There is a framework I use to keep this business honest. Three words: Paper, Proof, Promo. They only work together. Any one of them alone is a story artists tell themselves.
Paper. The unglamorous part. Big Dad The Chairman Entertainment is registered as a bidder with the State of Minnesota — active status, categories filed, the paperwork done properly so that when a public contract fits, I can bid on it like any other vendor. My targeted-group certification application is in progress, the one that lets small businesses compete on a fairer field for state work. I have applied to perform at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport through its arts program. I file the grant applications, I keep the ledger, business and personal separate. None of this makes a sound anyone can dance to. All of it makes the sounds collectible.
Proof. Numbers, verified. Six albums, 99 songs, written and performed by me. More than 360 beats in the catalog. On BandLab: 14.6 thousand plays and over 3,100 followers. First royalty payment received this fall — small, real, and in the ledger. A $500 emergency relief grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, received and recorded. Proof is not bragging. Proof is what lets a booking agent, a funder, or a program director say yes without taking a risk on a stranger.
Promo. The push. A music page with my own player. A blog you are reading. An email list that gets a free MP3 and a free mixtape for joining. Pitches going out to campuses, festivals, and parks — with follow-ups, because the follow-up is where the replies live. Promo without paper is noise. Promo without proof is a claim. With both under it, promo is just distribution of the truth.
Most artists I know are stronger on one leg than the other two. The ones who last build all three. That is the work happening here, in the open, one filing and one follow-up at a time.
Make Some Noise. Make a Difference.
Book the proof. Live performance, DJ + MC, and hosting — booking information is at bigdadthechairman.com. Join the Chairman's List at bigdadthechairman.com/music for the free 'Automatic' MP3 and the free Magnum Opus mixtape.
