25 ways to finance your next recording project, music video or major equipment purchase (IV)

Continuing from last week’s article;

10 ways to get a better price on equipment

You’ve heard the saying: A penny saved is a penny earned. It’s true. Don’t spend more than you have to on equipment. Use these tips and save

- Buy used gear

Finding good, pre-owned equipment can suit your needs and be a lot easier on your pocketbook at the same time. Shop around and test the stuff before you buy

- Shop by mail order

Ordering gear by mail can often get you lower prices while allowing you to avoid paying in-state sales tax. Here are three good mail order equipment sources:

Musician’s Friend

www.musiciansfriend.com

zZounds

www.zzounds.com

eBay – Musical Instruments

http://instruments.ebay.com/

- Pay cash up front

No secret here. If you’ve done a good job of setting aside money for your Guerrilla Music Project Fund, walking into a store or studio with cash in hand will always give you plenty of leverage to get a great, low price.

- Compare prices and shop around

I don’t mean to insult your intelligence here, but too often many of us get hooked on the first offer we come across… and quite often it’s not the best buy. Resist impulse buying and check out other options before you commit.

- Establish a relationship with one retailer or studio

On the other end of the spectrum from shopping around is being loyal to one business… that is, if it rewards you for patronage with lower prices. If you’ve done a noticeable amount of business with one particular music dealer in town, ask about a preferred customer discount.

- Consider display models

Ranking right up there with used equipment bargains is the super price you can often get on demo models. Eventually, stores have to dispose of the display units that sit on the sales floor. And they move them by letting somebody walk out with these items at a 30- to70-per cent discount. That somebody might as well be you!

- Take advantage of sales, liquidations and going-out-of-business specials

Keeping an ear to your regional music grapevine might help alert you when a retailer is going out of business. When this occurs, you can bet the business owner will be more than eager to sell remaining equipment at deep discounts.

- Buy at wholesale by helping a store meet its quota

When music stores buy equipment from suppliers, the discount they get depends on the total amount of gear the store purchases. The higher the dollar amount, the better the wholesale price. Knowing this, why not offer to buy that monster PA system from the store at wholesale cost, which might help the store up its purchasing power and get a bigger discount from its supplier? It’s worth a shot.

- Work at a music store

Sure, why not? As an employee, you’ll probably get a discount on any purchase you make while you work for the store. Plus you’ll get a paycheck from the store! Yet another option.

- Haggle… and ask for a better price!

This one was added because too many people simply forget to do it. The number listed on the price tag is more often than not, negotiable. And if you never ask for a lower price, it certainly won’t be offered to you. So ask… and you just might receive a great price break.

Congratulations! You’ve made it through all 25 creative ways to finance your next music project. What you need to do now is go through the couple dozen money-making and money-saving suggestions in this series of articles (by the way, feel free to add some of your own) and start deciding which methods are going to work best for you.

Some musicians have access to investors while others feel stronger about going the merchandising route. Some are in a better position to set aside cash from their day jobs while others opt for a credit card advance.

Key principle: Remember the river of Guerrilla Music Financing we covered at the beginning of this series of articles? The best money-raising plan will incorporate several different streams. A little savings here, some extra revenue there… it can all add up quickly.

Your new action plan

Finally, I’d like to talk about one of the most important aspects of raising money in the music business: setting weekly and monthly goals. Once you narrow down your financial plan of attack, put it on paper. Give yourself a specific amount of money you want to raise and a date by which you want to have the total in your Guerrilla Music Project Fund.

Then make sure and open a separate bank account for this special fund. I suggest using at least a six-month plan and being realistic about the dollar amounts. Setting unattainable goals will do nothing but wear down your confidence in reaching them.

Next, break up the dollar amounts into monthly and weekly figures. In other words, calculate how much you’re going to have to earn or set aside each week in specific categories to hit your target amount. Breaking it up into bite-size chunks makes any worthy goal more manageable and keeps you on track week after week in your pursuit of it.

Other considerations: when it comes to sponsorships, bartering and other less-tangible methods, write out your specific action plan: who you’ll contact, when you’ll make contact, what offer will be made, etc. Once these steps are taken and a response is received, it’s time to re-evaluate the plan. Just as an airplane pilot readjusts his flight pattern many times before reaching a specific destination, so should you adjust your financial action plan along the way to reaching your money goals.

Where will you go from here?

The choice is now yours. If you don’t consider all the money-raising possibilities and write out a plan to begin with, you’ll continue to stray (like so many people) down a wandering path to musical obscurity. Not creating your personal road map and being committed to it week after week, month after month, will lead you to not getting that new release out, not getting that music video produced, or not getting that killer sound system you need.

But since you now have more than two dozen solid ideas at your fingertips, along with the newfound commitment to reach your financial and creative goals, you’ll be one of the smart ones basking in the glow of having attained yet another of your musical dreams.