for your independence

Ever put a release out and had no idea which part of it worked?

Working frameworks for the whole of it, the plan, the content, the ads and the money, for the people putting out the records and the people putting on the shows, so it’s out of your head and you can get back to the art :)

Bought once, yours to keep, no subscription, and every workbook is a system you can make your own.

Get first access

You need these workbooks if

Most of us would rather be making the music, and nobody in the arts ever sat us down and showed us this part.

you put a release out and couldn’t tell which part of it worked
half the plan is in your head and the other half is across seven notes apps
you’re posting without knowing what’s coming next week
you spent money on ads and can’t tell if they sold a ticket
you’re booking a show without knowing how many tickets it needs

Five workbooks

The maths on its own as the way in, then one for your release, your roster, your shows or all of it.

Music Maths

fyi. for your next show

How many tickets does the next show need?

The sums before you book the venue: how many tickets the night needs, whether the ad money sold tickets, what a shirt makes, a tour tested city by city, and the Gig P&L for what the night paid once everyone’s paid. If the numbers don’t work, it says so before it puts you in the red.

Ad budget and break-even
Merch margins
The Route Test, city by city
The Gig P&L
Worth It, a plain answer on every spend
Money In, the royalties people miss

Artist

fyi. for your release

Putting your own records out, with nobody to hand the planning and the spreadsheets to?

This is the one workbook where the plan, the calendar, the content, the ad budget and the money are all in one place, so you stop keeping half of it in your head and the other half across seven notes apps.

One-page plan and the year calendar
Content planner and storylines
Audience, ads and the funnel
Money and the calculators
Pitching, press and grants

Manager & Label

fyi. for your roster

Looking after other people’s releases as well as your own?

Everything in The Artist, plus the roster, the metadata, the distributor one-pager and the release ops, forty-six tabs in one workbook, because the moment you’re doing this for more than one artist phone notes stop being enough.

Everything in The Artist
Roster and release ops
Track metadata
Distributor one-pager
Forty-six tabs, one workbook

Venue, Festival & Tour

fyi. for your shows

Running a venue, a festival or a tour?

Three workbooks to plan, sell and settle the nights, the festival or the run, with a one-page plan behind every show, the programming calendar, the sponsors and the routing already built, and a settlement that tells you whether the support act got paid.

A one-page plan behind every show
Programming calendar and booking pipeline
Bar and capacity
Sponsor tracker
Tour routing and settlement

The Lot

fyi. for all of it

Putting out records and putting on shows, and tired of guessing which workbook you need?

Every workbook and both packs, plus any new workbook I make before the end of 2027, which comes to less than buying the pieces separately and saves you the afternoon of deciding.

Every workbook, nothing missing
Records and shows, all of it
The Music Maths and both packs included
New workbooks to the end of 2027

Honour your art with a business plan

A plan puts it all in front of you, so nothing gets missed :)

See it all laid out over time
Break the big goal into phases
Know what’s realistic before you spend
Spot the patterns in your numbers
Do it again, quicker, next time

And you grow within your means.

What people said when they saw it

From people in the August founders programme, each of them offered the Music Maths free.

“I have been so overwhelmed by the business side of trying to be a musician that everything looks like must have material to me. I sing and play guitar but being an independent artist almost seems worse than the days of trying to earn a record label deal. I’m really looking forward to trying this!”
Sulaiman, releases their own music

“Music BUSINESS! Can’t get enough help here. Margins are tighter and traditional businesses payouts are lighter. Costs need to be better managed. Seems like a tool to help.”
Elijah, releases their own music

“Looks like it will satisfy a huge need!”
Gillian, manages artists or runs a label

“Strong concept and easy to understand.”
Laureen

Caitlin Reilly — Image by Marcelle Bradbeer

Who made these

I’m Caitlin :) In Cahoots is my marketing practice for festivals, venues, labels and independent artists.

I made these because I think independent arts workers deserve to be set up for success, and shouldn’t have to figure it all out by themselves.

These workbooks are how I’d set it up as your marketing lead, written down so you can run it yourself, and the hover notes on every tab say what I’d say if we were on a call.

I’ve marketed ten-day festivals end to end, looked after a venue’s marketing for years, and routed and settled national tours, and every one of those jobs needed the same thing before anything else worked: someone willing to sit down and write the plan, who you’re talking to, what goes out when and what goes behind it, then do the maths underneath it.

Questions

The ones people ask first :)

Do I need to be a marketer?

No. The writing is plain English and it teaches the few terms worth knowing as you go. Every tab has hover notes written for someone with no marketing background.

Is it a course?

No. Nothing to complete, no modules, no videos to get through. You type in your release or your show, and it works through the plan and the maths with you.

Why a spreadsheet?

A spreadsheet, on purpose. The maths has to run itself, and a database that looks nice can’t do that. It’s a Google Sheet, with a copy for Excel, and the first open takes a moment while the formulas compute.

Do I need a Google account?

For the Sheet, yes, and a free one does it. Working in Excel? Open your copy, then File, Download, Microsoft Excel.

I’m not in Australia. Does it work in my currency?

Yes. Pick your country on Start Here and every money cell follows it, and every rate is a cell you can change.

First access to fyi.

Leave your details and I’ll email you the way in, with a look at what’s inside each workbook.

You’re on the list :)

Thanks ! I’ll email you the way in, so keep an eye out for a note from me, Caitlin.