How Covid Changed My Trajectory

As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts and podcasts, this year I’ve been focusing more on making my own music.  Like a lot of you, last year was a forced opportunity to reflect and give thought to what was and wasn’t working in my life and figure out what direction I wanted to move in going forward. 

If you’re a long time subscriber of mine you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been releasing fewer podcasts and writing fewer blog posts this year.  The reason for this is simple; I’ve been spending more time working on my own music.

I’ve always pursued things I loved and have figured out ways to make a living from endeavors related to my passion for music for over a decade.  I’ve been fortunate in that regard.  But one thing that has changed is how much music I’m making.  I’ve always written and recorded music over the years on a pretty regular basis.  But at times my music has taken a backseat to other projects and things on my plate.  My biggest post-covid change is simply how much time I spend devoted to making my own music vs all the other things I have going on.

Pre-covid, around 75% of my working time was spent on business endeavors and running my website, and perhaps about 25% of my time was spent on writing and recording my own music.  Since last year that ratio has switched to around 60/40, with about 40% of my time devoted to making and promoting my own music.  In other words, I’m gradually shifting towards spending more time on my own music.
This is something I’ve been working towards and planning for all along, but Covid served as a nice kick in the rear to get moving and start making things happening now.  Since last year I’ve signed with six new sync agencies and have secured several dozen new syncs (BBC, Tesco, Speed TV, Girl Meets Farm, Inside Out..).
 
In addition to my renewed focus on making music, I’m also in the process of re-branding and revamping a new version of my podcast, with a focus on promoting up and coming artists.  This is also something I’ve been planning to do for some time. 

My goal all along with my podcast has been to help other artists figure out how to make money from their music and succeed.  In the past my focus has been helping musicians learn about the music industry and how to succeed by interviewing “experts” and professionals working in the music licensing space and beyond.  I feel like I’ve provided a lot of value for musicians via my podcast and got a lot of great feedback over the years from people who tuned in.

[You can check out all my previous podcasts here: https://anchor.fm/music-money-and-life]

With the new podcast I’ll be launching, in both audio and video format, my goal is to create a platform where artists can get more exposure.  This is something I feel is sorely missing in the sea of music and “how to” make it in the music business content.  At the end of the day what most artists need is more exposure.  My new podcast, for lack of a better word, will serve to address this need. 

If you’re interested in being featured on my new podcast/show, I’ll send details soon on how to sign up to be a guest.  I’m still putting finishing touches on the set design and getting things set up, but should be up and running in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

So, there you have it.  A quick update on where my focus is.  In short, I’m focused on making music and helping artists get more exposure.  As always, I’m also busy running our member site, How To License Your Music Premium.  If your goal is to license your music in TV, Films & Ads, be sure to join our premium site to access dozens of in depth courses, daily leads, hundreds of interviews and much more.