Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michael Woodruff. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

Touring is the only way to make any money in the music industry. We live in a time where you can spend $11.99 a month and get access to almost all of the music in the world. Great records can be made in a bedroom, so the market is saturated. With that said the payout per stream is kind of a joke. On a very popular “green” music streaming platform you are paid about $0.003 per stream. That means your song needs to stream 4 times for you to make 1 shiny copper plated zinc penny. When you consider what all goes into making that song it’s a mind boggling equation. In most cases you need to hit upwards of 1,000,000 streams to come close to breaking even. Merchandise on the other hand is a completely different story. That is the main source of a bands income which brings me back to my first sentence. I heard someone refer to themselves as a touring shirt salesman and that stuck with me because it’s true. We just happen to make music that you relate to and inspires you to buy our shirts.

Michael, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Michael Woodruff. I am a hard rock vocalist. I have been in multiple bands most notably a band called Motograter, where I replaced Ivan Moody who most people know as the singer of Five Finger Death Punch. My current band is The Alpha Complex which I started in 2012. The Alpha Complex is a 4 piece hard rock group based out of Sacramento, CA. Lyrically I focus on subjects like toxic relationships, addiction, dealing with loss and mental health. Lately, I have been doing a lot of self reflection and healing. The songs we are writing right now are vulnerable and tackle some deeper issues like imposter syndrome and other cognitive distortions. I hope these songs are able to help other people when they hear them as much as it is helping me to write them. Our goal as a band is to show you that you are better and stronger than you think you are. We want to inspire you to be the leader of your life. The Alpha Complex is just that…a leader mentality.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love meeting our fans and talking with them in person. Hearing their stories and how our music has helped them through some rough times in their lives. That is the moment that brings it all full circle for me.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

A very common outlook on musicians is that we need to get a real job. To me making music is a “real” job. Think about how you would feel in your day to day life without music in it. Imagine taking an elevator, being put on hold or going shopping at wally world with no music. I don’t know about you but just the thought of that gives me anxiety. Musicians are keeping the world on the right side of sanity. That is our job.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TheAlphaComplex.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thealphacomplex
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thealphacomplex
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/thealphacomplex
• SoundCloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/thealphacomplex
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6qmsny6NEo9MhgzUW6BzHP?si=5KXxpxxKQT6-jbQckY621g
  Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-alpha-complex/878271798
  Youtube Music: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCMx6V-Na4Yj8FCXxwpna66g
  Amazon Music: https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B00KBVGUIE/the-alpha-complex
  Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/artist/the-alpha-complex/ARxlZnjVZgkVZwm
  Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/5864362

Image Credits
Jennifer Black from Black J Photo