From the category archives:

Events & Reviews

Enter our $15,000 Independent Musician Sweepstakes

by Disc Makers May 31, 2013

Independent Musician Sweepstakes
The Independent Musician Sweepstakes includes a prize package worth over $15,000 in audio recording equipment, prizes, and more from Disc Makers, CD Baby, HostBaby, Antares, iZotope, Apogee, Gobbler, Aphex, Sonic Reality, MAGIX, Rain Computers, Audio-Technica, AVID, and Auralex. Read more.

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Desktop Wallpaper June 2013 Edition – Inspired by Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”

by Disc Makers May 28, 2013

June Wallpaper The talented designers in our Design Studio created twelve original works of art (one for each month) that feature some of our favorite songs. Each month we will post a new design, in six common desktop sizes, so you can use them as your desktop wallpaper. June’s wallpaper features “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley Click here to get yours!

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Improving Your Music Performance Starts With a Vision

by Tom Jackson May 28, 2013

music performance vision When I help an artist plan their show, I try to get a vision as I listen to their songs. I want to actually imagine the audience’s response to a song in my head. For one song, I’ll see the audience jumping up and down, for another, I envision them laughing and high-fiving because they’re having so much fun. And on yet another, I may see the audience with tears in their eyes and a hush come over the crowd as they are moved by what you’re singing. Read more.

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Top 10 CD Baby Albums: April 2013

by Disc Makers May 1, 2013

Two Steps From Hell Two Steps From Hell Two Steps From Hell Check out the latest and greatest indie music from CD Baby!
Here are the 10 best-selling albums in April: See all 10…

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Desktop Wallpaper May 2013 Edition – Inspired by Dolly Parton’s “Love Is like a Butterfly”

by Disc Makers April 29, 2013

May Wallpaper The talented designers in our Design Studio created twelve original works of art (one for each month) that feature some of our favorite songs. Each month we will post a new design, in six common desktop sizes, so you can use them as your desktop wallpaper. May’s wallpaper features “Love Is like a Butterfly” by Dolly Parton. Click here to get yours!

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Seven Strategies for Local Music Promotion

by Michael Gallant April 9, 2013

Seven Music Promotion StrategiesYou’ve spent countless hours writing, revising, and rehearsing, and now it’s time to take your material to the stage. While a tour bus, road crew, and booking manager are helpful when it comes to worldwide musical domination, gigging locally and building a live following, honing your chops, and refining your performances comes first. Here are music promotion strategies to help you get attention on a local level. Read more.

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Desktop Wallpaper April 2013 Edition – Inspired by The Beatle’s “Octopus’s Garden”

by Disc Makers April 1, 2013

April Wallpaper The talented designers in our Design Studio created twelve original works of art (one for each month) that feature some of our favorite songs. Each month we will post a new design, in six common desktop sizes, so you can use them as your desktop wallpaper. April’s wallpaper features “Octopus’s Garden” by The Beatles. Click here to get yours!

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Top 10 CD Baby Albums: March 2013

by Disc Makers April 1, 2013

Two Steps From Hell Two Steps From Hell Two Steps From Hell Check out the latest and greatest indie music from CD Baby!
Here are the 10 best-selling albums in March: See all 10…

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A DIY Songwriting Workshop Idea

by Doak Turner March 27, 2013

Songwriting Trio WorkshopAre you a songwriter who needs to co-write, but don’t take the time to do it on a regular basis? Is there a group of songwriters in your community facing the same songwriting dilemma? Songfinishers is a songwriting workshop idea that may be right for you and your community of writers to help build friendships, encourage one another, and co-write songs. Read more.

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Making Money: Merch, Music Gigs, and Your DIY Tour

by Dani Rabin March 26, 2013

Making Money at Music GigsThe most important thing to do when dealing with money is to make sure to write EVERYTHING down. A good way to keep tabs is to put all the info in Excel. We divide it into date, gas, food, lodging, salary (how much we pay our musicians), pay (from the venue), CD sales, t-shirts, tips, extra. At the end of each day we total it up. There are two main ways to make money as a band: 1) Guarantees/door/bar percentage, and 2) Selling merchandise. Read more.

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Make Your CD Release Gig A Special Night

by Ari Herstand March 20, 2013

CDRelease The night of your CD release show should be the biggest music performance of your career to date. The show will be packed, if not sold out. The reason more people typically come to album release concerts than your Wednesday night four-band bill show is because it’s an event – and should be hyped up as one. Having a packed club with people there actually to see YOU is something that won’t happen very often early on, so you have to make sure you go about this right.
Read more.

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Preparing For A Big Gig

by Michael Gallant March 18, 2013

Preparing For A Big GigThe CD release party for my new album was a big gig. Not only was it my first music performance at The Bitter End, it was also the first time I was introducing this collection of original music to friends, fans, and industry. I started preparing early, but it became obvious that simply running the tunes from the album wouldn’t be enough. After jamming through each song repeatedly, I wasn’t discovering anything new. Read more.

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Creating Magical Moments In Your Live Music Performance

by Keith Hatschek March 14, 2013

Live music performance coachingIn part two of Echoes’ interview with renowned live performance producer Tom Jackson, we learn a simple rule: sing fewer songs, create more moments. When asked to play a half hour set, most bands immediately think, "How many songs can we fit in?" Instead, if they thought "How many moments can we develop?" they’d be much further along. Read more.

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A Great Live Music Performance Requires More Than Being Rehearsed

by Keith Hatschek March 13, 2013

Live music performance coachingIn part one of our interview with live performance producer Tom Jackson, we learn that most artists never learn to see themselves from the audience perspective. Once a record is done, the focus shifts to hitting the road. When that artist hits the stage, adrenaline is pumping, the band sounds tight, everyone is locked in, so it’s natural to think, “Everything is good.” That’s not always the case. Read more.

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How to Get Gigs and Make a Living Playing Music

by Dani Rabin March 11, 2013

How to get gigs explainedMany people have asked us how we transformed our band into a sustainable business, touring 250 days a year. We’ve created a series of videos to help explain what we’ve learned over the past few years in the hopes that it will help you learn how to get gigs and get more good bands out on the road. We’ll explain how to book music gigs that are well attended and pay guarantees, promote your shows, make extra money, build a following, and describe who wants to take your money (and why you shouldn’t let them). Read more.

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