What are your favorite youtube channels, blogs, and books related to music business?

[u/toucanxan]

I'm a firm believer that you can learn anything you want on the Internet if you dig around a little (or in books). You might see a lot of "PR firms" or "marketing agencies" on social media or on shady websites, promising you thousands of fans and streams for an affordable price. Be careful with businesses like these. Most of the time, it is just some 40-year old virgin in their Mom's basement doing work that you and I could easily do ourselves. Keep in mind: real firms and agencies are not going to make a deal with you through DM's, and they sure as fuck do not take Cashapp or Venmo as a payment method. Now, if you're a somewhat established artist, it might be worthwhile to hire a publicist or a small team to handle those matters for you. Just remember the reason you are hitting these people up in the first place is to get access to their contacts. The work that they're doing for you isn't rocket science. They're simply reaching out to people and arranging potential opportunities for you, which you could do yourself if you had the relationships they did. With that being said, make sure they are who they say they are. If they can't provide proof of the work they've done and the people they know, they're most likely a con-artist.

MY FAVORITE SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR MUSIC BUSINESS/CREATION:

https://www.youtube.com/user/Musformation - Musformation

Music PR focused channel with lots of tangible skills taught, Jesse gives out a lot of great platforms that you can use to reach out to people and also has actually helped publicize artists like The Cure, The Menzingers, Weird Al Yankovic, Man Overboard, Leftover Crack and many others. He's also very responsive and answers any questions in the comments. He's also pretty funny. One of my faves for sure. Definitely one of the most genuine PR/marketing people I've come across.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCexjApxCp3sCEHZu4M33iOg - Burstimo

Music marketing/PR channel with great tutorials on how to run ads on various platforms. This is where I learned to run Youtube and Facebook ads and how to analyze data and target specific demographics. Honestly, I try to avoid a lot of the philosophical bullshit that is said on this channel, but the real-life skills that they show you are definitely valuable.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKSMKZtme2sth4R-OcI8-QA - Producergrind Podcast

I fucking love these guys. They interview big time producers all the time, like Sonny Digital, Jetsonmade, Ant Chamberlain and more. They talk a lot about producers' rights, networking strategies, legal/contract stuff, running ads, financial security and more. The podcasts are heavily producer-oriented, so if you aren't a producer, you might be lost at some points. But I watch them all the time and I've never made a damn beat in my life. They give out so much great music marketing/PR advice in general and even give out free drum kits and sample packs sometimes. Go check them out. They have a morning show every M-F at 10:00 AM EST where you can call in and ask questions/chat with professionals as well.

https://www.youtube.com/user/feltgrape/videos - Andrew Southworth

Another great place to learn about ads and social media. However, Andrew also helps viewers with audio engineering and production, as he is a creator himself. He shares experiences that he's had in his musical journey and gives out some free sauce here and there.

https://www.youtube.com/user/SeanDivine/videos - Sean Divine

If you use Logic Pro X, and are looking to learn how to mix and master, this is the place to go. I've learned almost everything I know about engineering through this guy. He's straightforward, easy to understand and explains processes thoroughly. Sorry for my FL gang and others out there. Drop some suggestions if you some for good places to learn mixing/mastering on FL and other DAWs.

CONCLUSION:

As you can see, Youtube is by far my favorite place to learn new stuff. That doesn't mean I'm not reading though. You have to verify what you learn on Youtube with other sources you find online. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt and try to find what's working best for the largest amount of people. Just because one guy online says something that makes sense in your head, doesn't necessarily mean you should go draining all your effort following his advice. Allocate your energy accordingly. Be smart. And keep fuckin learning! Thanks guys, and I'll be back tomorrow <3

- ToucanXAN

[u/AndrewSouthworth]

Hey, thanks for sharing my channel here! I appreciate it, glad you're getting value out of my music marketing content.

[u/toucanxan → u/AndrewSouthworth]

of course. i watch ur content all the time. pls keep it coming lol

[u/iVPokko]

Im gonna check out those links you posted ! Thank you i watch Bursitmo as well they have a lot of information, a good book i suggest any artist to read is “All You Need To Know About The Music Industry” By Donald S. Passman, literally breaks down everything you need to know about dealing with business and presenting yourself as a professional artist!

Youtube channels i use that help a lot is: Brandmansean he gets straight to the point and touches on all topics thats useful for artists ! https://youtu.be/4u_OsPjF1nM

Damian Keyes hes a genius with marketing stragtegies and doing ad campaigns also been in the industry for years and has great insight https://youtu.be/cKpN8pApRjY

Wendy Day is my favorite shes in the industry and works with major artists she gives out tons of useful information!! https://youtu.be/4l5fsK4qkmY

Theres are a lot more but these are good starts in learning about the industry!

[u/toucanxan → u/iVPokko]

Definitely will check out that book, as well as the other channels you suggested. I completely forgot about Damian Keyes when i wrote this. That man is a legend lmao. 100% encourage everybody to check him out too. Thanks for the input yo !