Music Marketing Manifesto

Just saw the update on Sora 2 and I’m honestly blown away. The new Cameo feature lets you insert a hyper-realistic version of yourself directly into AI-generated videos with no green screens, no actors, and no uncanny valley effect. It actually looks like you in a cinematic scene.

For indie musicians, this changes the game. You'll be able to create full-blown music videos where you're performing or telling a story in any setting you can imagine, without ever stepping on a set. Want to shoot in a futuristic city, a desert wasteland, or on another planet? Now you can..

This is a massive leap forward for DIY artists on a budget. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here: https://openai.com/index/sora-2/

This could completely reshape how we approach music video production.

My weird little Ozzy encounter… sort of.

About 25 years ago, I was living in LA (and in a very different income bracket), and I was house hunting. A real estate agent was showing me around a few properties, and one of them was in Beverly Hills.

The place had this kind of formal, Greco-Roman vibe downstairs. Lots of white, marble columns. Not my thing. The home wasn’t massive, but it wasnt unimpressive either. Then I went upstairs, and things felt more lived-in, homier.

As I walked through the bedrooms - starting with the kids’ - I noticed some Ozzy Osbourne memorabilia on the walls. “Cool”, I thought. Then the next kid’s room… more Ozzy posters. “I love these people”. And the next… even more Ozzy stuff. “Man, these people really like Ozzy Osbourne”.

Finally, I got to the master bedroom and stepped into the walk-in closet. It was full of wild, garish rock ‘n’ roll clothing. If memory serves, I recall two velvet suits - one black and one maroon - with glittery, military-style tassels. Definitely stage wear.

And then it hit me…

Holy s**t. I’m standing in Ozzy Osbourne’s walk-in closet.

Photo is from years later when I finally got to see Black Sabbath live in Auckland.

RIP

I recently had the pleasure of sitting in on the Culture & Code Podcast to discuss AI workflows in music.

|Listen on Apple at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/john-oszajca-a-creative-entrepreneurs-guide-to-ai/id1703321459?i=1000709357731

Or Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3rOZI7di1I3NJ6M9RKZRks?si=RW0UUE8EQc-kqtiA4YpBJw

Also available in all the other usual places.

I’m working on a new project that I’m really excited about, and we're looking for a couple of great people to join the team.

As the director of All Nashville Roadshow, I’m helping to build a traveling Americana music festival where we’ll bring the best of Nashville music, bites, and brews to small towns across America—and eventually internationally, if all goes to plan.

This is a startup, and we’re building something special from the ground up. That means we’re looking for creative, out-of-the-box thinkers who are ready to jump in, roll up their sleeves, and bring some real energy and passion to the project. If that sounds like you, here are the roles we’re looking to fill:

Tour Planner

We’re looking for a Tour Planner to help manage all the behind-the-scenes logistics that make All Nashville Roadshow happen. This role offers competitive pay and, while it starts as a part-time position (20 hours per week), the expectation is that it will grow into a full-time role by April 2025 as the Roadshow gains momentum.

You’ll handle things like securing venues, managing permits, booking vendors (food trucks, portable restrooms, etc.), coordinating contracts, securing sponsorships, and ensuring that all the pieces come together for a smooth event. Some light bookkeeping is also part of the role.

This is a remote position, but living in proximity to Nashville is a plus (though not required). You must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or authorized to work in the United States. If you’re highly organized, detail-oriented, and have experience in event planning or operations, I’d love to hear from you. Occasional travel to event sites may be required.

Show Producer

We’re also hiring a Show Producer to join the All Nashville Roadshow team! This is an on-site role with competitive pay, bonuses for successful shows, and lots of potential for growth. You’ll oversee event set-up and tear-down, manage sound, lights, and stage production, and ensure the event runs smoothly. A basic understanding of sound and lighting equipment is required—you should feel confident troubleshooting and keeping the show on track.

While it’s ideal for the candidate to live in or near Nashville, we’re open to working with the right person who is able to relocate or travel to Nashville for the shows. Shows will primarily take place on weekends and may require a day or two on-site in advance.

Our goal is to build up to 8 shows a month by June 2025, and when you include successful show bonuses and additional paid hours, this role offers real earning potential for the right person.

Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or authorized to work in the United States.

If either of these roles sounds like a fit, please private message me for more details. Thanks for reading, and I’m looking forward to building something amazing with the right team!

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If that’s not you but you’re a friend of mine living in Nashville, I’ll be spending more time in your neck of the woods in 2025 - so let’s catch up! Shoot me a message, and let’s grab a beer.

OpenAI announces two new models o3 and o3 mini.

12 Days of OpenAI: Day 12 Begins at 10am PTJoin Sam Altman, Mark Chen, and Hongyu Ren for the final day of 12 Days of OpenAI.

Open AI's much anticipated video model SORA launches internationally later today at https://sora.com/

A likely game changer when it comes to making affordable and effective music videos, video ads, films and more.

In the latest Music Marketing Manifesto Podcast episode, I dive deep into a recent campaign that turned just $1,800 in Facebook ad spend into over $40,000 in ticket sales - in a town of only 8,000 people.

Click to listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/music-marketing-manifesto-podcast/id483256618

Click to listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2FMi4GsgHzvO9mVojglQnJ?si=8c2d4838201f4e9e

Click to listen on the Music Marketing Manifesto website, and get a free copy of the Music Marketing Blueprint: https://musicmarketingmanifesto.com/blog/event-promotion-with-facebook-ads

Big news in the AI world! OpenAI just dropped two new models: o1-preview and o1-mini. They're promising more advanced reasoning capabilities, and the space is buzzing.

These models are now available to most ChatGPT Plus users, and everyone's scrambling to test them out. While they seem to be designed primarily for science, math, and reasoning tasks, I'm really excited to see how they might help us in the music marketing world.

Will these new models help us develop more sophisticated marketing funnels that better match our unique voices, styles, and career histories?

I'll be diving in to test these new models and will report back on what I discover. Have any of you given them a try yet? What are your first impressions - good, bad, or too early to tell?

Let me know in the comments.