FR#3: Bootstrapping the Music Business, The Upside To Having Haters, and Killing Ego with Andrew Serino

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Andrew Serino is a multi-instrumental musical force to be reckoned with.

Join me as I dive in with my good friend as we explore his journey with music, how to handle the inevitability of haters, and how he hustled playing every instrument on his album while working 3 jobs.

We cover social media promotion, the music biz, and the importance of being self-aware in this energy-packed episode!

Andrew's Bio:

With the release of his debut project, The Golden Thread, rock singer-songwriter Andrew Serino is making his presence known to the greater music world. But make no mistake, the Portland, OR -based artist is no new kid on the block.

Having participated in some critically acclaimed Northwest bands since 2004 (Vanishing Breed, allshewrote, His Legacy and Silvermen), Serino has earned his chops as an energetic musician, singer and all-around performer. Add to that his years of experience leading worship at various churches, and it's clear this is an artist who has hit the ground running.

Furthermore, Serino has caught the attention of the YouTube world with popular cover videos, including "Decode" and "Monster" by Paramore, "You and I" by PVRIS, and "Victorious" by Panic! At The Disco. [Watch Andrew's Youtube Channel]

Millions watched as Serino auditioned for American Idol in front of Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson, having made it past the first three rounds in 2011.

"I've made a decision that no matter what, music will be incorporated in my life one way or the other," Serino says.

With his crowdfunded album, The Golden Thread, Serino deploys the musical influences of his heroes, while processing the very real fears, doubts and risks of life, as well as sharing the hope and overcoming he's experienced.

"The hope is for you to feel inspired by the music," Serino said. "Writing and releasing this record will be one of the biggest risks I've ever attempted."

Bio written by Marcus Hathcock of New Release Today

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss:

3:40 - How Andrew’s family influenced him to become a musician
6:58 - Why being bad at first and experimenting is an essential step to getting good at any kind of creative pursuit
8:44 - How the book STEP 0 helped Andrew self-evaluate and make a plan for bringing his music to life
9:22 - How doing Youtube covers has been instrumental in building Andrew’s confidence and exposure in pursuing his own music. (He has over 250,000 views on his Youtube channel)
11:58 - What factors set apart Andrew’s successful youtube covers from the myriad of other ones out there
14:00 - Why being true to yourself will inevitably attract haters, and Andrew’s surprising perspective on how to deal with them.
18:05 - How to get past the growth curve and mature to a place where you can confidently accept and process criticism
19:15 - Why there’s no way you can please everyone and still say something that matters.
20:10 - What kind of self confidence / belief in yourself do you need to have to feel like you have what it takes to make it?
24:15 - How to get out of the people-pleasing trap
25:40 - How Andrew faced and overcame the biggest obstacles he faced when developing his album and launching it.
28:52 - Why you NEED to surround yourself with people who have different strengths than you and welcome their input on your personal projects.
29:18 - What kind of mindset you need to have to sacrifice your ego for your overall vision
32:17 - How Andrew coordinated playing all the instruments on his album into his recording schedule and working multiple other jobs.
35:00 - How to shift from creating to promoting yourself. The importance of having balance so you don’t lose your head.
36:12 - Why if you are a musician, you are an entrepreneur, and why it’s so important for all artists to adopt that mindset I you want to succeed and thrive.
38:21 - Why being an independent musician is just like opening up any other kind of business. Pros and cons of being solo and being with a label.
39:35 - Andrew’s advice for other musicians who are building from scratch - investing in yourself, jamming, developing your sound, and putting in good hard and crazy work.
42:48 - What’s next for Andrew and where you can find him online.