Trailer – Backstage Money: Real-World Finance for Musicians

Backstage Money embarks on an incisive examination of the intersection between artistry and financial literacy, an area often neglected within the music industry. Hosted by Jason K. Powers, these episodes will introduce an array of artists who articulate their personal experiences and insights regarding the financial realities of a career in music. The discussions highlight the pressing need for musicians to cultivate an understanding of their income streams, particularly given the contemporary landscape dominated by digital platforms that often yield meager financial rewards unless the artist reaches an extraordinary level of commercial success.

Throughout the episodes, we'll dialogue about the dichotomy between the artistic passion that fuels their endeavors and the pragmatic financial considerations that underpin their careers. While the allure of living in the moment may be enticing, it is imperative to recognize that financial obligations loom large, necessitating careful planning and proactive management of one’s finances. Artists share candid anecdotes regarding the challenges of balancing creativity with financial sustainability, underscoring the notion that the business of music requires as much attention as the music itself.

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Episode Transcript

(00:04):
Welcome to Backstage Money.
Real world finance for musicians.
I'm your host, Jason K. Powers.
And this is where music andmoney collide.
You want to have a real convoabout finances?
You sure.
Streams of revenue, people,Streams of revenue.
Living in moments is great.
That's cool and it'ssatisfying for those moments.

(00:25):
But there is a bill at the endof the dinner and you have to be
ready to pay for that bill.
The band is a business, sothere's the band side playing shows,
hanging out with people andhaving fun.
But then there's thecorporation and the taxes and the
bills you have to pay.
Trying to make money tosupport your family.
So you keep doing it.

(00:45):
Understand, like why do youwant to label?
Is it just for financing?
I'm banking on myself.
I'm betting on myself.
The streaming dollars are likechump change.
Unless you're getting billionsof streams, Nashville's the music
city.
Well, show us the love.
If you're the music city, whydon't you pay to play?
Because you're making a ton ofmoney in your bar and they are through

(01:08):
sponsorships, through thepeople standing at the bar paying
$12 for a beer.
Give me a break.
Right?
You have to keep dreaming whenit feels impossible because there's
a baby version of yourself outthere whose life is going to be saved
because of it.
When you're a rookie, youcan't go to the record label and
say, we want to tour withMotley Crue.

(01:31):
We want three videos.
We want to do the rock one first.
Then we're going to do this up tempo.
Then we're going to do the ball.
We want this many records inthe stores.
We're only going to tour in a bus.
No, people don't want to becontrolled like this anymore.
They don't want thesecompanies pocketing billions of dollars
when they're making.003 of a stream.
If you go out and you playingshows just for the honorarium, which

(01:54):
isn't much, hardly, you need merchandise.
You need something appealingto the fans so you can sell.
Huge things are happening inthe background.
You're doing great.
It's like, yeah, well, I'mstill working a full time job.
I'm still like pinchingpennies to pay for the next song.
You have the wrong manager,they can make some wrong.
They can not only just beusing your money for things that

(02:15):
have nothing to do with you.
They could get you into baddeals that don't make sense in bad
situations that you don't wantto be in.
I know, like what we're doingfor this, what we're doing for that.
Finance is just, like, theonly thing stopping that.
They're selling 50, 60,000albums for us, but we're not getting
any of the money.
I would say learning to putaside and invest and be clever with

(02:38):
money, because a lot ofartists that can get to retirement
and go, oh, wow, I don't havethe money to retire.
Everybody thinks they want tobe a rock star until they're gone
from home for 230 days a year.
Maybe the right question is,what would make people show up and
watch my band?

(02:59):
Maybe that's the rightquestion to ask.
Not, how do I make more money?
I am going to do this.
I didn't say I want to do it.
I didn't say, I hope I can do it.
I'm going to do this.