Posted: Dec 6, 2023

Category: Tips & Tricks

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**Guest post originally featured in the Symphonic Distribution Blog.

"Every year from about mid-December on, the music industry becomes a ghost town. People start going on vacation, taking time-off, major label artist releases slow down big time, and for indie artists, it’s no man’s land. And while that, coupled with the frigid temperatures, might be enough to have you hunkering down and never leaving the safety of your home for the next few months, this time of year is actually incredibly powerful for setting yourself up for success. You just have to know how to take advantage of it. Here’s how..."

Posted: Oct 18, 2023

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by David Andrew Wiebe for Bandzoogle.com.

"One of the reasons musicians end up choosing to become artists and joining bands in the first place is because they love live performance and simply can’t get enough of the adrenaline and dopamine cocktail. That is, of course, until they’ve been rejected by 10 venues in a row and grow tired of trying to grind it out. It’s usually at this point that the bassist chimes in with – “I know! We should find a booking agent!” But is now the right time for a booking agent? And, if it is, how do you get one?"

Posted: Sep 26, 2023

Category: Social Media

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**Guest post originally featured in the Symphonic Distribution Blog.

"Every week, something new is trending on TikTok. Hell, it seems like something new has taken the platform by storm almost every day. Hopping on the latest trends is a great way to get seen by more people and blow up the engagement on your present and past posts. Whether you’re on the hunt for audio, effect or hashtag trends, there are tons of ways to find what’s popping off on TikTok."

Posted: Jul 18, 2023

Category: Technology

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**Guest post written by Leonard Patterson of Artist Collective AKA @ac_leonardp.

"...the truth is, we have control of how and when A.I. impacts our jobs if we lean into it and don’t ignore it thinking “this too shall pass...” That’s why I wanted to gather a list of A.I. tools that you can use to enhance your instruction, courses, and lessons...My hope is that at least one of these tools inspires you or better yet helps you continue sharing your gifts and passions with others."

Posted: Jul 5, 2023

Category: Career Goals

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**Guest post written by Katherine Dvoskin, Co-Founder & Piano Teacher for K&M Music School, San Diego.

Posted: Jun 13, 2023

Category: Tips & Tricks

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

"We sit down with Martin Atkins - the godfather of the DIY band business, and inspiration for this whole video series - to talk about the current state of the music business, and how to make your band stand out!"

Posted: May 31, 2023

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Musician Indie Coalition, Business-Based Artist Development Experts who help DIY Musicians develop, launch and scale their music careers.

"If your goal was to become a doctor, a teacher or even an athlete, there are clear paths and guidelines for pursuing those professions that you would be required to follow....In contrast, if you’re pursuing a music career, this dynamic doesn’t exist...Even if your goal is to sign a record deal, you need to first build a successful business around your music, because labels are looking for proven acts that they can exploit and not acts they need to develop...This is why you should seek guidance from someone that can explain the overall process for building a music career, as well as someone that can help you overcome the challenges and obstacles you’ll encounter as you progress through your career. This brings us to our main topic: 5 Reasons You Should have a Mentor..."

Posted: May 16, 2023

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by One Submit, the ultimate music submission platform.

"Over the course of the years, I have learned that there are very important and valuable skills in particular that make a big difference and, from experience, have helped me continue to improve. Surprisingly, it's not time management skills, networking skills, or even improving your songwriting skills or talent that will launch your art career. So, what is the most important skill you'll need to become a successful artist?"

Posted: May 2, 2023

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by Michelle Kicherer (@MichelleKicherer), writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, Willamette Week and others, instructor, and artist advocate.

There are a lot of things that can prevent getting your music into journalists’ and labels’ ears. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for press, labels and the public to listen to your music. The best way to do that is to have everything really easily accessible in your email pitch, your website and your social media.

Posted: Apr 25, 2023

Category: Technology

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**Guest post by StarFarm, Streaming That Makes Sense for the Artist.

"If there’s one thing that has been a constant in the music industry, it’s change. From the initial format, the 78 RPM record, which was created in the early 1900’s to today’s streaming platforms, the music business has undergone radical changes that have presented both new opportunities as well as challenges. Today’s music environment is no different and if anything, the challenges have never been greater for musicians. To better understand, a brief history of music distribution may be helpful."

Posted: Apr 19, 2023

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Musician Indie Coalition, Business-Based Artist Development Experts who help DIY Musicians develop, launch and scale their music careers.

"When it comes to pursuing a music career, we’ve all been brought up to believe that becoming a professional artist or band is just one lucky encounter or chance meeting away – that if an artist focuses all their efforts and resources on creating great music, they just need to get it in front of the right industry professional and they’ll get signed to a record label. From there, a manager or label rep will take care of the business side of their career and the artist can go on doing what they know and love: writing and recording music, playing shows and interacting with fans. This is what we call ‘The Getting Discovered Mindset’ and it is all too pervasive among aspiring artists...I’m here to tell you this is NOT the correct way to approach your music career."

Posted: Mar 28, 2023

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Just Rijna, a guitar player based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In addition to teaching private students, he is also the founder of a guitar educational site, www.stringkick.com.

If you make original music, you know how difficult this question is to answer ["So what kind of music do you make?"]. You’re right in the middle of the project and familiar with all the influences, contrasting genres, and subtleties that have made their way into the music. How do you summarize all that in a couple of sentences? What’s more, as musicians we have trained ears that simply hear different things than the average listener. This makes it even more tricky to communicate what your music is about. So in this article, I’ll share a few tips that will help you nail down your pitch.

Posted: Mar 14, 2023

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post written by Musik and Film Promotions.

"You read articles that give "the truth"-- that say Indie Artist can't get airplay, Right? -- WRONG! It's a BIG world out there! Musik Radio Promotions has charted artists in the top 10 in many charts around the world...Indie Artists are playing on thousands of stations - some on TENS of thousands. How, you ask?"

Posted: Mar 7, 2023

Category: Technology

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**Guest post written by Ryan Donaldson of Boombox.io.

"The ability to collaborate remotely has given musicians and music producers the freedom to create, share, and develop ideas as never before. By connecting with other creatives from different parts of the world, it is now possible to bring together a unique blend of sounds and styles that can result in something truly special...In this article, we want to explore how remote music collaboration can be the key to growing your audience and achieving success as a musician."

Posted: Feb 21, 2023

Category: Technology

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**Guest post written by Jack Sutherland, 20 Year Web Development & Music Marketing Lead and Founder of Band Pioneer.

"The Internet has drastically transformed the music industry over the past 20 years. The tools we record it with, the strategies we use to promote it, and even the distribution of profit has all been revamped due to the Internet. And this transformation has opened up a lot of new opportunities for bands and solo artists to control their own destinies."

Posted: Feb 7, 2023

Category: Merch

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

"Merchandise sales make up a significant chunk of revenue for many artists. Concert goers are willing to spend money on all kinds of apparel and novelties as keepsakes to support their favorite artists. Simply put, if you’re a touring artist and you’re not selling merch, you should be! And if you are already selling merch, these tips and tricks will help you stay organized and sell more!"

Posted: Dec 7, 2022

Category: Tips & Tricks

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**Guest post originally featured in the Symphonic Distribution Blog.

"Every year, from about mid-December on, the music industry becomes a ghost town. People start going on vacation, taking time-off, major label artist releases slow down big time, and for indie artists, it’s no man’s land. And while that, coupled with the frigid temperatures, might be enough to have you want to hunker down and avoid leaving the safety of your home for the next few months, this time of year is actually incredibly powerful for setting yourself up for success. You just have to know how to take advantage of it. Here’s how..."

Posted: Nov 8, 2022

Category: Tips & Tricks

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**Guest post written by Don East of Killer Rig Music in the USA.

"No one ever plans on their instrument being damaged or stolen, but the unfortunate truth is that accidents happen all the time. That's why it's important to have insurance for your musical instruments. This way, you can rest easy knowing that they are protected in case of an emergency. In this article, we will discuss the importance of musical instrument insurance, and touch on some of the policies to consider."

Posted: Nov 1, 2022

Category: Technology

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

"One of your band’s best friends should be Google services. They offer lots of free resources that can be powerful for running your band’s business. Did I mention these are FREE? Plus, these resources can be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection. Let’s talk about how you can use these to help your band run more smoothly."

Posted: Sep 20, 2022

Category: Promotion

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**Guest post by One Submit, the ultimate music submission platform.

"Without a doubt, Spotify is the biggest music streaming website on the market. As for 2022, there are currently more than 356 million Spotify users, 182 million of them are paying subscribers. Out of all these users, there are loads of Spotify playlist curators...If you're an artist releasing music to Spotify and other streaming platforms via a music distribution service, the best way for you to get your music heard is by getting on Spotify playlists."

Posted: Aug 23, 2022

Category: Managers

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**Guest post written by Yona Marie, originally featured in her blog.

"Have you reached the point where you need someone else to manage many of your business aspects in order to you to be able to focus more on the creative side of things? Are you unsure of the process for getting a manager that fits your style, location, budget, and interests? You are not at all alone...Not everyone that can manage should manage you. Also, more importantly, not everyone that is looking for management is ready for it."

Posted: Aug 9, 2022

Category: Tips & Tricks

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**Guest post written by Logan Crowell, Founder & President of HOME, Helping Our Music Evolve.

"Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. Imagine that your job and your next promotion rides on finding that one in a million song or artist that is going to take the world by storm. IT MAKES SENSE THAT EXECUTIVES AND A&R REPS RELY MORE ON DATA ANALYTICS THAN THEY DO ON THEIR EARS. They can find artists and songs based on the reactions from a huge ‘test group’ like TikTok, which gives them more objective confidence in their decision making than their own ears can. STILL...DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE PITCH."

Posted: May 4, 2022

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Evan Price of Artist Collective.

"It's time to stop thinking you have to do this alone. Sometimes we all need a team, a coach, a mentor. It's just hard to admit it, and even then it can be hard to know what KIND of help to seek out. We get it. That's why this blog / video is for you. Here are 3 types of teams to consider if you're stuck and what to expect from each for your #musicbusiness."

Posted: Apr 4, 2022

Category: Tips & Tricks

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

"Well, the secret's out..."

Posted: Mar 28, 2022

Category: Tips & Tricks

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**Guest post by Sam Saideman, co-founder of artist management and consultant agency Innovo Management.

"2020 wreaked havoc on everyone’s lives, however in my opinion, artists (and freelance creatives as a whole) took the brunt of it. Reminiscing now, it’s clear which artists figured it out and which didn’t, but I want to utilize this piece to discuss ways I saw artists adapt in the hopes that it helps readers dig back into YouTube (and other resources) to learn a part of the industry they didn’t know existed! It’s worth noting, these are not the only ways to build supplemental income or adapt, but merely a few to start with."