 4.
FILE
SHARING & LITIGATION Nettwerk,
Canada's biggest record label and management company, joined the Gruebel
family to fight the lawsuit filed against them for illegally
downloading music tracks
by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Songs downloaded
include artist Avril Lavigne, who Nettwerk represents, yet they’ll pay
for the Gruebel's defense. CEO Terry McBride gave me permission to share
his reasons with my readers. We
need to stop these kinds of lawsuits! Here’s Terry’s take: By
Terry McBride
The
passionate message of music is in the magic of the "song." The
more it's consumed, the more it nourishes. Music is ubiquitous; it's a
utility like "water," it's not a pair of pants and as such we
need to stop treating music like a product that needs to be controlled. My
reason for agreeing to pay the legal fees of the Gruebel family is quite
straightforward, to stop all litigation of music fans; the reasons are as
follows: 1)
The RIAA has relied on data provided by Pew Internet & American Life
research to claim that the litigation is working to deter illegal file
sharing, stating that broadband Internet penetration is growing faster
than the measurable base of P2P file-sharers. Consequently, this
litigation is forcing the music fans to use technologies that are not
measurable or traceable, such as "instant messaging" and "BitTorrent,"
the latter of which now accounts for somewhere between 60 to 90 percent of
Internet traffic (Slyck.com Feb 7, 2006). So in fact, we are not deterring
file sharing, just deterring our ability to track it and as such our
chances of monetizing it. 2)
Millions of Americans, including the majority of those in the music
business, have shared music. This dates back to mixing one's own cassette
tapes in the 70's. Breaking the law has never been about volume. Teenagers
today are simply using the technology at hand, similar to how we did when
we were teens. 3)
These same file sharers are great music fans and are breaking new artists
with little or no mainstream media support. For example Clap Your Hands
Say Yeah, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens-not to mention the Arctic Monkeys in
the UK—all owe thanks to this grassroots community of file sharers for
the fact that they are selling hundreds of thousands of albums. 4)
The music market is down not due to P2P "piracy," but for four
simple reasons: a) stiff competition for the entertainment dollar with
formats like video games and movies, both have much larger marketing
spends; b) the replacement cycle is over—digital music does not
scratch or wear out like past formats; c) one now has the ability to
purchase and listen only to the great songs without filler; and d)
mass-merchant retailers today carry only the current
hits, with little to no catalog. In
conclusion, the RIAA's litigation policy has no upside. It is destroying
our ability to monetize the P2P market by chasing music fans even further
underground. It's hypocritical because we have shared music for decades.
It distorts the focus from the real reasons for the decline in music
sales. And most disturbingly, it undermines the importance of these file
sharers. They represent behavioral marketing at its best and as such
should be embraced, not sued. Litigation
is destructive. We are a creative community, so this approach makes no
sense at all. I cannot envision any artist who I have the privilege of
representing suing a fan for sharing their music. ----------- Terry McBride is CEO of Nettwerk, Canada’s leading privately owned record label and artist management company, representing many major artists including Avril Lavigne, Barenaked Ladies, Dido, and Sarah McLachlan. His company is funding the Gruebel family’s defense. I salute his efforts on behalf of music! Indie artists know the value of fans passing their music to potential fans. I hope that a reasonable solution can be found. ----------- 5.
INTERVIEW
WITH
ANGIE
DEVORE: Angie
DeVore began performing with a cover band in Tulsa. She and her
partner Tom Green later formed Ultrafix. She says she enjoyed a successful
six years playing, writing and performing. They went from playing small
venues for 10 people to winning the “Best Unsigned Band of the Year”
in a competition put on by Rolling Stone Magazine and Jim Beam and getting
many endorsements, including Daisy Rock Guitars, Jim Beam, AMP Mountain
Dew AMP 6Pack, Elixir Strings, and Dickies Girl Clothing. Angie co-founded
Dfest in 2001 with Tom
and Donnie Rich, a
local guy who booked bands around Tulsa and ran a club where they started
the first Dfest. Donnie still books for two popular venues and owns a
promotions company.
How did it grow? We moved the second Dfest to the Boston District, with two clubs and an outdoor stage. In our third year we decided to have informal panels about the music industry. Getting industry folks to come to Tulsa, Ok was hard. We got a small group to participate. The conference was such a hit that we knew we had something special. This year we have over 50 panelists and clinicians, many with international stature and are showcasing 108 bands. Dfest has become a beacon of emerging artists to the music industry and because we’re artists, our education at the music panels is some of the most informative and inspiring panel discussions in the world of music conferences. How did you learn how to put a conference together? We went to the best conferences, paid attention to the details, analyzed and put it into action. We have a unique perspective being artists who performed at these kinds of events. Coupled with sheer determination, a vision and a dream, our experience taught us how to put a conference together. Once you’ve been through the process many times, you learn what’s cool and what’s not. Also, I'm a sound engineer, and we’re promoters, which helps with the things that most folks don’t think about when putting together an event the size and scope of Dfest. We have grown Dfest conservatively and precisely to maintain a positive effect on the event. The gratification we get out of the artists makes every minute of hard work worth it. I love that we took everything we learned about the music business to create a platform to share with other artists.The music industry is tough and they need all the breaks they can get. If we help artists avoid mistakes, educate them so they don’t get screwed and teach them how to make money as an artist, they have more chances of making music a career, not a hobby. What makes Dfest special? We really care about the artists’ experience at Dfest and make sure they have cutting edge informational education, play to a packed audience at their showcases and play with top of the line backline equipment, a real PA and a soundman. We want them to love Dfest so much that it becomes an annual destination, whether they showcase or not. We’ve been to showcases with eight people and no industry that was 10 miles from the actual event and the backline drum kit looks like it came from Kmart. We never want an artist to experience that. We also do a lot for our panelists so that they have an enjoyable trip and want to meet the artists and see their showcases. And with the multi-genre aspect, there’s a lot for the music fans. We don’t cater to labels – we cater to artists. Some events like ours are literally bought out by the industry and emerging and unsigned artists don’t have a chance to play the great venues with the great crowds because folks are watching the bands with established careers. At Dfest, all the clubs and stages are in one location. And because we pick panelists who want to get involved and venues are easy to get around, industry folks get to see most of the bands. How
are the showcases organized? Every
artist has a 40-minute set. We have 10 stages and bands start on the hour.
We mix up genres on stages rather than sticking all one genre in one club.
Segregating genres can get bland and boring. We like to mix it up and have
a great program guide so people can see who’s playing where. Bands all
have descriptions. The showcases are always packed. Artists can sell
merchandise at their showcases. Final advice? Don’t let traditional thinking make you think you can’t be successful, like age barriers, gender barriers, financial barriers. There is a place for everyone in the music business. As an artist, make sure you’re doing something meaningful and not striving for success for the wrong reasons, like celebrity and rock stardom. If you’re honest, you will find an audience. Be true to your musical endeavors and yourself. And if you lose steam as an artist, there’s a lot of jobs in the music business that are fun and rewarding. I feel fortunate that I was able to transfer what I learned as a performing musician to my role as COO of Dfest, have a meaningful experience with this event and still have my music too. -----------
Angie Devore has segued
from a successful music career into running a business that helps other
musicians, which she finds very satisfying. Her interview ran much longer
than I had room to print and the full one will go up on my music website
as I expand it. In a future issue I’ll have some of her recommendations
for making the most of attending a music conference. I’m so impressed by
the way Dfest is run and the quality of everything I’ve experienced so
far. A conference for musicians put on by musicians in the know and who
care, is a blessing for everyone. http://www.dfest.com/ ------------- 6. MINDING YOUR MUSIC BIZ – Conquering Income Taxes: I hate dealing with taxes but they’re important to do what you can make your music expenses work for you. To that end I asked Mark Fox, E.A. of Fox Tax (http://www.foxtaxservice.com), LLC in Minneapolis to share some tax tips for you. Mark is a tax specialist who focuses on musical and artistic communities. He’s the co-creator of Creative Tax Planner: a Guide for Artists and Musicians (more below), a fantastic tool for keeping track of your receipts and giving yourself the biggest shot at getting a tax refund! CONQUERING
INCOME TAXES
by Mark Fox, E.A. Doing
taxes—for most sane individuals—isn’t the most enjoyable pastime.
Musicians are no different. If anything, they are more
likely to just avoid the issue entirely unless absolutely necessary.
However, independent artists and musicians—more often than not—have
much to gain if they can set aside this aversion and make a small shift of
perspective. Making
a Business Out of Your Art. I
continually meet musicians who, when asked about filing taxes as a
self-employed musician, say, “I don’t have to worry about that yet”.
Usually they work side or day jobs to save enough money to go back
on the road or fund their next record. If you are a musician, ask yourself
the following questions:
* Would you like to be
successful as a musician?
* Would you quit your day job
to pursue music if given the chance?
* Are you spending your own
time and money to improve your chances of success?
If
you answer yes to all of the above, then not only are you an artist, but
also a business owner (whether you know it or not).
As such, you are allowed to deduct any business related expenses
that you incur—even if they exceed your current income from music.1 So What Can I Deduct? The IRS describes as deductible any ordinary and necessary business expense. It defines an ordinary expense as anything common and accepted in your trade or business, and a necessary expense as anything helpful and appropriate for your trade or business. This means you can track and deduct any expense that you consider helpful in advancing your career as an independent musician – everything from new gear to travel expenses, recording costs, practice space rental, communications (cell phone/internet), as well as any other promotional or research expenditures. Commonly
overlooked expenses include research and development (buying CDs,
magazines, and books, going to concerts, seminars, classes, and lessons),
meals/ entertainment (write on receipts who you are with and what you
discussed), and local travel to practice, stores, and other music-related
activities. Anything spent that is considered music-related can probably
be viewed as part of your business, with some limits. If you are like most
musicians, your income goes back into music-related expenses.
Make a business out of your art by tracking all business expenses to potentially stretch your dollars (however many or few that you have) by 40% or more. Business deductions lower your income, which in turn lower tax. Depending on your income bracket, deductions could save you 25% or more Federal tax, 15% self-employment tax, and 5-9% on State tax. That $15 receipt from Tower Records is actually $5 cash in your pocket! If you aren’t in the habit of throwing away five-dollar bills, keep these types of receipts. You can use rules that are in place to help support your art. Make this the year you let the IRS help not hinder your success! ----------------- Get details about the IRS Business or Hobby Rules at Business or Hobby on Mark’s website. Mark and Alyssa Fox created the Creative Tax Planner: a Guide for Artists and Musicians, an all-in-one tax guide, daily planner, and receipt holder designed just for artists and musicians. It details tax deductions, plans, and benefits available to artists PLUS provides a simple system to track and organize your finances. Having the information and organization in one product helps you get every tax deduction allowed. Mark and Alyssa also run a tax firm that prepares taxes for artists and musicians nationwide. Check them and the Creative Tax Planner out at http://www.creativetaxplanner.com. -------------------- 7.
ASK DAYLLE:
I’m trying to get a booking agent but get nowhere. What can I do? ANSWER:
Tour. Lots! Booking agents get a percentage of what you earn so they sign
artists with good earning potential. You have to do the wok yourself
first! After you create a fan base in your hometown, target another region
and work it. Book yourself into gigs. Promote them as much as possible. Go
back to that region over and over unto people come out for you. Agents
tell me they want to work with artists who are touring out in at least a
300-mile radius from home. Try all the primary, secondary and tertiary
markets in those regions. Work the press wherever you go. Agents want to
recognize your name when you come to them, because they’ve seen ads for
your gigs and read articles/reviews about you. Not until that point are
you ready for an agent. -----------
An unknown author said,
“Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday and all is well.”
Do you waste time worrying over things that don’t happen?” Worry is
fear in action. You’re scared, dwell on it and can’t move. You want to
make that call but worry that you won’t sound right. Are you concerned
about things that may happen in the future? Stay living in right NOW. The
future will come soon enough but right now those problems you see
potential for don’t exist. When I’m worried about something, I
reassure myself by saying, “Everything will work out fine. Whatever is
meant to be will be.” Worrying creates doubt, which chisels at your faith. It’s hard to feel supported spiritually when you’re expecting bad things to happen. I look back when things don’t go my way to find a reason. There always is one. And when I’m worried and push through the doubts, I look back from the other side of it. That helps me to see that my worry was unfounded. Life happens. Worrying doesn’t change things for the better but it can make life worse when it keeps you from doing things and weakens your faith. Use affirmations to overcome those worried thoughts. It’s hard to think two different things at the same time. Say whatever feels right to you, over and over until you drown the thought that feeds worrying. Overcome concerns with positive thoughts and let life happen to the best of your ability ----------- Until
the next issue..... Keep
your passion strong, Daylle
© 2006
Revenge Productions http://www.daylle.com http://www.idontneedarecorddeal.com |