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: Mar 5, 2018

Category: Show Booking

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**Guest post written by Jordan Gates, of Megaphone Agency.

"In the early days, a lot of bands book their own shows until it becomes necessary to seek out an agent or when an agent finds them. For serious artists, hiring a booking agent can be a big step in launching their music career to the next level. If you are wondering when you should get a booking agent, here are some things to consider..."

Posted: Feb 12, 2018

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Roz Bruce of Zing Instruments.

"So, you've been rehearsing with your band mates for several weeks now, you have a set together and are finally feeling ready to start gigging. But what can you do to make sure everything runs smoothly? As someone with 10 years of gigging experience, I would like to share some first gig: dos and don'ts with you, to ensure that your first gig is memorable for the right reasons!..."

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..."

Posted: Dec 11, 2017

Category: Show Booking

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**Guest post written by Adam Young, CEO and founder of Event Tickets Center, a marketplace for tickets to sports, concert and Broadway events.

"Playing a concert takes a ton of preparation, especially when it’s your band’s first time on stage...But when it’s finally time to make your debut, it’s important plan for the venue—and it’s hard to know what to expect until you start going to performances at a wide range of bars, clubs and concert halls in any town. When you do, here are a few things to keep an eye out for..."

Posted: Nov 27, 2017

Category: Fans

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**Guest post written by Amanda Kenyon founder of Blue Crane Music, a New England based artist management, booking, and consulting service dedicated to helping musicians grow their careers.

"Do you ever wonder how other people discover new music? YOUR music? We did...So we did what any modern day Joe would do to answer such a question: ask friends on social media. And here you have it, the unofficial survey results."

Posted: Nov 20, 2017

Category: Touring

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**Guest post written by Andrew Tufano, Nashville based Acoustic Pop Singer-Songwriter.

"When you’re strapped for cash on the road, it can be a relief to have a bandmate in the passenger seat, lifting your spirits and holding things together. At the same time, splitting $42 in tips and then going out to drink every night can make turning a profit feel like a luxury you can’t afford. Here are some of the pros and cons to touring alone versus with your friends."

Posted: Aug 28, 2017

Category: Live Performance

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

"One of the best things to do in order to improve your live performance is to record your shows. You can record audio only, or record video. Either way, make it a point to review your recordings and critique yourself. Don't be too critical, but be honest with yourself. This is a great way to find what works, and what doesn't work."

Posted: Dec 12, 2016

Category: Show Booking

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**Guest post written by Louise Dodgson, Editor at The Unsigned Guide.

"Working with a booking agent is a topic we’re often asked about by artists and bands who wonder whether they should still undertake all gig bookings themselves or acquire the services of an agent who can bag those lusted-after festival slots and tour supports. Do I need an agent? At what stage should we approach one? Will a booking agency even work with an unsigned or emerging band? If you’ve ever wondered about any of the above, this blog is for you!"

Posted: Dec 5, 2016

Category: Marketing

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

"What I am going to talk about in this article is rooted so deeply in common sense yet so few bands actually do it. Your live show will ALWAYS be your most powerful tool when it comes to marketing your music, your merchandise, your music brand, and getting people to sign up for your e-mail or text lists..."

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:"

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?"

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..."

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..."

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..."

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."

Posted: Nov 9, 2015

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Joy Ike, creator of Grassrootsy.com and Independent Musician, as featured on Grassrootsy.com.

"For a while there, house concerts were a trendy idea for independent artists that caught on pretty quickly...But now house concerts are actually becoming the primary means for many artists to make their living...Here are 5 ways that I’ve used to generate solid house concert leads."

Posted: Sep 28, 2015

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by Brad Barnett, professional musician and founder of Indie 411.

Most musicians have a general idea of how to promote their upcoming shows...With so many musicians actively promoting their gigs, it comes as a surprise to me that most of them stop there. What I mean by that is they work hard to try and get people out to their event, then don’t do anything to promote or sell their brand once it’s show time...If the goal is to get as many people to know about you as possible, then there are a few things you should be doing at gigs to maximize your reach.

Posted: Jun 15, 2015

Category: Live Performance

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

"In the third of a three-part video series, Rocket to the Stars' Wade Sutton continues examining how artists can improve their speaking skills when on stage performing at live shows!" Sentence structure is key...

Posted: Jun 8, 2015

Category: Live Performance

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

"In the second of a three-part video series, Rocket to the Stars' Wade Sutton continues examining how artists can improve their speaking skills when on stage performing at live shows!"

Posted: Jun 1, 2015

Category: Live Performance

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

"Finding a comfort zone while speaking to audiences between songs is something that has been problematic for MANY singers...So I spent a large portion of time over the past year ­and ­a ­half exploring this very issue and looking for ways artists can improve at this extremely important, yet often neglected, skill..."

Posted: Apr 20, 2015

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Deuce Ellis, Buffalo-born and Brooklyn-raised rap renegade. Originally posted by Cyber PR.

"Here’s My Guest Blog After Attending the #YourMusic Seminar; maybe this whole thing is easier than you think…First things first, let’s demolish whatever train of thought you may have. Demolish it. Let’s destroy and rebuild..."

Posted: Mar 23, 2015

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Paula Tolly, one half of the Boca Raton based Americana duo 33 Years.

"My band recently did a gig where, just after the first song, a note was delivered onto the stage...“Turn it down a few notches, please.” Really? It’s Saturday night and this is only the FIRST song. (sigh) So I ask you, ‘what would you do?’ At first, this seems like a pretty easy question, right. But think - there you are in your first set and how do you really want to deal with this negative feedback?"

Posted: Jan 20, 2015

Category: Touring

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**Guest post written by Shannon Curtis, an independent songwriter, singer, performer, recording artist, and author, as featured on Pyragraph.

"Then we discovered this awesome phenomenon of house concerts: they’re viral..."

Posted: Aug 11, 2014

Category: Live Performance

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

"When you take into consideration how many singers and musicians complain about the current state of artist-venue relationships, you would think most performers would jump at the opportunity to explore alternative methods of putting on shows and generating income...I'm here to tell you that there IS an alternative live show model, house shows, that many artists ARE having a great deal of success with...So I reached out to somebody for answers..."