You’ll often hear artists complain about a lack of ecosystem in our city of Montreal.
Especially for English artists. This is where Max Mupesse comes into the picture. I see his role as a knowledge amalgamator. He learns the things people tend to avoid and creates resources for others to consume the content.
He’s written his book, 10 Step Formula On How To Get Paid Gigs, and he’s the host of the show Elevate The Mic (with his partner John “Ioanis” Koutroubis & the Cinemagi Productions team).
After learning the 10 steps and watching a bunch of the interviews I wanted to share 10 insights I learned via Max’s content.
But first.
Elevate the Mic is a talk show where industry experts share knowledge
Before we get to the knowledge we need context, let me explain what the Elevate the Mic show is.
Max Mupesse sits down with the guest and introduces them. He asks a series of questions designed to have the guest share what they know on how an artist can grow, using anecdotes and stories. The guests vary from producers, to artists to even promoters like Rickey D:
Whereas I’d talk to literally anyone with Bridge the Gap, Max and his team have focused on guests that have something valuable to offer. People with tenured careers, or folk with explosive comeups.
Because of his diligence with guests, there are actionable takeaways from each conversation.
Okay, let’s get to it.
1 - Create lists of relevant people and spam them intelligently
On the episode with Wizzy Moonchaser we get reminded we can google all the radio shows and publications around the city.
Then you can prepare your EPK (Press Kit) as Max describes in his book. Take the time to approach the publications and let them know you exist. That’s your job as an artist (since you probably don’t have a manager yet).
Wizzy also reminded us that you need to care about local markets. That lesson counts when pitching to publications and media. Focus on who their target demographics are and adjust your pitch accordingly.
You can even hit up Wizzy with your news updates.
Given it’s noteworthy you may just get some play on The Morning Detour.
2 - Tap into networks of experts and learn more
Over on the Babyface J episode of Elevate the Mic, the idea of networking and expert opinion came up.
Feedback comes a dime a dozen. It takes a keen sense of awareness to recognize expertise, but once you do, those are the people to listen to. The question people usually ask is, “how do you find experts?:”
The answer is networking events. They are all over. SEO meetups. Writer meetups. Entrepreneur meetups. Go find experts and learn how to identify them. Build out your network as someone who takes things seriously by having business friends in all kinds of roles.
Max touches on this concept in his “Get in the Room” chapter of the book. It’s a majour key to success. You have to do the work.
Your reward is better information to build on and a better team to build with.
3 - Knowing the history of your culture lets you build on it
Duke Eatmon taught us the importance of building on history.
By taking the time to see how past people achieved success in your domain, you can find inspiration. Chances are you still need to be creative in order to stand out, but knowing what’s been done before gives you the tools to actually stand out. Sometimes what people find ground breaking has simply been done every generation.
Like whining about modern technology, that’s real back in the 1800s level old news.
Duke Eatmon made a lot of sense. Whatever we do today is building on a foundation. We may as well study the architecture so we can build something that makes sense.
This ties into what Max was saying in his book about building a brand. Understanding history lets you tell a more meaningful story. Connecting your world to the culture.
Or at least you should know how and why it’s different.
4 - Focus on small venues until you can fill big venues
On the Vincent Stephen Ong episode we learn about optics.
Performing at a venue that houses 50 people with a lineup out the door is a better look than performing to 50 people at Belmont. It takes time to build up your brand and collect enough people that there are lineups at the door.
To create that buzz Vincent and his band went all the way. Guerrilla Performances in the streets. They brought a disciplined dedication to doing whatever needed to be done. There was no ego in their grind.
Vincent is the perfect example of the “Show Ready Mentality” Max describes bringing to the table in his book.
There was something else profound that Vincent said that ties into some good advice from many of his guests.
5 - Make sure to get out of your local city and plant seeds elsewhere.
Vincent told us he had never worked with a local promoter.
While he meant no disrespect you could hear a hint of “amateur hour” when the words came out of his mouth. Maybe he’s right. I never considered trying to get put on in other cities.
It really is just making lists and heading out to new locations. Word, another guest, also brought up the importance of travel. You need to find opportunities, you cannot just wait for them.
A good way to develop some initial relationships is a strong digital footprint. Max covers the basics in his book, but making sure you are presentable online is the modern business cards. Though, anecdotally handing people cards is wild fun.
It’s a question of getting beyond your comfort zone.
6 - Perform/promote your music beyond your friend zone
To get authentic feedback you need to be in front of strangers.
Jay Seven shared how getting crowds in Houston to respond positively to him was a point of pride. His music had resonated beyond the homies.
I relate to that, I know that Lose Weight will connect with audiences all over because of the reaction of strangers.
Your homies are great hype men for your ego, but that’s not real support.
At least in the sense of artist/fan dynamics.
On that note Jay Seven pointed out the benefit of watching how hype men move. To focus on the chemistry between Busta Rhymes and a Spliff Star to learn how to improve your stage craft.
Go test your sound in front of as many crowds as you can.
7 - Use your life to market your art
Share who you are beyond your art as an effective way to market your projects.
Merker Miyagi shared his version of this with us, recently getting 312K impressions from his content. He knows that as much as you need to promote your art/skills, you need to share part of your life with people as well. Merker does this via content.
Merker likes to share his father of the year videos to the stories, helping you connect with the human behind the artist.
Telling your story is a key part of branding.
Max covers an introduction to branding yourself.
Merker added some tangible examples on how to achieve it.
8 - Buying beats is a great way to get a producer's attention
Merker also described an approach to getting a producer you can work with over time.
His theory is the more you build with someone, the more defined your sound with them will be. The question is how to find a producer then? Well you go listen to a gajillion beats until you find someone that you vibe with.
Then go buy a beat, make a song, send it to them. Buy a second beat, make another song, send it to them. There is no way that by the fifth song you haven’t heard back from them.
They may not like your music, but at least you’ll get their attention in a meaningful way.
Without naming names, a lot of beat makers have shared with me how little people spend on local beats. Offer your homies 200$ a beat. Watch how they treat your music way differently.
That one’s also a Holden tip, I used to spend 3000$ a year on my engineer in another life.
9 - Social proof is where most of us fail as artists
Rickey D dropped some harsh truths we need to hear.
Not everyone is actually made for the game. It’s more than just a lot of hard work. It’s more than just developing skills (which as Max points out in the book, you do need actuall skill).
What you also need is the cosign from people who matter.
Rickey related it to sports. There are scouts who watch for people, then select the potential contenders long before the time comes. Music more or less operates the same way. If the gatekeepers never hear of you, then you don’t really exist.
Yes you can bypass a lot with a real indie hustle, but if you really hustle like that, the gatekeepers will just want you anyway. They respect the money you can help them make.
This is not a pro gatekeeper section. It’s just a systemic reality. You need to get the support of your community. Gatekeepers are often just watching for visible signals of success. Your skill matters, but being skilled at getting people to care about your skill matters more.
This is one of the biggest tips that I learned from all I researched to make this one.
10 - Leverage all the technology at your disposal to tell people you exist
One of the best parts of Max’s book was how he encouraged people to use the tools around you to succeed.
Social media and cell phones give you entire multimedia creation and publishing pipelines wherever you are. With AI in the picture now, there are even more innovations that get created to help artists
It’s never been freer to achieve grandiose creative visions. It will take you time to learn how to use the tools. Doing so will help you draw more attention to yourself.
You are the only person that can prove to the world you are worth investing in. Don’t make excuses, figure out how to win.
Take the time and research new tools every few months, adopt them into your workflow and stay modern.
I did that and found consulting work.
Support the people who are willing to learn for you
End of the day people read lists like these because they don’t want to read/consume all the extra content.
This is great news for me, who loves consuming content and making summaries. The fact I can make this summary is also great news for you, who can go check out the source content.
Max is putting the work in to create resources for the community. I commend that effort.
Check out his book, hit him up and get a copy. Subscribe on YouTube. Share the content.
Most importantly,
Live Long and Prosper Everyone
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