The Artist Report

10: What it Takes to Succeed with the Founders of SoundStripe Music

This podcast is an interview conversation with the founders of Soundstripe Music. Soundstripe is a subscription based music licensing site - which we talk about a little but this is more of the story of two entrepreneurs taking their backgrounds, and talents, seeing a gap in the industry and forming a company around that gap. So we take this conversation from inception of idea, to what it took to make it happen. Micah and Travis talk through struggles they had to overcome, almost giving up, and how they took their company to where it is now. Here are a few of the things talked about in the interview: - we're moving micro-entrepreneur economy. Uber, Lift, AirBnB. Freelancer economy. Opportunities are increasing and barriers are dropping - a lot of people need music but can't afford $1k per song. - their motto at Soundstripe is to fail quickly and fail cheaply - failures can't become your DNA. Learn from them, move on, and don't hang on to them. - if you're looking to start your own business, you better know and think through what that means, and be willing to push through the hard times. - you can persist and be stupid and get nowhere. - if you're not self aware enough to know your strengths, character traits, and weaknesses, you're going to find yourslef running in circles and hitting your head against the wall. - hire or partner with people that fill the rolls of your weaknesses - As a small company, how do you define rolls and stay in your own lane - they talk about lessons learned - Persistence and commitment is the key to success - measureable traction - selling rubber analogy - you can't control the economy or the market - you can control you and how you respond to that economy - give people the benefit of the doubt. Especially your partners and employees. - recognizing as a manager when you're projecting yourself and your expectations for yourself on other people - the way you are is the frame of reference you give to the rest of the world. It's important to recognize that as you're making assumptions of people - Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Security is the #2 need and there is no security or stability in starting a business Book Recs: - Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert - Anything by Seth Godin. The Dip - The E-Myth - Scaling Up - Delivering Happiness - the automatic customer

09: A Career You Don't Need a Vacation From - Michael Antonia

This episode is a going to be a little different from the typical interview format - it’s a lecture giving by a buddy of ours, Michael Antonia at a conference we’ve been a part of the past couple years called Field Trip. If you’re a photographer, google Yeah Field Trip - and you should definitely consider going. Michael is a DJ and a business man whom I respect a ton. His companies are The FlashDance, Yeah Rentals, Yeah Furniture, he's worked for The Ace Hotels as their music director since their inception and what he has to share is so valuable. His talk is titled ‘A career you don’t need a vacation from’ and it’s one of my favorite talks I’ve heard, geared towards being a creative, making art, and making a living doing it.