Building a Music Career That Actually Fits Your Life – AMA with Bree Noble

In this special AMA episode, Chris Goyzueta welcomes Bree Noble for a powerful and honest conversation about what it truly takes to build a sustainable, fulfilling music career as a woman — from college to touring to mentorship. Bree shares her personal story of leaving a corporate finance job to pursue music full-time, navigating motherhood and the road, and ultimately launching platforms that empower other women to succeed in the music industry.

Whether you’re an aspiring artist, creative entrepreneur, or live music pro, you’ll walk away with actionable insights on branding, fanbuilding, social media, email marketing, and building a business that fits your life — not the other way around.

🕒 Timestamps + Topics:

[0:00] – Introduction and Bree’s quick career summary
[3:29] – How Bree has seen the industry shift for women
[8:00] – The power of representation and why Bree started Women of Substance
[10:00] – Bree’s turning point: from insecure bandmate to confident solo artist
[13:00] – Why thinking like a local business changed her music career
[19:48] – What real allyship looks like from men in the industry
[25:26] – Handling unexpected live performance challenges with grace
[30:31] – Bree’s take on social media strategies for artists
[39:00] – How Bree uses newsletters and storytelling to deepen fan relationships
[42:52] – The three questions Bree would ask a young woman starting her career
[47:10] – Bree’s closing advice: why community is everything

💡 Key Takeaways:

• You are enough. Artists often wait for permission or validation to go solo — Bree’s turning point came when she stopped trying to fit into other people’s projects.

• Build a business like a business. Treat your music career like you’re launching a coffee shop — think about your audience, value, and marketing like a real-world company.

• Don’t go all-in too early. Having a financial cushion or part-time job reduces desperation and actually makes you more desirable in the industry.

• Real allyship from men means creating safe, inclusive spaces and recognizing (and undoing) unconscious bias.

• Live shows are about human connection. Mistakes happen — fans remember how you handle them more than the slip itself.

• Start with one story. Bree repurposes her podcast or newsletter into social content — focus on one idea per week to stay consistent without burning out.

• Welcome emails matter. The most opened email you'll ever send is the first one — use it to connect, share your story, and show value beyond the “buy” button.

• Your childhood passions often hold the key. Bree turned her love of mixtapes into a platform for women in music.

• Find your people. A supportive community accelerates growth, reduces burnout, and keeps you going through the tough moments.

🔗 Connect with Bree Noble:

Instagram: @profitablemusicianllc
Podcast: The Profitable Musician Podcast
Website: https://www.profitablemusician.com

🔗 Connect with the Making It Academy Network
🎓 Website + Courses: makingitwithchrisg.com
📺 YouTube: @chrisgoyzueta
💼 LinkedIn: Making It Academy
💥 Patreon (Bonus Content + Live Workshops): patreon.com/makingitacademy

Bree Noble & Katie Zaccardi - Launching a New Revenue Stream for Your Music Career

Katie Zaccardi is a musician, marketing expert, has her own podcast Out To Be, and offers many amazing coaching resources for DIY Musicians.

Learn more about Katie at https://www.katiezaccardi.com/. Bree Noble is also a musician, entrepreneur, and coach helping DIY musicians launch their career.

Learn more about Bree Noble at https://profitablemusician.com/.

The two of them are working together on an amazing new course that goes live this month, June 2021, helping artists launch a new revenue stream for their business.

Strategies to Playing Live & Building Your Email List featuring Lessons from Ari Herstand, Bree Noble, Cheryl B. Engelhardt, and Shannon Curtis

You can also listen to this episode on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher |

The questions I receive the most are related to touring and building a fanbase. Regardless of where you are in your career, whether you’re just starting out or have been grinding for a long time but you’re just not where you want to be in your career, this episode is ideal for you. In this episode, I expand on and string together some clips from past guests to help you build your most ideal strategy for playing live and building your email list. These strategies are beneficial for all genres. In this episode, we discuss utilizing house shows as a strategy to building your audience. House Concerts are not just for singer-songwriters and folk artists. There are and have been artists from all genres performing in people’s houses. From Hip-Hop artists performing at and organizing house parties, to metal bands playing in people's garages. This episode features valuable lessons from Ari Herstand, Bree Noble, Cheryl B. Engelhardt, and Shannon Curtis.

Guests Featured in this episode
Ari Herstand from Episode #016
Bree Noble from Episode #082
Cheryl B. Engelhardt from Episode #083
Shannon Curtis from Episode #038

Quotes from this episode
“When there is excitement, people want to come and be part of the show.”
“Nobody ever got signed just because they played the cool venue in town.”
“Facebook people doesn’t want people leaving Facebook, on email you can send them
wherever you want.”
“When you have email subscribers, send them an email that you would send to a friend.”
“Send an email that people would want to open and look forward to reading.”

Links to people, places, and things mentioned
Steve Aoki
Email Marketing Stats from Mailchimp
Pre-Writing Your Automated Emails
Rick Barker
Anthony Snape
[BOOK] How to Make It in the New Music Business by Ari Herstand
[BOOK] All You Need to Know About the Music Business by Donald Passman
[BOOK] No Booker, No Bouncer, No Bartender by Shannon Curtis

Keep in touch:
chris.goyzueta@gmail.com
www.makingitwithchrisg.com
https://www.instagram.com/chrisgoyzueta/
https://www.facebook.com/makingitwithchrisg

Credits:
Host: Chris Goyzueta (Chris G.)
Producer: Jason Trosclair
Executive Producer: ONElive Creative Agency  
Music: Emily Kopp

Bree Noble - A Path to Being a Profitable Independent Musician

You can also listen to this episode on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher |

The beauty of today’s music business, is that there are so many ways musicians can make a living. It’s important to remember that every artist is a business, and with being a business there are certain fundamental and advanced techniques that everyone can build a successful career with. Bree Noble is a singer-songwriter, podcaster, coach and co-founder of the Profitable Musicians Summit. Bree is focused on mentoring and coaching musicians through a step by step program that helps guide musicians through their journey of making a living doing music. In this episode, Bree discusses some of her principles on how to build email lists, touring and show strategy, and much more.

To learn more about Bree Noble http://femusician.com and get the free guide of 19 sources of income at http://femusician.com/income.  

Highlights from this Episode
[4:45] The Profitable Musicians Summit
[11:17] Resources available for Musicians by Bree Noble
[12:44] Projects Bree Noble is involved in
[17:37] How Bree got started in the music industry
[21:05] “The Music Industry Game” and common mistakes artists make
[22:46] How to know if an artist needs a manager or when to get one
[24:55] How often to play when first starting out
[27:08] When to transition from playing open mics and coffeehouses to house concerts
[29:28] Building the first 100 email list subscribers
[34:40] How often to send email newsletters to fans
[36:35] What to send to your mailing list
[40:40] Writing engaging posts on social media
[43:30] Facebook Groups versus Newsletters
[45:45] Touring strategy and when to start playing outside of your hometown
[51:25] Rapid Fire Questions

Quotes from Bree Noble
“I just started getting out there and got scrappy.”
“We get into these tracks with all these gatekeepers out there, and getting them to open the gate.”
“You need to be doing is not going to get a manager, you need to get customers, fans.”
“Become an entertainer, instead of someone who just does music.”
“Every fan that you get, you need to feel thankful and lucky for them.”
“In the foundation stage, you’re building your email list to 100 people.”
“Once you get that ball rolling with house concerts, it becomes easier.”
“Some people think you have to earn every single fan through blood, sweat and tears, that’s not true.”
“It doesn’t have to be as complicated as most of you are making it.”
“I wasn’t afraid to ask for a referral.”

Links to people, places, and things mentioned
Femusician.com
Profitable Musicians Summit
Angela Mastrogiacomo
DIY Musician Conference
Female Indie Musician Community
Tyrone Wells
Zac Brown Band
Carlene Thiessen
Dawn Beyer
Rick Barker
Wham!
The Pointer Sisters
[BOOK] “The E Myth” by Michael E Berger
[Documentary] 20 Feet from Stardom
[Documentary] Metallica “Some Kind of Monster”
[Documentary] Metallica “This Monster Lives”

Bree Noble’s Definition of Making It:
“Doing what you love that gets you excited to get out of bed everyday, and not doing it on anyone else's schedule.”  

Get in touch with Bree Noble
Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Musician's Profit Path Masterclass: www.musiciansprofitpath.com
Income Guide: http://femusician.com/income
Main site: http://femusician.com

Keep in touch:
chris.goyzueta@gmail.com
www.makingitwithchrisg.com
https://www.instagram.com/chrisgoyzueta/
https://www.facebook.com/makingitwithchrisg

Credits:
Host: Chris Goyzueta (Chris G.)
Producer: Jason Trosclair
Executive Producer: ONElive Creative Agency  
Music: Emily Kopp