A Conversation with Nathan Dohse, COO/Founder of Zero To 60 by AGD

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Throughout my career as a performing artist I often found myself struggling to answer one fundamental question. As musicians, how do we find the balance between art and industry?
 
Nathan with his band Fight The Quiet

Nathan with his band Fight The Quiet

I was always over concerned with how the business of our band was operating, and didn’t care enough for my craft. Eventually I became a quality writer and performer but it took a very long time, during which I became frustrated and confused as to why my efforts weren’t paying off better. I knew I was handling the business properly, but the art still needed work. On the flip side I was watching the most talented musicians I knew also failing to make any progress despite creating amazing art. Their problem was they lacked business strategy. 

These experiences led me to believe that when an artist does not have a balance between their art and business strategies they will feel dissatisfied with their progress no matter what. This could even result in throwing out an entire project, along with any opportunities they might have created for themselves along the way. They do this in order to either make more money or feel more fulfilled artistically.

 
If you’re an artist at any level you should be focusing on one goal; to capture and engage your immediate community. Just focus on the potential fans that are right in front of you. This is the same goal that your musical heroes have, their community is simply larger.
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But capturing your immediate community is hard. This is why as artists we’re always looking for someone to plug us into an already existing community. Artists tend to get stuck in the fantasy that there is a person out there with the power to present their art to the whole world with a snap of their fingers. Let's pretend, for the sake of argument, you do find this magical person. They believe your work to be pure gold, and when they show it to the world, every last person wants a piece of it. Your magic friend handles all of your business decisions and leaves you to live your life and just be an artist. All your friends are thinking "wow, you're SO lucky, why couldn’t I find that guy?" Now what? Now that you've created this work of pure gold, the project is completed. When it's time to move on to the next project your magic friend needs you to come back with Pure Gold 2.0 because that's what he's been selling to his community.You're left having to  submit to his wishes or start everything over from scratch. Whichever you choose, the balance is lost. This magic person could be a manager, label, publisher, it doesn’t matter, if you’re not backed up by your own community, you're entering dangerous territory.


 
 

I’m not saying that you need to be skeptical of every person that takes a business interest in your art. It’s great if people want to get involved. Of course there are still sharks and scams, but I thoroughly believe that anyone that’s still working in music is probably here for a genuine love of the art form. You should actively be trying to grow your community to include these music industry professionals. Where most artist have the singular goal of being brought into someone else's community, I encourage you to bring these people into your own community. Show them how YOU do things.

 

I believe there are five pillars that make up every artist’s business foundation

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Performances enable you to showcase art in a face to face setting with your community. It’s high energy and and exciting. When this is coupled with a strong brand your people get inspired and intrigued by the art, this enables you to become an influencer within your community. In a world as interconnected as ours there are many ways to inform your friends, family and fans about your release, and dialing in what marketing efforts work best is key. It’s also important that other influencers are validating your art to their communities, this is where publicity comes in. Having a blog, newspaper, or magazine writing up your art really helps your community take what you do seriously. Lastly you need to know how to monetize everything and keep your operation running smoothly.

 

If you can establish repeatable processes within each of these pillars, when it comes time for a release you'll be able to thoroughly engage your community and eventually transition friends and family into fans. True fans will rapidly increase your community outward. Now that you’re running things like a business, the more successful it is, the more people want to get involved. Without sacrificing balance, an artist can learn to create an invitation for industry professionals to participate in their vision and eventually move to a next level of success within this thing we call the music industry.


Zero To 60 Winter Expo and Holiday Party Recap

Twice a year we like to gather together with our artists and our industry friends to celebrate the accomplishments of these incredible musicians and give everybody a preview of what's to come.  

 
 
Hannah and Alissa of The Daily Fare in "Down by the River"

Hannah and Alissa of The Daily Fare in "Down by the River"

The fall of 2017 in many ways was the Season of Americana here at Zero To 60. With releases from powerhouse folk duo The Daily Fare, the southern rock collective that is Flying Buffaloes, and country pop darling Krystan Bellows; our artists are representing every iteration of the often vaguely defined genre which has become part of the fabric of Music City. 

 

As anyone who lives in this town can tell you, there's a lot more to Nashville than Americana music. When it comes to the endlessly expanding list of genres and sub-genres of music, if you can name it you can probably find it here.

Ross Livermore

Ross Livermore

Zero To 60 is no exception. From pop-rockers Carverton, pop-punk duo Radnor, and post-hardcore FOREVERANDNEVER, to the synth-pop of Jonie, the soul/blues of Ross Livermore and indie-pop songstress Elisabeth Beckwitt; if you can't define your sound without a hyphen, you'll fit in just fine around here. 

 
 

Only one month into the new year and we've already seen releases from "the ladies of Outlaw Country" Crimson Calamity, "Soulmericana" rocker Lottie, and Latin/Soul dynamo Catalina.  

 
 

Keep an eye out for more releases from the incredible new artists we've signed in the past couple of months like soon-to-be Pop icon Drew Schueler, Chicago's acoustic-rock songbird Laura Glyda, and many more.

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A Conversation With Trevor Larkin

 
Photo Appears courtesy of NPR Music

Photo Appears courtesy of NPR Music

 

Behind every great artist, there is a team working on the other side of the curtain day in and day out to advance their vision and career. For critically acclaimed artist Allen Stone, one key person stands right next to him on stage looking over a sea of people, reveling in how far they've come. 

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Meet Trevor Larkin, guitarist & producer for soul/funk artist Allen Stone. Larkin has worked with Stone for several years, traveling and performing all over the world including performances on Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Craig Robertson and The Ellen Show. 

Recently, we spoke with Larkin about his tenure writing, producing and performing with Stone, and asked him about how he find's a balance between art & industry. Larkin, a solo-artist himself who also runs his Not Famous Podcast, opened up about his experiences, philosophies and journey through his time as an artist. 

 
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How Do You Find A Balance Between Art & Industry?

Through my experiences with Allen Stone and a myriad other outlets, I’ve realized it’s important not being overly precious with your music and process.  I’m absolutely NOT saying sign an awful deal or work with a blatant crook just to cut a few places in line.  And never, NEVER write disingenuous music- awful songs beget awful business.  

But, if you take time vetting candidates and build a quality team around you, you’ll discover that there are all kinds of smart, dedicated and passionate people working on the business side who believe whole-heartedly in a future where artists are treated fairly.  And you should listen to these people- they’ll offer fresh, invaluable perspective and, provided both parties check a certain amount of ego at the door, your artistry will flourish. 

 
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Good A&R people and quality managers understand there’s a bottom line.  But they also know that an artist who has something to say, has taken the time cultivating their craft and writes undeniable, timeless music will be making records twenty years down the line.  They understand that hedging their bets on bandwagon jumping’s a flawed philosophy- the trend’s already here, which means it’s already gone.

So, as an artist endeavoring to make the most genuine music possible, for the love of all that’s decent PLEASE make that music.  Play shows, spread the word and enjoy every small success along the way.  In doing so, when industry comes calling, you’ll easily recognize who’s a douche and who’s on point.  The compromises you’ll make won’t feel like compromises at all, but rather intelligent, necessary strategic steps.  And if you don’t want to play the game, that’s fine too- release everything independently, call your own shots and embrace 24/7 entrepreneurial insanity!   

You can follow Trevor Larkin & all of his projects on All things social 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Not Famous Podcast