CIP026: Damian Keyes on Marketing for Musicians

Todays guest is someone I connected with through Twitter - which is very fitting for our conversation because we really dive deep into what it means to use social media effectively and bust some myths that put a lot of creatives - introverts and extroverts alike - off the platforms.

Damian Keyes is a founder of The British Institute of Modern Music (BIMM) which is now valued at over £50M, and in 2010 started DK Music Management; where he helps musicians find work after leaving music education.

What we discuss:

• Damian’s plan for rockstardom
• The reality of the music business
• Are bassists the introverts of bands?
• How Damian identified his unique strengths to help others
• The value of collaboration
• Tips for being on stage
• The misconceptions about introversion
• Why there is such a stigma about self promotion from creatives
• The problem of perfection seeking
• Dealing with the fear of rejection
• It is a numbers game (and how to manage that)
• How social media is brand new but the underlying concept is age old
• Building relationships one at a time
• The importance of having real conversations online
• How to simplify, slow down and enjoy the journey
• Damian's 1% rule

“Time waits for nobody… sometimes you have to be a bit more ‘in your face’"

“For every no there might be a yes around the corner - you can’t let that stop you”

“As creatives we should put more effort into enjoying the creating as opposed to the end goal”

“Social media boils down to creativity and relationships - if you can master those two things, then everything else is just detail"