⏳ Press photos cost $5k. What if 1 selfie did it?

This week, I'm sharing a personal story about the moment passion became obligation in West London (at the end). Plus, I've got a method to create professional press photos without spending thousands, and an AI piano coach that tracks your hands at 90 frames per second.

Now, let’s cut to the chase:

This week in the AI Musicpreneur: ↓

✍🏼 AI MUSIC PROMOTION CORNER:

How to create professional press photos using Claude and Gemini for free.

🛠️ AI MUSIC PRODUCTION CORNER:

ROLI's new AI piano coach that watches your hands and calls out your mistakes.

📰 And the latest news shaking up the music tech world.

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You're paying $5,000 for photos your laptop creates in 5 minutes.

Professional photoshoots drain musician budgets fast. Studio rentals. Photographer fees. Editing costs. The total? $2,000 to $10,000.

Here's the workaround.

Step 1: Open Claude AI

Select the Opus 4.5 model (or Sonnet if you’re on the free plan). Drop in a structured prompt (find below this tutorial) describing your setting and style. Claude builds your finished image prompt.

Step 2: Open Gemini

Go to gemini.google.com. Paste the prompt from Claude. Upload one reference photo of yourself. Hit generate.

The system locks your facial features. Your bedroom becomes a sold-out stadium. Your kitchen becomes a neon-lit Tokyo street.

Here’s the result:

One prompt. One photo. Endless variations.

What this means for you:

• Press photos on demand

• Album artwork in minutes

• Tour posters without a design team

• Social content that looks label-backed

No photographer. No studio. No invoice.

The barrier between you and looking like a signed artist? Gone.

The prompt template lives in the description. Fill in the blanks for your specific look.

What will you create first?

Here’s the prompt (also found in my free AI prompt library):

I need a Nano Banana-style image prompt for a [TYPE: album cover / single artwork / tour poster / merch design / social media promo / music video still / press photo / vinyl sleeve / concert flyer].

0. REFERENCE IMAGE(S)

- What is attached? e.g., artist photo, mood board, color palette, logo, previous artwork
- How should it be used? e.g., replicate the person's face and features exactly / match the color palette only / use as style inspiration / incorporate the logo / mimic the composition
- What to keep vs. change? e.g., keep face and hair exactly, change outfit and setting / keep colors, change everything else

Reference Images:
[]

1. TEXT & COPY

- Main text: e.g., artist name, album title, tour name
- Secondary text: e.g., tour dates, featuring credits, tagline, release date
- Text style preference: e.g., bold and centered, handwritten, neon sign, vintage marquee, graffiti, minimal lowercase

Text & copy:
[]

2. MOOD & LIGHTING

- What feeling should this evoke? e.g., mysterious, euphoric, melancholic, aggressive, dreamy, nostalgic, empowering
- Time of day: e.g., golden hour, midnight, overcast afternoon, neon-lit night

Mood & Lightening:
[]

3. SUBJECT

- Who or what is the focus? e.g., the artist from reference image, floating hands holding roses, vintage microphone, abstract shapes
- Key colors or textures: e.g., all black with chrome accents, pastel and soft, red velvet, holographic

Subject:
[]

4. SETTING

- Where does this take place? e.g., empty stadium, rain-soaked Tokyo street, desert at dusk, foggy forest, minimalist studio 

Setting: []

5. VISUAL STYLE

- Pick one or combine: e.g., 70s film grain / Y2K digital / anime-inspired / hyperrealistic 3D / vintage Polaroid / editorial fashion / lo-fi camcorder / oil painting / neon cyberpunk / minimalist graphic

Visual Style: []

6. CAMERA VIBE

- Pick one: e.g., cinematic and crisp / dreamy and blurred / raw and grainy / polished commercial / intimate close-up / wide epic shot

Camera Vibe: []

7. STYLEGUIDE (if applicable)

- Primary brand colors: e.g., deep burgundy #722F37, warm gold #D4AF37, ivory #FFFFF0
- Secondary colors: e.g., charcoal #36454F, blush pink #FFB6C1
- Primary font: e.g., Helvetica Neue Bold for headlines
- Secondary font: e.g., Garamond for body text and dates
- Logo usage: e.g., artist logo must appear bottom-right, white version only, minimum 10% margin
- Visual restrictions: e.g., no neon colors, no harsh white backgrounds, always maintain warm undertones
- Hierarchy rules: e.g., artist name always largest, tour name 60% size of artist name, dates smallest

Styleguide: []

If styleguide is provided:
- Apply all color, typography, and hierarchy rules exactly
- Styleguide overrides conflicting style preferences from other sections
- Do not deviate from specified fonts or brand colors for any text elements

If no styleguide is provided:
- Use text style preference from Section 1 freely
- Generate appropriate typography based on mood and visual style

---

Generate a complete Nano Banana prompt that:

- Prioritizes the reference image(s) — use attached reference(s) as specified above before applying other creative direction
- Is specifically designed as a [TYPE] with appropriate composition, layout, and text placement
- Combines all visual layers (Reference, Format, Text, Lighting, Subject, Environment, Style, Technical) into one cohesive paragraph
- Applies styleguide rules exactly if provided — colors, fonts, hierarchy, and restrictions take precedence
- Includes clear direction for text hierarchy and placement
- Considers where the eye should land first for this specific format

Ensure the output feels like a professional [TYPE] and not just a photograph.

---

EXAMPLE INPUT

Type: Tour poster

Reference Image(s): Attached photo of Luna Raye (headshot with natural curly hair, warm skin tone) / Use: replicate her face, features, and hair exactly / Keep: face and hair / Change: outfit, makeup, setting

Text & Copy: Main: "LUNA RAYE" / Secondary: "THE CLOSER TOUR • Midwest 2026" + tour dates / Text style: Modern elegant sans-serif

Mood & Lighting: Intimate, magnetic, late night

Subject: The artist from reference in close-up, intense eye contact, hand on collarbone

Setting: Dimly lit vintage hotel room

Visual Style: Editorial fashion meets cinematic R&B

Camera Vibe: Intimate close-up

Styleguide: Primary colors: deep burgundy #722F37, warm gold #D4AF37, ivory #FFFFF0 / Primary font: Neue Haas Grotesk Display Bold / Secondary font: Cormorant Garamond Light / Artist name always warm gold / Tour dates always ivory / Logo bottom-right corner, gold version, 5% margin

---

EXAMPLE OUTPUT

[REFERENCE] Use attached artist photo as primary facial reference — replicate Luna Raye's face, natural curly hair texture, and warm skin tone exactly; adapt styling and environment as directed below. [FORMAT] Vertical tour poster composition with artist name at top third, tour dates anchored at bottom, intimate portrait commanding center focus. [TEXT] "LUNA RAYE" in Neue Haas Grotesk Display Bold, warm gold #D4AF37 with subtle emboss, centered at top; "THE CLOSER TOUR • Midwest 2026" in Cormorant Garamond Light, ivory #FFFFF0, refined tracking beneath; tour dates in Cormorant Garamond Light, ivory, minimal spacing at bottom; artist logo positioned bottom-right corner, gold version, 5% margin from edges. [LIGHTING] Soft late-night artificial glow from camera left, warm amber key light caressing face and collarbone, deep shadows on opposite side, subtle golden rim light in hair. [SUBJECT] Luna Raye (from reference) in intimate close-up portrait, intense magnetic eye contact, one hand gently resting on collarbone, dewy glowing skin, burgundy satin draped at shoulder, sensual confidence in expression. [ENVIRONMENT] Dimly lit vintage hotel room with deep burgundy #722F37 undertones, soft warm bokeh lights in background, intimate and inviting atmosphere. [STYLE] Editorial fashion meets cinematic R&B aesthetic, rich burgundy and warm gold tones, moody and luxurious, maintaining brand color palette throughout. [TECHNICAL] 85mm lens, f/1.8, ISO 400, 1/125s, ultra-shallow depth of field, subtle film grain at 4%, 4K resolution, vertical 2:3 poster aspect ratio.

Poor practice habits are the silent music career killer

Your piano teacher lied to you about how practice works.

ROLI built an AI piano coach that watches your hands at 90 frames per second. It tracks all 27 joints in each hand. It tells you when your ring finger gets lazy. It knows when you cheat.

Here is what makes this different from other music apps:

• The AI generates lessons based on your mistakes

• It gamifies practice like Guitar Hero but for real piano skills

• It talks to you and adjusts difficulty in real time

CEO Roland Lamb says the goal is simple: "AI can help us be more human by teaching us piano and giving access to people who can't find a teacher or can't afford one."

The system works with ROLI's Airwave hand-tracking device and their color-coded keyboard. You see your hands on screen while colored blocks fall toward the keys.

Miss a note and the AI corrects you. Get sloppy with finger placement and it calls you out.

One game called Superluminal turns scales into an Asteroids-style shooter. You learn C major without realizing you are learning C major.

The closed beta opens now for Airwave owners. Public beta launches end of March 2026.

This is not AI making music for you. This is AI making you better at making music yourself.

90% of people who start learning an instrument quit in the first year. The reason is practicing alone feels pointless.

ROLI is betting they solved that problem.

I drove over $70k + in revenue for AI music companies last year. If you sell an AI tool, read this now:

TBD IMAGE

Most AI music tools have the same problem. They build something great. Then nobody finds it.

Here's what I learned writing content for 14+ AI music brands:

The companies that win put their tool in front of the right audience.

Not Facebook ads. Not Google ads. Not cold DMs.

They go where music creators already look for AI tools.

I built that place.

35,000+ musicians, producers, and industry pros read my content every month.

The results speak:

↳ 46.7% newsletter open rate

↳ 10% click-through rate

↳ 1.5m+ video views in 6 months

↳ Readers from Warner, Songtradr, AWAL

Brands like Neural Frames, Waves, Mozart AI, RoEx and Controlla already work with me.

3 packages to fit your budget:

↳ Starter (€199): News feature across all channels

↳ Growth (€329): Full newsletter spotlight

↳ Pro (€599): Complete campaign w/ dedicated Social posts

Go here to book a package.

You send your assets. I put your tool in front of 35,000+ music creators.

Simple.

What's stopping your AI tool from reaching the right audience?

Missed last week’s news? I got you. Here are the top 5 AI music news:

WRAP UP

We’re at the end!

The West London Epiphany - "I myself am strange and unusual."

Lydia Deetz spoke those words in Beetlejuice. She preferred ghosts to her living family. That line defined a generation of outsiders.

I had my own Lydia moment in West London.

The gig was small. The crowd was smaller. But something shifted that night. Music stopped being the thing I loved and became the thing I owed. To myself. To the people who showed up.

Passion is a gift. Obligation is a choice. The moment you realize you'd do this even if nobody watched? That's when you know.

Always rooting for you,

-Chris (The AI Musicpreneur)

Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

1. The AI Fanbase Builder: My flagship course and prompt library endorsed by music industry leaders. The AI Fanbase Builder teaches you step-by-step frameworks for growing your audience, getting noticed on social media, and turning followers into paying fans. Come learn proven strategies to build a thriving music career with AI.

2. Promote your AI tool to 2,000+ music pros weekly: Put your music brand in my newsletter where musicians, producers and industry pros, including Grammy winners and label executives, are already looking for AI music tools and insights each Wednesday.