Transcript auto-generated by Apple Podcasts.

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ROBONZO: Welcome to another episode of The Unstarving Musician.

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ROBONZO: I’m Robonzo.

00:00:06.240 –> 00:00:18.540
ROBONZO: This podcast features interviews with independent musicians, artists, and creative professionals who share their experience and expertise on recording, touring, gigs, the creative process, marketing, and more.

00:00:18.540 –> 00:00:26.180
ROBONZO: I also dropped solo episodes that focus on themes for my conversations, research, and off-mic interviews.

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ROBONZO: It’s the podcast intended to help independent creatives better understand the marketing, business, and creative processes that empower us to do more of what we love, create work that matters.

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ROBONZO: This episode is part of a community building blueprint series.

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ROBONZO: In the first installment, which was episode 333 on building, naming, and nurturing a creative community of said miniseries, I talked to you about ways to turn your fanbase into a reliable revenue stream.

00:00:57.240 –> 00:01:03.600
ROBONZO: But before we get into all of today’s content, big things in my world.

00:01:03.600 –> 00:01:12.020
ROBONZO: Rush, the Canadian prog-rocky band, has announced they’re going to tour, calling it a Rush 50-something tour.

00:01:12.860 –> 00:01:14.220
ROBONZO: I’ve always liked these guys.

00:01:14.220 –> 00:01:23.360
ROBONZO: I saw them when I was young, probably a couple times, and then I saw their Rush 45 tour, so I got to see Neil Parrott on his last tour with them before he passed.

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ROBONZO: Of course, the big question when I found out about it was, who’s going to play drums for them?

00:01:28.580 –> 00:01:31.400
ROBONZO: And it is none other than Annika Nilles.

00:01:31.400 –> 00:01:38.160
ROBONZO: I always thought her name was Niles, but she’s a German drummer who I’ve been following for years and is amazing.

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ROBONZO: I think she’s going to do a fine job honoring Neil Peart and probably doing a little bit of her own thing there.

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ROBONZO: I can’t think of many people better.

00:01:46.000 –> 00:01:47.720
ROBONZO: They could have chosen for that.

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ROBONZO: The other big thing in my world, this is not just in my world.

00:01:51.480 –> 00:01:53.600
ROBONZO: A lot of people care about this stuff.

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ROBONZO: WTF, the podcast with Mark Maron is going away.

00:01:58.960 –> 00:02:01.960
ROBONZO: I listened to the next to the last recording.

00:02:01.960 –> 00:02:05.600
ROBONZO: He’s recording his final episode Monday as I record this one.

00:02:05.600 –> 00:02:06.400
ROBONZO: It’s kind of sad.

00:02:06.400 –> 00:02:09.400
ROBONZO: I was not there from the very beginning.

00:02:09.400 –> 00:02:12.780
ROBONZO: I don’t know how many episodes over a thousand he’s done.

00:02:12.780 –> 00:02:16.820
ROBONZO: I don’t think he got quite to 2,000, but he’s in the thousand something.

00:02:18.080 –> 00:02:19.020
ROBONZO: I listened to a lot of them.

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ROBONZO: I wish today when I was listening to him on a solo episode talking about his stopping, him and his producer partner, I was like, I don’t even remember when I started this.

00:02:32.480 –> 00:02:34.000
ROBONZO: But anyway, what a great podcast.

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ROBONZO: If you’ve never heard of it, it’s called WTF with Mark Maron.

00:02:37.500 –> 00:02:40.880
ROBONZO: He is one of the OGs of podcasting.

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ROBONZO: He is one of the most successful podcasters in the entire ecosystem.

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ROBONZO: So he’s a comedian, but he’s a thinker.

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ROBONZO: And well, I know he’s not for everyone, nor is Rush, nor am I.

00:02:54.440 –> 00:02:57.640
ROBONZO: But anyway, good best of luck to Mark.

00:02:57.640 –> 00:03:01.760
ROBONZO: And gosh, I feel like I know I’m like all the other people that listen to him.

00:03:01.760 –> 00:03:08.160
ROBONZO: And then lastly, I have a house concert coming up on November 8 in Queretaro, Mexico, where I live.

00:03:08.160 –> 00:03:11.400
ROBONZO: You can find details about that at robanzo.com.

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ROBONZO: I’m going to be doing a new set of cover tunes and one of my originals, of course.

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ROBONZO: But I’ve been paying a lot of tribute to 80s and 90s alternative rock, sort of a B-side thing.

00:03:25.400 –> 00:03:38.300
ROBONZO: Well, I’m going to continue with the B-side thing, but I’m taking it back into a prior decade to, I don’t know, try and broaden the audience, broaden the appeal for doing some gigs locally.

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ROBONZO: So that should be fun.

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ROBONZO: I’m going to be there with two other acts.

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ROBONZO: It’s a venue, a private venue I’ve been at before.

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ROBONZO: Always fun.

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ROBONZO: The hosts are great.

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ROBONZO: I know both of the other acts.

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ROBONZO: They are amazing.

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ROBONZO: So I feel honored to be playing with them.

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ROBONZO: So as I said about today’s episode, we are shifting from financial stability, excuse me, financial sustainability to creative sustainability.

00:04:03.460 –> 00:04:10.320
ROBONZO: How your community can become an active collaborator in your artistic process without compromising your vision.

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ROBONZO: The traditional artist-fan relationship is one-dimensional.

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ROBONZO: You create, they consume.

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ROBONZO: But independent artists who have built thriving communities are discovering something powerful in that their audiences can fuel the creative process itself, not just the bank account.

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ROBONZO: The key question, however, isn’t whether to involve your community in creativity.

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ROBONZO: It’s how to do it strategically.

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ROBONZO: So you can gain creative momentum without sacrificing your artistic integrity.

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ROBONZO: Let’s break down exactly how to make your community a creative asset.

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ROBONZO: The truth is that most musicians ask for feedback too late and from the wrong people.

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ROBONZO: You finish a song, post it, and ask, what do you think?

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ROBONZO: I’ve done that.

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ROBONZO: Actually, I think on mine, I was asking early on.

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ROBONZO: A very small group, though, this goes beyond what I’ve done with my recorded music.

00:05:06.680 –> 00:05:13.100
ROBONZO: But it was great, as many of these episodes are, putting them together, researching them, talking to people.

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ROBONZO: It’s a great learning lesson for me that I look forward to implementing in the future.

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ROBONZO: So doing it the way that I just mentioned, finishing a song and posting it, asking what they think, that’s not feedback, really.

00:05:26.660 –> 00:05:28.080
ROBONZO: It’s postmortem.

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ROBONZO: By then, you’ve committed time, money, and your emotional energy.

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ROBONZO: Any substantial changes feel not good.

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ROBONZO: They can feel like a failure sometimes or just, yeah, I don’t know, even harsh criticism maybe.

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ROBONZO: Smart community collaboration happens earlier in the process when adjustments are still cheap and painless.

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ROBONZO: Amanda Palmer, I should have looked this up, but I cannot remember what her original claim to fame was, like what music ensemble, what music band she was with.

00:05:59.880 –> 00:06:01.880
ROBONZO: It was a big one and I just have forgotten.

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ROBONZO: But she pioneered this approach, sharing work in progress materials as a solo artist with paying supporters for targeted creative feedback on Patreon.

00:06:12.120 –> 00:06:20.620
ROBONZO: After joining Patreon in 2015, she began sharing demos, asking for input and incorporating patron feedback into finished songs.

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ROBONZO: Palmer asked for emotional responses, thematic input, and specific feelings rather than the technical music critique that one might think to do.

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ROBONZO: She wasn’t asking, is this good, nor did she ask for technical music questions.

00:06:38.620 –> 00:06:40.760
ROBONZO: She asked for emotional responses.

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ROBONZO: This made collaboration accessible to everyone, not just musicians.

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ROBONZO: Palmer’s feedback process contributed to her writing.

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ROBONZO: The structure matters, so share the work in progress, frame a specific question, give limited options when possible, and set a deadline for feedback.

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ROBONZO: This creates actionable input rather than vague opinions.

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ROBONZO: There is going to be a Palmer Patreon subscriber guide, for those of you who don’t mind signing up for Liner Notes, that I put together so that you can learn more about what she did.

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ROBONZO: So, there will be a link for that in the show notes.

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ROBONZO: The fan collaboration model, let’s talk about that.

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ROBONZO: This is based on an episode I did with a British singer-songwriter, Lynz Crichton.

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ROBONZO: This is back in episode 49.

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ROBONZO: Lynz took a different approach entirely.

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ROBONZO: When planning her second EP, she turned her songwriting process into a collaborative project with her email community and social media community, which she calls the Crichton Clan, after her last name.

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ROBONZO: She’s British, and I believe maybe got a bit of Scottish in her, which hints the clan thing.

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ROBONZO: But here’s how she structured it.

00:08:00.680 –> 00:08:05.560
ROBONZO: She gave herself a 90-day deadline to write songs, one or two per week.

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ROBONZO: Each week, she’d record a rough video demo and send it to her community saying, this is another song I’ve written this week.

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ROBONZO: Let me know what you think.

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ROBONZO: The responses weren’t always glowing because Lynz told me, she actually told me in our podcast conversation that sometimes they’d email her back or get on to her on Twitter, Instagram, and just say I really liked it.

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ROBONZO: Or sometimes they’d just say, let her know what they really thought.

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ROBONZO: Sometimes if they’re just not feeling it, they’re like, no, I really don’t like that one.

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ROBONZO: That one’s been kind of hard, which as she said, is absolutely fine, but because at the end of the day, she was writing them and she wanted them to be, she was writing for them, her community, and she wanted them to be pleased with the end result.

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ROBONZO: So after 12 weeks, she had a bank of songs.

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ROBONZO: She sent them all out in a batch and asked her community to vote on which ones should make the EP that she was working on.

00:09:05.920 –> 00:09:07.600
ROBONZO: Their response was overwhelming.

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ROBONZO: She said some of the songs were clear winners, others were tied and with equal votes.

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ROBONZO: But the collaboration didn’t stop there.

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ROBONZO: When Lynz realized that she could offer both stripped-down acoustic versions and fully produced versions of the same songs, she asked her community which they’d prefer.

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ROBONZO: Within about four hours of sending out that email and probably some DMs, she received 30 responses, each person explaining which version they’d buy and why.

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ROBONZO: So the result was three versions of the same EP, one with stripped-down versions of the songs, another with fully produced versions, and a third with both.

00:09:45.880 –> 00:09:52.720
ROBONZO: So Lynz was giving fans options based on their mood and listening preference, which is pretty cool.

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ROBONZO: What made this work is that her approach was built on genuine relationship.

00:10:00.500 –> 00:10:09.940
ROBONZO: As she explained, and I quote, I want to know what the people who are enjoying my music want, and I want them to get involved in the process.

00:10:09.940 –> 00:10:19.880
ROBONZO: She even credited voters by name in the EP’s Liner Notes because you’ve, well, she said something, in fact, I think she said exactly this.

00:10:19.880 –> 00:10:24.980
ROBONZO: You’ve contributed something towards this project, so you should get a mention for that.

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ROBONZO: This wasn’t just a marketing tactic, it was a collaborative creation.

00:10:28.720 –> 00:10:34.260
ROBONZO: Her community became invested in the outcome because they were part of the process from the beginning.

00:10:37.860 –> 00:10:51.600
ROBONZO: So weekly creative output plus community feedback plus voting on final selections equals co-created art that serves both the artist’s vision and the audience’s preferences.

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ROBONZO: Okay, here’s a preview and pivot kind of framework.

00:10:57.080 –> 00:11:10.220
ROBONZO: Before committing to a full release strategy, share a stripped down preview of a song with your community, just you and a guitar on Instagram stories, for example, or like a rough mix on a private link.

00:11:10.240 –> 00:11:11.180
ROBONZO: Gauge the response.

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ROBONZO: So are people asking when the full version drops, what specific elements are they commenting on?

00:11:17.040 –> 00:11:18.780
ROBONZO: And it’s good to record this stuff, by the way.

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ROBONZO: I would recommend just doing it in a spreadsheet.

00:11:22.260 –> 00:11:26.580
ROBONZO: The comments matter more than the like count, by the way.

00:11:26.580 –> 00:11:29.420
ROBONZO: You’re not conducting market research to follow the majority.

00:11:29.420 –> 00:11:35.500
ROBONZO: You’re gathering qualitative data and information about which emotional elements land strongest.

00:11:35.500 –> 00:11:38.720
ROBONZO: Is it like the melody, the lyrics, the vibe?

00:11:38.720 –> 00:11:43.000
ROBONZO: So this helps you decide where to invest your production resources.

00:11:43.000 –> 00:11:49.780
ROBONZO: An artist named Luke Combs did exactly this with Forever After All in 2020.

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ROBONZO: He was teasing it on social media platforms to test fan interest before his team decided whether to push it as a single.

00:11:57.660 –> 00:12:02.880
ROBONZO: The response was so strong, they changed their entire release strategy for the song.

00:12:04.320 –> 00:12:06.460
ROBONZO: Here’s a genre test framework.

00:12:07.880 –> 00:12:13.140
ROBONZO: You could try or test this before committing to a full production.

00:12:13.140 –> 00:12:26.920
ROBONZO: Share two versions of a song with your community, one stripped down, one fully produced, or one with live drums, one with program drums, and then ask which resonates more with them and why.

00:12:26.920 –> 00:12:30.480
ROBONZO: Remember, you’re not conducting market research to follow the majority.

00:12:30.480 –> 00:12:35.640
ROBONZO: You’re gathering qualitative data about how your music lands emotionally.

00:12:35.640 –> 00:12:38.620
ROBONZO: Alright, let’s talk about setting boundaries on feedback.

00:12:38.620 –> 00:12:39.840
ROBONZO: This is a critical point.

00:12:39.840 –> 00:12:42.660
ROBONZO: So establish what’s open for feedback and what’s not.

00:12:42.660 –> 00:12:52.660
ROBONZO: Make it clear the lyrics are locked or I’m testing these two melodic approaches or the arrangement is set but I’m deciding between these three vocal takes.

00:12:52.660 –> 00:12:59.320
ROBONZO: This protects your artistic vision while still leveraging community wisdom on specific execution questions.

00:12:59.320 –> 00:13:00.820
ROBONZO: You’re the architect.

00:13:00.820 –> 00:13:04.200
ROBONZO: Your community helps you choose between marble and granite, say.

00:13:04.200 –> 00:13:06.960
ROBONZO: They don’t redesign the building for you.

00:13:06.960 –> 00:13:12.080
ROBONZO: Okay, crowdsourcing creative decisions without losing artistic vision.

00:13:12.080 –> 00:13:13.220
ROBONZO: There’s a real fear.

00:13:13.220 –> 00:13:20.500
ROBONZO: If you let fans influence your music, will you end up making bland committee designed art that sounds like nothing?

00:13:20.500 –> 00:13:22.500
ROBONZO: The short answer is only if you do it wrong.

00:13:23.540 –> 00:13:26.880
ROBONZO: So here’s a crowdsourced input framework that might help.

00:13:26.880 –> 00:13:29.480
ROBONZO: Imogen Heap, I hope I’m saying her name right.

00:13:29.480 –> 00:13:31.780
ROBONZO: I don’t know if that’s actually her name or the artist’s name.

00:13:31.780 –> 00:13:35.960
ROBONZO: I know of Imogen Heap, but Imogen Heap pioneered a different approach.

00:13:35.960 –> 00:13:37.100
ROBONZO: She, there you go.

00:13:37.100 –> 00:13:40.920
ROBONZO: She invited fans to contribute raw materials rather than choose between finished options.

00:13:40.920 –> 00:13:45.280
ROBONZO: So for a song called Lifeline, she asked her community to send sound samples.

00:13:45.280 –> 00:13:51.640
ROBONZO: And over 800 fans submitted recordings of like bicycle spokes, matches being struck and doors opening.

00:13:52.460 –> 00:14:04.080
ROBONZO: For a song called Propeller Seeds, she asked fans to describe moments when everything seemed to click in their lives, and then use those stories to shape the song’s emotional arc.

00:14:04.080 –> 00:14:11.960
ROBONZO: This wasn’t asking what should I do, but rather bring me to the ingredients you connect with, and I’ll cook something meaningful from them.

00:14:11.960 –> 00:14:13.800
ROBONZO: That’s a really cool approach.

00:14:13.800 –> 00:14:22.580
ROBONZO: The community became co-creators in the raw material phase, and then while she maintained full creative control over the final composition.

00:14:22.580 –> 00:14:32.620
ROBONZO: The result, songs for fans could literally hear their contributions in the finished work, creating deeper investment without creative by committee pitfalls.

00:14:32.620 –> 00:14:35.880
ROBONZO: Okay, here’s a constraint-based collaboration.

00:14:35.880 –> 00:14:42.180
ROBONZO: It’s a variation you might try, so give your community a creative constraint and see what they generate.

00:14:42.180 –> 00:14:47.200
ROBONZO: Ask your audience to submit brief prompts like a single word, a short phrase, or an image.

00:14:47.680 –> 00:14:51.720
ROBONZO: Then, create pieces inspired by selections from what they send.

00:14:51.720 –> 00:15:00.680
ROBONZO: The constraint keeps the input manageable and your artistic vision intact, but the prompts can spark directions you wouldn’t have explored alone or explored otherwise.

00:15:00.680 –> 00:15:09.640
ROBONZO: The key is keeping the ask small enough that participation feels easy, but meaningful enough to the contributors so that they feel invested in the result.

00:15:09.640 –> 00:15:15.400
ROBONZO: This transforms passive listeners into active collaborators without sacrificing your creative control.

00:15:16.680 –> 00:15:18.540
ROBONZO: Alright, the veto power principle.

00:15:18.540 –> 00:15:20.340
ROBONZO: This is a non-negotiable.

00:15:20.340 –> 00:15:23.880
ROBONZO: You must retain veto power over all your community input.

00:15:23.880 –> 00:15:25.040
ROBONZO: Make this explicit.

00:15:25.040 –> 00:15:30.560
ROBONZO: I’m gathering ideas from you all, and I’ll choose what fits the project.

00:15:30.560 –> 00:15:34.400
ROBONZO: No apologizing, no guilt about not using someone’s suggestions.

00:15:35.880 –> 00:15:40.180
ROBONZO: The healthiest artist community relationships have clear creative hierarchy.

00:15:40.180 –> 00:15:46.640
ROBONZO: Fans understand their role, that their role is to contribute possibilities, not to make final decisions.

00:15:46.640 –> 00:15:51.160
ROBONZO: And when you’re transparent about this from the start, there’s no resentment when you don’t use every idea.

00:15:51.160 –> 00:15:56.040
ROBONZO: Your community respects that they’re consultants, not co-writers.

00:15:56.040 –> 00:15:58.420
ROBONZO: And here’s one to ignore input entirely.

00:15:58.420 –> 00:16:02.760
ROBONZO: Sometimes the right move is just to disregard feedback completely.

00:16:02.760 –> 00:16:12.040
ROBONZO: If you’re pushing into new territory, changing genres, experimenting with new unconventional structures, your existing community might resist because it’s unfamiliar.

00:16:13.080 –> 00:16:15.200
ROBONZO: That resistance doesn’t mean you’re wrong.

00:16:15.200 –> 00:16:21.560
ROBONZO: So trust your instinct over your community when you’re evolving beyond where they currently are.

00:16:21.560 –> 00:16:26.320
ROBONZO: Some will follow, some won’t, but that’s healthy artistic growth.

00:16:26.320 –> 00:16:35.880
ROBONZO: Fan generated content often feels like a distraction, but someone makes a cover of your song, a lyric video, a TikTok dance.

00:16:35.880 –> 00:16:38.560
ROBONZO: It’s flattering, sure, but does it help you?

00:16:40.020 –> 00:16:42.280
ROBONZO: It doesn’t unless you structure it strategically.

00:16:43.400 –> 00:16:49.340
ROBONZO: When fans create content around your music, they’re doing two things, expanding your reach and providing social proof.

00:16:49.340 –> 00:16:56.920
ROBONZO: But this only benefits you if the content is discoverable and if it drives people back to your platforms.

00:16:56.920 –> 00:17:01.400
ROBONZO: Step one, make fan generated content easy and encouraged.

00:17:01.400 –> 00:17:10.720
ROBONZO: Provide resources like stems for mixes, high quality album art for lyric videos, and clear guidelines for what’s allowed.

00:17:10.720 –> 00:17:17.240
ROBONZO: Step two, create a hashtag or tagging system so fans’ content aggregates in one findable place.

00:17:17.240 –> 00:17:22.340
ROBONZO: This isn’t about ego, it’s about making fan enthusiasm searchable and trackable.

00:17:22.340 –> 00:17:26.700
ROBONZO: Step three, amplify the best fan content through your own channels.

00:17:26.700 –> 00:17:35.820
ROBONZO: When you repost a fan’s cover or remix, you validate the effort and demonstrate to others that creating content around your music gets rewarded with exposure.

00:17:36.840 –> 00:17:38.660
ROBONZO: Here’s another approach to consider.

00:17:38.660 –> 00:17:43.020
ROBONZO: Announce a specific creative challenge with clear parameters.

00:17:43.020 –> 00:17:51.900
ROBONZO: For example, ask fans to create a music video for one of your songs using only their phone, or remix your track and submit it by ex-date.

00:17:51.900 –> 00:18:02.080
ROBONZO: And then the winner would get featured on your channels, maybe a prize, free merch, a personal call, whatever is meaningful but sustainable for you.

00:18:02.080 –> 00:18:11.600
ROBONZO: The benefit isn’t just the content itself, it’s the fans become active participants in the album cycle, extending its lifespan and relevance.

00:18:11.600 –> 00:18:21.540
ROBONZO: Identify content you need but don’t want to create yourself, then invite your community to fill the gap.

00:18:21.540 –> 00:18:29.180
ROBONZO: So for example, and these are ideas like I’m giving you some examples here, which you can try obviously, but I’m trying to get you to think creatively as well.

00:18:29.180 –> 00:18:38.780
ROBONZO: So you could, if you’re terrible at making lyric videos, or you don’t have time to document every show on tour, ask fans to create these.

00:18:38.780 –> 00:18:49.020
ROBONZO: Offer credit and a small incentive, like early access to tickets, exclusive downloads, whatever has value to your audience but low cost to you.

00:18:49.020 –> 00:18:52.680
ROBONZO: You’re not exploiting free labor here, you’re creating reciprocal value.

00:18:52.680 –> 00:18:58.860
ROBONZO: Fans gain portfolio pieces and public credit, you gain content, everyone benefits.

00:18:58.860 –> 00:19:04.140
ROBONZO: When fan-generated content genuinely influences your work, credit it explicitly.

00:19:04.140 –> 00:19:08.940
ROBONZO: If someone’s remix inspires a new direction for your next single, say so.

00:19:08.940 –> 00:19:15.940
ROBONZO: If a fan video interpretation of your lyrics shifts how you perform the song live, acknowledge it.

00:19:15.940 –> 00:19:18.780
ROBONZO: This isn’t just generosity, it’s strategy.

00:19:18.780 –> 00:19:26.840
ROBONZO: When your community sees that their contributions have real impact, they become more invested in generating quality content, not just volume.

00:19:26.840 –> 00:19:28.540
ROBONZO: Here’s the reality check though.

00:19:28.540 –> 00:19:30.420
ROBONZO: Not all fan content serves your goals.

00:19:31.220 –> 00:19:35.800
ROBONZO: Some will be off-brand, low-quality, or misaligned with your image.

00:19:35.800 –> 00:19:40.000
ROBONZO: You can’t control what fans create, but you can control what you amplify.

00:19:40.000 –> 00:19:44.200
ROBONZO: Don’t feel obligated to share or celebrate everything tagged with your name.

00:19:44.200 –> 00:19:50.140
ROBONZO: Establish clear community guidelines about what you’ll promote versus what you’ll simply appreciate from a distance.

00:19:50.140 –> 00:19:52.580
ROBONZO: It’s not censorship, that is curation.

00:19:52.580 –> 00:19:54.900
ROBONZO: Your brand is your responsibility.

00:19:54.900 –> 00:19:58.260
ROBONZO: Fan enthusiasm doesn’t require you to endorse everything they make.

00:19:58.260 –> 00:20:00.040
ROBONZO: One-off crowdsourcing is a novelty.

00:20:00.420 –> 00:20:04.200
ROBONZO: Sustainable, creative collaboration is a system.

00:20:04.200 –> 00:20:05.320
ROBONZO: The difference?

00:20:05.320 –> 00:20:11.200
ROBONZO: Systems have repeatable structures, clear expectations and defined benefits for everyone involved.

00:20:11.200 –> 00:20:15.060
ROBONZO: Establish a predictable schedule for when you’ll seek community input.

00:20:15.060 –> 00:20:23.340
ROBONZO: Maybe it’s monthly, first Tuesday of every month, for example, or you could say, I’m sharing work in progress and asking for your thoughts.

00:20:23.340 –> 00:20:29.400
ROBONZO: Or quarterly, you could say, at the start of each album cycle, I’ll involve you in key creative decisions.

00:20:30.080 –> 00:20:32.640
ROBONZO: Predictability builds trust, so that’s why you want to do that.

00:20:32.640 –> 00:20:38.240
ROBONZO: Your community knows what to expect or when to expect opportunities rather to contribute.

00:20:38.240 –> 00:20:41.080
ROBONZO: And they show up prepared to engage thoughtfully.

00:20:41.080 –> 00:20:43.920
ROBONZO: Here’s another participation model, tiered participation.

00:20:43.920 –> 00:20:50.800
ROBONZO: So not everyone in your community wants to participate at the same level, but you can create tiers that match different engagement preferences.

00:20:50.860 –> 00:20:59.480
ROBONZO: So some examples, like a first tier would be passive observers who enjoy watching the creative process but don’t want to contribute actively.

00:20:59.480 –> 00:21:01.200
ROBONZO: They’re your documentarians.

00:21:01.200 –> 00:21:05.900
ROBONZO: They’ll share what you’re doing, even if they’re not part of the creative decisions.

00:21:05.900 –> 00:21:11.340
ROBONZO: Tier two might be occasional contributors who weigh in when something excites them.

00:21:11.340 –> 00:21:14.280
ROBONZO: They’re your sounding board for big picture questions.

00:21:14.280 –> 00:21:19.560
ROBONZO: Tier three could be dedicated collaborators who want deep involvement.

00:21:20.220 –> 00:21:25.160
ROBONZO: These would be like your Patreon type supporters, superfans or street team.

00:21:25.160 –> 00:21:31.960
ROBONZO: They get early access to work in progress, detailed creative questions and meaningful influence over direction.

00:21:31.960 –> 00:21:35.300
ROBONZO: Match the level of access and influence to the level of commitment.

00:21:35.300 –> 00:21:42.400
ROBONZO: This prevents creative burnout from too much input and prevents resentment from superfans who feel their decision wasn’t valued.

00:21:42.960 –> 00:22:01.100
ROBONZO: The logic here is that if everyone gets the same access to provide creative input regardless of their level of support, superfans might think why am I paying or showing up or investing all this time and energy if someone who just discovered you yesterday gets the same voice in your creative decisions.

00:22:01.100 –> 00:22:07.720
ROBONZO: But this framework assumes a tiered access model is desirable or necessary by you and your community.

00:22:07.720 –> 00:22:12.720
ROBONZO: There are valid arguments against this model such as artistic integrity.

00:22:12.720 –> 00:22:19.960
ROBONZO: Some artists intentionally give everyone equal access because they don’t want financial contribution to influence creative decisions.

00:22:19.960 –> 00:22:28.300
ROBONZO: There could be community health concerns, so tiered influence can create hierarchy and gatekeeping dynamics that harm community culture.

00:22:28.300 –> 00:22:32.980
ROBONZO: The premise of a tiered access model assumes superfans want more creative influence.

00:22:32.980 –> 00:22:38.100
ROBONZO: Many may just want to support the art without decision making responsibility.

00:22:38.100 –> 00:22:43.420
ROBONZO: Every community development project is unique, as is every artist driving the community.

00:22:43.420 –> 00:22:44.940
ROBONZO: So ask yourself what feels right.

00:22:45.400 –> 00:22:47.440
ROBONZO: Ask your supporters and test it.

00:22:47.440 –> 00:22:50.560
ROBONZO: So the Feedback Documentation System.

00:22:50.560 –> 00:22:53.500
ROBONZO: Track what feedback you receive and what you implement.

00:22:53.500 –> 00:22:55.120
ROBONZO: This isn’t bureaucracy.

00:22:55.120 –> 00:22:57.000
ROBONZO: It’s strategic.

00:22:57.000 –> 00:22:59.180
ROBONZO: Keep a simple spreadsheet.

00:22:59.180 –> 00:23:03.980
ROBONZO: Date, question asked, responses received, decision made, outcome.

00:23:03.980 –> 00:23:15.020
ROBONZO: You might even set up a column in the responses that will do a word count for you because those ones with high word count are people who were probably really into it.

00:23:15.020 –> 00:23:17.340
ROBONZO: And then you can also look for recurring themes in there.

00:23:17.340 –> 00:23:19.880
ROBONZO: Over time, patterns will emerge.

00:23:19.880 –> 00:23:24.680
ROBONZO: You’ll see which types of feedback improve your work and which types distract you from it.

00:23:24.680 –> 00:23:33.940
ROBONZO: You’ll identify which community members consistently offer valuable insight versus which ones push personal preferences that don’t really align with your vision.

00:23:33.940 –> 00:23:38.600
ROBONZO: This documentation also protects you from the trap of seeking feedback on everything.

00:23:38.600 –> 00:23:46.380
ROBONZO: If your data shows that production input improves outcomes but lyrical feedback rarely changes your decisions, then stop asking for lyrical feedback.

00:23:46.380 –> 00:23:52.600
ROBONZO: And respect your community’s time by only asking for input you’ll genuinely consider.

00:23:52.600 –> 00:23:53.920
ROBONZO: Alright, closing the loop.

00:23:53.920 –> 00:23:56.000
ROBONZO: This is where most artists fail.

00:23:56.000 –> 00:24:00.300
ROBONZO: They ask for feedback but never report back on what happened.

00:24:00.300 –> 00:24:06.400
ROBONZO: If you ask your community to vote between two album covers, tell them which one won and why.

00:24:06.400 –> 00:24:08.020
ROBONZO: Even if you chose the less popular one.

00:24:08.440 –> 00:24:13.800
ROBONZO: If you crowdsource song ideas, show what you created from the winning suggestions.

00:24:13.800 –> 00:24:17.120
ROBONZO: Closing the loop proves that participation matters.

00:24:17.120 –> 00:24:22.140
ROBONZO: It transforms feedback from empty engagement into meaningful collaboration.

00:24:22.140 –> 00:24:23.440
ROBONZO: Here’s the final piece.

00:24:23.440 –> 00:24:27.540
ROBONZO: Give yourself permission to evolve how you involve your community.

00:24:27.540 –> 00:24:32.300
ROBONZO: What works in year one might not work in year five.

00:24:32.300 –> 00:24:35.720
ROBONZO: Your audience grows, your creative process changes, your needs shift.

00:24:36.300 –> 00:24:38.820
ROBONZO: Announce changes transparently.

00:24:38.820 –> 00:24:48.980
ROBONZO: So you could say, this monthly feedback session has been amazing, but I’m moving to quarterly check-ins because I need longer stretches of uninterrupted creative time or something.

00:24:48.980 –> 00:24:53.720
ROBONZO: Your community will totally understand if you’re honest with them.

00:24:53.720 –> 00:24:58.680
ROBONZO: They’ll resent you, however, if you ghost them or make sudden unexplained changes.

00:24:58.680 –> 00:25:01.600
ROBONZO: Sustainable systems require maintenance and adjustment.

00:25:02.100 –> 00:25:07.720
ROBONZO: Treat community collaboration as a living process, not a fixed feature.

00:25:07.720 –> 00:25:09.920
ROBONZO: Your community isn’t a creative burden.

00:25:09.920 –> 00:25:15.180
ROBONZO: It’s a creative resource, but only if you structure collaboration intentionally.

00:25:15.180 –> 00:25:19.340
ROBONZO: Use feedback early in the process when changes are cheap.

00:25:19.340 –> 00:25:24.220
ROBONZO: Crowd-source decisions on specific choices, not open-ended direction.

00:25:24.220 –> 00:25:27.220
ROBONZO: Channel fan-generated content toward your strategic goals.

00:25:28.540 –> 00:25:33.160
ROBONZO: Build repeatable systems that create value for everyone involved.

00:25:33.160 –> 00:25:41.200
ROBONZO: The artists who thrive long-term are those who figured out how to integrate community input without losing artistic control.

00:25:41.200 –> 00:25:44.820
ROBONZO: They’ve learned to listen without being ruled by consensus.

00:25:44.820 –> 00:25:48.580
ROBONZO: They’ve mastered the balance between collaboration and autonomy.

00:25:48.580 –> 00:25:52.900
ROBONZO: You don’t need to do this alone, but you need to stay in the driver’s seat.

00:25:52.900 –> 00:25:54.140
ROBONZO: Alright, that’s it for this episode.

00:25:54.140 –> 00:25:55.140
ROBONZO: Thank you for listening.

00:25:55.900 –> 00:26:16.980
ROBONZO: For more resources on building a sustainable music career, visit unstarvingmusician.com and sign up for Liner Notes, my bi-weekly newsletter that delivers research and proven strategies from creators who are solving these problems, like how to balance artistry with business, how to find your audience, how to create sustainable income streams.

00:26:16.980 –> 00:26:19.580
ROBONZO: Again, you can sign up at unstarvingmusician.com.

00:26:19.580 –> 00:26:22.720
ROBONZO: It’s easy and you can unsubscribe at any time.

00:26:22.720 –> 00:26:34.220
ROBONZO: And if you found this episode valuable, please share it with another musician or creative artist who is trying to figure out how to involve their community in the creative process without losing their artistic soul.

00:26:34.220 –> 00:26:38.860
ROBONZO: Until next time, keep making music and art that matters.

00:26:38.860 –> 00:26:48.080
ROBONZO: Hey folks, The Unstarving Musician has officially launched Podcast Startup, a course for people who want to start a podcast without face planning in their first month.

00:26:48.080 –> 00:27:01.020
ROBONZO: Most podcasts don’t make it past episode 3 or 4, not because the hosts run out of things to say, but because they had no plan and completely unrealistic expectations about what podcasting actually involves.

00:27:01.020 –> 00:27:10.420
ROBONZO: After recording and guesting on over 350 episodes, I’ve seen every dumb mistake new podcasters make, and yeah, I’ve made most of them myself.

00:27:10.420 –> 00:27:19.400
ROBONZO: Podcast Startup is a step-by-step system that takes you from, I have this idea, to holy crap, I just launched a podcast in 30 days or less.

00:27:19.400 –> 00:27:20.920
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00:27:20.980 –> 00:27:26.420
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00:27:26.420 –> 00:27:29.700
ROBONZO: Plus, you get direct Q&A access to me.

00:27:29.700 –> 00:27:34.020
ROBONZO: So when you inevitably wonder, wait, should I really record this in my closet?

00:27:34.020 –> 00:27:36.360
ROBONZO: You can actually ask someone who knows.

00:27:36.360 –> 00:27:38.980
ROBONZO: Learn more and enroll at unstarvingmusician.com/podcaststartup.

00:27:42.600 –> 00:27:45.940
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00:27:45.940 –> 00:27:48.760
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00:27:48.860 –> 00:27:50.880
ROBONZO: You could even say, I depend on it.

00:27:50.880 –> 00:27:53.700
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00:27:53.700 –> 00:27:56.420
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00:27:56.420 –> 00:27:58.800
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00:27:58.800 –> 00:28:05.400
ROBONZO: Or shoot me a review by email, robanzo at unstarvingmusician.com that I can use on the website.

00:28:05.400 –> 00:28:07.720
ROBONZO: Or just share this episode with a friend.

00:28:07.720 –> 00:28:10.960
ROBONZO: This makes a huge impact on our audience growth.

00:28:10.960 –> 00:28:22.740
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00:28:22.740 –> 00:28:27.300
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00:28:27.300 –> 00:28:38.260
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00:28:38.260 –> 00:28:42.180
ROBONZO: The music you’re hearing is New God’s Part 2 The Instrumental Mix by yours truly.

00:28:42.580 –> 00:28:47.320
ROBONZO: You can hear the full version, download it or buy it at rabonzo.com.

00:28:47.320 –> 00:28:58.080
ROBONZO: And if all this was too much to remember or process just go to the show notes for this episode at unstarvingmusician.com to find links to all the stuff talked about in this episode.

00:28:58.080 –> 00:29:02.180
ROBONZO: You can leave us feedback, questions, comments, complaints at unstarvingmusician.com/feedback.

00:29:04.700 –> 00:29:06.100
ROBONZO: Thanks for listening.

00:29:06.100 –> 00:29:08.280
ROBONZO: Peace, gratitude and a whole lot of love.