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SUPPORTING MUSIC-MAKERS

The Artist Pathway Programme

A professional development programme from DIY Phase artists




The Artist Pathway Programme is our training and mentoring scheme that supports DIY Phase artists as they progress their careers.

It provides practical advice for artists via online and in-person workshops and seminars led by a team of music industry experts.

The full scheme also includes a practical project element in which participants get access to funding and one-to-one support in order to grow and develop their fanbases and frontline artist businesses.

We deliver this programme in partnership with leading music industry and talent development organisations. That includes music charity Help Musicians via its Business Accelerator and Business Skills programmes, and as part of the MOBO Unsung initiative.

Details of the workshops and seminars run as part of this programme are given below. To discuss utilising this programme as part of your talent development work get in touch at info@pathwaysintomusic.com.



THE WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS

YOUR PATHWAY INTO MUSIC
How do you go about building a fanbase and a business around your music-making? In this session we breakdown the career of a frontline artist into ten steps, discovering that the conventional music industry only really gets properly involved around about step four. What do artists need to do to build momentum during the DIY Phase? What tools and programmes offer support? And what are future music industry business partners looking for when seeking new artists in which to invest time and money?



MAKING MONEY FROM MUSIC RIGHTS
When you write songs and record tracks you create copyrights. Copyright then gives you control over what happens to that music and you can exploit those controls to generate income around your music-making. Copyright control is automatic, but getting it right requires some important conversations and administration. Get to grips with how music copyright works, what you need to do as soon as you start making music, and how your music rights will start to make you money.



MUSIC-MAKING: WRITING, RECORDING, PRODUCING
Let’s put the spotlight on music-making. This session provides practical advice on the music-making process, including songwriting sessions, recording sessions and music production. What is the respective role of the producer and the sound engineer? How can you get the most out of your home recording and production set-up? How can you get the most out of studio sessions? What are your options for mixing and mastering? And what support is available along the way in terms of online tools?



PLANNING YOUR RELEASE
Once you’ve made the record, how do you get it to market? How do you plan and deliver a release campaign? This session explains the different ways to get music streaming and what services you can expect from a DIY distributor. It looks at how you should go about promoting the release and encouraging people to listen. What role do media, playlists and other influencers play in getting your music to an audience and growing your fanbase?  



CONTENT CREATION
Music marketing today involves creating and sharing a wide assortment of visual content – artwork, images and videos that populate social media and other digital channels; stand out in the feeds of fans and potential fans; and encourage a reaction and response. But how can you produce great marketing content on a super tight budget? This session looks at content creation, offering practical tips on making great content, preparing it for different social media, and responding to how your fans respond.



SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media and other digital channels play a key role in the fanbase building process during the DIY Phase, as well as being an important part of any release campaign. But which social media? And what should you be doing with each different platform? This session provides a practical guide to using social media as marketing tools, plus explains how the artist website and mailing list are still an important part of the mix.



MAKING MONEY FROM LIVE
For many artists live is traditionally a key revenue stream. For new artists, it is also an important marketing platform. Though, gigging and touring is a challenge at the outset of an artist’s career – with things like COVID, Brexit and the cost of living crisis only adding to those challenges in recent years. So what does going live involved – and what are the best ways to tackle those challenges, especially during the DIY Phase.



YOUR EMAIL LIST AND DIRECT-TO-FAN
This full-day session offers practical advice on the music-making process, including songwriting sessions, recording sessions and music production. What is the respective role of the producer and sound engineer? How can you get the most out of your home recording and production set-up? How can you get the most out of studio sessions? What are your options for mixing and mastering? And what support is available along the way in terms of money, resources, information and wellbeing?



DESITINATIONS: COLLABORATORS AND PARTNERS
As momentum builds, music industry business partners will want to come on board, potentially including a manager, lawyer, agent, label, publisher and more. Though before you start engaging business partners, you probably need to find some collaborators. In this session we discuss what effective collaboration looks like, and then run through all the key tools, platforms and partners.



ARTIST INCOME, GRANTS, CROWDFUNDING, PATREON, NFTs
The fanbase in itself is a potential revenue stream. You need to work out who your fans are and what they will spend money on, and then work out how to provide those products, services and experiences in a cost effective way. This session will look at the potential of monetising the direct-to-fan relationship. It also considers what support is available along the way in terms of money, resources and information.



YOUR THREE-MONTH JOURNEYS – PLUS INDUSTRY TRENDS
In this session we will hear from some of the participants on the programme: they will tell us about how they plan to spend their £500 bursary and explain what they hope to achieve by the end of their three month journey. Plus, we look at ways in which the music industry is currently changing that might affect early career artists.