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A Chat with Wyatt Edmondson
Episode 531st January 2024 • Curious Goldfish • Jason English
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Pursuing the Rhythm: Exploring the World of An Independent Musician ft. Wyatt Edmondson

This podcast episode from 'Curious Goldfish' features a deep-dive conversation with singer-songwriter Wyatt Edmondson as he opens up about his journey as an independent musician, overcoming vision limitations, and finding meaningful ways to connect to his audiences.

The dialogue further expands to encompass the business side of independent music, detailing innovative ways Edmondson has used to generate income and build his brand. The discussion is split into two acts: firstly, Edmondson's financial strategies and business acumen and secondly, his dedication towards producing art that positively impacts the culture. The musician also discusses the unique challenges he has faced due to his visual impairment and how the experience has guided his pursuit of a musical career. The episode ends with a couple of songs performed by Wyatt Edmondson.

00:09 Introduction and Personal Journey

01:11 The Curious Goldfish Podcast

01:53 The Business of Being an Independent Musician

02:13 The Impact of Visual Impairment on Music Career

02:35 Live Performance and Conversation with Wyatt Edmondson

05:12 The Business Side of Music: Revenue Streams and Marketing

23:09 The Power of Music and Personal Growth

29:46 The Role of Faith in Music

31:46 Future Goals and Aspirations

33:31 Live Performance and Conclusion

Transcripts

Wyatt Edmondson:

/We started playing and right about the time that was getting

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serious I found out about my, eye

condition, my diagnosis, and, I think

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in that moment, I know actually, God

spoke to me, and, it was sort of a

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realization of, You've been met with

this challenge, but here's something that

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you'll never be hindered by your vision

to do, and that's to play and sing.

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And so I just continued to try to find

new ways to make it work, but the art

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inspired that.

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And I wrote my first song

when I was probably 16.

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And, I just remember the high that

I got from that, and then hearing

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my first song played by a band.

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And then hearing my first song recorded,

and then hearing my first song on the

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radio, you know, like all those things.

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It just, it never gets old, you know?

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Jason English (Host): Welcome to

Curious Goldfish, a podcast community

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where music and curiosity come together

through interesting conversations

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with the music makers of our world.

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I'm your host, Jason English.

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You can find Curious Goldfish and all the

major podcasts and social media platforms.

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And of course we have all of our

content on our website, curiousgoldfish.

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com.

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My conversation with singer

songwriter Wyatt Edmondson

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ended up being a two act play.

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And I hope you find each equally

interesting and educational.

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The first 20 minutes or so we go deep

on the business of being an independent

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musician and preparing for the interview.

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And through this conversation, I'm

extremely impressed by why it's approached

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to generating revenue for himself.

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Many artists aren't as

disciplined as he is.

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And I think you'll be surprised

by his creativity and tenacity.

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He knows how to hustle.

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The second part is centered around his

music and how his visual impairment

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fueled his pursuit of a career in music.

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You can't help but admire his intentional

focus on making good art that will

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have a positive impact on our culture.

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Wyatt wraps us up with two live songs,

one called Shelter off of his:

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album, and the other is an unreleased

song he co wrote with Sarah Peacock.

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Here's Alabama fan and current

Nashville resident Wyatt Edmondson.

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Let's dive in.

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Wyatt, thanks for joining.

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Wyatt Edmondson: Yeah, man.

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Thank you, Jason.

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Appreciate it.

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Jason English (Host): We're in Florida.

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It's the middle of January.

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We're here for 30A Songwriters Festival.

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You've been here before, right?

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Wyatt Edmondson: Yes, actually,

this is my 7th year here.

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Yeah, I got in really early when

I was still in college and I mean,

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I've literally grown up with this

festival, It's seen me and I've

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seen it change in so many ways.

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And, uh, I've experienced a lot of growth

as a result of being involved with Russell

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Carter and, and just the 30 a fest and

some of the other things that he's put on.

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And it's just allowed me a lot of

great opportunities very thankful

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ZOOM0047_TrLR: to

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Jason English (Host): mingle Yeah.

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What about it has enabled that growth?

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the other artists.

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And also

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Wyatt Edmondson: getting to

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know, i think mostly it's connections,

getting to mingle with some of the

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other artists and, also getting to

know the people with Russell Carter

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artist management and, some of the other

opportunities that have come out of this

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like other songwriters festivals that you

get to Fest on the resume and then and

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me to get into some other Opportunities

as well some other festivals This past

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year Russell had me be a part of the

30 a songwriters festival showcase at

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Americana Fest in Nashville I've been

writing songs with some of the You know,

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really accomplished songwriters that

frequent this festival, like Jeffrey

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Steele, Adam Hood, and plenty of others.

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Those are all people that I've met at

these types of events, so, you know,

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That's good.

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In terms of, festivals,

you know, question.

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I like folks if you had the responsibility

of putting on an evening at a festival

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and you had acts to in the lineup.

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Who would you it the card?

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what's my budget?

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It's unlimited And it doesn't have

to be the same genre like it's

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your it's it's Wyatt's show Do

they all have to be alive still?

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Jason English (Host): No

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Wyatt Edmondson: let's bring up Bruce

Springsteen and the E Street Band and

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maybe, uh, resurrect Jimi Hendrix from

the dead and then we'll have Bob Marley

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finish it off, you know, those are, those

are of my absolute favorites I would be

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front, front and center the whole time.

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I would not do anything

but enjoy the music.

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So it probably would

be pretty unorganized.

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Just.

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Jason English (Host): Hey man,

would be a hell of a festival

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I wonder how much merch would go for that

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Wyatt Edmondson: I don't know.

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You could put all their

faces on the same shirt.

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I would wear it every day.

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You know,

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Jason English (Host): that's All right.

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Good answer.

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That was good.

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That was good.

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So one thing I'm, I'm curious about

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, I'm not part of the music industry.

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But you're an independent artist.

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Wyatt Edmondson: Yep.

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Jason English (Host): managing

a business day to day, I guess.

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Can you walk us through some of

the details around, how do you

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generate the top line revenue?

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When you wake you wake up every day,

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You have to worry your art.

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It'sbut you've gotta also pay the bills

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can going you walk us through

what that, looks like, from

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a revenue perspective first?

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Wyatt Edmondson: I'll start by saying

that it's it's a constant journey.

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You're constantly revamping

and, rethinking your model.

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That's definitely been the case

for over the past seven years.

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that I've lived in Nashville.

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I always tell people If you're thinking

about doing music professionally, but

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you're on the fence about jumping in full

time because you want the steady support

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and foundation of a day job, I'm not

saying that having a day job is a problem.

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There's a lot of people who are really

successful in music who also still

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have like a, a weekly day job that

they kind of use to be the foundation

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of their financial situation.

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That was never the case for me, I always

was of the mindset that you just have

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to jump in head first and then just

start swimming and see what works, and I

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think for most musicians, whether you're

really trying to be an artist or if

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you're really trying to be more behind

the scenes, if you can play live, I think

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that's the easiest way to get the ball

rolling and to start supporting yourself.

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Um, and I'll just give you

a little background on how my

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model has changed over the years.

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I mean, when I first moved to Nashville,

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I pretty much didn't live there.

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I mean, I paid rent there, but I

was, I was in a van and we were going

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five days a week playing around the

Southeast and sometimes even further

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beyond that and bars, coffee shops,

small venues, things like that.

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And that was before I

really knew much about.

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Like royalties or, any other like

commission based work you could do and,

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and so I was really paying the bills

doing that, but it wasn't near as, it was

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not near as lucrative as I was thinking

it was, because not only was I young and

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not really financially responsible, but,

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I was kind of living above my

means a little bit, and I think a

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lot of artists struggle with that,

because you have to have this,

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I don't want to say image, but you

really just have to be comfortable, you

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know, and sometimes that requires you

to, put a little bit more on a credit

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card than you know you're supposed

to, and I, I found myself to do that.

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When Covid hit, I'd been in Nashville

for I guess, almost four years, but

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I really hadn't been there much,

and I, I found myself suddenly,

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All my tour dates were gone.

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I was locked up in the house

and I came, to two conclusions.

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The, the first conclusion was I don't

have any other streams of income besides

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performing live, and that's a problem.

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And then the second one was, I don't

have enough friends in this town.

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I, I, I feel like.

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I don't really live here, so

I made those big changes.

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One of the big changes I made

was I started touring less

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and I started performing more

regularly around Nashville.

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And a lot of that consisted of playing

like on lower Broadway, I had to start

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playing more cover songs, but I would

also pick the right shifts during the

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day to where it was like, you know,

I typically play in the afternoon.

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And so You can, you can

really do whatever you want.

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I mean, I started out just doing what I

thought people wanted, but then I quickly

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started making it my own experience and,

and marketing myself down there as a

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musician and, or as a songwriter, I should

say, and saw a lot of success with that.

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So now, that's a big

part of my income stream.

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Um, some, you know, regular, what

I would call residency gigs around

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Nashville, like I said, down on

Broadway, in the afternoon hours.

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That's very much a

stream of income for me.

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And then I, I stumbled into, like I

mentioned, sort of commission based work.

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Particularly, writing songs and

getting paid up front for doing it.

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I'm gonna give a shout out to

a company, kinda changed my

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situation, called Songfinch.

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And they reached out to me.

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It was, I guess, in 2021.

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Those years kind of run together for

me, but, I think they reached out

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to me in 2021, and they found me on

Spotify, they'd heard some of my music,

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and basically what they do is they

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Run a company that

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delivers

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Customized songs to the customer

that they can essentially use as

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maybe a gift for a spouse or maybe to

memorialize an experience or even if

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they maybe just have an idea for a song

that they have always wanted to see.

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You know, manifest and into an

actual song and have someone who

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that's their job put it together.

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And so I started to get into that and

at first I was a little bit turned

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off because I was like, I don't know

if I really want to write like, Dave

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and Julie's love love story, but

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Jason English (Host): I ended

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Wyatt Edmondson: up really getting into it

and then, and, and then it ended up paying

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very well, and, and then that was the

part where it was like, okay, this is a

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serious part of my business at this point.

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And so I, I still work with Song Finch.

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I do some stuff outside of them as well.

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In 2022, I think I wrote like

over 600 custom songs, you know?

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Yeah, man.

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Jason English (Host): Yeah.

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And

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Wyatt Edmondson: so those are really,

uh, it's a cool business model

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and a cool like boost to my whole

situation because I mean, first

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off, I can do it from anywhere.

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I'm actually going to go after this.

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Podcast and and work on one so you

know and that'll be a little bit of

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money that I'll make today before I go

and Perform tonight, you know, and so

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Jason English (Host): so many questions.

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Can

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Wyatt Edmondson: yeah jump in.

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Sorry

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Jason English (Host): No, you're good.

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So what's the mindset.

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In the process, because obviously

like, you know, my assumption is

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as a songwriter, you're inspired by

family stories, heartbreak, personal

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experiences, all these things that

you're observing and experiencing.

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Is it the same thing for Jim and

Julie that, do you have any idea what

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their story is and their background,

or do you have to kind of like, In

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your mind, make up, a scenario,

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Wyatt Edmondson: No, so I mean it's

actually really streamlined and it

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gives the customer an opportunity

to Provide me with a lot of helpful

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information and sort of give me a

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Jason English (Host): you're fed nuggets

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Wyatt Edmondson: yeah I mean

they sort of give me a roadmap,

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but I'm free to take whichever

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Whichever way I want to go, you

know, there's there's a finish

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that there's there's an ending

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Point on the map But I can choose how

I want to get there, you know, and it's

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really fun And actually I think it's

really attributed to my ability as a

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songwriter for my own music particularly

Just making me a faster writer because

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it's just more constantly flowing

ideas And and so, you know, I have

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nothing but good things to say about it

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Jason English (Host): Is there a

formula that you've kind of developed?

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Wyatt Edmondson: The more I

study songwriting, the more

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I put emphasis on the chorus.

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Because I think at the end of the day,

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That is the point that it, which

we're trying to have an arrival.

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You know, but if the, if the journey to

get there isn't good, that's a problem.

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And if the arrival is good, or

excuse me, if, if the arrival isn't

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worth the journey, that's a problem.

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And so it's really important to make that.

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Arrival moment worth that journey,

you know, so I put a lot of focus at

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least over the past year I'm still

a growing and developing songwriter

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but over the past year i've put so

much emphasis into making sure that

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that journey

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was worth it by Having a chorus

that is going to be something

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people are going to be like

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Jason English (Host): something

that people are going to be like.

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Well, as a matter of fact,

that's, and I, I took the

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Wyatt Edmondson: well as a matter of fact,

um Yes, and and I I do own the rights

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to the songs So I actually did record

a song on my Most recent album that I

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wrote for someone and it was for this

guy out of Wyoming and it's called the

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code of the West and So it was basically

I talked to him for 40 It wasn't through

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song Finch, but it was through something

called the American song and it's very

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similar But I talked to him on a, uh,

zoom call for about 45 minutes about his

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life and came up with the song and wrote

it and had to give it to him in a day.

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So it was like very, it was

a single session, right?

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Very stream of consciousness, but I

ended up loving it and I was like,

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I'm going to put this on my record.

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And so we did,

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Jason English (Host): did.

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That's amazing.

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Yeah.

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All right.

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Well, I learned something here.

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Okay, cool.

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So I guess back, I have a question back

to like the, the gigs in Nashville.

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Yeah.

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Maybe a dumb question, but if

you go and play at a coffee shop,

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does the coffee shop give you any

kind of fee or is it all tips?

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Wyatt Edmondson: Well,

it's mostly the bars.

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Um, and yes, they do have base pays.

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Um, I'm actually writing

a book on this right now.

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Um, so I'm, I'm writing a little

e book that I'm hoping to put out

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in the next year that's going to

basically be a roadmap for people

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who want to do what I'm doing.

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But, yeah, they offer base pays

that, I would say on the low end are

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around 75 and it goes as high as 300.

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And then, you know, you get

tips down there which can range.

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You know, if you're good at what

you do, I would say a hundred plus

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in tips generally, and also, it's

not uncommon for people to do more

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than one shift in a day down there,

which most vocal coaches would tell

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you is a very bad idea, but if you.

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If you know how to pace yourself, I

mean, it's, it's a good living, and

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it's really inspiring because you get

to be around these just amazing players,

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you know, the guy who gets off the bar

stool and you're up next, he's amazing

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and he's got a publishing deal and,

and, I've seen guys very quickly get

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signed to record labels, you know,

who've been down there for a couple of

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years honing their craft and then when

the timing's right, they just launch,

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so I'm very lucky and I'm not at all

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Uh, ashamed to say that I'm down

there, because sometimes when you

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move to Nashville, some people are

like, Oh, Broadway, that's where

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musicians go to give up their dreams.

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No, that's where you go to

hone your craft, in my opinion.

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Jason English (Host): No, that's

where you go to hone your craft.

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Wyatt Edmondson: Oh yeah, I

sell CDs and vinyl down there.

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Um, I'm always getting people to

sign up for my email list down there.

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I mean, you're, you're basically

touring without having to travel.

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Because tourists come from all over the

world to come see music on Broadway.

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I'll have people from all of the

50 states, people from Europe,

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people from even further than

that, who connect with my music.

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And then if I go out on tour,

I've had them come and buy

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tickets to shows, you know.

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And so, it's a cool way to build

up an audience, kind of in a

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grassroots approach, you know.

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Jason English (Host): They actually

sort of assume that like, Hey,

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you know, I'm up here on stage.

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I'm doing my thing.

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Tips are going to come and the

folks are just going to know

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to Venmo me or buy the t shirt.

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There's not a lot of

active marketing, you know?

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And I, I'm like, you guys are

missing a huge opportunity here,

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Wyatt Edmondson: yeah, I think it,

the best way to do it is to do it

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subtle but intentionally, you know.

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Um, I have plenty of little one liners

that I'll say on stage that are, whether

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or not people realize it, prompts,

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Jason English (Host): There

you're, nudging them.

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Wyatt Edmondson: Yeah, and, and

I've gotten it down to a science.

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And, and it's all genuine, you know.

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I think that's the most important thing.

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You're not, you're not up there like

a angry monkey with a, with a tip

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jar going, give me money, you know.

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I mean, that's, that's

never gonna work, you know.

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It's, it's about the art.

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But people who are connected to you

will always, make it worth your while,

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Jason English (Host): This podcast

is a sort of a passion project.

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I have a full time job.

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I'm in corporate world technology

and sales and, it's pretty common.

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Sort of mindset and framework to

say like the, the cost of acquiring

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a new customer is so much greater

than, you know, an existing customer.

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Right?

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So it's like, you know, once you

get a customer in, you nurture

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them, you retain them, you try to

upsell them because you've got

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the access and the relationship.

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I would assume it's the

same thing for an artist,

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Wyatt Edmondson: it is.

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I think what you just touched on is

most notably demonstrated in an email

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list because social media, we're not in

control anymore because of the algorithm.

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You know, I mean, most of.

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Artists who post on social

media, like let's say you have

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10, 000 Instagram followers.

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Well, if you make a post only about 500

of those followers are actually gonna

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see that post most of the time and

then only about you know 300 of them

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are actually going to actively engage

with that post So I mean 10, 000 people

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who you've met who like your music

only 300 of them are really gonna get

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something out of a content piece in

an email If you got 10, 000 email list

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subscribers, that email is going to go

to every single one of their inboxes.

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Now I'm not saying they're all going

to open it and interact with it,

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but it's a much higher percentage.

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I think it's like social

media is about 5%.

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I think, uh, email in the

music business is around 28%.

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percent

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So it's a much better conversion.

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And, with my email list, I try to

have fun, I try to, I try to give more

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than I ask, um, and I try to make sure

that the people who are on my list are

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really getting something out of it, but

at the same time, you know, if I roll

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out a new merch item and I send out an

email, I get a lot of people who buy it

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because They like what I do, and they

also like the shirt or the hat, you know.

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And it's much easier to get

their attention that way.

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Jason English (Host): Is merch,

is that where you, is that where

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the profit margin is the best

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Wyatt Edmondson: yeah, I mean, if you

want to talk about profit margin, I

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think CDs are actually where it's at.

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:

Jason English (Host):

people still buying the

354

:

Wyatt Edmondson: yeah, especially,

especially if you sign it.

355

:

I always joke with people.

356

:

I'll tell you this, like one thing I did

for my album that, came out last year

357

:

was the first 200 copies I numbered.

358

:

And signed.

359

:

And so people really latched onto that.

360

:

I mean, that increases

the value right there.

361

:

You know, if you've got number

copy, number five and it's signed,

362

:

that's unique, you know, and so

that increases the value and it

363

:

doesn't cost me anything but my time.

364

:

I sold out of those first 200 copies

in about a month, because of that.

365

:

And then once I stopped numbering

'em, the sales slowed down a little

366

:

bit, but he was still signing them.

367

:

And you know, I always joke

with people at shows, I'm like.

368

:

You know, if you don't have a CD player

anymore, this thing doubles nicely as a

369

:

drink coaster, you know, and they laugh

and, and then they buy it, you know,

370

:

Jason English (Host): Well, I know

the whole vinyl thing is, coming

371

:

back I just bought a record player

this year and I'm all into it.

372

:

I had no idea the CDs were

also making a comeback.

373

:

Wyatt Edmondson: The company I use

in Nashville, I think I get my CDs

374

:

for like a little over 2, and I

turn around and sell them for 10.

375

:

So that's like almost a 5x, you

know, but vinyl is finals about Yeah.

376

:

Yeah.

377

:

Maybe a 2x, maybe a little bit less,

378

:

Jason English (Host): good.

379

:

Yeah.

380

:

Wyatt Edmondson: but still, you know,

it's, it's good to have and, uh,

381

:

you know, my record, I, I personally

believe sounds best on vinyl.

382

:

So I think for the, for the

listener, it's worth it.

383

:

Jason English (Host): For the music

fans out there, your advice to them,

384

:

what's the best way for them to

actually support their favorite artists?

385

:

Is it the Venmo support?

386

:

Is it the merchandise combination?

387

:

Wyatt Edmondson: The best way to support,

and not even just on what's going to

388

:

net me the most profit, but just what's

going to net me the most satisfaction

389

:

is, is something transactional like

buying my album, or, maybe even hiring

390

:

me to come and perform at like a house

concert, you know, those kinds of things.

391

:

I've had people before just give

me a, a big old tip or something

392

:

like that, and that's awesome.

393

:

I love that, but sometimes it almost

feels, like they're doing it because they

394

:

think that you're struggling, and it's

like, well, I'm not, but I do appreciate

395

:

that, you know, and it's, it's always from

a place of love, but buying the, buying

396

:

the music, listening to it, sharing it.

397

:

I had a fan in Massachusetts who bought

30 copies of my CD and just gave it

398

:

away to friends and that was awesome.

399

:

And so.

400

:

Yeah, I mean that kind of

stuff really means a lot to me.

401

:

Jason English (Host): The streaming

platforms, it's great as a fan, right?

402

:

Cause you can, it's all right at

your fingertips, it's just a way for

403

:

you to get your art out there, right?

404

:

Wyatt Edmondson: Yeah, I mean, I

think at this, this stage, especially

405

:

if you're an independent artist, um,

streaming is just a marketing platform.

406

:

Um, and a lot of times you have to spend

money to make money with streaming, you

407

:

know, they, I mean, just like in the old

days of payola and radio and things like

408

:

that, there's Spotify playlist curators

now who, will charge you a fee to place

409

:

their place, your song on their playlist.

410

:

And, you know, it's, it's, it's not

as uncommon as you would think, um.

411

:

They always want to tell you,

Oh, you're going to make it back

412

:

in streams and stuff, but it

doesn't always work out that way.

413

:

But what it does, if you, if you work

with the right curators, you do get on

414

:

lists that have organic listeners and,

and it does end up growing your brand.

415

:

And so I think there's just a

give and take and a balance.

416

:

And then also, you know, paid advertising

on things like Facebook and Instagram

417

:

and Tik Tok is, is a real, is a really

big way people are getting their,

418

:

their, their reach out there these days.

419

:

Jason English (Host): you

know, the music, right.

420

:

And your art.

421

:

I'm still blown away by the way, by

this song, Finch concept, maybe I'm

422

:

like late to the game there, but

that's, yeah, that's really interesting.

423

:

Um, but yeah, your music.

424

:

So did you, you released

an album last year, right?

425

:

Wyatt Edmondson: it's called Made

for the Road and I was releasing a

426

:

slew of singles throughout the year

and then the full album dropped

427

:

on September the 15th last year.

428

:

Jason English (Host): That's awesome.

429

:

What has music meant to you in your life?

430

:

Wyatt Edmondson: Well, it certainly

means more to me than the business

431

:

analytics, you know, I mean Most

musicians aren't really the best

432

:

CEOs, you know, but I think honestly,

433

:

My dad's a musician and He got me

into it early on Just the love of good

434

:

music and and playing the guitar I

started playing the guitar when I was

435

:

a preteen, you know, and I I saw that

he did it sort of semi professionally.

436

:

He was sort of a weekend warrior band guy.

437

:

He was a lawyer by day and would play

in rock bands on the weekends and stuff.

438

:

And I, I saw him do that and I was

like, I, I don't even, I wasn't even

439

:

thinking about the money at first.

440

:

I was like, I just want to do that.

441

:

I just want to play in a band.

442

:

You know, so I, me and some buddies

in high school put a band together.

443

:

We started playing and right about the

time that was getting serious I found out

444

:

about my, eye condition, my diagnosis,

and, I think in that moment, I know

445

:

actually, God spoke to me, and, it was

sort of a realization of, You've been met

446

:

with this challenge, but here's something

that you'll never be hindered by your

447

:

vision to do, and that's to play and sing.

448

:

And so it, it really just catapulted me

into getting real serious about making

449

:

that my living and making that my job.

450

:

And so I started gigging all

the time, and that's what I did

451

:

all the way through college.

452

:

I never had a real job.

453

:

The only real job I ever had was in the

middle of COVID for about six months.

454

:

I got a little remote computer job

because there was nothing to do,

455

:

you know, but that was it, man.

456

:

You know, that's the only

job I've ever had is music.

457

:

And so I just continued to try to find

new ways to make it work, but the art

458

:

Inspired that.

459

:

And I wrote my first song

when I was probably 16.

460

:

And, I just remember the high that

I got from that, and then hearing

461

:

my first song played by a band.

462

:

And then hearing my first song recorded,

and then hearing my first song on the

463

:

radio, you know, like all those things.

464

:

It just, it never gets old, you know?

465

:

Jason English (Host):

You're legally blind, right?

466

:

Yeah.

467

:

How has that changed or affected

your, uh, again, the song writing.

468

:

There's obviously lots of

different sources of material.

469

:

Does it creep in?

470

:

Does it creep into that process?

471

:

Wyatt Edmondson: Well, if it does in its

own way, I mean, I don't, I haven't yet,

472

:

I'm not gonna say that I don't, but I

haven't yet really written, written a song

473

:

about being blind or anything like that.

474

:

But, one of the things I always

tell my co writers that I do,

475

:

and it's really out of necessity.

476

:

Because I'm not able to read,

handwriting on a page or anything.

477

:

I am able to use some accessibility

functions through my Like phone

478

:

and, and computer and stuff.

479

:

But what I typically do when I'm

creating songs is I'll write something

480

:

down and then as quickly as I write

it down, I try to recall it in my own

481

:

mind and because, and it's because I

can't read it, you know, so, and what

482

:

I think it does is it refines my lyrics

to just be more memorable because you

483

:

have to remember it right now, and

so I'll, think a lot of songwriters,

484

:

they write something on the page and

then they're instantly married to it.

485

:

You know, whereas to me, I write

something down, and then I have to

486

:

recall it, and typically when I recall

it, I actually recall something that's

487

:

slightly different, but maybe a better

488

:

Jason English (Host): slightly

different, but maybe a better.

489

:

it puts a little bit finer touch

on the process So it's, it puts

490

:

just forces my brain to work a

little bit more, and it forces it

491

:

to get more and more efficient.

492

:

You know, I want my songs to be

memorable, and if I can't recall it in

493

:

the next second, then maybe it needs

to be rethought a little bit, you know.

494

:

Wyatt Edmondson: Yes, roll tide.

495

:

Jason English (Host): Um, big, yeah.

496

:

Big news on, on Saban this week.

497

:

I've been to a lot of shows

the last couple of years.

498

:

I live in Atlanta so that, there's

a lot, happening in Atlanta.

499

:

Everybody comes through there.

500

:

I think one of the most memorable

performances I've seen in the last two

501

:

years since moving there was at Eddie's

Attic, the blind boys of Alabama.

502

:

And I'll never forget that because

it the group has been around for 70

503

:

years and you know, the, the members

come and go, but they've got the

504

:

band going and then they make their

entrance and they have their hands

505

:

on their shoulders going up on stage.

506

:

And then, obviously they

sing it's, it's beautiful.

507

:

The joy in that whole experience, you

know, I, I've, I thought to myself

508

:

like that's the power of music, you

know, it's like, People, we all have

509

:

challenges, you know, whether they're

self inflicted, whether they're,

510

:

you know, from, from whatever.

511

:

And to see that, to see them do what

they did for two hours, I was like,

512

:

this is what music is all about.

513

:

Wyatt Edmondson: Yeah, I mean, I can

Just speak to my own experience, but

514

:

I bet you it's the same for, for them.

515

:

Like, when you do something well,

particularly if you have a disability,

516

:

but you're able to do something very

well, and people respect you for it, it

517

:

just, it just fulfills you, and it just

makes you feel like you're providing a

518

:

meaningful contribution to the greater

society, the greater culture, you know,

519

:

and I think there's, sadly, there's a

lot of people out there who struggle with

520

:

disabilities that haven't found that out.

521

:

Avenue for themselves yet, and they might

feel like I just I don't have anything

522

:

to offer, you know, and as a musician,

Whenever I play shows, I always talk

523

:

about how like I'm not able to drive a

car but because of music I've traveled

524

:

the world, and that's that is God that

that is the power of fate and and the

525

:

power of a story and the power of just

526

:

Living life to the fullest, you know,

and and finding ways to do the things

527

:

that you really want to do and people

I want to say people are inspired by

528

:

me, but I mean they connect with that

529

:

connect with that idea

530

:

Everybody has a story.

531

:

Everybody has something they've

chased after in their lives.

532

:

And when you get it, when you

find it, it just empowers you.

533

:

It empowers you to keep

534

:

Jason English (Host): Yeah, I mean,

a mission has always been the same.

535

:

A mission is

536

:

Wyatt Edmondson: Yeah, I mean, I think

my mission has always been the same.

537

:

The mission is really just to

have a life that I am proud of.

538

:

One of my late professors, Robert W.

539

:

Smith has been a huge mentor to me.

540

:

He just passed away.

541

:

Um, but he, he always

said, I don't have a job.

542

:

I have a life.

543

:

And that's, that's how

I've always wanted to feel.

544

:

And that's how I do

feel, I wouldn't be me.

545

:

of that mindset if it

weren't for people like him.

546

:

It's very important.

547

:

I've written some faith based songs,

but I just carry my faith around with

548

:

me, and, and I try to be, especially

when I'm in the, the view of the public

549

:

eye or anything, I, I definitely try to

just be the type of person that Other

550

:

people will gain something from, you

know, and I'm not, I'm not an evangelist.

551

:

I don't necessarily think that is the best

methodology of spreading the Word of God.

552

:

Jason English (Host): The, the

podcasts that I'm doing, like

553

:

I said, it's a passion project.

554

:

It was inspired by the

television show, Ted Lasso.

555

:

So I'm not sure how much you

watch that, but curiosity is,

556

:

was a big component of that.

557

:

And then this idea of being a

goldfish, which is all about, you

558

:

know, forgetting what happened a minute

ago, two minutes ago in an effort

559

:

to move forward and be positive.

560

:

Right.

561

:

So when it comes to curiosity, what

are you, what are you curious about?

562

:

A self

563

:

Wyatt Edmondson: That's awesome, um

564

:

Self development, I think is

the best way I can say that.

565

:

I've always

566

:

Enjoyed consuming Literature or videos or

you know listening having conversations

567

:

with others about how we can be the

best versions of ourselves I've never

568

:

been that interested in fiction.

569

:

You know, I've always really been

interested in just becoming a better

570

:

version of myself but In a way, you

already are your best version of yourself.

571

:

You just have to be aware

of that and be present.

572

:

And so, I've gotten a lot out

of, authors like Eckhart Tolle.

573

:

If you've ever heard of The Power

of Now, that book changed my life.

574

:

Books on just How to be a person

who has a life of affluence, to be a

575

:

person who doesn't want for anything

but has what they, what they need.

576

:

I'm always curious for people who

have, Insight or share that passion,

577

:

you know I always want to get inside

someone else's head and just see

578

:

what what what works for them and how

they are their best self You know,

579

:

Jason English (Host): That's great.

580

:

So it's January, 2024,

:

581

:

What are your goals for the

rest of this year and beyond?

582

:

I think I read somewhere where

one day you want to be on stage

583

:

or tour with Drivin' and Crying.

584

:

They're playing here tonight.

585

:

Are you gonna, are you gonna be able to

find, find them and make that happen?

586

:

Wyatt Edmondson: I'd love to Absolutely.

587

:

Those guys are awesome.

588

:

Kevin Kinney and and the rest of

the group is they're they're great

589

:

musicians opening for a A larger act is

always something that's on the docket.

590

:

It's always something, it's always a goal.

591

:

I did a lot of touring last year.

592

:

I actually ended up, running

myself into the ground.

593

:

I struggled with a little bit

of, uh, vocal issues last year.

594

:

I had to cancel about a

month's worth of my tour dates.

595

:

Uh, I had to go to a speech therapist

and figure out what I was doing

596

:

incorrectly and, and fix that.

597

:

And I'm, I'm back to 110

percent now, so that's great.

598

:

But this year, I think my biggest goal

is to sow my seeds around Nashville,

599

:

to co write with, people who are

exactly where I want to be as a

600

:

songwriter, and I do think that That

is the fastest track to getting those

601

:

opportunities like you're talking about.

602

:

You know, if you write a song with

one of the guys in Drivin and Crying

603

:

as an example, and they love it,

604

:

And even if they don't cut it, but still,

they have a, you now have a relationship.

605

:

And they might say, hey Wyatt, I really

like you man, and like we want to

606

:

bring you out on the road, and, and

like let's do some of that, you know.

607

:

And so that is, I think

that's how that stuff happens.

608

:

It's not why I'm doing it, I'm

doing it to make great songs.

609

:

And, but I'm, the relationships

and the, result of, of that

610

:

is, is a great, is a great perk,

611

:

Jason English (Host): awesome.

612

:

Well, thanks for being here.

613

:

Good luck this year.

614

:

And, uh, I would love if you

played a couple of songs.

615

:

Wyatt Edmondson: love to, man.

616

:

Let's do it.

617

:

Thanks for having me, by

618

:

Jason English (Host): Thanks.

619

:

It was a pleasure.

620

:

Appreciate you.

621

:

.

Thanks so much for joining us for another episode of Curious Goldfish.

622

:

Please follow and subscribe to

the podcast and on social media.

623

:

Also, tell your music

loving friends about us too.

624

:

Until next time, stay curious.

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