28 episodes
When Songs Mean Business Steph Belcher
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- Music
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5.0 • 29 Ratings
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When Songs Mean Business explores the intersection of real life, music creation, and business. Award-winning educator and business manager Steph Belcher interviews songwriters, producers, musicians, and industry reps to discuss their favorite songs, moments in their lives that inspired their love of music, and business lessons they've learned along the way. She also shares advice from her own experience as a music lover, tax preparer, mother of 3, and a spiritual being on this journey of life.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/whensongsmeanbusiness
https://www.stephbelcher.com
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Understanding Money in Music - The Four Industries in Music
Today's episode is an edit from the first class in my new course, Understanding Money in Music. In this episode, you'll hear my story, the data that got me interested in studying the business of music, and you'll hear me dissecting a bunch of problems that I encounter when I'm working closely with musicians on their businesses and taxes. In this episode I begin to explain the four different industries in the music business and why a musician's tax return is more complicated than a lot of other businesses. You'll hear from a few of my students, and stay tuned at the end for a guided meditation on leadership.
Check out the new daily planner here: stephbelcher.com/dailyplanner
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/whensongsmeanbusiness
Sign up for emails: stephbelcher.com -
Copyrighting your Album: A Live Consulting Session with Clare Maloney
On today's episode of When Songs Mean Business, Steph and her guest Clare Maloney sit down to copyright Clare's new album, Daybreaker. What happened during this episode was challenging, confusing, and by the end of it, very empowering. Like Clare says here, there's something really special about stamping your name on a piece of intellectual property.
Listen to Daybreaker: https://lnk.to/ClareMaloney
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whensongsmeanbusiness/
Sign up for the email list: stephbelcher.com -
The Art of Recording and Engineering with Andy Reed
Welcome to Season 2 of When Songs Mean Business!
On today's episode I am chatting with Andy Reed, a recording engineer, producer, singer, songwriter, and musician from Bay City, MI. He owns and operates his own recording studio called Reed Recording Company. Throughout his 24 year career, Andy has worked with hundreds of artists as a touring musician and in the recording studio, including a couple of my favorites, Brendan Benson and The Verve Pipe. Andy explains the different ways to mic, track, and record things, what a producer can bring to an incomplete song, how artists can evolve to sound different on every album, and how to relax into your creativity. We discuss his entrepreneurial journey over the past 16 years, what it's like to have a studio at home, and of course, what he's been listening to lately. I loved this conversation and I hope you do too.
Please give us a follow on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for video versions and clips of these episodes, and as always feel free to email me with questions, links are in the show notes.
How to Reach Andy: reedrecordingcompany.com
How to Reach us: stephbelcher.com
Check out our courses: stephbelcher.com/courses
Join the Discord server: When Songs Mean Business Discord -
How to Protect your Music with attorney Cynthia Katz
Today's episode is a masterclass in copyright law and protecting your music assets. I'm chatting with attorney Cynthia Katz, and she is a wealth of knowledge on how the system works, and what you need to do to protect yourself. If you're writing original music, getting hired for sessions, writing songs, or playing covers, you need to hear this episode.
How to Reach Cynthia:
https://www.foxrothschild.com/cynthia-l-katz
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-katz-goldfrach-544bb810/
How to Reach Us:
Support the podcast by joining our Patreon community. Check it out at patreon.com/whensongsmeanbusiness
Follow WSMB on Instagram: instagram.com/whensongsmeanbusiness
Join our Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/whensongsmeanbusiness
Learn more about Steph at stephbelcher.com
If you want to help us out without a financial commitment, please share this episode and rate us on Apple or Spotify. -
Staying on an Even Keel in Music - with Justin Powell
Today I'm talking to professional musician turned financial planner. Justin Powell. Justin is a classically trained musician who discovered rock music and went on to perform with some of the best musicians in the improvisational jam band rock scene. He was a core member of The Mantras for many years, helping them run their festival. and he's also very active in the Asheville music scene, setting up cool events like the Soul Jazz jam and playing with Blue Bop, a Bela Fleck and the Flecktones tribute band. Justin and I talk about entrepreneurship, planning festivals, being alcohol-free, tips on how to control anxiety, financial management, songwriting, and even more.
** This episode is dedicated to the memory of Kofi Burbridge. As you'll hear in the episode, Kofi gave Justin a piece of advice that changed the course of his life, and without him, this podcast episode wouldn't be here. Kofi was an absolutely brilliant musician who played with more soul than the stage could handle. I have so many fond memories of dancing barefoot in the field of a festival while Kofi poured it all out on stage. To honor his legacy, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi created the Kofi Burbridge Music Matters Fund in partnership with Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation to increase access to instruments and music programs for thousands of youth across the country.
To support this cause, please click here:
The Kofi Burbridge Music Matters Fund
Key Moments:
06:27 - Finding balance in work and music
15:44 - Festival planning - plan for the unexpected
22:22 - Building a musician's musician community
27:03 - "Don't be afraid to engage with people who are further along in their career"
34:26 - If you don't think you own business, you won't grow like you own a business.
40:00 - An ode to cover songs.
44:28 - You're in the business of throwing a party
54:23 - How to plan ahead in such an unstable industry
How to Reach Justin:
Valor Private Wealth, LLC
www.valorwealthadvisors.com
How to Reach Us:
Support the podcast by joining our Patreon community. Check it out at patreon.com/whensongsmeanbusiness
Follow WSMB on Instagram: instagram.com/whensongsmeanbusiness
Join our Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/whensongsmeanbusiness
Learn more about Steph at stephbelcher.com
If you want to help us out without a financial commitment, please share this episode and rate us on Apple or Spotify. -
Creating Space for Different Perspectives in Music with Rasha Shaker
Today I am chatting with Rasha Shaker, a music marketing professional living in Nashville. Rasha has worked with brands, bands, music festivals, venues and more to design strategic marketing plans, and she's currently pursuing an MBA in Music Business at MTSU. She has helped a touring artist generate over a million dollars in sales, and she lead a marketing campaign with a 14x return on ad spend. But as impressive as these things are, she's so much more than that.
As is usually the case with my podcast, we ended up talking about the human stuff - fitting in to a complicated world when you're neuro-divergent, VR and music in the metaverse, race and gender diversity in country music, and much more. Rasha is an incredibly bright mind with a huge heart for empathy and I strongly encourage everyone to hear what she has to say about neurodiversity in music and making room for people with disabilities at your table.
As always, feel free to reach out via email if you want to chat about any topics in this episode.
Key Moments:
02:48 - Neuro-diversity, what does that mean?
09:34 - Calling out microaggressions and flight vs fight vs freeze
17:13 - Passion for music meets passion for diversity inclusion
24:07 - People can exist in these spaces and it doesn't need to threaten your identity.
36:19 - VR as a technology that helps people with disabilities enjoy music
42:50 - What Rasha's been listening to lately (with an interlude - Ode to Lady Gaga)
57:14 - Why companies should hire neuro-diverse individuals to solve their problems
1:01:32 - Turn yourself up to 11 and be unapologetic
Follow Rasha:
Website - rashaker.com
Instagram - @ra_sha_ker
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashashaker/
Books mentioned:
How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
Dare to Lead - Brene Brown
How to Reach Us:
Support the podcast by joining our Patreon community. Check it out at patreon.com/whensongsmeanbusiness
Follow WSMB on Instagram: instagram.com/whensongsmeanbusiness
Join our Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/whensongsmeanbusiness
Learn more about Steph at stephbelcher.com
If you want to help us out without a financial commitment, please share this episode and rate us on Apple or Spotify.
Customer Reviews
Every Musician Needs to Listen to This Podcast
In a world full of artists who are looking to build their personal businesses, Steph is on point with all that she brings to the table. Her experience in both music and finance makes this podcast a must for anyone looking to expand their career. Thanks Stephanie for everything you do. The music world needs more heroes like you!
Totally worth your time!
Steph has a breadth of knowledge and experience that can be of value to all musicians, songwriters and composers. Her interviews are relaxed and fun but also very informative. The guests she has on have a ton to offer too. The biz is ever more nuanced and complicated and Steph’s podcast is a great resource!
A ‘must listen’ for all in the music industry!
Steph is a rare gem in the music industry. She is knowledgeable and relatable and wants nothing more than to help people succeed! Her podcast is informative and fun, and it feels like she is talking with you, not at you. So much insight to be gained from tuning in with Steph! I can’t recommend this podcast to musicians and creatives enough!!