How a String Quartet Crossed $100K With 330 Instagram Followers
Stephanie Sims Flack built the String Quartet of Northern Virginia after seeing musicians underpaid and overlooked — then turned a local qua...
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Arts
The Gigging Musician Podcast
Playing music for live audiences is one of the most rewarding things on the planet. In this podcast, we dissect everything that goes into being a successful gigging musician.
Episodes
20 of 302 episodes
How Roger Harrison Books $300K in Jazz Gigs — In Cities He's Never Played
Roger Harrison leads the Harrison Jazz Ensemble out of Tampa Bay — and he's booked over $300,000 in gigs through BookLive in just the last f...
The DJ Secret That Books $1,500 Wedding Gigs — No Sales Calls Needed
Jared is fresh off a $1,500 Thursday-afternoon wedding at the Grant Humphreys Mansion in downtown Denver — one hour of (Disney-themed!) cere...
Ep. 312 Mike Zabrin: How He Charged $27,000 for One Gig
Mike Zabrin built two Chicago-based entertainment companies — Funktastic Productions and DJ Hybrid Chicago — and just hit $100K in bookings...
How This Vegas Musician Books Multiple $10,000 Gigs on the Same Day
Jeff Celentano has spent 30+ years in the music industry — performing on the Vegas Strip, running touring tribute bands, and working with na...
From PhD Dropout to $100K Wedding Musician with Matt Ferree
Matt Ferree was working toward his PhD in chemical engineering at Ohio State when he realized his real passion was in the weddings he'd been...
How Celeste Vee Built a 200-Gig Violin Empire in the South Asian Wedding Market
Celeste Vee is an electric violinist who built V Entertainment — a multi-city agency placing trained violinists at South Asian weddings. In...
BookLive's 3rd $500K Award Winner: How Jen Cancio Built a Full-Time Music Career
Jen Cancio just became the third BookLive user to earn the $500K Award — and she did it without social media virality, touring, or a record...
From 3 Musicians to $500K: How Viva Strings Built a Multi-City Empire
Pendra Lee Snyder of Viva La Strings joins Jared Judge to share how she grew her string ensemble from a nameless trio to a multi-city busine...
From 9-to-5 to $10K in Gigs: How One Harpist Is Building a Full-Time Music Career
In this episode, Jared sits down with harpist Carrie Tollett to share her inspiring journey from a full-time teaching job to building a grow...
From $100K to $500K: How One Musician Built a Thriving Event Business Without Social Media or Luck
In this episode, Jared sits down with Alison Suell of Electria Strings to break down her incredible journey from $100K to over $500K in book...
Why Marketing Yourself as a High-End Service Changes Everything
In this episode, Jared explains why musicians should position themselves as high-end services rather than just artists. Using Apple vs. Chro...
Why High-End Gigs Saved My Cat's Life
Jared shares a deeply personal story about how charging premium rates allowed him to afford a $7,000 emergency surgery for his cat Nori—some...
Stronger in the Shadows: Raising Your Rates and Owning the Business of Music
In this episode, Jared reflects from the top of his favorite mountain in Scottsdale and shares a powerful message for musicians who want to...
Why More Gigs Aren’t the Answer: How to Scale Your Music Career Smarter
In this episode, Jared shares a critical mindset shift that separates struggling gigging musicians from those who earn full-time incomes fro...
Merch, Mindset & Monetization: Bridging the Gap Between Gigging and Fanbase-Building
In this episode, Jared sits down with Jack McCarthy from Indie X and Indipreneur to explore how gigging musicians—especially those playing c...
How One Awful Gig Turned Into a Life-Changing Call
In this episode, Jared shares the surprising story of how his lowest-paid, most frustrating gig became the unexpected gateway to a high-payi...
The Art of the Follow-Up: How I Got on a Venue’s Preferred Vendor List
In this episode, Jared shares the rollercoaster journey of finally getting on the preferred vendor list of a prestigious wedding venue in Co...
Why Wedding Gigs Are the Best Training for Corporate Events
In this episode, Jared breaks down why wedding gigs are more than just love songs and aisle walks—they're bootcamp for high-end corpora...
How Helping Event Planners Can Help You Get More Gigs (and Why Most Musicians Miss This)
In this episode, Jared shares how building genuine relationships with event planners—and actually helping them with their challenges—can lea...