A newsletter teaching business and marketing skills to independent musicians, built around a serialized guide to marketing music through fan funnels. It also includes essays that reframe how artists think about monetization and products.
Website: https://madrecords.substack.com
Biweekly analysis of the economics and operations of direct-to-fan businesses for artists, covering true marketing costs, merchant of record and ticketing flows, and ownership of the artist's domain and audience data. It uses worked arithmetic and concrete operating detail to show what these choices cost and return.
A writer-owned music magazine publishing album and live reviews from small venues, along with behind-the-scenes pieces on artwork and the economics of touring bands. Readers get close observation of emerging acts and a frank look at how the money works at small-venue scale.
The Black Hoody examines the business mechanics of the music and comedy industries through founder interviews, data and negotiating case studies. Readers get analysis of festival economics, label dealmaking and operational lessons from the author's own media business.
CMU covers music industry news, legal disputes, deals and appointments, with commentary on how the business works. It also runs career interviews with music industry leaders and carries job listings.
One short email a week with hand-picked newsletters from the index. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
