Posted: Aug 2, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Nick Voorhees, founder of Melody Nest.
"It’s absurd to think that the “starving musician” stereotype proves to be true more often than not. Producing, composing, and engineering songs to a professional standard is inherently valuable because thought-provoking sound is necessary to the human experience, but many musicians find themselves broke regardless. It’s usually not due to a lack of talent or drive, but because musicians tend to be un-blissfully ignorant of the abundance of digital opportunities available within their electronic reaches. It doesn’t have to be this way." View Full Article
Posted: Jul 19, 2021
Category: Royalties
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**Guest post written by Cyber PR, originally featured on the Cyber PR Blog.
"Facebook recently released a new tool for indie artists to share their music in a much easier way. The social media giant announced their partnering with TuneCore and Distrokid early this summer. Cyber PR discusses what this means for indie artists and what the new partnership entails." View Full Article
Posted: Jun 28, 2021
Category: Merch
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**Guest post by Michael L. Moore, a vinyl record enthusiast with a passion for R&B and soul music. He is the owner and editor of Devoted to Vinyl and recently wrote about his newfound appreciation for synthwave music on vinyl.
"Every industry was deeply affected by this crisis [in 2020], and independent artists were no exception. Unable to sell tickets, go on tour, and earn revenue through merchandise sales, 2020 turned every creative into a “struggling artist.” But 2021 is a new year, and as things slowly open back up, there remains a fairly untapped revenue stream that indie artists should strongly consider jumping into: the world of vinyl records."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 7, 2021
Category: Merch
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**Guest post written by Desi Thorne for Bandzoogle.
"The beauty of digital merch is that you can offer it to fans anywhere in the world. Create some one-of-a-kind items for your online store."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 1, 2021
Category: Merch
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**Guest post written by Desi Thorne for Bandzoogle.
"To get started, think about the different kinds of band merch you might offer. Items that can be handmade may be difficult to reproduce, but can also be offered for a significantly higher price point. Offering a good balance of custom merch and scalable merch allows you to offer unique merch for all fans at different levels of dedication."
View Full ArticlePosted: Apr 26, 2021
Category: Touring
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**Guest post written by Patrick McGuire for Bandzoogle.
"...responsible budgeting is just as important here as it is in any other facet of life. If you’re just starting out booking shows on the road, or if you’ve had bad experiences that have cost you gobs of money in the past, here are four considerations to make so that you can safely avoid going broke on your next tour."
View Full ArticlePosted: Apr 6, 2021
Category: Royalties
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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog. Reprinted with permission.
"The new Mechanical Licensing Collective collects digital audio mechanical royalties from download and streaming services. Learn about the collective and see if you qualify to sign up so you can receive these new music royalties."
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 15, 2021
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!
"👴HUH? WHAT!? YOU'LL HAVE TO SPEAK UP JIMMY, I'M QUITE OLD."
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 8, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post from Justin Paul, music/career coach, A&R, DJ, and producer.
"The pandemic has hurt all artists, even larger acts had to cancel tours. Ultimately what we're talking about is that there has been loads of money lost for the artist, for the promoters, also for the sound engineers, light engineers, stage crew, food vendors, security, stage techs, drivers, venues, and merchandise sales in live music. Furthermore, the pandemic has created a lot of self-doubt and uncertainty for artists. Some artists are now thinking about shifting to a different career or creating side hustles. Multiple income streams are the way to go even during normal times."
View Full ArticlePosted: Feb 15, 2021
Category: Marketing
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**Guest post from #1 YouTube Consultant Derral Eves.
"I understand that a lot of musicians love to share their music in live settings, and why wouldn’t they? In the past year, unfortunately, sometimes the only option for exposure has been online. So...what better time to focus on your YouTube audience than now?...How do you build a bigger audience, foster brand loyalty, and grow revenue?"
View Full ArticlePosted: Feb 8, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog. Reprinted with permission.
"In part four of our DIY music business series, we cover the tasks required to get your music written, recorded, produced, and made ready for distribution...Whether you handle all these roles for your music, or just a few, there are resources that can help with each."
View Full ArticlePosted: Feb 1, 2021
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog. Reprinted with permission.
"While you hear a lot about independent musicians and how you can build a music career with a do-it-yourself mentality, doing it yourself doesn’t mean doing it alone. There isn’t a singular music industry. Instead, there are industries that serve every facet of the foundation upon which you build your career, and you have to master them all to succeed and grow as an artist...Today we’ll tackle another subset of roles to help grow your music career: those associated with merchandise and getting media exposure."
View Full ArticlePosted: Dec 21, 2020
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!
"Kids, if a stranger in full armor comes up offering you free band advice, you know what to say, right? JUST SAY NO!"
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 30, 2020
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog. Reprinted with permission.
"...there’s a lot to managing a music career if you intend to make money with your music. Fortunately, do-it-yourself doesn’t mean do-it-alone. Plugging in and outsourcing to music services that handle different aspects of the industry is one way to get the help or expertise you may be lacking. In this post, we’ll tackle roles and services associated with live music events."
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 23, 2020
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog. Reprinted with permission.
"...there are industries around music. These industries offer solutions and expertise that, not long ago, only a music label could handle. Today, you can leverage these services and resources to offload work to a team of experts that you normally would have to do yourself. In this multi-article series, we’re going to explain all the major music business roles, the work each role performs, why what they do is helpful for your career, and give you options to outsource the work or empower you to do-it-yourself."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 26, 2020
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.
"Have you wondered how some bands get such engaged fans? It is because their fans feel like part of that band’s world. That band did one thing that you might not be doing. They made their message about the fans and not the band. People follow and buy from people or brands they like. So let’s make sure your message is likable..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 12, 2020
Category: Technology
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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!
"Multistreaming is a great way to keep multiple audiences engaged or increase your reach on different platforms. Fang reveals the ARCANE SECRETS of setting up a multistream server on a $100 Raspberry Pi!"
View Full ArticlePosted: Aug 31, 2020
Category: Merch
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**Guest post written by Conor Farrell of Solid Merch, a comprehensive source for independent artists and record labels to stock their merch tables and web stores, and engage with their fans and communities.
"One of the factors contributing to vinyl’s renewal has been creators’ focus on unique releases that become collectible works of art on their own, distinct from the creativity contained in the grooves. While black vinyl has been the standard option for much of vinyl history, most pressing plants have expanded in recent years to include more color choices, and some even have the ability to combine multiple colors into eye-popping designs."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 22, 2020
Category: Recording
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**Guest post by Caleb J. Murphy, a songwriter-producer based in Austin, TX, and the founder of Musician With A Day Job, a blog to help part-time musicians succeed.
"Anyone can be their own producer. Don’t believe me? Read on and I’ll show you the whys and hows of producing music yourself..."
View Full ArticlePosted: May 26, 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 17 of Words of Fang. As a band, when do you need to "throw your weight around", and when do you need to, well, just stay quiet? Fang tells you the secrets of the trade!"
View Full ArticlePosted: Apr 27, 2020
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post by Casey Burke of Plaze, which helps musicians connect to the people & resources they need.
"Thankfully, musicians have found ways to maintain their livelihood in the absence of physical human contact. Enter: the Instagram livestream. While not strictly new, this format has taken off during all the unrest, and it’s likely to develop for at least as long as social distancing is the norm..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 2, 2020
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post written by James Redhead, one half of the duo behind the music podcast Anyone Can Play Guitar.
"We thought it worthwhile to give a balanced view [about support slots] based on what we’ve learned so far, to help all you bands and artists make as informed a decision as possible when you’re presented with such opportunities, or even before you start actively seeking them out. Let’s start with the negatives…"
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 27, 2020
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 fifth episode of Music Business After Dark, a series of informative vlogs by music industry veteran and educator Jeff Lysyczyn."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 21, 2020
Category: Show Booking
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**Guest post written by Tom Jordan, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.
"You can make [booking shows] easier on yourself by using some effective strategies that help me book 200 shows a year. I pay my bills exclusively with music, and I’ll tell you how...If you’re prepared up front, you’ll avoid a lot of frustration. Preparation is important and makes a HUGE difference in outcomes."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jan 13, 2020
Category: Touring
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**Guest post written by Vinnie Hines, Co-Owner of Artist Collective AKA @ac_vinnie.
"As a music consultant for Artist Collective, I constantly hear the complaints and excuses of artists all around the country about the industry and the idea of ‘touring’...so to start chipping away at the brainwash, let’s knock down these 5 HUGE LIES ABOUT TOURING IN 2020..."
View Full Article