Are you gearing up to release your next single? Don't pick your release date until you maximize your efforts in the stages before, during, and after the launch! In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa pick apart the foundations of single releases so that you can plan your waterfall releases to have the biggest impact. Learn about the myth of fast releases, dive deep into what assets and content you should have ready for both pre-release and ongoing marketing efforts, and best practices...
May 07, 2024•27 min•Ep. 321
Are bottlenecks in your creative business slowing down your progress? Identifying and removing these barriers can be the key to unlocking your creative output AND fan base growth... In this special episode of Creative Juice, Jack is joined by Jonah McLean (aka DUX), a lead strategist and coach from our IndieFounder program, to dive into the most common bottlenecks he finds in artists' creative businesses! Learn from Jonah's experience consulting and coaching hundreds of artists and explore the t...
Apr 30, 2024•30 min•Ep. 320
Feeling stuck in your music career? Not sure what roadblock is holding you back? If you're at a standstill, diagnosing the root cause is the first step... In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa dissect the major reasons why artist careers slow down and how to diagnose and avoid these pitfalls. Learn about maintaining a consistent release cadence, keeping your enthusiasm to engage your fans, navigating the honeymoon phase of music marketing, and the common breakdowns in artists’ traffi...
Apr 23, 2024•23 min•Ep. 319
For artists and bands looking to fuel their growth with effective music marketing strategies, there's a dizzying array of options constantly being advertised to you...how do you know what opportunities to focus your time, effort, energy, and budget on? In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa break down opportunities in the industry for marketing your music so that you can choose the best vehicle for your growth! Learn about the differences between digital marketing, influencer campaign...
Apr 16, 2024•32 min•Ep. 318
Visit the websites of your favorite artists and bands and you'll probably find a form with the call to action "Sign Up For Updates". Tough question: how many fans do you think actually sign up just for updates? In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa answer one of the biggest questions on growing your list of fans...how to actually get fans to sign up! Learn about the top email list-building offers we use with our IndieX agency clients right now, choosing the right offer based on your ...
Apr 09, 2024•35 min•Ep. 317
Will 2024 be the year that email marketing proves to be dead, buried, and useless for artists? The answer might surprise you... In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa spill the beans about the future of email marketing for musicians with facts and figures, case studies, and client stories showing how email is one of the highest ROI channels! Learn why music industry folks think that email is a thing of the past, why poor strategy ACTUALLY makes email marketing appear dead, and how we'...
Apr 02, 2024•32 min•Ep. 316
Planning an EP or album release this year and overwhelmed with options for building the marketing strategy? There are two camps when it comes to launching an album in 2024... In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa share album launch strategies that set our IndieX agency clients up for success so that you can apply them to your releases - and profit! Learn about the common pitfalls in EP and album launches, the interplay between singles releases and full album launches, how to get your...
Mar 26, 2024•35 min•Ep. 315
Compared to every other industry around the world, the music industry is notably bad at data consolidation and artists suffer the most from it! There are a dizzying amount of digital marketing tools that can help artists capture and monetize fan bases...So where do you start? In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa discuss the marketing tools every artist should have in their arsenal and unpack the features that are non-negotiables! Dive into website platforms, email and SMS marketing ...
Mar 19, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 314
Ever felt like your music is the roadblock in your marketing journey? It's time to rethink, reassess, and re-strategize! In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa reveal what to do when your music marketing strategies hit a roadblock and how a critical evaluation of your music could be the key to unlocking audience growth. Learn why social content fails and how to diagnose yours, as well as when to fine-tune your music from gathering and analyzing feedback to refining songwriting, produc...
Mar 12, 2024•36 min•Ep. 313
What separates a good artist from a great artist brand when it comes to merch? Here's a hint: It's all centered around customer experience... In this episode of Creative Juice, we're joined by special guest Seamus Menihane, founder of Down Right Merch to get his expert insights on merchandise and fulfillment for artists and brands! Learn about how Down Right Merch got its start in the industry as we discuss what artists often overlook about merch and fulfillment, how to create unforgettable cust...
Mar 05, 2024•53 min•Ep. 312
Wondering why the buzz around music NFTs seems to come and go? Want to know what's behind all the hype about web3 and the music industry? A lot has happened in the last few years... In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack grills Circa on the latest developments at the crossroads of blockchain technology and music! Dive into the recent changes in web3, AI disruption, why blockchain became so attractive to the music industry and uncover the REAL reason web3 has become a hot topic in music! If futu...
Feb 27, 2024•36 min•Ep. 311
Ever worry about aging out of a music career? Concerned that running ads will kill your organic growth on social media? Artists shouldn't let these myths get in your head... In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa debunk common misconceptions that plague the industry and dive into the mindset of highly successful artists who keep their goals laser-focused! Learn how to build systems to prevent self-sabotage, how to attract attention without labeling your genre, tips for writing better ...
Feb 20, 2024•40 min•Ep. 310
In 2024, your music distributor may not make or break your career, but knowing what opportunities are out there for you is critical to your success as an artist... So in this special episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa are joined by special guest Dame Ritter, the Director of Communications at the music distribution company Too Lost to talk about all things music industry, from distribution deals, to artist management, monetization, and more! Learn about the current state of music distribut...
Feb 13, 2024•41 min•Ep. 309
Independent artists and bands are stacking wins and breaking records daily! They just need a bit more publicity... In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa share the stories of Indies both inside and outside of the Indepreneur community to inspire and show what's possible in your music career! Learn how artists are growing rabid fan bases, selling out shows, cracking chart positions, and building music businesses that support them full-time! If you're looking for inspiration on how to c...
Feb 06, 2024•31 min•Ep. 308
Did you know that a fan who is a customer is 5 times more likely to buy from you again? Armed with that fact, it's mission critical for artists to convert fans into customers... So in this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa open up the strategy vault and break down the process of converting fans into customers using a Free+Shipping & Handling funnel! Learn how this strategy works for artists from pricing and costs, to upsells and the traffic sources to tap into, and get a first hand l...
Jan 30, 2024•33 min•Ep. 307
Want to unravel the mystery behind marketing funnels and their role in music marketing? While funnels might just sound like marketing jargon, the reality is that they play a critical role in your music business already... In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa demystify the buzz around marketing funnels to show how artists can deploy sales funnels in their music marketing. We zoom out to cover the three fundamental pieces that make up ANY funnel for ANY business, campaigns and process...
Jan 23, 2024•41 min•Ep. 306
The concept of branding gets a lot of talk in the music industry, but how do you apply it to your music day-to-day? In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa dive into what branding truly means for your music career! Learn about what a brand is (and what it isn't), the misconceptions artists and music industry pros have about branding, how to build your mission and vision statement for your music business, and the ongoing battle between branding and marketing for many artists. Don't let ...
Jan 16, 2024•31 min•Ep. 305
Make no mistake...creating and sharing social media content for your music isn't easy and for artists getting started, burnout can set in fast. So, how do you avoid it? In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa discuss content creation and how music is discovered today and how artists can reframe their thinking and habits on social media growth! Learn how to approach your audience growth online, avoid social exhaustion, and make content creation and social media "social" and fun, like pe...
Jan 09, 2024•27 min•Ep. 304
Spend more than two minutes scrolling your social feeds as an artist and you'll be drowned in content about "getting more fans". When does fan base growth become a buzzphrase that doesn't serve your music career? In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa explore why fan growth is just one leg of your music marketing strategy and why it's crucial to look beyond fan acquisition! Learn why artists often get stuck in the fan growth phase and fall for scams or ineffective strategies, and when...
Jan 02, 2024•28 min•Ep. 303
As 2023 comes to a thrilling conclusion, let's shift our focus to the year ahead and what it holds for music marketing and the music industry as a whole! In this special episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa dive into our music business and music marketing predictions for 2024! We'll explore the exciting future of independent music, AI and music production, the commoditization of distribution services, online privacy challenges, music NFTs, and the rising trend of catalog buying. If you're d...
Dec 26, 2023•37 min•Ep. 302
The music industry gets compared to a lot of other industries...but have you ever heard it compared to the illicit drug market? In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa twist the narrative of music business economics and draw surprising and hilarious parallels between the music industry, drugs, and black markets! Learn about the economics of the music industry and the supply and demand dynamics of both music and drugs, why artists got the short end of the stick in the Wild West of the r...
Dec 19, 2023•42 min•Ep. 301
We're celebrating 300 episodes of Creative Juice and sharing our personal lessons learned from 7 years of music marketing! In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa share stories and lessons learned from over 7 years of Creative Juice episodes and from our agency IndieX, our coaching program IndieFounder, and the IndiePRO community. Learn from our experiences on selling high ticket offers in your music career, profitable album launches, the changing dynamics of social media over the last...
Dec 12, 2023•52 min•Ep. 300
Apart from releasing holiday themed music, we often get asked what can artists and bands do while the music industry hits the snooze button this holiday season. Turns out, you can do a lot... In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa talk shop about why the music industry tends to slow down in December and how artists can seize this opportunity to shine! Dive into the philosophy of B2C vs B2B in the music industry, the pros and cons of releasing music during the holidays, sales offers yo...
Dec 05, 2023•23 min•Ep. 299
If you have revenue coming into your music business, there are a few processes that you should add to your operations and use frequently to take your business to the next level... In this episode of Creative Juice, join Jack and Circa as they break down the tried-and-true steps we use at our marketing agency, IndieX, to grow any artist business. Learn how to comb through a meticulous audit of your ecosystem and marketing efforts to identify and capitalize on areas of opportunity, craft compellin...
Nov 28, 2023•27 min•Ep. 298
Creating videos that catch an audience's attention and engage them to stop their scrolling is the quickest path to growing a fan base for your music. But many artists don't know where to even start and content makes them cringe... In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa unravel the secrets of leveraging your best content on social media to grow your fan base from scratch. Learn a step-by-step approach to content research and modeling on TikTok and Instagram Reels, offering invaluable i...
Nov 21, 2023•44 min•Ep. 297
When running ads on social media for their music, many artists struggle with knowing when to make changes and then freak out about day-to-day results. Without a process in place for media buying, running ads for your music will feel like a rollercoaster of panic and success... So in this episode of Creative Juice, we break down the science of running successful ad campaigns for your music and the mindset needed to make the right decisions in your media buying! Learn why so many artists struggle ...
Nov 14, 2023•43 min•Ep. 296
The most successful businesses are often led by forward-thinkers and innovators who capitalize on trends before they become mainstream. The most successful artists and musicians of the future will do the same... In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa step into the future and discuss what the next decade holds for the music industry based on trends from marketing, tech, finance, and beyond. Learn about the disruptive potential of AI, the future of music and intellectual property rights...
Nov 07, 2023•51 min•Ep. 295
In order to actually grow a music career, artists must go beyond the vague concept of "getting more fans" and take a critical look at their marketing. Many artists have blind spots that don't even realize... In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa take you through 5 music business blind spots that we analyze with artists at our agency IndieX to help them grow. Learn how the key to growth lies not only in expanding your fan base but also in enhancing the quality of your relationships wi...
Oct 31, 2023•58 min•Ep. 294
Black Friday sales are not exclusive to big retailers - they're crucial for businesses of ALL kinds, including artists and bands! Tapping into it could allow you to unlock the power of the season that represents 30% of annual retail sales... In this episode, Jack and Circa present playbooks and strategies tailored for running a successful Black Friday 2023 promotion in your music career! Learn how to build audiences ahead of your promotion, create offers for customer creation and ascension, and ...
Oct 24, 2023•38 min•Ep. 293
Crowdfunding can be a game-changer for musicians, but misconceptions often deter artists from leveraging its full potential. Is crowdfunding as an artist distinctively different from campaigns in other industries? In this episode of Creative Juice, Jack and Circa welcome our special guest, music business development consultant, Kyle Kraft to the show to discuss the keys to successful crowdfunding for musicians. Learn the misconceptions around crowdfunding that stop artists from doing it, how to ...
Oct 17, 2023•50 min•Ep. 292
