Photo by Adrian Charliehorse Buckmaster
Emily White
Emily White
It’s simple. Write a song, record it on your laptop, put it on the internet and success comes knocking. What could be easier, right?
While the music industry has faced seismic shifts in the last few decades one thing still remains: the more that artists take ownership of all facets of their career the better chance they have at success.
Emily White grew up in Hartland and attended all-ages shows in Milwaukee before attending college in Boston. Today she works behind the scenes in the music biz and has conveniently collected her experience and knowledge in the book How to Build a Sustainable Music Career & Collect All Revenue Streamsand accompanying podcasts.
Get your art together, how to land a synch placement, when do I need an attorney or a manager… White found herself having the same conversations with artists asking to pick her brain. She also was finding money for national artists she worked with and if it happened to them, it was likely happening to artists at all levels.
“I didn’t set out to be an author,” she says about compiling her advice, “it was just solving a problem and saving me some time.” Her experience in management includes working with the band The Dresden Dolls and with Mike Luba at Madison House Presents in New York City.
White dis-assembles the way publishing, royalties and merchandising works. She stresses there is no reason why artists shouldn’t make informed decisions and ultimately get paid for their work. Her book covers tips for artists at all points in their career—from rookies to veterans. Her material takes “the entire modern music industry from recording to release to distribution. It is presented in a way, where if you are 12-years-old, and getting going, you are going to record, distribute and market your music with or without a budget.” She says the tips also apply to established artists looking to clean up their catalog.
Knowledge is power
White, who also co-founded the successful online #iVoted Festival to raise voter turnout that saw over 450 artists participate in the largest digital concert in history, says something as simple as artists collecting emails from fans and nurturing that relationship is an important tool and key to success.
“Artists need to think of themselves as tech companies and instead of being beholden to social media algorithms.” As an example, she said when Dresden Dolls singer Amanda Palmer released her first solo album Palmer was still signed to a major label subsidiary. It sold roughly 10,000 copies in the first week. One thousand were sold through the label and 9,000 were sold thought the email list.
The first 12-episode season of the How To Build A Sustainable Music Career Podcast is available at volume.com. Guests included Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman and Bandcamp founder Ethan Diamond. Season two has begun with episodes being livestreamed from Nō Studios; guests have included Matt Beringer of The Pabst Theater Group and Scott Ziel of Summerfest.
