When Songs Mean Business artwork

When Songs Mean Business

28 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 29 ratings

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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Episodes

Understanding Money in Music - The Four Industries in Music

December 21, 2022 01:09 - 56 minutes - 51.7 MB

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 oth...

Copyrighting your Album: A Live Consulting Session with Clare Maloney

December 10, 2022 05:17 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MB

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 e...

The Art of Recording and Engineering with Andy Reed

November 30, 2022 00:50 - 1 hour - 78.5 MB

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, ...

How to Protect your Music with attorney Cynthia Katz

July 05, 2022 04:28 - 1 hour - 74.2 MB

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 ...

Staying on an Even Keel in Music - with Justin Powell

June 09, 2022 04:23 - 1 hour - 62.9 MB

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...

Creating Space for Different Perspectives in Music with Rasha Shaker

May 31, 2022 04:02 - 1 hour - 65.4 MB

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 wi...

A deep dive into recording and production with Jake Rye

May 24, 2022 23:56 - 1 hour - 87.4 MB

Today's episode is so full of incredible production and recording and songwriting information from my friend Jake Rye. Jake owns a recording studio in Michigan called Social Recording Company and was a member of the Grammy nominated band Sanctus Real for several years. We talk about his path into music and all the things he learned along the way, from being in a publishing deal to self-employment, parenthood, and much more. Buckle in - this is a long one and there's a lot of good stuff in th...

Futuristic Music Technology with Senaida Ng

May 17, 2022 04:02 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MB

Today i'm talking to Senaida Ng, a Toronto native who is studying music at NYU. Senaida is a sound architect, creative entrepreneur and futurist. Through her work as a conscious artist and thinker, she explores the intersection between art and emerging technologies. Classically-trained in piano, she has performed at prestigious concert halls and music festivals across North America including Carnegie Hall and has won multiple national and international music competitions. She currently atten...

Marketing in Music is about Storytelling

May 10, 2022 04:04 - 52 minutes - 47.9 MB

Today's episode is about marketing and how you can use your authentic story to create a really tight knit community of fans who buy everything you put out. Connecting with your fans on a deeper level means being vulnerable about the things you've learned, the mistakes you've made, and how you've changed throughout your life. For the first time, I share parts of my story that lead me to where I am today. Music marketing starts with vulnerability, so click play on this episode if you want to l...

The Myth of the Starving Artist with Judeanne Armenti

April 06, 2022 00:42 - 1 hour - 60.7 MB

Today i'm talking to Judeanne Armenti. Judeanne is a 20-year veteran of the music business who has worked in ticketing, finance, and administration at multiple live music promoters on the east coast. During the pandemic, Judeanne started a company called JA Creatives Consulting, where she educates creatives about basic accounting and finance, as well as counseling them on music business practices. Her goal is to dispel the myth that creative people aren't good with math, money, or business. ...

This week, find us on Ari's Take

March 31, 2022 13:06 - 1 minute - 1.17 MB

Due to a loss in my family, I'm taking this week off from editing, and instead, I'd love for you to hop over to Ari's Take and check out his most recent podcast episode. In that recording, Khloe Churko and I tackle the entire range of business management topics - from how to set up your LLC, to whether or not you need a DBA, bookkeeping, tax prep, and much more. Here's the link, enjoy! https://aristake.com/handling-your-music-finances/

Creative Sync Licensing with Nelson K. Johnson

March 22, 2022 04:08 - 39 minutes - 36.6 MB

This week I'm interviewing Nelson K. Johnson, a music producer and songwriter for film and TV. His credits include Netflix, Fox, CBS, AllBlk, WeTV, Facebook, VH1, OWN, NICK + More.  Nelson teaches music creators the best practices to get their music on TV & in Film, using unique strategies and smart approaches that cut through the noise & increase placement opportunities. He's the music supervisor for "Deadly Sexy", the composer for seasons 1-3 of Monogamy, he wrote the theme song music for...

Finding Authenticity in Teaching and Performing with Erin McLendon

March 15, 2022 19:16 - 1 hour - 62.6 MB

Today's conversation is fun and full of laughter and joy. My guest is Erin McLendon, a songwriter and vocalist from Nashville who runs a studio called Music on the Move. Erin is an absolute joy, and our conversation is all about REAL LIFE. Stick around till the end of the episode to hear Erin's single, Shakin in my boots, and check out the show notes below for more info on how to follow Erin.  Erin McLendon is a walking, talking poster child for “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” She believes in...

Artist Development in Songwriting with Ashley Maietta

March 08, 2022 21:09 - 1 hour - 64.1 MB

Today's episode features a lovely business-centric conversation with Ashley Maietta, a singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. Ashley works in artist management, A&R and publishing, and she has a wealth of knowledge on artist development and marketing for emerging musicians.  You'll hear us chatting about songwriting and artist development, including her songwriting process, co-writing with others, how to be vulnerable and authentic in a songwriting session, the importance of publishing dea...

Pricing Strategies for Live Gigs: a Coaching Session with Dutcher Snedeker

March 01, 2022 04:50 - 1 hour - 70 MB

Part 1 of 2 - Dutcher Snedeker is a full-time professional musician, working as a keyboardist, session musician, freelance writer, and podcast host on the west side of Michigan. Playing dozens of weddings a year and gigging with a handful of touring bands, Dutcher stays busy and has a lot of spinning plates. In this episode, Dutcher and Steph discuss pricing strategies, creating boundaries around how much you earn, how to raise your rates and you'll hear how to use your own free copy of the ...

The Importance of Mentorship with Nate Winn

February 22, 2022 06:24 - 1 hour - 64.2 MB

On today's episode, Steph is talking with one of her DIME coworkers, Nate Winn. Nate's a versatile drummer and band leader who got his masters in jazz drumming from Berklee College of Music. We dive deep into his story, starting with high school band and his challenges as a late bloomer. He talks about his experience with the Civic Jazz Orchestra in Detroit, and what it was like to audition and play with the legendary jazz band leader Marcus Belgrave. They talk about some huge sacrifices Nat...

Establishing your Core Values as a Music Entrepreneur with Steph Belcher (solo episode)

February 08, 2022 17:30 - 47 minutes - 43.8 MB

This episode dives into Steph's story and her process for establishing and refining the core values that drive her business. You'll hear a little of Steph's self-employment story and her own core values, and some examples of how other music creators are using their core values to create businesses that work for them, not against them.  This episode features the kind of conversation we have monthly in our brand new Patreon community. Over on Patreon, I am thoughtfully curating a community of...

How to Price Gigs, the Tech Behind Live Streaming, and How to Slow Down in Music

February 01, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 70.7 MB

Today's episode is Day 2 of our Level Up your Business Workshop from January 2022. In this workshop we are talking about the things we did during the pandemic that helped us keep our businesses afloat or helped us stay in touch with our humanity, and we also start to talk about the things we are going to leave behind as we move into 2022. We dive into pricing strategies for gigs, get a great tutorial on the technology needed for a successful live stream, and share stories from several overwo...

What's Working for Musicians in 2022? - Level Up Workshop Day 1

January 25, 2022 18:05 - 1 hour - 71.9 MB

What's working for musicians now? In this episode, Steph talks to more than a dozen different musicians and industry reps about strategies they've been using to get ahead. This networking event connected people from Las Vegas, New Zealand, NYC, Michigan, and more.  Sign up for the workshop at stephbelcher.com/levelup Follow WSMB on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whensongsmeanbusiness Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/whensongsmeanbusiness Thanks to the worksh...

Running the Family Business with Khloe Churko

January 18, 2022 05:01 - 1 hour - 58.5 MB

Khloe Churko is a business manager, bookkeeper, and studio executive from Las Vegas. She owns a music business management firm called Pink Noise, oversees The Hideout Recording Studio, and manages her father - rock producer Kevin Churko. Khloe and Steph dive into a bunch of really interesting business management topics in this episode, and Khloe gives independent musicians - especially producers and songwriters - some really great advice regarding catalog sales, licensing deals, checking up ...

Understanding Publishing and Licensing with Jon Bahr

January 11, 2022 05:29 - 59 minutes - 54.8 MB

On today's episode, Steph talks to Downtown Music Holdings Vice President of Business Development and Strategy, Jon Bahr. Jon's expertise lies in his deep knowledge of publishing and monetization in streaming and content production, as well as maintaining long-lasting relationships in the music and entertainment industry. He has more than 20 years experience in music marketing, publishing, intellectual property, copyright, royalties and licensing and he shares some incredibly valuable advice...

Being Self-Employed in Music with Chesney Walters: a Coaching Session

January 04, 2022 05:13 - 1 hour - 65.3 MB

Chesney Walters is a musician, business student, event and production assistant, songwriter, and band leader, and in this episode, she asks Steph for specific advice about how to balance self-employment in the music industry. Key topics include starting a music business LLC, partnerships in music, filing a music industry tax return, publishing, when to hire an attorney, expense reimbursements, and more.  For more on Chesney: https://ffm.bio/soundslikeotto Follow us on Instagram: https://ww...

How to Set Goals and Reach your Dreams in 2022

December 28, 2021 06:00 - 41 minutes - 37.9 MB

Ready to explore your full potential in 2022? This episode explores some practical ways to dream big and reach your goals.  Key moments:  03:19 - Why I thought I wasn't good enough to own a business 07:24 - Musicians need an exit strategy for their businesses 11:35 - Setting a 26-year goal for your music marathon 13:23 - You can only focus on one goal at a time 16:20 - A guided meditation to help you find your dreams 22:26 - Writing down your 10 dreams will change your life 28:27 - T...

Collecting Music with Nate Dorough

December 21, 2021 05:17 - 1 hour - 71.2 MB

As the talent buyer for Audiotree Presents, Nate Dorough is on the forefront of upcoming talent. A collector of music, from bootlegs to tapes to live shows, Nate listens to it all.  Creator / host of the Here For Now podcast. Vice President of the Michigan Independent Venue and Promoter Association (MIVPA).  Creator of @MichSongs.  Supporter of Michigan music and creativity.  Proud husband, father.  Collector of cassettes and LEGOs. Get to know everyone's favorite Michigan promoter.  Key ...

Developing Relationships in the Music Business with Sabrina Underwood

December 14, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 69.6 MB

It started with Prince. Sabrina was 7 years old, listening to the "Prince" album when she fell in love with the music that played on the record player. She knew then that she wanted to work in music.  As a multi-passionate entrepreneur, Sabrina currently operates as General Manager and business partner to 2x Grammy award winning music producer/artist Denaun "Mr. Porter" Porter and their production companies Mr. Porter Production Group & Planit Dope. She also provides marketing and project m...

Building Community around Music and Art with Audra Kubat

December 07, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 66 MB

Award-winning songwriter, community activist, and educator Audra Kubat is building a creative arts space called the Detroit House of Music, and on today's episode, she sits down with Steph to chat about what it means to build community around art. They talk about her songwriting collaboration with the Detroit Institute of Arts, how she got started in music, and what it was like for her to grow up in Detroit. They discuss Audra's songwriting process, struggles she has in business, and so much...

Steph's Essential Songs - Version without Music

December 07, 2021 05:00 - 57 minutes - 52.8 MB

In this first episode, get to know me, your host Steph Belcher, by listening to some of my favorite songs. Starting with my first favorite song when I was 4 years old, and going through all the different phases of my schooling and career, I explore my favorite songs and the life and career lessons I learned along the way.

When Songs Mean Business Trailer

October 21, 2021 16:02 - 2 minutes - 2.02 MB

Welcome to When Songs Mean Business! This podcast will explore the intersection of real life, music creation, and business. I'm your host, Steph Belcher, and I'll be interviewing 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. Stay tuned! 

Twitter Mentions

@senaidaxoxo 1 Episode
@audiotreeshows 1 Episode
@michsongs 1 Episode
@natedorough 1 Episode