Justin Sarachik spent 15 years as a musician and another decade plus covering musicians. In that time, he’s seen it all, experienced it all, and furthermore knows exactly what to look for in an artist. That’s why, he’s compiled all of his best tricks and hacks from over the years and placed them into his first book – Survival of the Artist: Tips & Strategies to Help Indies Succeed.
“‘Survival of the Artist started as a podcast where I spoke with artists about ways they’ve overcome the ‘starving artist syndrome’. Since 2016 or so, I have been dropping #ArtistTip’s on Twitter to my followers. They got me a little traction and my advice was well received. Then I thought, ‘What if I married the two together’, and presto, here ya go!” said Justin.
Justin took hundreds of #ArtistTips from his personal Twitter and expanded on his initial thoughts. Within those thoughts are things he’s personally experienced or learned as an artist and also things he’s seen as a journalist.
Over the course of his journalism career, he’s received tens of thousands of email pitches from musicians. He highlights some of the worst or weirdest he’s seen and breaks it down on how it can be better. “If you did this, DON’T, do it THIS WAY.” Many of these tips are approached humorously to keep the book entertaining instead of draining.
The real gem of the book is the chapter where he transcribes artists talking about their “Keys to Survival.” It is there that the artist will receive practical info from actual people in the industry who are thriving. There is also a chapter where artists/musicians/businesses can learn to write and create their own press releases as well as knowledge on how to pitch them to emails.
“Ultimately, Survival of the Artist: Tips & Strategies to Help Indies Succeed is a love letter to independent artists, business owners, and people trying to navigate the world of sending their art or creations to the masses. For the last 20 years or so I’ve seen and done a lot of things in the media and music industries. Some of these things were giant failures. Some of these things were great successes. More often than not, these things were something in the middle that kept me going.”
The book has been recommended by industry professionals such as Derek Minor, Doc Watson, Tim Trudeau, Jennie Ortega, Will Thomas, James Rosseau, and More.
It also features tips from artists such as Mac Lethal, Ruslan, nobigdyl., Fern, Alexz Johnson, Angie Rose, and more.
Get Survival of the Artist here. It’s currently available as a soft cover with Kindle e-book and audio versions coming soon.
ABOUT JUSTIN SARACHIK
Justin Sarachik began his foray into the music industry when at 13 years old he started playing drums in a punk band with his best friends. By the time he was 18, he came out from behind the drum set and became a vocalist and frontman for the band Process of Fusion. For the next 12 years, he along with his band would perform all around the Northeast at renowned venues such as Roseland Ballroom, the Mercury Lounge, Stone Pony, Starland Ballroom, and many more. The band would record two eps and an unreleased full-length album before calling it quits in 2020.
Around the same time the band formed, Justin was studying at the College of Staten Island. He graduated with a bachelor’s Degree in Communications: Journalism, and a minor in Film Studies.
Justin cut his teeth as an intern reporter at the Staten Island Advance newspaper and then as assistant editor of the college paper The Banner. He found his niche in music journalism as the editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Broken Records Magazine.
With BRM, Justin also started a music label called Broken Records Collective that housed four rappers and four bands. It was here that he also embarked on solo rap projects away from his band.
His first big break into the journalism world came as a reporter with the Christian Post where he started racking up millions of page views a month. They transferred him to be the assistant editor of his own website, Breathecast. It was there that he partnered up with singer and writer Jeannie Ortega-Law and they would grow the site from 300 views a month to over three million.
The next stop on Justin’s journey was with Rapzilla where he’s served for eight years and has written over 7,000 of his 10,000 plus articles. As editor-in-chief, he’s launched podcasts, web shows, and music series’ all while being a voice within the music community.
Along the way, Justin has done publicity for streaming giant Audiomack as they launched their gospel music division called Keep the Faith Going. He’s written for Relevant Magazine, Rising Apple, Impacto Media, Abilene Reflector Chronicle, Healthline, CCM Magazine, and several other platforms.
He helped organize, strategize, and advise content with social media juggernaut Crimefaces. He’s also the investigative reporter on Crimefaces’ upcoming documentary film about Mario “Machete” Perez. In addition, that same team worked with 13th Bridge Studios to create content and a marketing strategy around their first mobile game – Run the Court.
In the future, Justin hopes to keep writing books and has a few in mind. He’s also working on three screenplays and has film projects in the works with creative partner Director Will Thomas.
