Work with our record label in our 3-month education program, "The Artist Incubator"
Only 30 ... 10 seats left!
— Trusted By and Partnering With —
Sit in on live label meetings to learn about marketing and artist development.
Every week, you'll sit in on live record label meetings between our label team, and our signed artist.
You'll get to watch in real time as we develop, promote, and monetize artists, and learn how we think through problems.
Then, you'll get to work directly with our team to implement what you learned with your own music with access to daily mentorship calls with our team of industry pros.
In addition to sitting in on our meetings, you'll get daily mentorship calls with our team:
Office Hours Calls w/ Michael (Weekly)
Michael Gilbride is a former Wall Street trader who quit his career in finance in 2020 to pursue his solo music project, "telco". After years of releasing and promoting his own music, Michael became the General Manager of the online music production school, Mastering.com, where he fell in love with education, eventually marrying the two worlds and founding MAD Records, the first education-funded record label.
Ask an A&R w/Rob (Weekly)
Rob Schustack is a voting member of the Grammys with over 25 years of experience in the music industry. He got his start working in A&R at Atlantic Records and went on to be involved in in both the publishing and sync side of the industry working with brands, bands and catalogs like Disney, Amazon, Google, Febreze, BMW, Wu Tang Clan, Ceelo Green, Nirvana, Hall & Oates, Aerosmith and many others.
Artist Development Call w/ Reid (Weekly)
Reid Sorel is one of the best emerging producers in Nashville, TN. Reid completed his music production degree at Belmont University in 2021 and has cut over nearly 100 records already with artists such as Twinnie, Camille Parker, and Dan Marshall.
Artist Strategy Call w/ Christiana (Weekly)
Christiana Alaire, a free-spirited, curly-haired artist from Georgia, brings power, range, and authenticity to her unique "Soultry" music—a blend of old soul and her southern-rooted upbringing. Christiana signed with MAD Records earlier in 2024, and is currently performing regularly throughout Nashville, TN.
General Support Call w/ Preston (Weekly)
Preston Pakola is a founding member of MAD Records, an artist in his own right, and a favorite amongst students in our education programs. Preston regularly works with our students on maintaining healthy mindsets around their music promotion, as well as honing their social media and content strategies.
Caleb (artist name "Hyperveridical") got nearly 10,000 followers on TikTok, and 3,000 organic streams on his single simply by applying what he learned in The Artist Incubator.
How the program works:
Access to our full artist development curriculum.
You'll get access to our complete Artist Development curriculum which covers everything from the fundamental artist mindsets necessary for success, to more advanced business and marketing principles that teach you how to take attention and turn it into dollars and cents in your bank account.
Week 1: Intro + Mindsets
Week 2: Basics of Funneling
Week 3: Launching your first marketing strategies
Week 4: Analyzing data + iteration
Week 5: Warming up your audience
Week 6: The importance of consistency
Week 7: Bootstrapping your career
Week 8: Balancing business + art
Week 9: Actually making money
Week 10: Funnel maintenance + iteration
Sit in on live online label meetings.
You'll get to be a fly on the wall on MAD Records label meetings between our team and our signed artist.
You'll get to ask questions and interact with the team, and will get access to all recordings if you can't attend live.
Work with our team to implement what you learn.
You'll get access to daily mentorship calls with our team to take what you learn and implement it with your own music career.
You'll have access to calls focused on business, monetization, artist development, marketing, social media, and more.
Build your community.
We're only enrolling 30 students, so schedule your consultation ASAP!
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Testimonials:
"The artist incubator was an incredibly transformative experience for me! ... Yeah, you'll learn about click funnels and the importance of email lists, ect., but what really made this time valuable for me was the deep dive into why I'm doing what I'm doing, why it matters, and how to focus my motivation as I keep pushing through...
Now, I didn't start to gain any social media traction while the program was going, but the work we did then laid the foundation and the groundwork for me to find my fanbase later down the line.
And as of the time of writing this, (half a year after the program), I can say definitively that I have found the people my music was meant to reach, people who connect, people who have a need for what I'm able to create, and that has been worth every drop of time and money I've put into this. And I don't think I would've taken the steps necessary to get here if not for the artist incubator."
Now, I didn't start to gain any social media traction while the program was going, but the work we did then laid the foundation and the groundwork for me to find my fanbase later down the line.
And as of the time of writing this, (half a year after the program), I can say definitively that I have found the people my music was meant to reach, people who connect, people who have a need for what I'm able to create, and that has been worth every drop of time and money I've put into this. And I don't think I would've taken the steps necessary to get here if not for the artist incubator."
Caleb Kroeze (AKA "Hyperveridical" — Artist Incubator Alumni
...I had the pleasure of being involved with the wonderful group of people who joined the Artist Incubator and, without doubt, it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had with such a collective group of like minded musicians.
The banter between us all was extremely informative but, more than that, through this kind of communication, we made friends for life. The laughter, along with the knowledge, was infectious and the fun was shared by all.
My own experience meant that I was able to, finally, put out a song in the public domain (that I had failed to succeed in for 57 years) through Mad Records and Michael's genius to promote in a very effective way.
I learned to conquer my fear of social media and dived into TikTok and Instagram and the results in TikTok were overwhelming; my twin and I went viral with nearly 400k views!
...Thank you Michael for giving me the opportunity to come out from behind closed doors and present my music to the world. Claire (ShearWater)
Claire Thrower (AKA "ShearWater") - Artist Incubator Alumni
I took a look, decided it wasn’t appropriate for me as I wasn’t an ‘artist’. Thankfully, I hopped on a call with [Michael] to discuss how it could apply to me as a composer, and I was persuaded to join.
It was the best decision (other than joining [production school]) that I’ve made.
...It’s a course that guides you to find out about who you are, where you want to go and what you want to do. There’s a lot of soul searching, a lot of questioning... and no real right or wrong answers.
It’s down to you to make the decisions, but you have support and advice all the way. It’s a course that takes you down your own path to help you better understand yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses. In a previous life I was a businesswoman in the tourist industry. Who’d have thought that the skills I had there would be applicable to my life in music?
Business is business, whatever the subject, and Michael helped me understand that. In my search, I started climbing a couple of mountains, only to find I was heading in the wrong direction, but I was supported all the way and encouraged to head up the next mountain.
The course has a small intake, so it’s very personal, and all of us on the
course became very fond of each other... like a closely knit family.
We helped each other through the dips and celebrated each other’s successes. It’s been an amazing journey. I’m happy to say that I’ve now found my route, and already finding joy and success, so I highly recommend the Artist Incubator.
Sally Witham-Shaw - Artist Incubator Alumni
"The artist incubator has been an unexpected but instrumental catalyst in my personal and professional development.
It helped me figure out and come to terms with the reality that I do not want to do what it takes to become a profitable music artist. At the same time, I got to witness people who came out the same reflection willing to go all-in. The program then helped me gain insight in what I can offer those who do wish to go all-in through different roles like a music producer, manager and/or consultant.
The intense interaction with the other students and mentors in the program helped me further develop my social skills and got me to crawl out of my shell a bit more each session. I have made a bunch of friends during my time in the incubator and gained new insights regarding my future in the music industry."
Nick van Drunen (AKA Sommerklänge) - Artist Incubator Alumni
You got questions? We have answers.
How much does it cost?
The Artist Incubator is $2,000 if paid in full, or $2,400 with a payment plan.
When does it start?
We're enrolling and onboarding students for the next few weeks before the holidays, so the program will start in the second week of January.
What are the requirements to join?
There are no hard requirements to join. We work with students of all ages, genres, and backgrounds. As long as you come in with the intention to learn and support your fellow peers, we're happy to work with you regardless of where your music career is currently.
Do I need to already have music released?
No. We have students with full discographies, as well as students who are preparing for their first releases.
Can't I just figure this out on my own?
Yes, but the unique purpose of this program is to watch what artist development looks like in real time, as well as provide mentorship from real music industry pros that you wouldn't get otherwise.
Do I need to attend the meetings live, or will they be recorded.
All meetings and mentorship calls will be recorded and available for replay, so no worries if you cannot attend live.
If you can't attend a mentorship call, you'll also be able to submit your questions ahead of time!
What happens after the program concludes?
You'll get lifetime access to the artist development curriculum, so you can continue to access it at anytime.
Is this for a specific genre or type of music?
No, what you're going to learn is totally agnostic to the genre of music.
In fact, many of the fundamental business principles you'll learn in this program apply well beyond the scope of music entirely.
How do I know if I'm ready?
You won't. You'll simply have to choose to take the leap or not! If you're struggling to decide, you can schedule a consultation to discuss it by clicking here.
Am I going to need a bunch of expensive software/plugins to see results?
No. Better gear will certainly help BUT the first step is developing your knowledge and skills.
Only after that should you think about upgrading your gear. That way, you're using it to it's full potential, instead of having a bunch of expensive gear you don't actually know how to use.
What's the refund policy?
We're capping enrollments at 30 students, so we really only want to enroll folks who are in it for the long haul, so all sales are final unless there are extraneous circumstances beyond the student's control, in which case refunds will be determined on a case by case basis.
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