This is a page where I transparently share a bunch of information about how I work on my little projects, the tools I use, and how things are going financially with them.
Last updated: 2025-07-26
Jump to: tools| finances | ethics
tools
writing, marketing & admin
This site is built with Blot and hosted in a private, secure iCloud Drive folder.
- My newsletter is powered by Buttondown.
- I use Simple Analytics for simple, transparent, privacy-focused site analytics. Here are the stats for this site.
- I use Carrd to run the Kid Lightbulbs landing site and spin up landing pages for random ideas and friends of mine.
- I use Backblaze to securely back up my digital stuff.
- I use Bandcamp, Ampwall and LANDR to distribute my music.
- I use Cal.com’s free plan to schedule & have calls with folks.
- I capture my thoughts using Apple Notes & Voice Memos, flesh them out in IA Writer, and repurpose them for social promotion with Buffer.
music & content creation tools
I make music on a MacBook Pro w/ M2 Max, primarily using the stock capabilities of Logic Pro & Reason 12. I consider Logic Pro (purchased in 2013 for $200) the single best value purchase of everything noted on this page.
I record (& occasionally perform) with:
- a Lauten Audio LA-220 FET mic
- MXL 990 & 991 condenser mics
- a Tascam DR-40X field recorder
- a Shure SM-58 mic
- a Logitech MX Brio 4K webcam
- a Yamaha P-115 digital piano
- a Behringer FCB1010 MIDI foot controller
- a G&L L-1000 bass I inherited from a family friend
- a Schecter Stiletto Studio 5-string bass
- a PRS SE Custom 24 guitar
- JBL 104 reference monitors
- Sony MDR-7506 reference headphones
- Apple AirPods Pro 2
I mostly browse the internet on said MacBook Pro & an iPhone 16 Pro.
finances
I aim to my hobbies and creative endeavors to be self-funding. That is, my goal is for every dollar spent on the tools & services here to be paid for by the stuff I make with the tools & services.
income
Outside of my Buffer salary, I make money via my side projects in the following ways:
- Bandcamp subscriptions (7 subscribers, $19.66 MRR)
- Bandcamp sales (Lifetime gross $2,103; net $1,899)
- Occasional streaming payouts
- Last one: LANDR, 12.20.2024, $8.00
- Last one: LANDR, 12.20.2024, $8.00
- Occasional small royalty checks from ASCAP
- Last one: 11.18.2024, $1.10
expenses
Here is a table of everything I’ve spent money on since establishing this goal in mid-2023 (excluding taxes):
| product/service | category | cost |
|---|---|---|
| blot | website | $55/year |
| carrd pro | website | $19/year |
| simple analytics | analytics | $0/year |
| backblaze | storage | $99/year1 |
| iCloud drive | storage | ~$30/year 2 |
| landr | distribution | $45/year |
| bandcamp | distribution | $0/year + 15% of sales |
| ampwall | distribution | $10/year + 5% of sales |
| buttondown | marketing | $90/year |
| buffer | marketing | $0/year3 |
| zapier | marketing | $0/year |
| cal.com | marketing | $0/year |
| IA writer | software | $49.99 |
| JBL reference monitors | hardware | $149.99 |
| AirPods Pro 2 | hardware | $2494 |
| Lauten Audio LA-220 mic | hardware | $359.995 |
ethics
I generally think of myself as an ethical person.
My primary goals as a creative person are creative freedom and sustainability above all else. I am not motivated by rapid growth, and where I can, assuming my projects are self-sustaining, I try to support causes that I care about. Here are some examples:
- THREADS ON MY ART volumes 1 & 2, which raised money to support the Trevor Project, World Central Kitchen and the ACLU
- hive mind(s) and REMIXED CASTLE, collaborations which raised money for a struggling trans creator in the Music Threads community
I try to stick to the following principles with all my creative work in service of the above:
- Minimize money given to services/platforms misaligned with my values
- Minimize service lock-in
- Keep costs & maintenance time as low as possible
- Wide upper funnel (distribution) to maximize reach, narrow lower funnel (purchase) to maximize profit & fan connection
- Strength in numbers: support & collaborate with similarly-minded artists & service providers
on generative AI
Like many artists today, I grapple with what to do about “generative AI”. This is where I’ve landed:
- There is absolutely no use of generative AI in any purely creative output. This includes: all music I write & release, any writing you read on this site, and any content you see on my social & marketing channels.
- I do not pay for any generative AI tool, except for Anthropic’s Claude ($20/month) which is covered by my employer’s AI tools stipend benefit.
- I very occasionally use generative AI (Claude) as a “sparring partner” — that is, I use it to bounce ideas related to product strategy and very occasionally my strategy for releasing and promoting music.
- I do sometimes use predictive & machine learning-based tools in the production of music. I specifically use the following tools, all available in the stock Logic Pro offering:
- Session Drummer (to stage drum patterns, which I usually then manipulate by hand in MIDI format)
- Flex Pitch (to correct odd inflections in my voice)
- Session Drummer (to stage drum patterns, which I usually then manipulate by hand in MIDI format)
I share a Backblaze account with my wife, so I guess I’m technically on the hook for half this amount. That said, this service has proven to be far more useful than a giant cloud storage solution like Dropbox, which is constantly trying to upsell me.↩︎
My family pays for Apple One bundle, and 2TB of iCloud Drive storage is included; this is pro-rated to roughly the portion of the plan cost that my use of our drive storage takes up.↩︎
I am an employee of Buffer.↩︎
This expense was reimbursed by Buffer Inc (my employer) as part of its remote working stipend benefit.↩︎
This was partly paid for with holiday gift cards.↩︎
