We love independent artists and we love to feature them here on TheCraftyMusician.com! Today we’re featuring Jon Magnusson a Swedish singer-songwriting who not only does his own music, but supports other artists with their music as well – a theme we here at The Crafty Musician know all about. Read on to find out more about how John has been able to garner heavy attention online from bloggers, radio, Spotify and more.
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Jon Magnusson is a songwriter, musician and producer from Stockholm, the picturesque capital of Sweden. The music he writes and plays is often plain folk with a touch of rock and punk influences and an occasional jazzy beat thrown in to keep listeners on their toes. Most of all, it’s his thoughts and feelings put to lyrics and chords. He does all his promotion himself with the strategy of building relationships with people and thanks to his genuine interest in people he’s always looking to make new friends in the independent music scene.
Tell us about your music.
I’m based in Stockholm, Sweden but actually my biggest presence is online. My music is quite eclectic and I’ve done some electronica collaborations and even a hip hop collaboration with a Brazilian rapper. The foundation is indie/folk though with influences from punk, jazz, soul, psychedelic rock. For me the story within and behind the music is really important and therefore I also try to explain what a song means to me but still leave it up to the listener to interpret it according to his or hers experiences.
How did you get into music and how long have you been a working musician?
I’ve been playing music since I was just a kid. Started playing guitar at 14 and recording music at 17. But it was during fall 2016 I decided to start focusing on building a career as a musician.
What’s your job situation like? Full time musician? Work part-time? Do music on the side?
I work full time at the moment and do music on the side trying to build it slow and steady. I’m a social worker and think that even if I would start earning a living from music I’d still want to keep one foot in the social work field, but not work as much.
How do you deal with (or plan to deal with) the financial uncertainty that comes along with being an independent artist?
I believe in the long term way of doing it. I will use some of the money I earn now to save up to have as a buffer when times are tough. Since I have a family I can’t risk staying without an income.
What would be your ideal situation to support your family in terms of being a full-time musician? Would you like to continue being a social worker part time or somehow incorporate social work with your love for music? What’s your vision?
My vision is to have a solid passive income from royalties, streaming etc and then be able to do smaller projects like touring, selling merch etc to get some extra income. And also I could think of having some kind of work on the side in the social work field, since working with people really gives inspiration.
What advice do you have for artists looking to take the plunge to being a full-time musician?
The one thing that helps me doing all the hard work is to have a goal that isn’t money itself. Instead, what will that money give you? For me it’s creative freedom and the possibility to spend my days doing what I love and interact with other musicians and other creatives. And then build relationships. There is so much amazing music out there, from people that never will earn a dime from their music since they don’t know how to reach out to people. The actual tactics you use aren’t as important as the foundations about relationship building. Be a nice person, think of what you can give people and not that people owe you anything. Reciprocate all support and be genuine.
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How do you make your money as a musician?
Actually, no matter what a lot of people are saying, I earn about $150 a month from Spotify. And then a bit from my blogging work. One thing that will make a huge impact for me and other independent artist is the blockchain services that cut out the need of middlemen (labels, PRO etc) and I actually start making some good money from Steemit, Musicoin and Channels.
What types of shows do you play?
I do some live gigs every now and then with acoustic guitar. But mostly I do online gigs via my Facebook page. It let’s me stay at home with my family but still reach out to a lot more people and I can interact directly with the people tuning in to the live stream.
Describe some of your favorite promotions tactics and how those tactics have advanced your career.
Relationships, relationships and relationships. I spend a lot of time reaching out to other artists, radio people, bloggers etc. And most of all I follow up and promote the shows playing me, blogs writing about me and also work a lot building a community with independent artist and independent music supporters. This has resulted in me getting a really solid fan base within just one year and also I made a lot of great friends thanks to it. Something that’s worth more than money to me, but that also will make it easier for me to earn money in the long run. For me it’s all about sustainability. I want to do this for the rest of my life cause I love it. Not to become rich overnight and buy a fancy house. I want to have a solid income from music letting me provide for my family and have total creative freedom and be able to collaborate with artists and producers of different genres.
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You mentioned that you spent a lot of time reaching out to radio people, bloggers, and other artists. Can you describe more in detail how that resulted in you earning fans for your own music?
Since the indie music scene is quite small, getting to know other artists and radio people has lead to me getting in touch with even more. For this new EP I got a lot of help to get it to new radio stations and bloggers so it’s almost like a snowball in movement. And of course more exposure leads to more listeners discovering my music. And since the people listening to independent radio and reading independent blogs are true music fans those are exactly the kinds of listeners you want.
In what ways do you connect and communicate with your fans?
The first contact is mostly via Twitter. Both Tweets and DM’s. I try to follow people who listen to similar music and then contact them directly. Getting to know them a bit and then ask if they wanna hear some of my music. Some also wanna get more involved and I then have a Messenger Channel and a Mailing list that lets me stay in touch both one on one and send mass updates to all followers.
In your experience, what tools or platforms provide the most effective way to connect with your fans and why?
Twitter for the initial connection. Then some kind of Mailing list or Messenger channel to follow up.
In what ways do you work to build community with other independent artists and independent music supporters?
Via the community www.themonsterthread.com that I run together with producer and independent music advocate Toby Davis. We are almost 900 members in the Facebook group and are co-promoting each other via playlists, social media. Sharing tips and ideas and build connections.
Tell us about your recent or upcoming projects?
My latest EP is “Always a Rebel” and was released the 9th of March. Next up is to release some remixes I got from other people as singles on Spotify and other platforms and then I have an acoustic EP that’s already finished, but I’m going to release it in May or June.
How can we reach you or find out more about you online?
Homepage: http://www.jonmagnusson.se
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jon.magnusson3
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonmagnussonof
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5K8khjFCd5ImBxNFzYusLc
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/beljon86
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonmagnussonof
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/jonmagnusson
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Jon is a real talented songwriter and a great inspiration for a lot of us in the Monstergroup that he created. Always willing to give a tip and chip in with ideas and uplifting comment. Great article @anitra !
Thanks for commenting Kahsay! Jon is doing great things. And I’m sure you are too. Thanks for stopping by.