Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Courtney Benjamin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Courtney thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
Yes I’ve been blessed to make a full time living and teach other creatives how to do the same. Your first battle is the mindset change and discipline to stick to in understanding how to manage your first business; your family. Second is becoming a person that can manage a $100. If you can’t manage $100; a million is definitely not going to be managed well; its tons millionaires living check to check. Organization and structure are your keys to unlock this journey of the business of music.
It was not until I understood my household expenses and replacing liabilities with assets to pay for the liabilities. This same mindset is becoming in your transition to full time entrepreneurship.
Understanding the business of music is multiple companies that all feed each other. You have your label, your entertainment company and your publishing company. Your label is all your income from the master side of your copyright (ie distribution income/expenses & master income from sync placement), your entertainment company is your tour/performance income/expenses, your publishing is your public performance royalties to you as songwriter/publisher income/ expenses. All of these feed each other and pays you as artist and songwriter. Set the structure up and organization because the music is going to out live you as an artist.
Artists welcome to entrepreneurship even though you don’t want to say it; but want people and other businesses to invest in you. You have to run your business and make business moves to get out of working a 9-5; but not be afraid to work a 9-5 to position yourself to the next level.
Plan, Position, Understand, Execute and Prosper….
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I’m Courtney Benjamin an artist manager and music publisher that’s a professional member of the Recording Academy Atlanta chapter. I’ve been blessed to be able to help lower this big unclaimed and back royalty pay gap that’s lingered in the music industry for years and is still at an all time high. More work to be done.
I teach the business of being an artist to help artists understand the importance of treating this as a business not as a hobby. The business mindset will take you further plus give you the boost in maximizing your income and obtaining the mindset of the Jayz, Nas, LL cool J, Master P, Diddy, Trina, Queen Latifah, Megan, Nikki, Drake and Birdman’s of the industry; they are businessmen and women.
The artists want business results but using a hobby mindset. I help them develop that Music Legacy Builders™️ lifestyle. Preparing artists for business moves like sync placements, mentoring, affordable attorneys to help give them estate planning and so much more to help them build their legacy.
Money is only being left on the table because there is a lack of knowledge on the business side of the music and I help fill that gap.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
Music publishing is the real estate of the game; I really wish I knew about this earlier. Reason being is once I learned it went in immediately with an urge to help because I knew it had to be more people not aware of how major publishing is.
So many artists are writers and so much money was being left i remember the first person i reached out to we got him all the way up to getting his information together and he passed away before he could sign the documents need to get his publishing in order. No power of attorney, no will, nothing; that hit me hard so many legends suffered only because they didn’t know.
Then later on in my career i saw and worked with a legend that knew the business side and the lifestyle was like night and day.
Understanding the knowledge and executing is what separates you from the rest. I could have helped more people learning this earlier in my career.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Respect the artists and songwriters royalties, likeness and uses of their works.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.courtneybenjamin.com
- Instagram: @courtneybenjaminmusic
- Facebook: Courtney Benjamin
- Linkedin: Courtney Benjamin
- Twitter: @cbenjamin1
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/BenjaminentGroup
- Other: www.Benjaminentgroup.com www.benjaminentacademy.com