Thanks @Sam_Martyn for initiating this conversation. Sorry I am just coming across it but this has been on my mind too. Thanks to @Sylvia and @RobertaFidora for helping to clarify the purpose. I like the idea of Roberta’s to “put together a kind of directory of companies and places that don’t centre on the usual monolith players (like Spotify, etc.).” Paraphrasing a thought from @richjensen - It’s important for artists to stay focused on being your creative selves. But there is the challenging reality of making a living, not just because of covid but in general. I recently released a new song and video which both together was not cheap. I made the long list of things to do to share it with the world and at the end I wrote at the top the big question: What is the financial model??? Outside of performing and hopefully the amazing success of Resonate, what are current and alternative paths to explore to build a sustainable, financial model. Maybe we could start by listing categories to explore:
social media, product, video alternatives, house concerts…
Can others add in their thoughts and we can go from there.
In addition, I like the spirit of Sam’s original thought of creative entrepreneurship. Think outside the box or beyond the box. I understand the concern with entrepreneurship (besides that fact that its a pain to spell:)) I’d like to flesh out and pioneer fresh ideas. Roberta - could we use your list on your site as a place to start.
Thanks @tamimulcahy for kicking things off here.
Much appreciation to @Hakanto, @RobertaFidora, @Sylvia, and others who helped bring this category to life.
I love some of the things you’ve mentioned right out of the gate Tami surrounding the challenges of making a living as a creative, and the “financial model” that can be associated with this creative work.
Although these may not be easy questions to answer, I feel that these are critical questions that creatives need to answer in order to be fulfilled both creatively and economically.
Since streaming services (besides Resonate and it’s potential) don’t normally offer enough payment for a living income, I think it’s critical that creatives have a website or central hub where they can drive fans to purchase or donate to their craft. In addition to the creative work itself, there could be the potential to have other items for people to purchase too like merch, and other things associated with your creative work that can add value to your fans and visitors.
The next step would then be getting people to your website or hub and encouraging them to support your craft, normally through monetary payment, but maybe even other forms of payment as well (like bartering products/services), if you are open to that.
Getting people to your site is where communication comes in via social media, (promo) videos, emails, press and other promo, etc.
I can dive into this a lot more if people are interested, but just my two cents on some ideas I have around this topic.
With that said, my thoughts are based in theories that I am still trying to hash out myself, so I appreciate any feedback, pushback, or general comments around my ideas. I know creative work has many more values surrounding it compared to general business principles, so not all aspects of business can be directly applied to creative work, but I see both creative work and business as a way to provide value to the world, so I am interested to see how the two trains of thought can combine to have an exponential impact!
Looking forward to hearing from others’ experiences too, so I am glad we are kicking things off!
Thanks!
Is that the list of newsletters, resources and stuff? Sure, I’d be happy to see it used if it’s useful and people want to add their local equivalents! I probably posted about it before too, but I remember reading about this and thinking it was great (albeit a little chaotic by the sounds of it).
Also, I saw this shared a couple of days ago and it’s an absolutely amazing resource which might have some crossover!
https://drlizdobson.wpcomstaging.com/2018/02/18/feministsoundcollectives/
We are just getting this Artist Tools category off the ground but it occurs to me after looking at Roberta’s resources and reading Sam’s comments that there is an overwhelming breath of topics to cover from tech to performing and all things in between. There are stock fundamentals for starting out such as a website as the central hub, song craft, quality recording, start building a fan bas, etc. Post production, typically the person has to start with uploading to Spotify, itunes, etc and start loading live or official video content on YouTube. My hope is Resonate will become a better choice for streaming. Is there a better alternative for video such as a coop that could also be a great complement to Resonate, matching the value set and human curation?
Would love to know if such a thing exists. I was considering swapping YouTube for Vimeo because I like the very different emphasis on creativity rather than straight up content (and small things, like being able to favourite but not downvote, adding contributor credits, etc.), but apparently that is possibly being offered up to shareholders later this year. Be interesting to see how that plays out.
Going back to the breadth of artist tools, I guess it’s hard to cover everything and everyone’s experience with making music is so different, not every topic will be relevant. Do you have a rough criteria in mind for what kind of things could be featured or the form they might take?
Maybe we can have different topics, for different areas. One topic for website ideas, another for socials, videos, etc?
I can create a few general topics to start the conversation if we agree on that as something that could help?
This info came from Timothee on another thread: https://community.resonate.is/t/re-resonator-the-resonate-monthly-show/1047/3
@Timothee
Designer + Resonate Advocate
9h
I wasn’t thinking about video content, but the Youtube alternative you’re looking for is called PeerTube: Take back control of your videos! JoinPeerTube. And since v3, there is now a Live streaming feature.
I started looking at it along with two others - Lbry.com and Bitchute.com
At first run through, I liked Peer the best. You can put a “support” button on video but I’m not sure how to build a fan base.
I think the thread might’ve gone but sounds interesting!
Thank you for the video alternatives too - I hadn’t heard of any of these! 
I looked through peer.com Not many views of most items and not much music. It feels in some ways like an early Resonate where some creatives jumped in but there were’t many listeners/viewers.
A sync agent I was working with just posted this on Linkedin. This station is in the UK so I don’t know anything about the popularity. But it has the scent of a pay to play service.
He posted the following: We are launching new “MTV Style” show for indies. Made by artists, for artists. Get prime-time airplay on Sky TV for your music video, with a massive potential audience.
Great opportunity for independent artists, record labels, managers etc.
We don’t care about social media numbers, the video doesn’t have to be big budget either. If you’re unsigned or self-releasing, or an indie label - great!
The only stipulation is that the music must be awesome & pro-sounding - It’s all about the music!
We are extremely open-minded about genre. I am an A&R so you know we will find a home for the experimental stuff too!
