W. Tyler Allen, Author at The Knowledge Base.

Music & Money: What to Invest In & What to Avoid.

There’s things that occur when your business is also an art. Sometimes these things are good – we have visual and sonic presentation that’s so unique and inherent to ourselves and genres. However, we also have things that are just.. bad. We have traditions that stunt our artistic growth, and even worse we have concepts that make artists feel as if they have to spend money in places that just aren’t smart. In fact, with the dozens upon dozens of artists and labels I’ve worked with throughout my career – the number one reason they fail, is because they spent...

Master Your Income: 4 Key Cash Streams.

Quite often we’re blinded by our own artistic goals – we think, “When I get _____ then I’ll make it!”. The record deal, the viral video, the blog post – we strive for these goals and become so attached to them, that we oversee something right in front of us: Our fans, Our Community. These folks are already here, supporting our work – and frequently, we forget or overlook actually monetizing them. That’s why I wrote An Artist’s Field Guide to Income Streams. In my book I go over step-by-step ways to prepare solid income streams for your work. This blog...

Make More Money: Business Terms and Music.

There’s always this divide between business and art. We want the art to be pure, we want the art to remain full and beautiful – however, we also want to get our music heard and make an honest income from it. There’s a divide here – I hate the myth of left brain vs. right brain. I really do. However, I do believe in dualities and the importance in opposite forces. So, I agree that creation is a whole different wave length of mentality than the business side. But both are necessary. With business but no art, you don’t inspire,...

What I Learned Working with a Label That Failed.

In early 2015, I was invited to join a “dream team” of music industry professionals. This team consisted of a former VP of a major record label, a manager from a “major” indie artist, as well as an assembly of top-notch graphic designers, publicists and assistants. Our mission was to work with a brand new record label, and assist them in acquiring a larger fanbase and overall develop their brand. From the surface we succeeded: Social media numbers skyrocketed, we garnered healthy press coverage, and we even had two of their artist chart on radio. Not to mention, we...

Big Teams: Building Your Indie Music Dream Team.

Here’s the thing about teams in the music industry.. A record label used to be the only way to record your work. Now it seems as if there are studios on every street corner, or you may even have one at home. A label used to be the only way to distribute your work in stores and online outlets. Now you have an array of online distributors that require you to simply have an account, and set up a campaign. A label or booking agent used to be the only way to get booked for a gig. Now, building an EPK and finding...