How This Classical Piano/Cello Duo Built a Sustainable Career For Their Family

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Patrick Laird, cellist and co-founder of the classical cover duo, Brooklyn Duo. Patrick breaks down how he and his wife built a music career without traditional touring. He discusses their journey from viral YouTube videos to building an evergreen passive income model, navigating revenue streams across Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube, the intricacies of sheet music publishing, catalog acquisition offers, and why creating utility-based music enabled the creative freedom to pursue personal projects.

Follow Patrick Laird:
patricklaird.com
instagram.com/brooklynduo

Check out Ari’s Take:
aristake.com

03:55 - Brooklyn Duo’s Origins & Moving Beyond Classical
07:16 - Early Viral Success & Going Full Time
12:50 - Monetization: Pandora, YouTube, and SoundExchange
22:20 - Sheet Music Licensing & Publishing via Musicnotes
30:20 - Arranging Process & Delegation Between Patrick & Marnie
38:50 - Strategic Pivot to High Production Location Videos
52:45 - Building an Evergreen "Utility" Model for Streaming
58:30 - Retaining Masters & Rejecting Catalog Buyouts
01:10:20 - What It Means to "Make It" in the New Music Business

Edited and mixed by Ruben Zarate
Music by Brassroots District
Produced by the team at Ari’s Take
Order the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: book.aristake.com
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