LIVE with Wendy Day #023 | Answering Your Questions Live

Hi guys, this is Wendy Day from Wrap Kolish and thanks for tuning in to my live stream. I'm so happy that you're here. Hi guys, this is Wendy Day from Rap Coalition. Thanks for tuning into my livestream. I'm so happy that you're here. Okay guys, I'm almost there. I'm coming, I promise I'm coming. Hey, I've got a lot of great information for you today. I'm so glad you're here. Okay guys, there's a counter there. I'm trying to beat that counter. As soon as it gets down to zero, I'll be there. Right now I'll I'm filling up my cup with unsweet tea and extra lemon. Guys, thanks for tuning in to my livestream. We're almost ready to go. I'm so glad you're here. I've got such amazing information to share with you tonight. I'm so excited. I'm so happy. Hi guys, how are you? How was your week? Look, it's daylight out back there! That's so cool. This is the first time that I have done this live without it being Dark Out. I'm pretty excited. So hey guys, how are you? Dark Brothers Entertainment, Joseph Ringleader, you're looking to start a girl brand band? You know, give me a second, let me— I only got one email from you guys this week, so I didn't print it out. I've got it here on my phone, and let me bring it up. Um, it's from CGB. One of our faves here, who is Jody G, I think it is. Um, anyway, um, I watched your live show but I just never catch it live, LOL. Can you add the question, what is a good company online to use for brand awareness and promotion with a $1,000 budget? There's too many of them in this price range to know which way to go or what services I should look for in a hip-hop marketing company. I gotta tell you that, um, $1,000 seems really inexpensive for a marketing and promotion company. Really inexpensive. Um, unless you're doing just one small town, which would be like around the $500 range for a street team. Um, I'm not sure if that's what you're talking about, but for somebody to do marketing for you, um, $1,000 can be a little bit low. For a budget. Um, also, I— my goal is not really to promote people. Just because somebody's good for me does not mean they're going to be good for you. So I'm not especially trying to promote different people. My best suggestion would be to ask people in the area in which you're looking to market and promote, find out who they use, um, who they co-sign, and then see if you can hire that person. Um, in a perfect world, you want to hire them maybe half up front and half halfway through the job so that if you do, um, get jerked, you don't lose your whole budget. That would be my suggestion. But my best suggestion would be to get your budget up, to go and find an investor or somebody that can add to that budget, because it's just really not enough money to effectively market and promote. And then of course On top of that, you're gonna have to pay for all the posters and flyers and CDs or MP3 sticks or promotional download cards, whatever you use to spread the music. Joseph Ringleader, I'm looking to start a girl band. What tips can you give me with contracts and business agreements? I would figure out exactly what your goal is, whether your goal is to stay independent or get a record deal. And, um, I would hire an entertainment attorney to put together the contract that was geared towards the goal that you have in mind. And the reason I say that is if your goal is to get signed to a label and you bring people on board whose goal is to stay independent, you're never going to be happy together. So you don't really want to start moving down that long and hard road with people that don't have the same vision as you. So I would hire an entertainment attorney. Um, did I just post a video today on how to choose an entertainment attorney? Or maybe on Monday? Um, there should have been a video recently about entertainment attorneys, um, and that will give you an idea of what you should do regarding the contracts and your business agreements. Um, you're going to need to— if they're going to be partners, you're going to need partnership agreement. If you're looking to sign them to you, to your label, then you're going to need some sort of artist or label agreement. But an entertainment attorney can really help you out, and in that video I talk about how to find one. Shay Malcolmson, um, hope all is well— was well in New York. Yeah, everything went well. It was cold in New York. It was, and I forgot my coat. So I was in New York with just a sweater and a hoodie. It was freezing. It was like 26 degrees, 30 degrees. And, um, I ran out of here on Thursday morning without my coat. I left it hanging by the door like an idiot. So I was very cold. I wasn't there long enough to buy a coat, but I was there longer than I should have been in a hoodie. Um, and it snowed. But, um, I filmed for the Oxygen Network. I filmed, um, they interviewed me on Tupac's death, so it was pretty cool. Killafuse, hi Emily Gerard, how are you? Your vision, thank you Black Voice. I really love doing this with you guys. Like this is— say, suhil— this is, um, I look forward to this every week, and I look forward to making the videos too, because there just aren't a lot of people out here that are giving you guys the knowledge that you need. Killafuse, welcome back. Shay, not as cold as Canada. That's, that's real. I lived in Montreal for, um, for 3 and a half years, 4 winters. I don't know how I did it. Thank you, Black Voice. Playboy Music, Paradigm Shift. Hey DJ Nope, welcome to the live chat. Feel free to type in some, um, questions if you— if you— good, today was about attorneys. Good, DJ Nope, it's, it's real easy. I don't, I don't stress you guys at all. 8910, yay! So your email alerted you that you could tune in. I love when that happens. That's a beautiful thing. Playboy Mike, I'm starting an independent music label or entertainment business entity. Is it best to file LLC or S corp? S Corp. Um, and, and here's the thing, that's a tax question. Um, you think it's an incorporation question, but it's really a tax question. Um, when you're, when you're starting out, most of your income is going to pass through, and that's why you do a Subchapter S Corporation or an LLC. I like LLCs because they give you a little bit more flexibility and a little bit more protection, but it's going to depend on whether it's just you or whether you have partners. Um, if you have partners, you're going to need to put together a partnership agreement that explains like who controls what, what percentage each of you own. And remember, there's two different aspects in a company. There is decision-making and there's ownership. So you could own half the company but have 100% say in how stuff gets done, A, an investor, for example, may not want to give up decision-making to somebody that doesn't have a proven track record of success. So they may be a part owner of the company but have 100%, um, in the decision-making capability. So there's a lot of stuff to discuss when you're starting a company with somebody else. I haven't had good experience with partners. Well, you know, except for Tony, who I live with. Who I'm married to. 8910, no, it wasn't the Charlotte hoodie, it was a zipper hoodie. Um, I love the Charlotte hoodie, but I have to pull it on over my head and it's not easy to take off, like on and off. So I wear the Charlotte hoodie when I'm outside for long periods of time, um, like if I'm going to an event. But I wear zipper hoodies when I'm in and out of buildings because I need to be able to unzip so that I'm not sweating. I don't want to get like overheated inside and then come outside into 26 degrees, and I'm a little bit sweaty, and then I've got the flu and I'm dying. But I do love my Charlotte hoodie. Julie's asking for advice on how to find a manager. Yes, absolutely. Oh, 8910, you're Amy. Hey Amy, how are you? Julie, yes, to find a manager, I think the best way is to find somebody that has experience in building an artist career. Your manager is the most important important team member you have. They're the person that you sit down and you discuss your vision with and what your goals are, and then it's their job to get you there. They're the one that's going to steer your ship, um, so they need to have the connections, the skill set, the leadership abilities, the communication skills, the work ethic. And again, I'm going to keep saying relationship because it comes down to relationships. They need to have the connections to be able to plug you in whether it's to tours that are coming up or just to opportunities, um, marketing opportunities, promotion opportunities, sponsorship opportunities. Your manager is the person really who is quarterbacking your whole project. So, um, now that I've kind of stressed how important that position is, I'm going to suggest that you look at the careers of other artists that you admire and start reaching out to their managers, the ones that help them build the career. And just because somebody manages somebody today doesn't mean that they help build their career. Um, you know, for example, Trouble just brought on a new manager, and while that person did work with Trouble in the past, he was not on board for everything that we've done for the past 3 and a half years with Trouble. So at some point, as Trouble moves forward, in looking at that, you have to take into consideration, you know, who got that person over the hump. No disrespect to his manager, his manager is a great guy, but, um, it's very hard to break a new artist, extremely hard to break a new artist, and it's very challenging out here, it's very cutthroat out here, and it's very oversaturated out here. So, um, again, I'm telling you the importance of having a manager, but to find a really good one, um, the best way that you can find a great manager is to build your buzz, get yourself really popping online and in the real world, start making money doing shows, and then you'll be in a position where you can pick and choose whoever you want. If you're not making money yet and you need a manager and you're 100% dependent upon that manager for income, for movement forward, for, um, you know, the initiative to get up and go, you're going to attract a lesser qualified manager than if you're on and popping. It's just, you know, I think that any of us that are here, if we had the opportunity to manage Chance the Rapper, or if we had the opportunity to manage Kendrick Lamar, we would jump on it. It's kind of a no-brainer. But would you have managed Kendrick Lamar 10 years ago? Would you have managed Chance the Rapper, you know, 5 years ago? Probably not. Joseph, kill a fuse DJ? Nope. So I have a small DJ business running. Do you know how to transition to radio? On the DJ side, not so much. I do know that you need to put together um, I forget what it's called. It's not a demo. It is— it's like a reel that shows like what one of your shows would be like. I know that you need that, and then I know that you need the relationships at radio. So you're going to have to start networking with some of the program directors, even if they're not necessarily in your area. Um, the best place that I have found to meet program directors is at the radio meetings that happen um, around the country. You can just attend one of those and you'll be in a conference full of program directors. And the program director world is very small and very tightly knit, so you can absolutely meet somebody who might be a program director in, say, Tulsa, Oklahoma, but they've got relationships all over the country wherever you are. And, um, I would also, in, in transitioning to radio, I would also intern at a radio station. Even if you were just going to get coffee for people or food, like whatever you had to do, just get to know the process and the people. And once you've got experience, and if you can't get into terrestrial radio, then do something at internet radio or college radio. Just get into it, get in where you fit in, and then grow from wherever you are. DJ Nope, um, worked for a business manager with lucrative clients, a business management firm, and, um, can answer the LLC and S corp question. Excellent, please do, and I will read it when you post it. Kubri Music, I've heard you mention LLCs to protect from liability issues, or corporations. They both protect. Um, what do you think about depending on insurance instead, like errors and omissions insurance? Well, they don't protect you from getting sued. They pay if you lose, but then your insurance rate goes up. And technically, if somebody sues you, they can still go after your personal assets instead of after your insurance. Um, for shows, I always get insurance for my artists anyway. I just believe that, that artists should have insurance, but I also think everything should be protected by a corporation. I would hate for somebody to come along and sue you and go after your house and your car and, you know, your kid's college fund, you know, whatever money you have saved. I just think it's better to spend a couple hundred dollars and build an LLC and protect yourself. Sue Hill is saying, what company is best to use to create a .com website? Um, are you talking about a host like HostGator or GoDaddy, or do you mean like a, a web designer? Um, I like the guy who built my websites. Um, but again, I don't want to sit here and turn this into like an advertisement for vendors. So what I'll say is look at some of the websites out there and see what you like. And if you scroll way down to the bottom of the website, there's usually a little line that'll say designed by whoever or powered by whoever. And if you click on that, it's almost always a live link, and that will take you to the page of the person who designed it. And it doesn't have to be in music, right? Like, if there's a website that you like for a bank or for, um, an event company or a publicist, um, you can always, you can always reach out to the person who designed that. Emily, you know I'm a fashion designer. How can I help? And what does an up-and-coming artist need, as in wardrobe and clothing needs? Um, many artists need to be styled. I have a friend named Melissa who is a who started in this business as a stylist, and then she grew into marketing and running, um, companies. She ran Averex for a while, which is really cool, or maybe it was the marketing department at Averex. Well, anyway, she ran clothing companies before in the past, and she started as a student at FIT, and she went from that to styling artists for magazines. My understanding is you don't make a lot of money as a stylist unless you're a superstar stylist, but it's a great way to, to get a foot into the music business. Almost all artists need to be styled, and your relationships with the clothing companies will help because you can go and get free gear, bring it to the photo shoot or the video shoot, dress everybody, and then bring the product back to the, the clothing company after the shoot. Or you'll build relationships like with Macy's or Bloomingdale's, or, you know, one of the, one of the larger clothing companies, and they will allow you to pull clothing from their stock, and it benefits everybody. Sometimes they'll get a little mention in the video or the photo shoot, you know, whoever contributed the clothing. But most of the time you have to return it. And in rap, you got to be, you got to be super diligent because artists will go home with the clothing, and you will be chasing them down to get back the gear. You know, I remember on video shoots, um, in the '90s— and I just haven't been to a video shoot except for Trouble. I haven't been to a video shoot in a long time. I find them boring. It's like watching paint dry, you know. But I remember a lot of the companies would cut big holes in their products, like in the bottom or the back or the armpit, so that people wouldn't want to take— to take the the shirts or the clothing home. And that's just so funny to me that they'd go to such lengths. Siobhan, I'm having an awesome day, thank you for asking. Okay, Playboy Mike is asking me which distribution company do I think is best between CD Baby, TuneCore, DistroKid. Um, CD Baby, TuneCore, and DistroKid are great for you when you're first starting out. They don't have a lot of personalized service Um, they are paying you 100% of the income though, so it's a wonderful thing to make 100% of the money, but they're not going to help you get on playlists. They're not going to help you get on the front page of iTunes when you're dropping. Um, if you need money for radio or for other services, they're not going to consider, um, putting money up for a higher percentage So after you graduate from the CD Baby, the TuneCore, and the DistroKid, and that's kind of where everybody starts, then you get more into the Empires and the 1RPMs and companies that do not only distribution, but they'll help you for an 80/20 split. They will help you get placed on playlists and like the front page of iTunes once your buzz is popping enough. Amy is asking me to remind everybody to get everything, everything, everything in writing. Whether it's your friends and family, you still need paperwork. That is so true. Um, even today, like, everything, everything, everything, everything needs to be in writing. Um, and, and it doesn't mean that you don't respect each other or love each other, It means that you respect each other and love each other enough to protect each other. If you're uncomfortable asking somebody for a contract, that is a huge red flag about doing business with them to begin with. And you can always come to them under the guise of, you know what, I want a contract, but I want it for you. I want you to be protected in case I lose my mind, um, and that way everybody's protected. And everything in writing, everything, and keep copies forever. Tamara Bubble, Bubble on Deck. Your Vision is asking, how long did it take Trub to get— Trouble to get to the status he's at now with his career? He came out around 2011. I think it was 2010, 2010, 2011, he got out of prison and decided he wanted to rap. Um, he built a little bit of a buzz. Um, he put out 4, maybe 5 mixtapes. He was never monetized though. The, the folks that were behind him with that first push never monetized what he did. They never registered with an MCN for YouTube. They never signed him up with BMI, ASCAP, SoundExchange. They didn't get any agreements with any of the producers that had made beats. In many cases, they didn't know who the producers were. We still don't know who the producer was on Bussin', which is his biggest record. Um, so, um Trouble got a little bit off course at that point. Um, Molly was really big at that point in time, and he got a little bit distracted with his career, and he got to the point where he didn't know if he still wanted to be doing this. And, um, I met a guy in Chicago who was an investor, and the artist that he was trying to work with, um, was asking for a little bit too large of a split in their deal. So, um, he came to me and he asked me to set up meetings for him with some artists. Um, I looked at artists around the country that already had a buzz or that had already done some work so that I would know that they had a potential fan base and introduced him to Trouble. And they signed right there on the spot. They shook hands, we sat down for like a 4-hour meeting. Next thing I know Um, Trouble signing to the investor, they did the deal right there, and that was about 3 years ago. Um, it doesn't normally take 3 years. There was a lot of stuff that we wanted to do with Trouble that he just wasn't able to do. Um, for example, I wanted to put him on the road on a promo tour, and he wasn't able to do that. So that, that set us back a little bit. And took us a little bit longer, um, to spread because he wasn't in each market, you know, touching the people. And one of the most valuable things you can do for your career is like a politician, you know, shake hands, kiss babies, introduce yourself to people, take pictures with people, put it on your social media. It's, it's, you know, very valuable. And, um, the great thing about Trouble is he makes music whether you like it or not, whether I like it or not, is irrelevant. He makes music that a large amount of people are willing to pay money for. So we were able to monetize him pretty quickly. Tamara's reminding me that an air check is what it's called for radio DJs. Thank you so much. That's their version of demos. Thank you. I was having a brain fart. And DJ Nope is saying that, um, you did some work in college and you'll make that move to the next show. Absolutely. Or forum that they hold. Absolutely. Um, relationships seem to be the, um, most important aspect, um, in a radio career, I have found. And you're also a CPA. That's awesome. Joseph J, I do not speak, um, I don't know if this is Spanish or Portuguese, so I'm skipping you. I'm sorry, I speak French. You could ask me in French. Top of the Gate Records, how are you? Sue Hill is asking about host. Um, I use HostGator. Um, I use Google. Google now has, um, a domain hosting. Um, so some of my sites are at Google. I have one site at, um at HostGator. I have— I don't have a site at Bluehost anymore. I got rid of them, not because there was anything wrong, I just didn't need them. And then I've got like 3 or 4 at GoDaddy. And GoDaddy, just because I started with GoDaddy, um, they actually pissed me off a lot, to be honest with you. Shivari, yes, thank you, thank you. I love you for that. Because I never know how to pronounce your names, and you were kind of kind enough. Shivari, thank you, I'm so touched. Um, and thank you. How can I find Tony's videos on Facebook? You know, um, he does them almost daily, and somebody— and I don't watch them because I'm not a Facebook person. I can hear him doing them sometimes when he's in the house, but he usually does it when he's driving. And stuck in traffic because he'll do it like with his phone. Um, but somebody just told me last week on the live that he deletes them. He leaves them up for like a couple of days and then deletes them. I didn't know that he did that. Um, I would follow him on Facebook. He is @iamthekonnect. I, I think when you follow him, it automatically tells you when he's going live, and then you could either catch him live or you could catch him like, um, a day or two, um, later. Emily Gerard, I don't think I saw your question. Let me go back up, because if I didn't answer it, I didn't see it. I thought you asked about fashion, or maybe you typed that in after I answered it. Okay, if I did not answer your question, would you type it in again? Just cut and paste it, please. Sun Twisted, how are you? Kubri Music, how are you? Okay, DJ Nope is saying S-corps and LLCs operate very similar. As you said, they both pass the income through to the individual's tax return. Where the taxes are then paid. Difference include number of partners, types of partners that are allowed. Absolutely. Um, guys, if you have questions, DJ Nope is in the room. Allow me to just volunteer you, um, @DJNope with questions. Take advantage of— and, and I hate to do this to you, but if you've got questions about starting your corporations or you know, how many partners are allowed in a, in a, in a subchapter S versus an LLC. This is awesome. And Amy, Amy is 8910, is saying Sue, she can help you understand hosting and registration. She likes 1and1.com versus GoDaddy. I'm not a fan of 1and1.com. Um, and it's because they did something really messed up to me like many years ago, like 10 years ago, 12 years ago, 15 years ago, and I haven't forgiven them. I lost a— I lost a domain because of them, and, and it was not my fault, so I just hate them. DJ Nope is saying the type of entity depends on your plans for the entity and how the taxable income will be calculated. By partner or to the partner. Um, Emily is saying, do you feel some kind of way with a new manager coming in not liking what you did to get trouble where he is? Absolutely. But it's his decision and it's his life and it's his career, so he gets to decide what's best for him, you know. But, um, But absolutely, yeah. And my biggest fear is that there's one big 'I told you so' coming, and I hope to God I'm wrong. Holly Richardson, how are you? Amy, excellent. Um, DJ Nope's background is with actors, more so comedians. And, um, is going to see if an introduction can be made to a music industry accountant. And absolutely, um, my beautiful people, um, your accountant needs to have music business experience. Um, I would— I just submitted all of the receipts from Trouble from 2016 to the investor for his accountant. And the investor came back and asked me to fill out a sheet that asked me to break the expenses into office expense, um, you know, like normal categories. But none of our expenses fit a normal company. It's a record label, so we press CDs as our expenses. So, um, I, I broke down the spreadsheet and explained what everything was as best I could so that they could categorize it into whatever their process is. Um, but there's a lot of stuff that a normal company does that we don't do in the music industry, you know. So, um, I did the best I could. Boy Paradise is asking, what is a walkthrough? A walkthrough is where you hire the artist instead of performing to come walk through the club. It's a way that a lot of promoters, um, get an expensive artist to come through cheaper. Um, and it's usually not a smaller artist. It's usually somebody like a 2 Chainz or even like a Plies, who's a little bit less expensive than a 2 Chainz. And it's a way for you to spend less money. And most promoters kind of hope that they'll do a song or two when they get there. It's just a way to book somebody a lot cheaper. Um, also they call walkthroughs, um, they call it walkthroughs for people that come to clubs that aren't performers. Meaning if you book somebody from Love Hip Hop to come through your club, or if, um, you're a fan of Freeway Ricky Ross and you want to bring him to a club because of his stature as a dope boy in the '80s and '90s um, then you would book him through for a walkthrough. That's what a walkthrough means. It means a non-performance, but there's— you're still able to use their name to get people to come to the club and to sell tickets. Knight Rider Films. Nick Kent is saying, hey Wendy, I've been working with a new artist for a year. A label just offered him a deal as an artist. And me as a producer. We also have a company together. Any advice? Um, I— my best advice is have an entertainment attorney get involved in negotiating the deal, because you can either do a deal like sort of a joint venture with your company and the label that is offering the deal, um, or you can sign separately. But I would definitely involve an entertainment attorney. In that decision. I'm not an attorney, so I can't really advise you on that. You know, the thing about whether they sign you as a person or whether they sign you as a company is that it's— you're still signed to them. So, um, yeah, I'm gonna— yeah, have an attorney answer that. I'm afraid to give you bad advice. Your Vision: I have a song that's getting a lot of feedback on radio so far. Great going on 3 months now. Yay! Should I keep promoting the record or should I drop another record? Do you feel like it's still going up? Is there still potential in that record? And what is your radio promotion person telling you? Um, I would trust the radio promo person, um, because they do this for a living and they've got a really good feel whether something is going up the charts or down the charts. As soon as it starts to go down, you want to have another one coming up so that they kind of pass each other on the way. The Rock Father, your interview with Rico was excellent. So appreciative of your willingness to offer these resources to all of us. I'm so happy to do it. I have an interview coming with, um, with Ray Daniels, and we had a really bad connection, so I have to go in and edit it. And the only reason I haven't posted it is I've been too busy to go in and edit it. So it's coming though, for those of you that are songwriters. I've been promising you that I would get you information on songwriting since October, so I finally did it, but it's coming. Leroy Ramon, hey Wendy, what's the best way for an artist to create a buzz out in Connecticut? Internet and streets. I've got a bunch of videos that talk about how to build a buzz. I suggest you absolutely watch them. I've got some articles at Industry Report that explain how to market, how to promote, but I don't want to spend time here going over stuff that I shot videos for. And if you go to rapjewels.com, it's a lot easier to find the videos than if you're on my YouTube page. They're in order. They're archived, um, in the order that I recorded them. Not in the order of your career or that you'll apply them, um, but in the order that I recorded them. And also, in Connecticut, it's very hard to get radio, but you can get mix show in Connecticut. And you know, to go bigger than Connecticut, right, you're going to want to hit Massachusetts, Connecticut, upstate New York, um Pennsylvania, New Jersey. You want to go a little bit bigger. DJ Nope is a New York State certified CPA. Thank you for clarifying that. Blunts and Coffee saying, um, was blessed to have a song on Grand Theft Auto 5, looking for more licensing opportunities. Is there a direction you can point me in? Absolutely. And that's cool, I got Trouble on Grand Theft Auto 5 as well. And okay, there's a bunch of ways that you can do this. You can— you should for sure go watch the video that I did with Mr. Robotik. Mr. Robotik is an artist out of Chicago, and once you get past the first 11 minutes, because I asked him how he got into the music industry, and he talked about how he, how he did that. Once you get past that, he dropped some amazing jewels on how he was able to get so many placements with his career. And he's an artist that you probably have never heard of, but you know, here's somebody that's making a couple hundred thousand dollars a year just in placements. You can— I have lists at rap resources.com. There are lists of music supervisors, video game music supervisors, TV and film, and music placement companies. There's 4 different lists that you can get. Music placement companies are the middlemen. They're the ones that will take your music and then funnel them through to their connections. They're going to take a cut of the money Just make sure they don't take a cut of ownership. You don't ever want to give up your publishing in order to get, um, a licensing opportunity, right? But definitely check out Robotix's video on that. Shay Malcolmson is saying, are video distribution or promotion companies worth it? Absolutely, yep. Um, the only time I use a video promoter though is when I've got a big single. I don't use them for every song because not every song is going to get on BET or Fuse, um, or Revolt. So I only work the songs that I know have a chance of getting placed. And, um, I, I think it's very much worth it. It's about 3 grand, between $2,500 and 3 grand. I feel as though investing the same amount into Facebook ads and Google AdWords absolutely makes more sense as an artist pushing video content? Absolutely. Um, we use, we use Facebook ads and Google ads for almost everything that we release, and then we use the video independent promoters for the songs that we feel need to be on like Revolt or BET. Your Vision is asking how Um, Blunts and Coffee got the, the song on Grand Theft Auto 5. Um, I can't speak for Blunts and Coffee, but I reached out to the music supervisor, um, about a year before we got on there and submitted music for everybody that I was working with. And then she called me back on Trouble and took two of the songs, one of which featured Gucci Mane. J. Cole Eastside, um, I met you years ago at a Greg Gates conference. I remember that, in Alabama. Just wanted to say hello and get feedback on my new product as an indie artist. Today was my first release on WorldStar Music Video. Congratulations! J. Cool, that's beautiful. I can't give you feedback on your product because that's not what I do. Um, and you're asking should you attend South by Southwest? You've never attended before. Um, it's going on right now, actually, South by. And, um, I know a lot of the artists are leaving, uh, tomorrow. Um, some left today. Some of the folks that I work with left today. I decided to skip it this year. I found it a little bit expensive, and, um, to be honest with you, I don't get a lot out of it. But as an artist, um, I think that if nobody knows who you are, it's not going to benefit you unless your goal in going there is to sit in on the panels and learn how the music business works. I think that's a great way to spend, um, 4 days in Austin. But if you're just going there to hang out and see shows, everybody that you could possibly want to see is going to be there. The audience is so huge, they take over the city of Austin, that, um, it's very hard to get in the venues for the bigger artists. Like, if you want to go see Kendrick Lamar or Kanye or whoever, it's going to be really hard to get in the venue because they're so popular. If there's some smaller artists that you love that you haven't had a chance to see um, you'll probably get to see them there. If you're going there to promote, don't do it. You're going to waste product because it's mostly industry people, and you don't want to promote to industry people. You want to promote to fans. Industry people don't buy music and they don't pay to see shows. Raymond DeWear, I've been letting this play in the background while working on a couple tasks. Yay! That's a beautiful thing. Infinite Potential, just want to say hey, keep it up, you've taught me a lot. Oh, thank you. Yeah, I can't stop, it's like a drug. I am so say music. DJ Nope is saying great videos on buzz. It's the most important part. Building a buzz is, is probably the most important part of building a career. I say that about everything, don't I? It's the most important part. But building a buzz is crucial. Nick Kent is asking, do you think a distribution deal makes more sense? What would you do If in the same situation, do I know any good entertainment attorneys? Yes, if you email me, thisiswendyday@gmail.com, I would be happy to send you the names of some good entertainment lawyers. Um, but until you've got something for them to do, um, it doesn't make sense to reach out with them. So reach out to them when you've got, um, you either need them to do a contract for you or to negotiate a deal like whatever you're, whatever you're trying to do with them, you hire them when you're ready to pull the trigger. Like, you don't meet with them and then a year later hire them. Um, Nick, I, I like distribution deals where they're more helpful to the artist. Um, with, with Trouble, we spent 2 years at Empire and they were somewhat helpful. They were a little bit busy for us, so we moved to 1RPM. Um, I really like 1RPM. I think they've been great in terms of helping us. But then I gotta tell you that the person that I interact with at 1RPM used to work with me, so I've got a relationship that allows him to be really helpful to me. So you got to take that into consideration. That's why I'm always very nervous to recommend people to you. Like, you guys noticed that Lester Pace, um, did a great interview at, you know, about radio. But, you know, I hire Lester probably 2 or 3 times a year for radio, so my relationship with him is going to be very different than yours just watching him in a video and calling him up and saying, hey, I want to go to radio. Um, and what would I do in your situation, Nick? Um, I started with TuneCore. Um, TuneCore and DistroKid are kind of the same things. Um, the only thing different is the price, as far as I can see. I started with TuneCore and, um, DistroKid for my clients. I didn't start with DistroKid, I started with TuneCore, um, for my clients. And, um, once we had a strong enough buzz um, I move them to a bigger distributor, and in my case it's One RPM, and I get them their own deals. They don't come through me, right? Like, you want your own deal. You don't want a middleman. You want to go right to the distributor. So Blunts and Coffee was saying about getting on Grand Theft Auto 5. I was actually overseas when we got the call. Somebody knew somebody that liked the music, and it just kind of happened. You know, that's the great thing about, um, um, Grand Theft and, you know, that whole company where they just, um— is it Rock— are they called Rockstar? I forget what they're called. But the great thing about them is they have people working for the company that are familiar with who all the up-and-coming artists are. That doesn't mean they know you if you have 23 followers. But if you're making some noise on the streets, they know who you are, and they are happy to have your music, provided they feel it fits Grand Theft Auto. They're happy to have your music whether you're a superstar or whether you're just starting out, and I love that. Tashim TV, um, what if an artist has a good buzz via social media and has a good resume, features at et cetera. Can that artist leverage a record deal without having any sales? All music is free releases. Yes, I've seen people get deals from social media. Um, I'm just trying to think if any— if I've seen anybody have a really successful deal from social media. Um, Hopsin started on social media. Currency started through social media. Um, I think all aspects are important. I think that a label wants to see that you're not just a social media darling. I think they want to see that you can get out on the street and do the necessary work. So I would probably add that in before I started shopping a deal. Um, they don't care about features. Um, In fact, sometimes they look at features as negative because they want to know that you can stand on your own and succeed without a feature. So I don't know that a feature is going to have, um, selling quality, right? I mean, Trey would have had, you know, a major deal decades ago if features mattered. He has some great features, all free because he's so well respected. But yes, you can get it. You can get a deal with, um, if that's your goal, with just social media. I don't know that I would do it. I, I always want to remove as much risk as possible for the label, because if they see that their risk is reduced, they're going to be more excited about not just signing you. Remember, the goal is not to get signed to a record label. The goal is to have a successful career. Getting signed to the label is just the first step in building a successful career through one of the major labels. So once you get signed, you have to make sure that you're not shelved or, um, that you take too long to come out so that you lose your buzz. There's an artist that I used to work with who got signed to Atlantic, um, a year ago. And I haven't heard anything about him dropping any music, which is kind of heartbreaking because he worked really hard to get his buzz up. Bubble, Bubble on Deck. This is a little off topic but sort of kind of related to entertainment. Okay, good. Um, if I have a great idea for a game, an online app version and a physical version, what could I do to get a prototype developed. I don't know that I can ask— answer this. Can you recommend any app or game developers, or should I first pay? You should absolutely patent it first, trademark the name and all the stuff first. I, I would, I would protect my investment. Um, I would also find an entertainment attorney who specializes in apps and games, and I would have him or her represent me so that as I started shopping this idea, somebody would be a little bit more afraid. They're going to be more afraid to steal an idea from a lawyer than from you, right? That just makes sense. So I would probably, I would probably just research the hell out of that, that world. And Raymond DeWear, um, offered some great advice in learning, um, in, in using LinkedIn and searching people who are already leaders in that field, just, you know, just to do the research. I think that's a great idea. I don't know that I'd pitch them on LinkedIn though. I think I would patent it first, and then I would find out how that industry works, and then I would have an attorney pitch those people so that you didn't run the risk of your idea getting jacked. John Ferg, I have been a fan of yours since you wrote about the record industry back in '98. What moves would you make in this game as an artist to maintain relevance and multiple revenue streams? Um, I would get hot and poppin' in my area. Um, there's some videos that I've done about how to build a buzz. And about marketing and promotion that'll help you. I would do it on the streets, and I would do it online on the internet. And I would, um, no matter what stage in my career I was, whether I was just entering today or whether I've been rapping since '92, um, in order to stay relevant, I would— um, I can't speak for a rapper, I'm not a rapper, but what I do to stay relevant is I stay in touch with what this generation is, the kind of music this generation is making. I don't diss it like my peers will talk about mumble rap and they'll disrespect, um, guys like Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert. I, I don't, um, I believe that every generation has their soundtrack and that as long as the fans embrace the music, that it's good music. Like, who am I to judge, right? I'm not the market. So the way that I stay relevant is I follow what the fans want. If the fans like rap that isn't saying anything, then so be it, you know. If they like rap that's extremely, um, enunciated, I'm with that too. Like, whatever they— whatever fans want. That to me, this is a business, you know. It's a business even before it's a culture. And I hate to say that because I came up in the hip-hop culture. But my goal is to help artists make money, not just preserve the culture. And I'm sorry if you don't like that. And I wasn't speaking to you directly, John, I was speaking to everyone. But John, yes, absolutely, um, multiple revenue streams. You're going to want to do shows You're going to want to sell merchandise. You're going to want to place your songs in TV and film. You're going to want to get sponsors, even if it's just smaller companies that are more local. You know, if there's a local rim shop and your music fits the type of folks that would be buying rims for their car, or car audio places, or if you've got a local beverage company that might be interested in um, sponsoring you, you know, sponsoring your music. It could put some money in your pocket and you'd put a logo on everything that you do for them. Chris, hey Wendy, I'm working on a business plan for my record label and wondering how does a record label conduct research and development? Um, every label is different, Chris. Um, let me tell you how I do it, because I don't necessarily like the way that labels do it. I think that's why their failure rate is so high. Um, I, I think their success rate is like 1 out of 10 or 1 out of 12, and that's just too— it's— the risk is too high, you know. Um, I, I keep somebody on the streets that knows what's hot and can give me feedback, like genuine feedback. Not somebody who has their own artist or their own taste in music, but somebody who genuinely understands rap music and they know who's hot and popping in Houston, who's hot and popping in Chicago, um, Macon, Iowa, like wherever. Um, and for me, it's, it's a multitude of people that I reach out to to find out, hey, who's hot? And in bigger cities, I'll ask a lot of people because I want to know if an artist is hot on the East Side, the West Side, the South Side, the North Side, Downtown, Midtown. I want to know that they're hot everywhere. So there's a lot of people that I reach out to who tell me, you know, who's up and coming, and then I go and do the research and look at their social media. Because if somebody is really popping in their area, you know, they don't have 500 followers on Instagram, or, you know, um 37 friends at Facebook, you know. Their, their social media is usually reflecting their popularity, and that's usually like 10,000, 12,000, 15,000, you know. And, and if it's bigger, then they're bigger, you know. That's a blessing. DJ Nope, I think you just asked me what I just answered. What are the different revenue streams an artist can have? Shows. Um, there's, there's the revenue from sales and spins, there's the revenue from SoundExchange, um, there's royalties from radio through ASCAP or BMI, there's merchandising, there is sponsorships and endorsements. Um, there's a lot of ways for artists to take money— to make money, excuse me. Songwriting, you make money from your publishing. Um, That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Prince Trey, I'm spending $5,000 on a video with a well-known director next week in New York. How should I prepare to get the most attention for my release of the video? Um, and it's, it's not a problem, guys. These posts, so You're not late if you tune in late. You're not really late. You can go back and watch whatever you missed. So you don't really have to be here live unless you're trying to get your question asked— answered. And you can email me the question, so I will answer it whether you're here or not. And then you can watch it, you know, in the quiet of your phone in the middle of the night, or on the toilet, or wherever you watch videos. Okay, um, The best way to get the most attention is, I think, Facebook ads. I would do Facebook ads and Google ads. I would target the followers of people whose music sounds like your music. So if your music is very J. Cole-ish, I would target his followers. If your music is more like Kevin Gates-ish, I would target his followers. And I would, I would avidly promote to people that follow me if it were my video, and I would avidly promote to people, um, who follow artists that have a sound similar to mine because I think they would like my music. Jamel Lewis, this is a really hard question to ask. Um, how does an artist contact brands for endorsements? Um, you they care about eyeballs. They care about how many people are interested in you as an artist, how many people would follow you. For example, if you're going for a Coke endorsement or, you know, a Red Bull endorsement, you know, how many people would see that you're actually endorsing their brand and how rabid are those fans, like how involved with you are they. Um, do they just like you kind of sorta, or do they follow you around the country to tour? You know, brands want to be sure that when they're spending money that they're reaching as many people as possible in a positive light. And it's usually the vice president of marketing in inside of a corporation that handles endorsements. And there's also companies out there that do endorsement deals and sponsorship deals for artists. And that's just a matter of you spending a little bit of time, get to know that marketplace. There's a magazine called Adweek, there's a magazine called AdAge. They're both online. I signed up for both of their newsletters, and once a week— and AdAge, make sure you sign up for weekly because they have a daily newsletter, and it will inundate you with just like too much shit. Um, but unless you're really that into it and you've got time, then by all means sign up for it daily because the information's crazy. But, um, once a week I go through and I read both of those newsletters, and they'll talk about, um, you know, um, influencers and deals that are being done. And you start to get to know like who the players are, and then you just reach out to them, or you have your manager reach out to them. Your Vision: The song is doing great. The promoter said that I should go with the next record to make more of a universal appeal that will broaden the horizon and get me where I want to be. There's your answer. Absolutely, guys. If you're going to hire professionals and you really hire legitimate professionals, listen to them. Make sure they're legitimate though. But listen to them. If they give you advice, they probably know. Thank you, Raymond. Your Vision, thisiswendyday@gmail.com. This is Wendy Day at gmail.com. King PV, yes, you should be pushing one single while you're saturating the market with music. You should focus on one and push that, and then the other music is there so that when somebody likes your single they can go a little deeper and see if they like all of your music or if it's just your single. Ryan Jones, thank you so much. You've been a fan for many years. You're honored to be part of this discussion. I'm so happy to have you. Southern California, seen an interview where DJ Paul said he got an admin deal for publishing. Um, yes, for— there's all types of different deals. Like, there's so many different deals I can't number them. Um, but for publishing, there's a co-publishing deal, which is usually a 50/50 split. That's where they give you an advance and they get to own half of your publishing for the lifetime of that publishing, whatever you make over the next 5-year period or 7-year period, however long that contract is. Um, an admin deal— can you hear my dog snoring? He's really loud. Out. That's gangster. Um, an admin deal is usually a 10% split where you keep 90% of the income and they go and collect, um, all of your money for you and they keep 10% for doing that. The reason there are co-pub deals and admin deals is the publishers will pitch you on saying, we will bring you work. Um, in my 25 years, I have yet to see a publisher bring an artist enough work to warrant giving up half of their publishing. I'm not a big fan of co-pub deals, so definitely go ask the opinion of people that are so that you can hear the upside of co-pub deals. But, um, I love admin deals because they collect the money. You gotta have somebody collect your money for you anyway, and you're keeping 90% and they're bringing you the money. It just makes sense to me. Sun Twisted, I do not know of any other good producer managers. Um, it's not my world, so I haven't really paid attention to that. I help artists, um, build their careers, and I help artists start their own labels, so I don't really travel in that producer management world. I would look at the careers of producers that are doing really well and find out who helped them get there, and then I would start reaching out to those people. 8910, um, is saying if they have an LLC and a label, they can try to get a deal with The Orchard, but I think they only take labels, not artists. The Orchard does only take, um, labels. I gotta tell you, I'm not a big fan of The Orchard, and I hate to say that because I know your deal is through The Orchard, um, But the Orchard is so overcrowded, um, that I just— I feel sometimes that it's like dealing with Empire, where if you're smaller, you're not going to get the attention that you deserve. Let me say this about the Orchard though. Um, my friend Sonny works for 1RPM. Sonny used to work with me, um, for my company. He used to help me, um, on the, on the, uh, marketing side. And when he goes to the Google meetings in New York and when he goes to meet with Pandora, it's him and it's all the staff from The Orchard. So not all the staff, but you know, the people in the room are him and then all Orchard. So, you know, hats off to Orchard for caring enough to go to the YouTube meetings and the Google meetings and the Pandora meetings. So I will say that for them, but I'm not a big fan. I'm not a big fan of The Orchard. I just don't feel as a small label you're gonna get enough attention Um, and if you have an 80/20 split, it doesn't matter. Like an 80/20 deal, it doesn't matter who distributes you, right? What matters is their deal with, you know, whoever they're going through, usually Merlin, in order to get to, um, Apple and to, uh, Spotify, etc. Blunts and Coffee says Afroman was the first viral artist. Um, I saw Afroman do a lot of work on the streets though. Tashim TV. Syracuse is small and a street area. I don't make that kind of music, so I shy away from that crowd. Um, the great thing about Syracuse is you've got a huge university, and it's a giant space of, um, educated people that would like more, um, lyrical rap, if that's that's, you know, the direction you're going. So don't be afraid to work college campuses. Ryan Jones made it. You've always given sound advice. I'm looking to run a label, put artists out. I don't want a deal. May, may push myself as an artist as well. Going through your videos has helped a lot. Thanks. You're very welcome. Um, and guys, don't just go off of my advice. Seek advice of everybody who's successful. There are many paths to success. I can only tell you what works for me. Miracle, you're back! Tajlaat Tashim saying, I think I'm ready, genuinely. I emailed you as well. Everything you said resonated, and I feel like I'm ready for that step music-wise and just mentally or plan-wise. I would really love to work with you. Thank you. Um, you gotta have a plan, guys. And you know, it's funny because I spent today working on a marketing plan for a new client, and I realized like how important it is to put this on paper. Um, when I met with him, um, he flew to Atlanta and we sat down and we discussed like what he's willing to do and what he's not willing to do. And you all know that I don't work with anybody that doesn't really grind, so you already know that he's a grinder. But it's, it's so important when you have all these ideas in your head, it's so important to put them down, um, you know, either on paper if you're old school, or type them into the notes on your phone, just, or, or Word or Pages or Google Docs. Like, just get it out of your head and onto paper, because once you start to put it onto paper, it really starts to take shape. It's no longer just a dream. Now it becomes like a map, like a roadmap, and you can go through, you can make a list of all the different things that you want to do and then price them out. You just start reaching out to companies that, you know, if posters are on your list, you figure out, okay, I'm going to be working 10 different markets, I need at least 100 posters in each market. Now you know how many posters you're most likely going to need. So you can start to price stuff out, and it tells you what you need financially in order to move forward. If you don't have it, you either need to find an investor or figure out a way to get it, or you have to go through that list that you just put together and start crossing stuff out because you need to get the budget down. So, um, building a plan is so key. I love that you said that, and thank you, that's a huge compliment. Um, I love that you said that though about the plan, because it's just, you know, like I spent— I've spent 12 hours today already working on the plan, and then when I get off of here, I'm gonna go back to it. I'll probably be up till 4 o'clock this morning working on this plan. Like, it's just the roadmap is so important. You can't get there without the roadmap. Raymond is asking what my opinion on influencer marketing is with Instagram Live capabilities. We just started using influencer marketing. Obviously it depends on who the influencer is. You absolutely need somebody that reaches your target market, right? So if your, if your rap is more street, you don't want to reach out to an influencer who is like super squeaky clean because their following won't match yours. And in any kind of marketing You know, reaching your target audience is the most— is the most important part of getting your message. And no, you haven't heard me speak a lot about influencer marketing because we're just starting to do that. Um, The Rock Father is talking about schools like Georgia Tech having students looking for resume building work. And may offer their services in, uh, for free with app development. That's absolutely right. Anybody that codes that is interested in making apps. Bubble, I think that's a great idea. Oh yeah, um, Miracle's reminding me that streaming is a source of income too. It absolutely is. It's a great source of income. Trouble's made a lot of money streaming. Um, Playboy Mike is asking if I have videos that show how to target artists on Facebook ads. I do not. Um, the reason I have shied away from doing Facebook ad videos and Google Ad videos is because there's so many of them out there. Like, that's how, that's how Tony and I learned how to do this. And Tony is far more proficient at this than I am, um, but we learned from, you know, watching all of these different videos out there. And the fact that I could find thousands of them tells me that I do not need to be 1,001. There's people way smarter than me that will teach you about Facebook ads. Email marketing is the same. You've noticed that— you've noticed that I haven't done really anything on email marketing. I use it for every client, but there's so many people out there that are already teaching stuff like that. Neil Patel is the guy that I learned from, so There you go. The Rock Father saying, um, it's funny that it's my dog. He thought my stomach was growling. I actually ate today, it's rare. Artishek, how are you? Thank you, Amy. Hit me on email. I'm gonna travel again, um, this weekend, so I'm leaving, um, tomorrow night, but I'll be back on Tuesday. Font Kilsum, how are you? Um, I have an interview with Lester Pace. You're asking me about Radio Play in Paola. I have an interview that just ran within the past 2 weeks with Lester Pace. If you go to rapjewels.com, it'll be easier to find because it's going to be like right at the top. You, you won't even have to scroll down very far. But we talked about Radio Play. We didn't get too much into Paola, um, because I want to interview him again, and I knew that if I went hard at him the first time, I would never get him back on, on film again. So Tashima is saying they do not like Syracuse natives. They call us townies. I did a run on campus for about 4 months, and I did get fans, like 2 out of every 20. That's 1 out of 10. That's good. The plan is strong. I just don't have the Wendy treatment. Um, 1 out of 10 is, is good. I mean, really good on a college campus. I'm thinking we probably get like 1 out of 30, so— and I've never really counted, so that's just off the top of my head. But 1 out of, 1 out of 10 is, is not bad. You're doing something right. Infamous, hello sweetheart! I'm so glad you chimed in. Tashima saying, the reason I want a deal is because I don't have the finances to get my music to the next level, but I 100% do have the music and I have the buzz and a feature with Wiz but you have no money to get there yet. And, and it's expensive, like it's really expensive, this industry. It takes me, um, a budget of at least $150,000 to get an artist to the point where income is coming back in. And I don't, I don't do this unless I can help monetize it, like unless I can help an artist make money for himself or herself. I just, I, I don't see the point in doing it like just being famous. Why? Nefati Music, I hope I'm pronouncing your name correctly. I'm in the techno dance music world in Toronto. I'm trying to develop myself as a DJ producer. I know that your advice is hip-hop specific. Yeah, but I'm getting a lot from your videos. I'm so glad. Um, yes, because that's my world, and I, I Unlike a lot of my peers, I don't want to talk about stuff that I don't really know. You see me kind of get uncomfortable when you guys ask me questions that I haven't done. I try to be helpful, but I just believe that experience is the leader in knowledge, and I can read something and tell you where I read it, but if I haven't done it, it's not the same. So, um, I'm very nervous to talk about like international stuff or other genres of music like country, rock, EDM. It's, it's just not my world. But, and thank you, I'm so glad that you're getting something from it because I wondered if folks would. Sun Twisted is saying check out Music Marketing Manifesto for email marketing and setting up Facebook ads for musicians. There we go. Music Marketing Manifesto. Thank you, love, that, that was really helpful. Your Vision is thanking me for the feedback. You're very welcome, and you guys know how to find me. Tashima saying, maybe it felt bad because the ones who ignored me really weren't personal, just really looking at you like you're crazy. Yes, You know, the hardest thing in the world is to be a new artist walking up to people because right away they're thinking, no, get away from me. And here you are coming up to them trying to give them music or the ability to download your music, and they're usually rolling their eyes at you, um, until they hear your music and until they like you. It's, it's very hard. Ray Poindexter, I'm doing great, thanks for asking. Brooklyn Bishop, how are you? Wow, Bubble, you're gonna go harder? That's awesome. I'm very impressed with, with Tamara. She does an amazing job. Tashim, very true, but with that comes the question of what comes first, the chicken or the egg. If you can use fame, for example, habada, girl, you can turn that into money. Or the other way around. Some people can turn money— I mean, look at Kim Kardashian. She turned, um, a blowjob into a hell of a lot of money, right? Um, on film. So yes, you can, you can have fame and turn it into money. Um, but you give up a lot of yourself when you have fame, you know. I, I'd rather, I'd rather have the money than the fame personally. That's just me though, but everybody's different. You got to do what's best for you, right? And you got to take your path. I can only tell you the path that, that I've taken or helped artists take. I have answered all the questions tonight. Hooray, guys! Thank you so much for tuning in. We did this in an hour and 20 minutes tonight. Yay! Thank you so much for tuning in every Wednesday at 7 PM, and thank you so much for being here. I love you guys, and, um, keep sending me questions and I'll keep answering them. Okay, y'all.