Professional Drummer • Music Marketer
Build An Audience You Actually Own
I've spent 20+ years on stages and in studios.
Now I help musicians grow their audience, attract more fans, and create more opportunities to earn from their music.
The Musician
Music came first. It still does.
Two decades of stages, studios, and students. The strategy work exists because the music demanded it.
Years of club dates, festivals, and tours on both sides of the Atlantic.
Studio records, session work, and remote tracking.
Private students plus clinics for schools and programs.
Meet Dylan
I spent two decades learning music. Then I learned how to keep the audience.
I started playing professionally as a teenager, trained through the Wisconsin Conservatory Jazz Institute and McNally Smith, then spent years touring North America and Europe and recording albums.
Somewhere between the stages and the studios, I noticed the pattern. The musicians who lasted were the ones who owned their audience. So I went deep on email, content, and direct-to-fan systems. Now I help other musicians do the same.
The Core Idea
Rented Attention vs Owned Attention
Every musician builds on one of two foundations. Only one of them belongs to you.
Built on someone else's platform
- An algorithm decides who sees your work
- Reach drops the moment you stop posting
- One policy change can erase years of effort
- You never get fan contact information
Built on assets you control
- Your email list reaches fans every time
- Your website works for you around the clock
- Fan relationships compound year after year
- You sell direct and keep the margin
Social media is where fans find you. Email is where they stay.
The System
How Attention Becomes Opportunity
Every musician starts with attention. The question is what you do with it.
Your music, your content, and your story pull people in. Instead of leaving that attention on rented platforms, you move it onto channels you own.
That is where fans, email subscribers, and revenue come from. One audience, owned, working for you around the clock.
Free Download
The Direct-To-Fan Playbook
The exact system I use to help musicians turn casual listeners into real fans, email subscribers, and customers. No fluff. Just the framework, the tools, and the steps.
- The 5 part framework for turning attention into fans
- Email list setup that works even with a small following
- Content systems that fit a working musician's schedule
The ACEMM Framework
Five moves. One system.
Every direct-to-fan system I build runs on the same five stages. Open each one to see how it works.
Attract
Make content that pulls the right listeners toward your music. Not viral noise. Work that sounds like you and finds the people who will actually care.
Connect
Move attention off rented platforms and onto your list. A lead magnet, a clear offer, and a simple page that turns a listener into a subscriber.
Engage
Show up in the inbox with stories, music, and behind the scenes work that builds real trust. Consistency beats volume here.
Monetize
Offer things fans actually want. Music, merch, lessons, experiences, and digital products, sold direct so you keep the relationship and the margin.
Multiply
Turn happy fans into your loudest channel. Referrals, shares, and superfans who bring the next wave of listeners in with them.
Results
What this looks like in practice
Numbers from real projects with artists, creators, and my own direct-to-fan work.
Built a lead magnet and welcome sequence that converted casual listeners into subscribers.
Planned and ran a launch sequence to an owned list. No ad spend.
Designed a repeatable system a touring musician can run from the road.
Work With Me
Three ways to build your system
Pick the level of help that fits where you are right now.
Strategy Intensive
A 90-minute paid working session on your audience, content, and revenue. You leave with a recording, a PDF action plan, and a roadmap.
- 90 minutes, one on one
- Audience and content audit
- Written PDF action plan after
Coaching
Ongoing work together while you build your direct-to-fan system. Accountability, feedback, and adjustments as you go.
- Monthly working sessions
- Direct access between calls
- Systems built with you, not for you
Content Systems
Done with you setup of your content engine. Email, lead magnets, automation, and a publishing workflow that fits your life.
- Email platform and automation setup
- Lead magnet and funnel build
- Repeatable publishing workflow
Behind The Kit
Twenty years of stages, sessions, and students
Before the strategy work, there were the gigs. Touring across North America and Europe, recording albums, teaching students, and running clinics. The drumming never stopped. It is where everything else comes from.
Live Dates
Catch a show
Upcoming performances, clinics, and appearances.
Summer club night
The Back Room · Milwaukee, WI
Jazz quartet set
Dazzle Lounge · Chicago, IL
Drum clinic and Q&A
Music Hall Studio · Minneapolis, MN
The Shop
Merch, music, and tools
Everything here goes direct from me to you. No middlemen.
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Videos, articles, and resources
Practical material on direct-to-fan strategy, content systems, and life as a working musician.
How email beats the algorithm for working musicians
Why your list is the most reliable channel you will ever build, and how to start one this week.
Watch →From casual listeners to a sold out release
A walkthrough of the launch system, the emails, and what the numbers did.
Read →The Direct-To-Fan Playbook
The full framework in one download. Start here if you are new.
Download →Start Here
Own your audience
Get the Direct-To-Fan Playbook and start building a fanbase that no algorithm can take away from you.