Yes. It’s okay. You may listen to my music on Spotify. In fact, please listen. Add my songs to your library. Create Spotify playlists with my songs. I encourage you to listen and share my music.

I asked my friend Gary if he listens to Spotify. He said no. He heard they did not pay artists well. He prefers to buy CDs to support the bands he loves.

Gary is in his 50s and he’s not alone. His demographic of people age 45-65 are more likely to buy a cd. At least for now. But that’s changing.

Even those ages 35-45 are split. More and more are moving to streaming music.

I host the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, the largest of its kind. I no longer accept CDs.

At the end of 2017, I started to embrace Spotify and streaming music. I just hope I’m not too late.

Right now, streaming music is loved most by younger folks. Hip hop reigns supreme. Pop music is right behind that. Metal is even doing well. Oddly, rock and country are lagging behind.

Knowing that, you can imagine how Celtic Music is doing. Folk musicians are not known to live at the front of new technology.

Course that doesn’t mean music fans aren’t already listening. They are.

Gaelic Storm has 200,000 listeners. Irish Rovers have 270,000. The Chieftains have 300,000. Celtic Woman has 400,000. Flogging Molly have over a million. Dropkick Murphys have 2.1 million!

People are listening whether we musicians like it or not.

As with all technology, this offers a great opportunity for Celtic musicians. We can be at the forefront of streaming music if we are brave enough to try. I need you to stream my music even tho the revenue is not yet in my favor.

The Dropkick Murphy revenue equates to about $10,000 per month. Even Gaelic Storm’s $1000 per month is nothing to sniff at, at least for me. Just imagine if Celtic musicians actually promoted their music on Spotify. We could easily triple or quadruple those numbers.

Now comes the hard reality. I get about 2000 listens. That’s just about $10 per month. You can’t make a living off that.

BUT Spotify is just one way to make money as an the indie musician.

The true opportunity of Spotify is as a music discovery platform. Now it is virtually free to listen to music and to share it too. I don’t even have to worry about piracy. In fact, I will make money when you “pirate” my music thru Spotify.

Spotify is a great way to get your music heard by existing fans and to find new fans.

How then will I make actual money?

As a marketer, I know that if if I give away all of my music, people will find it and if they love it, then they will find a way support me.

There are many ways, fans can continue to buy Merch: CDs, Tshirts, USB Drives, posters, jewelry, stickers, or whatever I sell. I’m trying out lots of different products.

You get something cool AND you support the music you love.

But as an artist, I am scared, I’m terrified of giving away my intellectual property.

It turns out There is another way that will make the virtually free Spotify streaming even more worthwhile—become a patron of the arts.

Patronage is as old as the music profession. In the past, musicians relied on one rich patron. But now we can achieve similar results with donations by lots of patrons each paying just a little each month.

You can join my Gunn Runners Club on Patreon for as little as a buck a month. You’ll get the inside scoop of what’s new. You can get behind the scenes podcasts and videos for just five bucks a month. You can enjoy streaming concerts for $10 per month.

This is a game changer for musicians. There’s no overhead costs. All of the money you donate (minus fees) goes straight to my music business. And you get a more inclusive musical experience.

Patreon is not for everyone. It’s for the most-dedicated fans. You might not be ready for this incredible opportunity to support my music firsthand.

If you’re not, Spotify is the perfect way to decide if my music is right for you.

So again. Yes. Please listen to my music on Spotify. Add my songs to your library and playlists. Share it with a friend.

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Thank you so much for listening. Now I want to ask you to head on over to Spotify and Follow My Music.

You'll find a link in the shownotes at Celtfather.com where you can also subscribe to this podcast and download 21 songs for free.

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