Posted: Jun 13, 2016

Category: Recording

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**Guest Post by Mahea Lee of Soundfly.

 

"For many musicians, the idea of recording a demo can seem a bit daunting, especially when taking a do-it-yourself approach. Fortunately for those of us who need a bit of guidance, Black Lodge Recording’s Vishal Nayak has helped the Soundfly team create a brand new course, full of tips for efficient, effective, and stress-free demo production."

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Posted: Jun 6, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest Post by Bret Alexander of The Badlees and Saturation Acres.

 

"Over the past few months, I have written several entries about diversification in the music business. You have to be able to do it all to keep your calendar full. Write, play, record, teach, etc, etc…… it takes a wide array of skills to fill your calendar these days. But here is the rub: Once the calendar is full, that’s when the real soul searching begins. Ironically, the real gold is in being a samurai at something. That’s how you get to the next level. A master of one, not a master of none."

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Posted: May 31, 2016

Category: Technology

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**Guest post written by Ari Herstand. It originally appeared on Ari's Take.

 

"I just released a music video. It cost me exactly $0 to make and it looks pretty darn awesome if I do say so myself. Well, I can say so because I didn't make it. I kind of had nothing to do with it - other than writing and recording the song of course (and showing up and shooting the thing). So how did this happen?"

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Posted: May 23, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest Post by Max Garcia Conover, modern folk singer-songwriter out of Portland, ME.

 

"i just did the taxes for my first year as a full-time independent songwriter and i wanted to share some details about the business side of the work i’m doing...so here’s me...taking some pride in humble, honest, hard-won earnings:"

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Posted: May 16, 2016

Category: Marketing

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**Guest Post by Paul Loeb, founder and CEO of No Ego Records and DropTrack. Originally featured on The DIY Musician.

 

"It’s hard to believe it’s been over 12 years since the launch of Facebook. Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. That’s good news for marketers, musicians, and entrepreneurs. You have this incredible platform to reach every one of those followers you painstakingly cultivated. Or do you?"

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Posted: May 9, 2016

Category: Royalties

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**Guest Post by David Lowery, frontman from Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven. Originally featured in The Trichordist.

 

"If you are a Tunecore songwriter, you recently got an email asking you to sign up for the NMPA/Harry Fox Agency/Spotify settlement. Songwriters are directed to [a] Survey Monkey form. This is it. No details. Nothing. Nada. In particular, there is no mention of the possible statutory damages that songwriters are waiving by opting in to this..."

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Posted: May 2, 2016

Category: Touring

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**Guest Post by Ezekiel Morphis, San Diego based Americana/Folk Singer-Songwriter.

 

"If you just started playing music last week, this article will aid you further down the road as long as you stay committed and work on your music first. If you are like me — two EPs completed, well practiced, working on an album, playing for a handful of years, don’t mind smelling like beer and shame for days on end and still want to know how to tour DIY — then this is the article for you."

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Posted: Apr 26, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest Post by Bret Alexander of The Badlees and Saturation Acres.

 

"Many years ago I remember standing on the side of the stage talking with a crew member of The Marshall Tucker Band...We were in the middle of our first tour as a major label act and I was chatting with him about our experiences on the road...After a while, the roadie pointed up at the sound check that was taking place onstage and in his thick Southern accent he said, “These guys are just happy to still be playing.” Things had certainly changed for these guys over the years, but they were still at it. Why?"

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Posted: Apr 18, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest Post written by Danny Barnes as featured on DannyBarnes.com.

 

"I hear so much complaining about this subject, I just wanted to lay my practical experience on you. free... Assuming... you are financially workable and you have the music where you want it and you are surely called into the art, here goes, in no particular order..."

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Posted: Apr 12, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest Post written by Danny Barnes as featured on DannyBarnes.com.

 

"I hear so much complaining about this subject, I just wanted to lay my practical experience on you. free... Assuming... you are financially workable and you have the music where you want it and you are surely called into the art, here goes, in no particular order..."

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Posted: Apr 4, 2016

Category: Merch

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**Guest Post written by Jon Ostrow, Director of Sales at Bandsintown, Founder of MicControl, lover of all things music, a raging Phish head, and a coffee addict. Also featured on Bandzoogle.com.

 

"Bandzoogle members have now crossed $20 Million in direct-to-fan sales through their websites (commission-free!). This comprehensive guide will show you how to set up an online merch store for your own band, and give you some ideas for the different types of merch you can sell to your fans."

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Posted: Mar 28, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Carlos A. Machado of Mystery Loves Company.

 

"With almost 200 shows and multiple music conferences in the past two years, Maddy and I have learned a ton about the current music industry. For those wanting a career as singer-songwriters, here are a two things we think are worth keeping in mind..."

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Posted: Mar 21, 2016

Category: Licensing

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**Guest post written by Matt Bacon, originally featured on IndependentMusicPromotions.com.

 

"I’ve spent a lot of time in the last couple of weeks learning about music licensing for a friend I’m helping on a project...It’s been a pretty interesting experience for a variety of reasons – but mostly because before the beginning of the month I didn’t really know what music licensing was. Since then I have learned quite a bit, spent countless hours pouring over articles and have gotten to explore what it means to engage in this potentially highly lucrative segment of the music industry."

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Posted: Mar 14, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Gaetano, a NYC based Singer, Songwriter, Producer, and Guitarist, as featured in his blog and on Digital Music News.

 

"At this point, we all know someone trying to “make it” in the music business. Thanks to the world of technology we live in, the industry has easily become over-saturated with thousands, if not millions, of aspiring singers, producers, songwriters, musicians, DJs, etc. Anyone with a smartphone and a Wi-Fi connection can simply fill out their social media bio and give themselves whatever title they wish to be called. With too much supply and not enough demand, it’s no wonder that so many are getting discouraged while in pursuit of their dreams..."

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Posted: Mar 7, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest Post by Bret Alexander of The Badlees and Saturation Acres.

 

"Pretty much for all of the 1990s, I played with one band. One band. That was it...Ours was a pretty typical scenario for a band around that time. The object of worship was the CD. Or even a few cassettes and vinyl. Those little circles of information were your lifeblood….. and your salvation...Cut to 2016. Things have definitely changed. Quite a bit. CDs barely sell on an independent level. Vinyl has some appeal, but I would think on the ground floor it would be a break even proposition at best. There are download sales, but as we all know if you want the music for free it ain’t too hard to find...Musicians no longer worship that little round piece of plastic. Their new object of worship is square. And much bigger. It’s called a calendar."

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Posted: Feb 29, 2016

Category: Show Booking

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**Guest Post written by Dave Cool of Bandzoogle.com.

 

"I spent three years as program director for two venues here in my home city of Montreal, overseeing 500 shows during that time. Here are 5 ways that you can impress venue bookers and give yourself the best chance to get more gigs..."

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Posted: Feb 22, 2016

Category: Selling Music

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**Guest post written by Corey Koehler, an indie singer-songwriter from Minnesota, as featured in his blog MusicGoat.com.

 

"For the past 30-40 years musicians have been releasing albums. Many times the time between those albums was a year or more. Many bands and musicians these days still model their own release schedules after this same one. This is a mistake. These days you should be learning how to release a single and doing it often. Here's why..."

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Posted: Feb 16, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Sylvana Joyce, NYC based indie artist, originally featured in her blog Scenipedia.

 

"Let's face it. I'm not Lady GooGoo and I'm not rolling in the deep, deep cavern of Scrooge McDucklike's money vault. But I am a small indie band who has built an intimate fan base from the ground up - enough of a fanbase that I was able to raise $2000 in less than 24 hours to fund my debut album. So let's say I have something to say on the subject of oh, being a successful indie band...here are the 10 things I think are important to making sure you're on the right track as a band and to make sure you have a long and prosperous career where you continue to grow and shoot for greatness..."

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Posted: Feb 8, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Gaetano, a NYC based Singer, Songwriter, Producer, and Guitarist, as featured in his blog and on Digital Music News.

 

"If you’re one of the millions (yes millions) of independent artists/producers out there trying to make something of yourself, you’re going to love what I’m about to tell you. If you’re one of the shady opportunists still trying to “hustle” your way into a quick buck, you’re going to hate me. I must be totally unapologetic about this. I don’t care either."

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Posted: Feb 1, 2016

Category: Touring

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**Guest post written by Joshua Powell, singer-songwriter, DIY musician, and frontman for Joshua Powell and the Great Train Robbery, as featured in his blog Fearsome Folk.

 

"I’ve been on and off the road with my band for over three years now, and it’s been entirely DIY, grassroots, self-booked. We’ve learned a lot along the way, but I’ve discovered one secret to touring as the single most valuable principle to make sure your tours are worth the trouble. Never play a show without booking 1-3 other bands as local support..."

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Posted: Jan 25, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest Post written by Jay Rutherford of Los Colognes.

 

"Like millions of other morons out there, I'm attempting to make music both the primary joy and primary financial security in my life. My band Los Colognes has achieved marginal success, just enough to get mom and dad off our backs, so to speak. Without further adieu, here’s me convincing myself I have achieved some wisdom, when in reality I have no psychological control over any of it yet. Pretend this is the Old Ben Kenobi version of me, from somewhere in the future..."

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Posted: Jan 18, 2016

Category: Online Presence

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**Guest Post written by Melanie Kealey of Bandzoogle.com.

 

"So you're looking to continue to improve the SEO for your band's website...One of the most important things you can do to help with your website’s SEO is link building...the more high-quality websites that link to yours, the higher your website will place in search engine results."

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Posted: Jan 11, 2016

Category: Technology

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**Guest post written by Blake Morgan, artist, musician, record producer, and founder and owner of ECR Music Group. Originally featured in The Huffington Post.

 

"I'm an American songwriter and singer. I first became a blip on the music advocacy radar when an email exchange between myself and the founder of Pandora, Tim Westergren, was made public in The Huffington Post. What lay at the heart of that exchange was that I'd gotten tired of billion-dollar tech companies lecturing musicians like myself about how hard those companies are working to "find ways to incentivize creators." Musicians know exactly how they could incentivize creators: they could pay us fairly."

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Posted: Jan 4, 2016

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by David J. Hahn, originally featured on MusicianWages.com.

 

"You get a call. It’s a friend of yours, they are throwing a big party, and they want you to play for the guests...You get another call. It’s a local non-profit. They are throwing a fundraiser at a fancy venue and they want you to provide entertainment for a couple of hours...A third call comes in. It’s a local venue. They are having an event next month and 5 bands are playing a 30 minute set each. They’d like to invite you to perform...So what do you do? Do you take these gigs? You know that you have to make a living, but you know you also have to get out there and play for people."

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Posted: Dec 21, 2015

Category: The Musician Business

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

 

"I’ve been blessed with working with independent artists from all over the world for the past couple of years...I’ve also found myself, from time to time, serving as a pseudo-therapist for artists struggling emotionally when somebody close to them suggests their love for music is nothing more than a hobby and that the artist should consider a more traditional type of employment. You know. A “real job.”"

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