I met Daniel “Danny Dee” Aguayo when I took a class on the music industry at SF State. He was invited by my professor to give a guest lecture at one of our classes.

I was blown away by his presentation to the class called “The Age of Engage: An Urban Guide to the Social Music Evolution” which addressed the changing state of the music industry and how artists can succeed in today’s music industry.

I recently got a chance to interview him, and find out a little more about his career, his website, and his advice for making it as an independent musician.
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I learned a lot talking to him and I think you will too.

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How to build your fanbase – and why the end of the traditional model is a good thing by Ian Clifford reminds artists of the fundamentals on how to build a fanbase – the key to any artist’s success.

According to Clifford, “you MUST build a fanbase to get started and to achieve anything – whether that is DIY and Direct-to-Fan success or the aim of getting signed. Either route will happen much more easily if you have built the fanbase yourself – that’s what other fans will see so they will want to be in the in-crowd – and it’s what agents, managers and record label A&R will see that will help take you to the next level.”

I like Clifford’s point that changes in the industry have made today’s recipe for artist success similar to the one artists used in the pre-MTV days.

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