You are talented, motivated, inspired and gaining momentum in your music career; you are also getting stressed from managing your social media, organizing gigs and trying to sell merchandise – all without breaking your bank account. Here’s the reality: your music is your baby, your passion, your blue flame. It’s also your business and you have to treat it as such. As much as you want to be the carefree music hippie that goes with the flow, you also need to plan, prepare and promote yourself in order to make it. We at Born & Bred want to help guide musicians on how to properly manage their music business; so we are starting a series of posts entitled, you guessed it, Your Music is Your Business. For this inaugural post, we present 4 apps we believe every band and musician should utilize to keep their branding updated, booking in order and the tip jar full.
CANVA whether you are updating your social media platforms or creating a poster for your upcoming gigs, Canva is the first GO TO you need to look professional and stylish. Take some time to learn all the cool tricks Canva has to offer. If you are not design savvy, it’s okay! Canva has thousands of templates, including music specific templates, you can pull from and modify to fit your promotional needs. Tight on cash? We know. Canva has a free version of the app that will get you where you need to land. Download Canva today if you want to level up your marketing performance.
PICSART this app is just fun for adding cool filters and artsy vibes to your headshots and performance pics. With both a free and paid version, Picsart allows you to reinvent an image again and again, allowing you to keep your content fun and fresh. Download Picsart!
BAND This app is great for keeping your band and bookings organized. It has a messaging feature to text everyone in the band as well as a calendar so you can add shows, band practices, etc. You can event attach files to an event on your calendar. Picture this: You post in the app about an offer for a new gig. Everyone in your band can respond to your post. Once you know everyone is free, you add the show date, time location in the app calendar – you can even attach images and files like your setlist for the show! Band app allows you to set automated reminders to everyone in the band as well. You can also add dates from your band app calendar to your apple calendar. If you’re looking to streamline the organize of your band, BAND is the way to go!
A PAYMENT APP Whether it is square, cash app, venmo or paypal, make sure you have a digital way people can tip you or buy your merch. Fewer and fewer people carry cash for tipping. Sharing your payment app info is a great way to collect tips and payments quickly and easily and no one has to reach for a wallet or money bag.
Organizing your business can be DAUNTING – especially when you just want to create and inspire. But with some simple tips and tricks, you can successfully manage your music business without suffocating your inspiration along the way. All it takes is some simple tools and strategies. We are here to help you along the way! Check back often for more posts on managing your music business!
