Posted: Jan 6, 2020

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!

"Episode 15 of Words of Fang featuring John McLucas, discusses some of the positive aspects of being in a band."

Posted: Dec 23, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Scott Ronald, musician, songwriter, and creator of GuitarGearHeadz.com.

"Before signing a deal, artists need to be able to weigh up what the label can do for their career versus the rights, control and income they are signing away. These are four important questions you need to ask yourself when evaluating a label offer, in order to ensure that you make the best decision for your career..."

Posted: Dec 16, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.

"Most successful musicians...had a goal and did what they needed to do in order to achieve it. Lots of talented people give up too soon...Nothing comes easy and it usually takes many years to get to a point where you become successful. Remember, persistence wins the game."

Posted: Dec 2, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Wade Sutton of Rocket to the Stars Artist Services.

"I just received an e-mail from an agent/producer in LA pitching a pop artist he is working with and the bio is literally one of the biggest travesties in the history of modern writing. And, yes, I e-mailed him telling him so."

Posted: Nov 25, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Nicholas Rubright, founder and editor at Dozmia, and lead guitarist for the band Days Gone By.

"Sometimes, the income from even a full-time job isn’t enough to get the finances you need [for a music career]. Thankfully, we live in the age of the internet - where there’s opportunity to make money from anywhere that has an internet connection! Here are 5 ways to make money online that are great for musicians who need extra cash - even while on tour."

Posted: Oct 28, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Ari Herstand. This is an excerpt from his book How to Make It in the New Music Business (second edition). This post was originally published on Music Connection.

"Before you release your next single or album, make sure you set it up for the best chance of success. Don’t forget to do these 26 things before the release..."

Posted: Oct 14, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Jeff Lysyczyn, music industry veteran, educator, and creator of Music Business After Dark.

"Episode 2 of Music Business After Dark, a series of informative vlogs by music industry veteran and educator Jeff Lysyczyn."

Posted: Sep 16, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Jeff Lysyczyn, music industry veteran, educator, and creator of Music Business After Dark.

"The first episode of Music Business After Dark, a series of informative vlogs by music industry veteran and educator Jeff Lysyczyn."

Posted: Sep 3, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Jake Shane, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who resides in Spain. He makes his living as an independent artist by touring around Europe. His fourth album will be released in October, 2019.

"A recent article by Larry Fitzmaurice titled “17 Indie Artists on Their Oddest Odd Jobs That Pay the Bills When Music Doesn’t” is by turns comforting and deflating to the indie musician...Contrastingly to me, none of those artists makes their living exclusively from music, and many of them actually lose money touring. So, what does this mean for musicians in general, and me specifically? Well, a variety of things, but I’ll limit myself to three important factors..."

Posted: Aug 19, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Wade Sutton of Rocket to the Stars Artist Services.

"A few weeks ago it occurred to me that I had recently seen multiple posts on Facebook from artists and songwriters asking for information on how to “jailbreak” devices like the Amazon Firestick and the Google Chromecast...Jailbreaking those devices allows users to download applications so they can watch pirated content like movies currently in theaters. I had a big problem with this..."

Posted: Jun 24, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Nick Cesarz, drummer, producer, and blogger from Milwaukee, WI. Nick is the editor and owner of DrummingReview.com, a website dedicated to helping drummers choose gear, learn how to play, and guide them through the music industry.

"It's a phone call conversation I wouldn't wish on any of my enemies: getting dropped from a record label. Being let go from a record company is a sad tale that many acts endure throughout their careers. Today I'll explain what it's like and how you can reduce your chances of having this unfortunate conversation."

Posted: Jun 10, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Sophie D’Orléans, singer and keyboard player for The Sophistocrats (Canadian Smooth Jazz band).

"After spending 3 years and 4000km away from home, I wanted to move back to my hometown. I left my mountainous college town knowing that all my musical connections would be very far, yet it was what I needed to do for my personal growth. Trying to keep a ‘band’ together at a distance has been challenging in ways I didn’t suspect, while other difficulties I had predicted never happened."

Posted: Apr 8, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Matt Star as featured on The Music Entrepreneur HQ.

"Have you ever thought of yourself as the owner of a corporation? Guess what… you are. If you’re a working musician, a session or touring player, your company is called YOU, Inc...Knowing what you have to offer and what it is worth is the first step to creating a sustainable career..."

Posted: Feb 19, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Donna Maurer, a contributor on multiple music blogs and lover of creating helpful articles for her fellow musicians and music lovers.

"If you want to be successful as a musician today, you must learn to diversify your income streams. That way, when the live gigs and album sales slow down, you’ll still have money coming in from other areas to keep you going until things pick up...Here are some unique and creative ways to make money when your career hits a lull."

Posted: Jan 28, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Carlos Castillo of Schwilly Family Musicians - music marketing strategist, web designer, live performance recordist, international road-tripper, lap steel player, and Captain of the Schwilly Family.

Posted: Jan 2, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by PJ Taei, the founder of Uscreen.

"With the number of streaming video sites and over-the-top services available today, starting your own online course on literally any topic has never been easier than it is right now...creating an online music course is a good idea for a wide range of different reasons, all of which are worth exploring."

Posted: Dec 3, 2018

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Matt Santry, independent musician and founder of the Well Paid Musicians Club.

"There’s a character named James [in the Netflix series "Westside"] who works construction by day. In the first episode, he asks his boss to cut his hours down to 3 days a week so he can have time to practice for an upcoming show. They show James digging ditches, tearing down walls and doing backbreaking manual labor...This is insanity to me! He's a talented guy. So why couldn't he do 1 cover gig at a private event and make that same amount [of money]?"

Posted: Oct 22, 2018

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Cloe Matheson as featured on The Music Entrepreneur HQ.

"Are you an aspiring musical artist looking to increase your bandwidth with listening audiences?...Thinking like an entrepreneur means realizing that when you combine your talents with those of an artist or musical act who are perhaps more established, you’ll expedite your own songwriting, music production, and promotional success."

Posted: Oct 8, 2018

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Dan Miraldi, a Cleveland-born New York City-based rock and roller.

Posted: May 14, 2018

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Ellie Batchiyska, a writer for SoundStageDirect, the number one online source for the best vinyl records and turntables.

"The final step in your self-promotion efforts, however, should be none other than creating an EP...Having an EP is great for giving people a taste of your musical sound and style. Think of it as your curriculum vitae, a summary of your most impressive and promising work."

Posted: May 7, 2018

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Rachel M., originally featured on Push Power Promo's Blog.

"Do you want to make a good impression on your fans and for other people in the music industry?...If so, there are plenty of ways to make this happen...Below are a few ways to boost your brand and show people that you're the real deal."

Posted: Apr 16, 2018

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.

"Most people don’t even carry cash and never use checks for anything. Your band, which is your small business, needs to change with the times and accept credit cards. Don’t worry, it is very simple to do."

Posted: Apr 9, 2018

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by John Kay, a touring and performing songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, and the leader of John Kay & Who’s To Say.

"..the burning question which keeps those who are truly passionate about their local music scene is: Why? Why does “the scene suck”? Why does it need fixing? What is the root of the problem? It’s more complicated than a one-answer summation, but I proffer that a major contributor to why a local scene suffers—and new/young/up-and-coming bands ultimately fail—is the recording engineer’s decision to manipulate an amateur band’s recorded performance into a near-perfect production."

Posted: Feb 5, 2018

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Joshua Rich, a pop pianist out of Washington, DC.

"Have you heard the famous story about the invention of the V-8 engine? Seems that Henry Ford kept telling his engineers to create it, and they kept coming back saying it was impossible...As a creative person - one who is pursuing my dream of becoming a successful performing artist, I think it’s super important to remember these points:"

Posted: Jan 2, 2018

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Joshua Rich, a pop pianist out of Washington, DC.

"The best thing I have learned as a performer is how to get out of my own way - to look at myself through other people’s eyes...Listening to others and being open to what your strengths are can be the difference between making it and not..."