Your Weekly Guide to Artist and Business Development

One Business Resource...

If you're ready to get serious about your music career this year, it's time to embrace the most cliche New Year's tradition: goal setting. Cringe (we know), but it's one of the best things you can do for your career. We've made it easy with a free PDF planner that helps you turn big dreams into actionable steps while planning your year in cycles of creation, promotion, and rest to prevent burnout. By breaking down your goals and working in intentional cycles, you'll reduce overwhelm and actually achieve what you set out to do. Check it out!

One Songwriting Tip...

Want to write better songs? A strong writing routine is the key. When you build a pattern your brain recognizes, it becomes easier and quicker to tap into your creative side, increasing the amount of time you can practice writing each day, and decreasing the amount of time you spend trying to get in the zone.

Try it out: Choose one habit you never skip, like making coffee, brushing your teeth, or getting ready for bed, and anchor your writing to that moment. Pair it with a simple physical trigger that tells your brain it’s time to create. It could be lighting a candle, or writing in a specific notebook; whatever helps you set the vibe. Try writing this way for 15 minutes each day for a month and see if it helps.

Pro tip: New research shows it takes roughly 66 days to form a new habit (not 21), so once you’ve made it a month, keep going! You’ll find it much easier to stick to your routine after that.

One Marketing Idea...

Now is the perfect time to reimagine your visual identity as an artist. It's a natural reset moment for your audience and signals that you're entering your next era. In today's crowded social media landscape, colors, fonts, and imagery are essential to capturing attention and building connections. Taking the time to explore what feels authentic to your current sound will help you attract the right listeners.

Try it out: Start by collecting visual inspiration that reflects the music you want to make this year. Build a mood board on Pinterest with post ideas, colors, outfits, symbols, and imagery that capture your sound. Use this board as your guide to create a brand kit in Canva with updated colors and fonts, design a simple new logo, and plan a DIY photoshoot inspired by your collected visuals. Then update everything across all your socials at once to keep your brand identity consistent.

Happy New Year!