There are a million music business courses out there, but we dare you to find another that teaches you how to blow fire in a fan's face and still get paid for it. In fact, Ben Weinman might argue that's part of what made his mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan so successful for so long: authenticity, risk-taking, an obsessive focus on fans, and an unwavering DIY ethos drawn from his heroes in punk.
This course isn't for everyone. If you're just out to make money, there may be other more efficient approaches. But if you're hoping to turn your art into a fulfilling, sustainable, lifelong career, well, Ben's been there and done that and has thousands of miles of well-trodden experience to share.
He'll divulge what he's learned, pulling lessons from his storied career with The Dillinger Escape Plan and Suicidal Tendencies, and from a diversity of partners and friends along the way. He'll elucidate how to attract a passionate fanbase, deliver honest art, and design creative strategies for making money in an industry plagued by old, tired models. Ben will also explain how he took what many called an "unmarketable" band and transformed it into an iconic act and a profitable economic engine with a rabid fanbase — so successful in fact that major artists and labels now come to him for advice.
If you're an artist with big dreams and a heaping dose of curiosity and gusto, ready and willing to break down the barriers of what prior generations of musicians told you was possible, this course is definitely for you.
Ben Weinman
The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist & manager
Ben is a songwriter, guitarist, film scorer, and manager best known for founding and playing in mathcore group The Dillinger Escape Plan. Founded in 1996, The Dillinger Escape Plan became legendary for their complex music and wild shows.
Twenty years later as the only original remaining member, Weinman, and The Dillinger Escape Plan, had become known as one of the most influential bands of this error, winning countless awards for their success as innovators and for being predominantly independent throughout the course of their career. During this time Weinman was named one of SPIN Magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and one of the 20 Most Influential Metal Guitarists Of The Modern Era by VH1. He was also named one of Guitar World Magazine's 50 fastest guitar players of all time alongside guitar players such as Eddie Van Halen and Les Paul, was named one of Alternative Press Magazine's "10 Favorite Guitar Slingers", and was named one of Guitar World's Top 25 Cult Guitarists in 2009. He has created official remixes for numerous artists and has performed and collaborated with artists such as NIN, System Of a Down, Suicidal Tendencies, Soundgarden, The Prodigy, and Kimbra to name a few.
At the end of 2017, Weinman retired the band and became a full-time father, and farmer, while also finding time to score 4 motion pictures, music for HBO, and perform as a permanent member of the band Suicidal Tendencies. He is on the advisory board of, and has consulted for, numerous music-oriented companies, and is a voting member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to managing his own bands, he has managed and consulted for Grammy award-winning artists and has an international network of both massively well-known and up-and-coming musicians. Weinman has produced or coproduced all of his releases, as well as a number of other musical works. He has contributed to various publications and spoken at universities and conferences on the subjects of music production and the music business. His techniques and philosophies have been discussed, and featured, in publications such as Forbes, the Huffington Post, and Bloomberg Businessweek, and his music has been used for course studies at universities and music schools around the world.
During his time creating and performing with The Dillinger Escape Plan, he was honored with the following awards:
Two-time Recipient of the PLUG Independent Music Award for Metal Album of the Year.
Recipient of The Kerrang! Inspiration Award.
Recipient of the Kerrang! Spirit of Independence Award.
Recipient of the Revolver Golden Gods Award for Best Underground Band.
Ranked number 1 in the Revolver Magazine's readers poll of the 5 Greatest Live Bands of All Time
Recipient of the AIM Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
Recipient of the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Icon Award.
