This week's question from our Q&A portal "Francis Freedom Fighters: Ask Roxie + Lucas" came up in our music business workshop:

“I’ve been releasing music for years on Spotify and music videos on YouTube, but I’m still not making any income other than tiny streaming royalties. What am I doing wrong? What is the plan for an independent artist to make income?

What am I supposed to focus on?”

There’s 1 thing every successful business does and must continue doing to stay in business, and you as a music entrepreneur are no different!! 

When prioritizing what you’re doing each week and month with your career, here’s the main thing to keep at the center of your focus…

Sales is #1.

Sales are the lifeblood of every business. Businesses have products or services and their doors stay open because they sell them.

If you’ve been releasing great music and your fans love it—but you’re not creating income, then it’s time to step into becoming a creative entrepreneur with unlimited potential. It’s time to self-make your financial and artistic freedom! 

We work with singers, musicians and music coaches on understanding what sales really is and how they can overcome limiting beliefs around the value of their music and stigmas around selling it.

Here are the most important things to consider as you step into your financial and artistic freedom.

Sales is an art form: When done correctly, sales should feel like a beautiful symphony or ballet. And art comes in many forms, including the music business you create. And sales is no different.

Sales is service: Sales is not something you do to someone, it’s something you do FOR someone. Serve your fans and clients with the service, products and experiences that you know they’ll love and be lifted up by in the unique way only you can do. Always leave them better off than they were. Be a giver, not a taker! And your fans/clients will be thanking you and giving referrals. 

Sales is most definitely a numbers game: Decide what your financial goal is, what you’re selling and how many you need to sell to hit your goal. Then create the pathway for the money to come into your bank account now.

Finally, schedule daily outbound sales conversations through liking and commenting on social media, DMs, email, networking events, auditions, opportunities, reaching out to other influencers, artists, and businesses. 

The ultimate goal is to book sales calls and sell…sell...sell…until you meet your financial goal. 

This is where we see people stop.

They allow the fear of proactively contacting potential fans/clients stop them from cultivating the discipline needed to do what’s necessary to close sales every day.  

The way to your freedom starts with overcoming the fear, myths, stigmas, and taboos of selling such as:

• You’re taking from the person

• It’s all about you

• You’re being pushy

• You’re bothering them

• If you were that good, you wouldn’t have to convince others to buy

To overcome the fear of sales and the self-doubt around the value you offer in relation to what you charge…

Write down your answers to these questions:

• Which of the 5 myths of selling do you need to let go of?

• What fears or resistance do you have around your own ability to serve... especially if you’re charging “a lot?”

• Why are you good at what you do?

• Why are your services and/or products perfect for your mega-fans? 

• Why are your services/products worth the dollar amount you are charging? 

• Who is suffering and how are they suffering by you not more fully living out your vision and worth? 

Overcome your internal barriers and blocks around selling, commit to hitting your monthly income goals no matter what, and you’ll have a thriving music business that will serve you AND your tribe for many years! 

P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are 3 ways we can help you grow your music business:

1. Grab a free copy of our guide to launch your profitable virtual gig:
It’s the 30-day road map to building a fanbase, promoting your launch, and creating monthly income in your music biz. — Click Here

2. Join the IHMV Community on IG and connect with artists who are thriving too:
It’s our online community where smart singers learn to get more income, impact and independence. — Click Here

3. Work with us and our team privately:
If you’d like to work directly with us to take you from day job to full-time thriving singer...just reach out to our team...tell us a little about your music business and what you’d like to work on together, and we’ll get you all the details!

If you’d like to submit a question, email us at info@iheartmyvoice.com.