339 Missing Royalties: Revenue Recovery Strategies with Amani Roberts
Release Date: 11/21/2025
339 Missing Royalties: Revenue Recovery Strategies with Amani Roberts
The Unstarving Musician
Independent musicians leave significant money on the table—not from lack of talent, but from unclaimed royalties and overlooked revenue streams. Amani Roberts, music business educator and author of the USA Today bestseller "The Quiet Storm," reveals the specific registration gaps costing artists thousands of dollars annually. In this conversation, Amani breaks down the four major royalty collection systems most artists fail to use properly: PRO registration for public performance royalties, SoundExchange for digital performance royalties, publishing royalties through services like...
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338 Jesse Flores – Distribution Partnerships And Strategic Planning For Independent Artists
The Unstarving Musician
Distribution partnerships can make or break an independent music career, but most artists don't understand what separates a good deal from a bad one. Jesse Flores, VP of Artist and Label Partnerships at Intercept Music and former Senior Director at Virgin Music Group, shares insider knowledge from over 20 years negotiating deals with major artists and independent labels. In this conversation, Jesse reveals the specific factors distributors evaluate when considering partnerships, the most common contract mistakes artists make (including the advance trap that costs artists future revenue), and...
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337 Ezra Vancil – Business Systems: From Marketing Day Job to Sustainable Music Career
The Unstarving Musician
After 10 years with the same band and launching his own label, Ezra Vancil has learned that sustainable music careers require business systems—not just passion. In this conversation, he reveals the productivity frameworks he's borrowed from his marketing day job and how they've transformed both his creative output and family dynamics. → subscribers get Ezra's complete "Music Career as Business System" framework + his pre-release strategy that sold an album for a full year before streaming. Key Topics Discussed The "fear as compass" approach that guides his creative decisions Why he...
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336 Community Collaboration: Turning Your Fanbase Into Creative Partners Without Losing Artistic Control
The Unstarving Musician
Can your community become a creative collaborator without turning your art into committee-designed mediocrity? In this solo episode, I explore proven frameworks for involving your audience in the creative process while maintaining complete artistic control. You’ll discover how Amanda Palmer uses early-stage feedback on Patreon to gather emotional responses (not technical critiques), how British singer-songwriter Lynz Crichton turned her entire EP creation into a 90-day collaborative project with her email and social media communities, and how Imogen Heap invited fans to contribute raw...
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335 Music Revenue Through Community - Moving Beyond Streaming
The Unstarving Musician
Music revenue diversification is essential for independent artists, but how do you actually monetize your community of superfans? This follow-up to episode 333's community-building strategies explores the practical side of turning deep fan relationships into sustainable income that goes beyond streaming pennies. Emerging direct-to-fan platforms like MySeat (highlighted by Dave Cool, formerly of Bandzoogle) allow artists to create branded mobile apps with multiple revenue streams - subscriptions, merchandise, live events, auctions, and exclusive content. Real case studies break down...
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334 Musician Podcaster Bree Noble – From Kitchen Recordings to Industry Authority
The Unstarving Musician
As a musician podcaster who has built multiple successful shows over the past decade, Bree Noble represents what's possible when artists embrace podcasting as both a creative outlet and business tool. In this conversation, she shares her evolution from recording in her kitchen to becoming a recognized industry authority featured in Forbes. Bree reveals the technical and logistical challenges she faced transitioning from Women of Substance streaming radio to becoming the speaking host of a podcast. She discusses why she wishes she'd front-loaded more episodes before launching and shares...
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333 How to Build, Name, and Nurture Your Creative Community
The Unstarving Musician
Most independent artists focus on building an audience, but the real power lies in developing a creative community. In this episode, I delve into the psychology behind transforming casual followers into passionate community members who view themselves as part of something larger. Drawing insights from my recent interview with singer-songwriter Eli Lev and his "Levitators" community, I break down the key differences between audience building and creative community development. You'll discover why community names matter more than you think, how to move beyond social media performance theater,...
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332 Eli Lev – Spiritual Growth: From 250 Shows to Finding Sacred Space in Music
The Unstarving Musician
Spiritual growth takes many forms for independent musicians. Folk artist Eli Lev has woven together influences from Jewish upbringing, Buddhism, and Navajo teachings into a unique artistic journey that took him through 250 shows last year alone. In this third appearance on the podcast, Eli opens up about the realities of intensive touring, the "entry and exit friction" that comes with constant travel, and how he maintains spiritual and personal well-being while building his Levatators community. We discuss this and his upcoming "Past Lives" EP, as well as his live video for "Where We...
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331 Musical Listening: The Art of Playing While Truly Hearing Your Band
The Unstarving Musician
Musical listening is the secret that separates professional-sounding bands from technically correct but disconnected performances. This episode explores blues guitarist Kid Andersen's "50% rule" and why listening should consume at least half of your mental bandwidth while playing. You'll discover the technical mastery paradox that traps countless musicians, practical strategies for developing dual awareness between your performance and your bandmates, and advanced applications, including how rhythm sections use listening skills to lead without taking over. We'll also delve into...
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330 Skulk the Hulking – Merging AI Visual Production, Music, and Performance Art
The Unstarving Musician
AI visual production is revolutionizing how independent artists create and present their work, and Steve Pasieka (Skulk the Hulking) is creating visual art at the forefront of this transformation. In this episode, Steve shares how he evolved from live performance art and noise rock to creating a multimedia project that seamlessly blends music, AI-generated visuals, and storytelling. We explore Steve's unique background in hardcore music and comedy improv, and how these seemingly different worlds inform his creative process. Steve discusses his pivot during the pandemic from live shows to...
info_outlineIndependent musicians leave significant money on the table—not from lack of talent, but from unclaimed royalties and overlooked revenue streams. Amani Roberts, music business educator and author of the USA Today bestseller "The Quiet Storm," reveals the specific registration gaps costing artists thousands of dollars annually.
In this conversation, Amani breaks down the four major royalty collection systems most artists fail to use properly: PRO registration for public performance royalties, SoundExchange for digital performance royalties, publishing royalties through services like Songtrust, and the Mechanical Licensing Collective. He explains how unclaimed royalties eventually get redistributed to major labels based on market share—money that independent artists could be collecting themselves.
Beyond royalty recovery, Amani shares his framework for building a private and corporate event business that can generate 5-10x more revenue than traditional bar gigs. He details the specific industry associations to join (MPI, PCMA, SITE), how to price yourself for corporate events, and the contract elements that differ from venue bookings.
Our conversation also covers email list-building strategies that convert social media followers into owned audience assets, how book publishing creates revenue opportunities beyond book sales, and why direct fan-to-artist platforms should be every musician's first 90-day priority.
Key Insights from This Episode
The Four Unclaimed Royalty Streams: Independent artists commonly miss public performance royalties (PROs), digital performance royalties (SoundExchange), publishing royalties (Songtrust), and mechanical royalties (Mechanical Licensing Collective). Unclaimed royalties eventually get redistributed to major labels—money independent artists should be collecting.
Royalty Recovery: Artists can recover unclaimed royalties going back up to four years. Proper metadata management and identical information across all platforms are critical for successful collection.
The Streaming Misconception: The biggest misconception is believing streaming is where most royalties come from. Mechanical, public performance, and publishing royalties represent more significant opportunities that are frequently overlooked.
Private and Corporate Event Revenue: Private and corporate events can generate 5-10x more revenue than bar gigs. Break in by joining event planning associations like Meeting Professionals International (MPI), Professional Conference Management Association (PCMA), and Society for Incentive Travel Executives (SITE). Volunteer at local chapters to build relationships with planners.
Corporate Event Pricing: Ask about the budget upfront, research past hires, and price based on your worth with flexibility. Always require deposits and negotiate hotel stays, parking, meals, and written/video testimonials in contracts.
Email List Monetization: Email lists are owned media (social is rented space). Revenue generation can begin with 50 subscribers. Use lead magnets like acoustic song versions and tools like MiniChat to automate conversions.
Book Publishing Strategy: Books rarely generate significant income from sales, but can increase speaking fees, create performance opportunities at events, and enhance rates for services. View publishing as paid marketing for your broader business.
90-Day Priority: Launch a direct fan-to-artist platform like Patreon with a compelling lead magnet for fast revenue impact.
Sustainable Revenue Model: Target 30% from performance, 30-35% from direct-to-fan, 20% from merchandise, 15% from private events.
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Resources
The Unstarving Musician’s Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo
Dreamhost – See the latest deals from Dreamhost, save money and support the UM in the process.
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