This is Industry Insider: a weekly 5-minute brief with key news, interviews, advice, smart picks & follows, built for artists and industry folks alike.
👆 ONE BIG THING
Nobody is dropping a dime on you until you do.
That's not like some slogan you can slap on a mug. No one's framing that and putting in their jam space, nor should they. But no matter how uncomfortable this can be, the fact of the matter is that from the inside looking out, it's a credibility test, and most artists are failing it in public.
Chrissy Spratt, who Mr. heartdea13r himself Christopher Gonda talked to on the heartdea13r podcast, waited tables for years and funneled every dollar back into studio time, videographers, travel, and sessions with better artists.
Like she says, refusing to bet on your own project tells the entire industry it isn't worth backing.
And while I’ve resisted this, over time I’ve come to see it’s honestly true: labels, managers, collaborators, even fans in some cases read your investment as a proxy for belief. If you won't put your own money on the table, you're telling them that even you don't think the work is worth it.
Empty bank, empty conviction.
So stop waiting for someone to fund the version of you that doesn't exist yet. Earmark a fixed cut of your day-job or side-hustle income as a reinvestment fund. But more importantly, treat it like a business expense, not a luxury. Spend it on what compounds: recording quality, visuals, co-writes with people better than you. Not vanity metrics or ads that you have no business running because you haven’t even got the basics down yet.
Stop waiting for permission to take yourself seriously. Put the money down. Make the industry catch up.
Every dollar, every minute, every moment you invest in creating is a vote for that creation.
Catch the full episode here:
Let's get into it.
YES, THIS IS TODAY!!
🗞 INDUSTRY NEWS
Catherine Harrison’s ‘Leading in Stereo’ is a call to action and an invitation to reflection, elevating the importance of community.
Jo Dee Messina has announced new partnerships with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for talent representation and mtheory for management.
💯 INDUSTRY INTERVIEW
Publicist Leasia Korbel joins us to discuss her six years working at FiXT Music and what she has learned about the music industry.
🎧 INDUSTRY PODCASTS
Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Derrick Milano joins K-ALL to discuss his Billboard Hot 100 Run with BTS’ ‘ARIRANG.’
🎼 LATEST RELEASES
Discover exactly what’s missing in your promo strategy and which lever will move the needle the most…
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