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Vintage Logos
Custom Drum Heads, Stage Graphics & Band Merch
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Vintage Logos
Custom Drum Heads, Stage Graphics & Band Merch

Meet the Vintage Logos Team!

Category Archives: Music Income

Meet the Vintage Logos Team!

Posted on April 24, 2019 - 12:01 am by

Shawn's Photo

Shawn McNamara (CEO/Creative Director)

When Shawn started Vintage Logos, over 20 years ago, it was a small one man operation that made custom drumheads for local bands.  Today, Vintage Logos has grown into a band branding experience, creating: drumheads, speaker grill cloths, banners and more for bands across the world.

Vintage Logos is proud to have worked with, Universities, Military Bands, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers and even The Rock & Roll Hall of fame its self.  Although Vintage logos has grown and much has changed over the years, one thing has remained the same, Vintage Logos is a Family owned company that puts an emphasis on, as Sean would say, “giving people a custom handmade product that they love”.

Shawn is a family man. He enjoys spending time with his wife Jennifer and is two children, Bella and Brayden. Together, Shawn and Jennifer have seen the world together and built a business.

When Shawn is not producing drumheads or spending time with his family he is experimenting with and adding to his extensive audio equipment collection.

Q: If you could be in any band what band would you be in?

A: “I would be the drummer for Van Halen.”

Jennifers Photo

Jennifer McNamara (Business Operations Manager)

With 20 years of retail management, sales and leadership experience, Jennifer joined her husband Shawn at Vintage Logos in 2004 as Business Operations Manager.  Her masterful execution of  Vintage Logos day to day operations has made a vital impact on the company and has helped make Vintage Logos the success it is today.

From the initial order to the production and logistics of each product, Jennifer works with each customer on a personal level and  strives to create meaningful relationships.  Jennifer often says “Dream big, work hard, stay focused, and surround yourself with good people”. This is the attitude she brings to  work daily, and we are all made a little better by it.

Outside of  work at Vintage Logos Jen spends time with her husband and her two children.

She enjoys going to garage and estate sales to find “Vintage” treasures 

Q: If you could be in any band what band would you be in?

A: “Since I love 80’s dance music, I would say singer for Kool And The Gang!”

 

James Photo

James (Production Artist)

James (Jay for short… J if you’re just lazy) joined vintage logos with a wealth of experience in production art after working in the screen printing industry for years.  He currently is the man behind the curtain that expertly creates the drumheads, speaker grill cloths, banners, and more.

After each piece has been designed and printed, he goes to handcrafting the finished products that our customers receive.  Driven by his humor he does it with a smile on his face , and he keeps the team smiling as well.

His favorite quote is “I don’t know how many years on this earth I have left. I’m gonna get real weird with it.” – Frank Reynolds, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

When he’s not working at Vintage Logos he moonlights as a Brad Pitt lookalike and/or the lead singer for Matchbox 20.

Q: If you could be in any band what band would you be in?

A: “Menahan Street Band as the bassist so I could play alongside Charles Bradley, or a member of OFWGKTA because Those boys are wild”.

Michael (Graphic Designer)

Michael is the newest addition to the team. Having worked as a brand strategist and graphic designer for 6 years, Michael is now putting his talents to work for Vintage Logos.  Michael works side by side with Shawn to create custom artwork, drumheads, speaker grill cloths and more.   He also creates social media content to promote Vintage Logos and share our custom work with all of our loyal customers. 

His favorite quote is “There are no bad pictures; that’s just how your face looks sometimes.” – Abraham Lincoln

When he is not working at Vintage Logos,  Michael enjoys creating artwork of his own.  He also enjoys learning and playing his favorite songs on the guitar.

Q: If you could be in any band what band would you be in?

A: “I would play guitar for AC/DC.”

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to read about our team, we hope that you feel like you’ve gotten to know us a little better. When you call into our office, you are going to reach one of us and we will help you every step of the way branding your band. Please do not hesitate to give us a call!

The Basics Of Keeping A DIY Music Budget

Posted on February 12, 2019 - 2:00 am by
DIY music budget

Money is stressful. Actually, not having any is stressful. And when you’re on a DIY music budget, you may not have quite enough for that new Tesla.

However, you can do just fine as an indie musician, you just have to know how to keep your finances in order.

So here are the basics of keeping a budget as a musician.

Be Thrifty

The first thing to remember is to avoid spending money you don’t absolutely need to spend. Be thrifty.

“Thrifty” doesn’t mean buying only cheap things. It means finding good products for less. It’s all about balancing quality and cost.

So if you need a decent-looking music video, you can use a newish smartphone, some friends, and a great idea.

Or if you need some recording equipment, browse through the used section of Amazon, check out CraigsList or the Facebook Marketplace, or even hit up your local thrift store. You never know what you’ll find.

And if you need custom drum heads, speaker grill cloths, or stickers, we got you covered. When it comes to custom products, we offer super affordable prices.

Keep Your Income Streams Separate

If you’re a part-time musician, you have your personal income from your day job and your music income from shows, streaming royalties, sync licensing payments, etc.

And it’s very important to separate your personal income and your music income.

Here are just a few reasons why you should keep things separate:

  • Taxes will be get confusing
  • Personal income and music income could get mixed up
  • It helps you keep the mentality that music is a career/business you’re building

So to help keep your different incomes in line, it’s a good idea to open a separate bank account solely for your music income. Make sure it’s a free checking account with no balance requirements or annoying fees.

This way, you’ll look and feel more like a business, which is what your music career is.

Don’t Forget About Taxes!

Uncle Sam needs a slice of your pie. So you better set it aside for him.

With the free checking account you’ll have for music income (see above), the bank will probably offer a free savings account as well. You can use that savings account to set aside money for taxes.

It depends on your age, filing status, and how much money you made from music. But, just to be safe, it would be smart to set aside 20-30% of your income to save for taxes.

I know that’s a big chunk, but you may not actually need to pay that much in taxes — heck, you may even get a refund. So you can then reinvest that 20-30% back into your music career.

If you want more tips on paying taxes as a musician, check out TurboTax’s guide The Musician’s Guide to Taxes: Top Tax Deductions.

– – –

Caleb J. Murphy is a songwriter and producer based in Austin, TX. He’s also the founder of Musician With A Day Job, a blog that helps part-time musicians succeed.

How Much Should You Charge For Your Music?

Posted on November 19, 2018 - 3:52 pm by
how much money should you charge for your music?

When it comes to finances and figuring our rates, musicians usually have a lot of questions. One question is, how much should you charge for your music?

We’re going to tackle that question, providing a clear and practical way to figure out your rates as a musician.

How Musicians Make Money Nowadays

Music fans are just about over buying CDs as most people just stream music on Spotify or Apple Music, but the per-stream payout is pretty low. Unless you’re getting millions of plays, streaming is mainly to make sure your name and music are everywhere.

There is a decent-sized subculture centered around vinyl records, but, as of this writing, it’s not mainstream. Plus, pressing your music to vinyl is very expensive.

And even though there are plenty of ways to make money as a musician, like sync licensing and fan patronage, the main way most musicians make money is by playing shows. A lot of artists make a big chunk of their money from merch sales, which mostly happen at shows.

So that leads us to the question, “How much should I charge for my shows?”

Questions To Ask Yourself

Inevitably, that question of how much to charge for playing a gig leads to more questions.

What’s the venue? What type of gig is it? Is it a private or public event? Is it for a charity or nonprofit? Have any of your musician friends played this gig before? If so, what did they charge?

These are all good and necessary questions, but really the one you should start with is, “How much do I want to be making per year?” From there, you can break it all down and get a better picture of how much to charge for each show.

So let’s break it down.

How To Figure Out Your Rates

If you’re looking to make (or continue making) music your career, you’ll need to know what your rates are. Maybe you already have rates. But maybe you can adjust your rates (and make more money).

Here’s a step-by-step guide for figuring out your rates (thanks in large part to performer Chris Holder):

  1. What do you want your gross annual income to be?
  2. Add about 30% for music expenses
  3. Add enough to cover any insurances you want
  4. Add enough for sick/vacation days
  5. Add the amount you want to contribute to your retirement account for the year
  6. Add another 5% to be invested back into your music
  7. Add about 20% to set aside for taxes
  8. Divide whatever number you end up with by the number of days you plan to work this year (remember that you’ll have some office days where you don’t directly earn anything)

And there you have it. After step #8, you should know the amount of money you need to make each week and each day. So if you play two shows a week, those two shows will need to make enough money for the week (assuming your only income is from gigs).

Finding The Right Venues

The next step is to figure out what kind of venues you want to perform in. And that leads us to more questions.

In what context do you thrive onstage? What types of venues do the most people show up to? Who can afford to pay you your rates?

These questions lead to answers and answers lead to solutions and solutions lead to you making money as a musician.

– – – –

Caleb J. Murphy is a songwriter and producer based in Austin, TX. He’s also the founder of Musician With A Day Job, a blog that helps part-time musicians succeed.

5 Famous Musicians Who Once Had Day Jobs

Posted on October 17, 2018 - 12:01 am by
Kurt Cobain

It’s easy to forget that some of our favorite rockers and musical idols are normal people. They didn’t just fall from heaven and begin making music. They’re humans like the rest of us.

And one reminder of their humanness is that many of the big names in the music world once had day jobs. They lived paycheck to paycheck, coming up with creative ways to make money.

Here are five of those famous musicians who once held down a “regular” job.

Art Garfunkel (Simon & Garfunkel) – Math Teacher

Some people say Art Garfunkel road the coat tail of Paul Simon, that Simon was more talented. That may be true, but Garfunkel could probably crush Simon in a math competition.

The falsetto-singing half of Simon & Garfunkel was attending Columbia University when the duo was signed to Columbia Records in 1964. He completed his undergraduate degree in Art History (yes, that’s funny because his name is also Art) and then actually earned a master’s degree in Math Education.

Oh, and he did this while touring and recording.

In 1970, the two men split after their No. 1 hit “Bridge Over Troubled Water” came out. And what did Garfunkel do? Go back to teaching math of course. He spent two years teaching until he returned to making music for a living.

Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) – Janitor

Kurt Cobain (yes, THE Kurt Cobain) was once a janitor for Lemon’s Janitorial Service. It’s strange to imagine him scrubbing toilets and mopping floors now that we’ve seen him rock on stage and heard his hit songs.

But’s it’s true. In the book Cobain On Cobain, he describes grunge from the perspective of a janitor.

“It’s a fine mixture of cleaning solvents, not to be used in the toilet,” he said. “When I was a janitor I used to work with these guys Rocky and Bullwinkle. They’d clean the toilet bowls with their bare hands and then eat their lunch without washing their hands. They were very grungy.”

Freddie Mercury (Queen) – Used Clothing Salesman

Fred Bulsara (aka Freddie Mercury), along with his future bandmate Roger Taylor, sold used clothing at a place called Kensington Market in Ontario. They also sold Freddie’s paintings.

After Queen’s self-titled album blew up on the charts, the now famous Mercury kept working at that stall in Kensington Market.

“We sold clothes and bric-a-brac and just about managed to earn enough to keep the band ticking along,” Taylor said.

David Bowie – Delivery Boy For A Butcher

Back when Ziggy Stardust was only 13 years old, he got a job as a delivery boy for a butcher. He had to pay for his saxophone lessons somehow.

So if it weren’t for that job with a butcher, Bowie may have never become who he was. And years later, he reunited with his saxophone teacher, the legendary Ronnie Ross, on a song Bowie produced for Lou Reed called “Walk On The Wild Side.” Ross got a solo in the song.

Kanye West – Gap Sales Assistant

When Yeezus was just a teenager, he worked at Gap, like many of his peers. Can you imagine going into a Gap, having a boy named Kanye help you, then one day seeing that boy on TV rapping about his experience at that Gap?

He did just that in his song “Spaceship”:

If my manager insults me again I will be assaulting him

After I f**k the manager up then I’m gonna shorten the register up

Let’s go back, back to the Gap

Look at my check, wasn’t no scratch

So if I stole, wasn’t my fault

Yeah, I stole, never get caught

What’s The Takeaway Here?

I guess the point of this article is this: even if you come from humble beginnings, you can reach the success you desire. 

Even if you work a dead-end job, that doesn’t mean your dreams have a dead end.

Many famous musicians know this to be true, and so should we.

Clever Ways To Make More Money With Your Music

Posted on September 26, 2018 - 12:01 am by

As a professional musician, you know how difficult it can be to make money from your live shows. Many venues are stingy with what they’ll pay artists. And if ticket sales are light, you might not make anything at all! So what can you do to make more money doing music?

Well, what if we told you that there are other ways you can earn money performing your music live? That there are alternative types of gigs out there which can easily supplement your main shows?

Today we’ll take a look at clever ways to make more money with your music.

4 Different Types Of Gigs That Pay Good Money

#1: Corporate events and private parties

The first type of gig on this list is the most lucrative: corporate events and private parties. No party is complete without music, and what’s better than exclusive, live music?! A live band brings a whole new dynamic to the atmosphere, setting the tone for the entire event or party.

More often than not, businesses and party hosts have deep pockets and are willing to pay you a premium to perform. This is completely fair, as you are, in essence, offering them a premium service.

A particular advantage of gigs like this (along with most of the others on this list) is that you don’t have to worry about promotion. There is a built-in audience, so you can just show up and play! In fact, performing at an event or party can increase your exposure since many new people will hear your music that might not hear it otherwise.

Corporate event and private party gigs can be hard to find sometimes. But with diligent networking, the opportunities definitely present themselves. You can also try using websites and services like GigMasters, which many bands have had success with.

#2: Weddings

Like the first type of gig on this list, weddings are also very lucrative and there is always demand for live music. Wedding gigs can be broken down into two different types: music for the ceremony and music for the reception.

Of course, only certain types of bands will be able to play for a wedding ceremony. (You won’t find any work here if you’re a heavy metal band – at least not at a traditional wedding!) However, wedding receptions offer possibilities for a lot of different types of music, especially if its good music for dancing.

Weddings are like event and party gigs in that you can find them through networking, advertising, and online booking services.

#3: Concert series and festivals

Almost every band dreams of performing at a big festival, but what many don’t realize is that there are smaller, local festivals and concert series that are much easier to get into. Many communities host summer concert series and are always looking for good entertainment to fill their schedule.

Similarly, many public events like charity races or barbecues want live music and are willing to hire a good band to perform.

These gigs are great because you usually get paid a flat fee regardless of attendance and the organizers take care of most of the promotion. You also get a lot of exposure to a crowd that might not otherwise be familiar with your music.

To find these gigs, just do some online searching for concert series or local events in your area. Once you identify one that might be a good fit for your band, contact the coordinator and see if they’d be willing to hire you to perform. Even if they’re already booked up, chances are they’d be willing to consider you for the next time around.

#4: House concerts

Finally, we look at a more niche type of alternative gig: house concerts. These gigs are great because they bring your music directly into the homes of your fans and give you a chance to share it in a very intimate space.

House concerts have many advantages. First off, they eliminate the middle-man of a venue, so usually, all earnings from tickets sales or tips go directly to you as the artist.

Second, most house concerts hosts provide touring bands with a free place to stay, as well as dinner before they perform.

If you already have established connections with your fans through email or social media, you can easily reach out to them to see if any would be willing to host a house concert. You can also search online for people who regularly host house concerts. Then contact them to see if they would be interested in hosting your band.

Conclusion

All-in-all, we hope you gained a little new insight into the possibilities for alternative gigs for your band. With this knowledge and a little bit of dedication, you will be able to make more money with your music in no time at all!