What exactly is this five year plan?

[davewalton]

Just curious. Was it placements that finally allowed you to go full time, or was it custom writing fees that came along as part of getting your relationships happening?

B

Low debt I have no debt so my living expenses are very low. Which is good because my income is very low.

I actually sold a small software business I had... nothing like the Internet stories you hear... I'm not rich that's for sure. I did that *before* I started on the music journey or rather as a prelude to my music journey. Some have referred to it as doing it "the crazy way". Maybe but as a result, I had lots of time to work on music, hunt down opportunities, etc. I'm not as efficient with time as I should be. A normal person could do what I did while keeping the day job I think.

[fusilierb]

Ahhh, smart man.

I thought I was going to be able to do that by buying up a couple of houses after Katrina and renovating them. Figured I would sell them for a hefty profit and concentrate on music. My timing was impeccable as the month I decided to put them both on the market the economy and real estate market both crashed. Now I'm a landlord.

Hopefully in a year or so things will be back enough for me to ditch them and get back to no debt and writing all the time. That is a real good plan!
B

[matto]

Brian,

as you may know we had a class on this at the Road Rally, unfortunately no particularly thorough script for it exists or I would post it.

My definition of the 5 year plan is, it takes 5 years to see enough results to be able to draw the conclusion of whether ot not you, personally, wanna keep persuing the avenue.

For someone who is exceptionally ready at the beginning of their 5 years and works exceptionally hard, it may mean making a living after 5, but I would consider that the exception (unless you have very low expenses like Dave). For someone else who had a lot to learn in the beginning about how to make their productions really pop, or not as much time to invest per year, it may mean their first royalty check.

It's different for everybody, but as a rule it takes such a long time from the point where you start "filling the pipeline" to the point where it really starts responding that if you don't have a longterm view you will give up before you had a chance to get anywhere.

I had a meeting a couple days ago with someone who has an exceptional knowledge of the fileld of production music who is also a great writer with more than 1000 tracks to his name, including with some of the more prestigious companies out there, and who has been spending lot of time dealing with the business side of the industry, and he told me that even though he hasn't written/placed any new music in 4 years his PRO royalties are still rising every year.

So that should tell you something about the delayed gratification factor inherent in this particular part of the music industry, and really the music industry as a whole.

Most people simply don't have the stomach to keep going for as long as it takes...which is good for those that do I guess...

If you looked at my BMI statements you would see line items ranging from a couple of cents to a couple thousand dollars in very rare instances (the latter not on every statement that's for sure...)...it all depend on a few basic factors...number of stations carrying the program (this is why brodacst tv in the US pays so well, because if it airs e.g. on NBC then every NBC affiliate carrying the broacast counts as a station), value of the station (typically dependent on the viewership and thus the kind of blanket license BMI/ASCAP can negotiate), time of day, feature vs background use, length of use in seconds and the share you have in the song (how many % writer and/or publisher's).
If all these factors come together in your favor then you can make, say $2500 or more from a single airing of a single piece of music...if they all come together the opposite way then it will be pennies. Of course the average is somewhere in between...

We all marvel at exceptional placements like Bob's DKNY commercial (as we should ), but truth be told those are kind of like hitting the lottery jackpot.

The reliable, day to day living is earned from a large number of much less glamorous placements which are the result of years of consistent high quality musical output...

HTH,

matto

[elser]

I just gotta say this forum is amazing. Thanks Bryan for your gutsy question and thanks everyone else for your open and detailed answers.

[fusilierb]

Thanks Matto! I always appreciate your guidance here. I'm in this one for the long haul. It's good to know that, even if it takes a while, progress pays off in the long run. Maybe this will be my retirement plan.
B

[fusilierb]

I just gotta say this forum is amazing. Thanks Bryan for your gutsy question and thanks everyone else for your open and detailed answers.

Yes it is an amazingly open place Elser. It's always been an "ask and you shall receive" sort of group here. Glad I found this place!
B

[joshpaul24]

All I can say is thank you to all who posted. The forums (and you great people) have already made my Taxi membership worth every cent.

I work a "day job" and used to try and create music at the end of the day or end of the week ... problem was all my creative energy was zapped by then! So I started getting up before work, working an hour or so before my energy got zapped. Even though I'm not a morning person, I've found I'm starting to get more consistent and disciplined and the creative energy is there. Plus I keep asking myself, "How bad do you want it?"

I'm in year 1 of the 5 year plan and you guys are all an inspiration to me: work hard, learn, get better, stick to it.

[coachdebra]

Hi all,
I have no idea what specifically this five year plan entails.

Anyone want to share the specifics of what this five year plan is and how is all works?

On the Artist's EDGE Membership http://artists-edge.com/join I have a class that is called "The Five Year Plan - Got Goals? Get a Plan!" which gives you a 4 step method for developing your 5 Year Plan.

Also, once you've got the plan and the short term "milepost" goals set, you can use the Project Management - How to Get Stuff Done class to help you stay focused and moving forward on your plan.

I have taught this class before at conferences, and would be happy to offer it at the Road Rally if there's enough interest and Michael likes the idea.

[fusilierb]

Thanks Debra. I'll check out your post and seriously consider it. I need all the help I can get right now. There's no way I can do this on my own!
B

[Casey H]

Many of you know this but Matt Hirt did a series of youtube videos, produced by Taxi, "Earning Your Living with Film & TV Placements". It really explains the process and the long term plan in detail...

One of many links on the web to the series:
http://www.webmii.com/Result.aspx?f=Mat ... ntl#Videos

Casey