Overcoming Artist Isolation & Simplifying Music Business Ownership
We are on a mission to ensure all musicians, bands, DJs, and producers don’t have to work alone while pursuing a sustainable music career and business.
Bridging the Gap Between Music
Education & Music Career
We are on a mission to ensure aspiring musicians (and their parents) get
on the right path to building a sustainable, independent music career.
Starting any business, in any industry, is hard enough. In the music industry, building your business can be even harder.
Being an entrepreneur and taking the journey to be self-employed is one of the hardest things you can do.
In the music industry, that journey can feel even harder.
We believe that it’s time someone takes up the mission to make this easier.
At Eleven, we promise to do our best to help musicians, bands, DJs, and producers overcome isolation, find “their people”, and simplify owning a sustainable and profitable music operation.
Simple as pie. (mmm, pie)
Starting any business, in any industry, is hard enough. In the music industry, building your business can be even harder.
Being an entrepreneur and taking the journey to be self-employed is one of the hardest things you can do.
In the music industry, that journey can feel even harder.
We believe that it’s time someone takes up the mission to make this easier.
At Eleven, we promise to do our best to help musicians, bands, DJs, and producers overcome isolation, find “their people”, and simplify owning a sustainable and profitable music operation.
Simple as pie. (mmm, pie)
Turning Music Education Up to Eleven
I love helping aspiring artists grow, but I also enjoy giving back to the music community.
5% of my revenue goes into a music education fund that I use throughout the year to help local students afford music lessons and non-profit music organizations pursue their missions.
It’s music to my ears. :)
Your Career just needs to go to E.L.E.V.E.N.
It’s not just our name. It’s also our process. Music creators that understand how a business works
know how to grow their audience, increase income, and stay organized.
Entrepreneur (Own)
It doesn’t matter if you are juggling all of the business and music tasks yourself or have a team doing the business stuff while you are solely focused on performing and interacting with fans, you as the artist and face of your brand are the owner and leader of your music business.
Label (Market)
Independent artists know they either have to learn how to do all the marketing activities a record label traditionally does or delegate it to a team or virtual assistant who knows what they are doing. Brand messaging, campaigns, design, analytics, and more are all a part of marketing, and it can be overwhelming to conquer.
Experience (Sell & Engage)
Your fans aren’t just your customers. You need to build real relationships, include them in your artist journey, and make them feel like a part of your community. Without fans and true fans, your music career won’t go anywhere. To see growth, give equal time and attention to your fans as you do your music.
Vehicles (Delivery)
We don’t mean like the car you drive. Your music, merch, shows, and content are the products and services you need to deliver a rich experience and build a lasting community for your music and the fans that support you. Products and services you create need to be in demand (fans want them) and profitable (they make money).
Engine (Operations & Overhead)
When artists think of the business side of their music, chances are their brain is going here. This refers to the processes and administrative tasks that don’t feel important. While it may not directly be involved with the marketing, sales, or creation of your music, it is equally important to the health of the business.
Negotiations & Revenue (Cash Flow & Management)
The first thing most musicians, bands, DJs, and producers struggle with, outside of creating great music, is understanding their real value, knowing how to ask and get what they are worth, getting those first sales, and repeating the process to ensure regular income.
Artists & Specialists We Work Best With
In your life, there are people you have a great connection with, and there are those you know but may not have a tight bond with.
We understand that not everyone is going to be a good fit and find value in what Eleven does for artists, and that’s ok! We find that we work and collaborate well with artists and industry professionals who share our immutable laws (core values):
You Are Awesome
We show up every day to be helpful, humble humans who help other humans with practical, realistic, and tangible advice and tools. Music is not a competitive sport, so no one should be competing with each other or putting each other down. When negativity and egos show up, our community suffers. Stay positive and don’t be an asshole.
You Are Present
Because we show up to help you every day, we also expect the same of you. The engagements, relationships, and partnerships we forge are rooted in trust, honesty, transparency, timely communication, and the expectation that you’ll show up. When relationships evolve into constant ghosting, trust is broken and the relationship suffers. Stay in the game, communicate, show up, and be a team player.
You Are Transparent
As mentioned earlier, trust and honesty are a big part of how we work together, build relationships, and build connections that strengthen individual artist businesses as well as the music industry as a whole. Be open, share good and bad feedback, give honesty, give trust, and we all become better.
You Think Different
The status quo tells us we need to produce music and share it on social media, and eventually, things will happen. But as most artists find out quickly, hope is not a strategy. Don’t think about yourself as an artist entering the music industry. Instead, think about establishing your music and your business first, as if you were setting up your towel, umbrella, and “camping spot” on a secluded beach. In this analogy, the music industry is the ocean (full of sharks and other fish). Tend to your little nest first, and as you need to market, network, and interact with the music industry, dip your toe in the water and work your way up to swimming.
You Are Unbiased But Realistic
It doesn’t matter if you are a rock artist or classical artist, all genres are created equal. Our community focuses more on the artist’s person(s) and their business rather than the style of music they play. Even though we can’t be fans of all genres, however, what we do take into consideration, realistically, is the quality of your art and its potential. Two artists are equally artists, but their art may vary in quality. One may be more marketable than others, but at the same time, both may find they have audiences of varying quality as well. Yes, there can be good and bad music, but if an audience exists and they like it, who can fight with the audience?
Matt Jacoby
Owner + Drummer + Entrepreneur + Digital Marketer
As a drummer of 30+ years, entrepreneur, and digital marketer, I wake up every day because I believe if serious career musicians develop their business skills and strengthen the relationship between their art and business ownership, they are much more likely to succeed in making music for a living.