The music industry requires artists at the early stage of their careers to develop their own fan bases and formulate their own development and marketing plan to create enhanced awareness to move their careers forward. This session, presented at Music Biz 2015 in Nashville on May 12, looked at how artists can knowledgeably approach this challenge and empower themselves, as well as the “team” that artists need to assemble to help move their music business forward. The panel — moderated by Dave Kusek, Digital Cowboys Consulting, with panelists including Patrick Clifford, Disney Music Publishing; Stewart Halcomb and Holly Helms, The Springs; and Gerald Moss, Entertainment One Distribution — also touched on the need and the opportunity for the industry to “incubate artists” to support future catalog development.

1. The Empowered Artist
Dave Kusek - New Artist Model
Patrick Clifford - Disney Music Publishing
Stewart Halcomb & Holly Helms - The Springs
Gerald Moss - Entertainment One Distribution

2. Steel Blossoms
• Country / Folk band from Nashville,
TN
• Released their first EP last year
• The Steel Blossoms perform almost
every single night in Nashville.
• Doing their first house concert tour.

3. Steel Blossoms
• “We collect donations at our gigs. We’ve found our fans will
support us if we give them the opportunity.”
• “We try to get as many people as possible to sign up for our
email list. Being able to contact fans later about a show or a
new song is extremely important.”
• “We’re currently trading all the songs on our EP for email
addresses instead of selling it. We’re a fairly new band and
at this point, those emails are more valuable than a few
sales.”

4. Amy Golby
• Folk singer from Texas
• She has released one album: “Left
Unsaid”
• Playing at a local festival this summer
• Playing on local TV
• Got local radio interviews
• Received offers from record labels,
booking agents, and producers

5. Amy Golby
• “I work to get my music out there anywhere and everywhere! I
submit my music everywhere online to radios, artist development
companies, streaming websites, etc.”
• “I stay on top of social media. This is how I invite people to my
shows, tell them what I’m doing, keep everyone informed, and
grow my fanbase.”
• “I do most of my own booking, and I have a giant list of every
venue I know of in my city. I email and call until I get to the
booking department. I’ve done two shows every weekend for the
past month and I still have a full time job.”

6. Jean Catchings
• Jean was stuck in a ghost writing situation
where he wasn’t getting credit for his
music
• He decided to take charge of his situation
and pushed himself to break away from
ghost writing
• About a month ago he was offered a
record contract

7. Jean Catchings
• “I’m making sure that I’m always networking by doing
collaborations and cowrites.”
• “In addition to all the work my label does, I’m still doing a lot of
work on my own. In this industry, you can’t wait around for
people. You need to make things happen.”
• “I try to make sure my fans know me as a person. That way, I
develop a much deeper connection than the typical artist-fan
relationship.”

8. Lisa Leitl
• Pop/Folk/Country songwriter from
Florida
• After 20 years as a successful
vocalist, Lisa is pursuing a new
focus of songwriting.

9. Lisa Leitl
• “I’m constantly networking, networking and networking to
build true relationships.”
• “I take every opportunity to write with other artists or
songwriters. I believe this is the best way to stretch myself
as a writer and also build new relationships and
connections.”

10. Barry McGuire
• Member of the contemporary
Christian Rock group, 288
• Just self-released their 2nd
album, “He’s Enough.”
• Performing in Nashville for the
first time this month.

11. Barry McGuire
• “In January, I quit my IT job to pursue music full time. If
you want this to be your job, you have to treat it like
one.”
• “Networking is big for me. I try to surround myself with
people who are better than me and people who are
good at things that I’m not.”

12. Colin Huntley
• Pop singer songwriter from Austin, TX
• Performed on ABC’s Rising Star.
• Performed over 150 gigs at age 16.
• Developed a following of 1400 on
YouTube and his original music video,
“Best I Never Had” has been viewed
over 300,000 times.

13. Colin Huntley
• “Facebook and YouTube is big for me. I post cover videos directly
to Facebook and boost the post. Even just a little bit has made a
huge difference in Facebook numbers as well as helping drive
traffic to my YouTube channel.”
• “I work to keep up continual engagement and conversation with
my fans. I try to understand what they want from me rather than
the other way around. It’s supposed to be fun!”
• “Being consistent in timing and quality of what you put out is
important. If people expect you’ll be there, they will be too.”

14. Matt Baker
• Jazz musician originally from Australia, now
living in NYC
• Matt has toured all over the world - Canada,
the Middle East, and Australia
• On tour with singer Judy Collins
• Has a headlining spot at the Birdland jazz
club in NYC
• Grown his Twitter following from 22 to
19,000 in the past year

15. Matt Baker
• “I’ve been playing online concerts in the last year to reach
people all over the world.”
• “I funded my last album project via crowdfunding.”
• “I’m working with people I met through the New Artist
Model on my next project.

16. The Empowered Artist
dave@newartistmodel.com