Echoes - Insight for Independent Artists

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Should You Give Your Music Away?
The Great Debate.

No one’s arguing that the changes in the music industry haven’t tipped the scales in favor of the independents. Not only can you forge a path to success without the help of a label, you can choose from a variety of means to achieve it. But that leaves a number of questions on the table, including whether or not you ought to give your music away for free.

As an indie, CD and download sales can be a huge part of the equation in regard to your income. Read more…

Gigging and Touring as an Indie

by Andre Calilhanna February 16, 2010

Playing live gigs is one of the most traditional ways for musical artists to spread the word about themselves, entertaining fans and attracting new ones. And nothing beats gigging as a way to build a band’s musical chops.

Playing gigs also gives you a recurring reason to contact your fan base and promote your act, it’s a great vehicle to collect names for your email list, and it’s the best forum to sell products like CDs and t-shirts. Read more…

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Beyond Classical: Ann Marie Calhoun Stretches Boundaries

by Disc Makers February 16, 2010

Ann Marie Calhoun has been touring and sharing the stage with music legends Ian Anderson, Steve Vai, and Ringo Starr, as well as composing and recording material for the recently-released Sherlock Holmes’ movie. Soft spoken and thoughtful in person, she’s a different personality on stage with a fiery presence and a knack for sizzling violin solos. Read more…

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Reverse Piracy: Pirate Your Own Music

by Dexter Bryant Jr. February 15, 2010

reverse piracy Face it. Music sales are being bastardized by “pirated” free downloads and the free will of consumers. Sure, the legal digital music market is growing but it won’t pick up the slack for declining CD sales because singles rule the market.

Analyzing the purchasing habits of the music-buying public, it is quite clear that they are much more interested in spending money on singles than on albums. Read more…

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CD Baby Introduces the Classical Music Podcast

by Disc Makers February 11, 2010

Explore the best in independently-released Concert Hall music from the Baroque era through modern Avant Garde. CD Baby is home to thousands of fine Classical recordings and each month we’ll share some highlights from our collection in this podcast. We’d love for you to check it out on itunes and give it a good rating. The debut episode features the work of Brahms, as performed by cellist David Requiro with the highly respected pianist Elizabeth DeMio. The San Francisco Chronicle has said of David’s playing “Young lion tames old masters.” The duo’s elegant and charming sound is winning fans worldwide. You can check out their album at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/requirodemio. Read more…

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A Few More Thoughts On Jazz Tribute Shows

by Jason Parker February 9, 2010

There’s been some negative talk about jazz musicians playing tribute shows to other jazz musicians recently. Journalist Phil Freeman discussed the idea in this Twitter conversation, jazz blogger Peter Hum took a little shot in this post, and trombonist Vincent Gardner wrote the most extensive piece on the subject in an article for All About Jazz titled “Let’s Tribute Ourselves”. Read more…

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Creating a Great Composite Vocal Recording

by Keith Hatschek February 5, 2010

Creating a Great Composite Vocal Recording One of the themes through many of the articles on Echoes consider the practicalities of how to make the most of home recording, both the equipment needed and the techniques for getting the best results from your own efforts. This article will take a look at the techniques used to create composite lead vocal tracks, referred to as “comping” the lead vocal by studio engineers. Read more…

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Fast Path to Blu-ray: Bruce Nazarian Interview, Part II

by Lee Purcell February 4, 2010

Despite justly being known as a digital jack-of-all-trades (aka Mr. Digital Guy), Bruce Nazarian thoroughly enjoys his vinyl collection, including many records he personally produced early in his rich and varied career. Much of his work has involved pushing the outer boundaries of creativity in the digital media realm – from pioneering achievements in direct-to-disk recording to evangelizing the potential and use of DVD and Blu-ray discs. Read more…

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Grammys: That’s Not MY Music Industry

by Jason Parker February 2, 2010

Watching the Grammy Awards tonight I was struck with one thought: they might call that the Music Industry, but that has nothing to do with what I do as a working musician. I have been a professional musician for 15 years, and it’s been my sole job for 9 of those years. But whatever that was on the TV tonight, that’s not even close to my world.

And you know what? Rather than that thought being depressing it is actually quite liberating. Just when I started to get upset about the things I was seeing I realized that the only reason for it to upset me is if it affects me, which it doesn’t. Read more…

7 comments

Disc Makers Palooza X: The Highlights

by Disc Makers January 28, 2010

April Monet Disc Makers hosted its 10th Disc Makers Palooza musical extravaganza on January 15th, 2010 at the legendary World Café Live in Philadelphia. The show featured various musical configurations – each of which included at least one Disc Makers employee. This year’s show raised over $1,600 for the Red Cross’ Haiti relief efforts and Philabundance (a Philadelphia non-profit that provides food for the homeless and needy). Total donations from all 10 Disc Makers Paloozas come to more than $10,000! See photos…

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Free Music = Free Advertising = Smart Business

by Dexter Bryant Jr. January 26, 2010

Free music is free advertising. You, as the music creator and/or promoter, need not pay a single cent to get your music into the ears of consumers. This is assuming, of course, that you’re aware of how to distribute and market your music online with social media and web 2.0 tools and you believe in the power of the mailing list. Read more…

7 comments

The Digital Guy: Bruce Nazarian Delivers His State of the Industry Address

by Lee Purcell January 25, 2010

Despite justly being known as a digital jack-of-all-trades (aka Mr. Digital Guy), Bruce Nazarian thoroughly enjoys his vinyl collection, including many records he personally produced early in his rich and varied career. Much of his work has involved pushing the outer boundaries of creativity in the digital media realm – from pioneering achievements in direct-to-disk recording to evangelizing the potential and use of DVD and Blu-ray discs. Read more…

3 comments

Behind the Glass with Joe Chiccarelli

by Howard Massey January 22, 2010

As the producer of classics from Frank Zappa, The White Stripes, and Kurt Elling – Joe Chiccarelli draws inspiration from a variety of sources.

Unlike many producers whose sonic stamp is immediately recognizable (a Roy Thomas Baker or a JohnShanks, for example), you’d be hard-pressed to identify a Joe Chiccarelli “sound.” It’s hard to believe that the same individual who produced the rough-and-ready White Stripes’ Icky Thump was also responsible for the ephemeral, moody ambience of the Shins’ Wincing the Night Away or the smooth, slick jazz tones of Kurt Elling’s Night Moves. Read more…

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10 Marketing Basics for Musicians

by Scott James January 20, 2010

With the barrage of new websites and blogs targeting independent artists, it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to marketing your music. Information and ideas are everywhere and unless you’ve got a strong marketing foundation it can feel like trying to put together a giant puzzle without being able to look at the box. With that in mind, I’ve put together a list of 10 marketing basics to help expose the underlying structure that makes a music marketing campaign successful. Read more…

9 comments

How Do I Become a Studio Musician?

by Disc Makers January 15, 2010

On the journey to becoming a successful studio musician, a lot of roads lead to the same place. But the way it usually works is that someone hears and likes your playing and either hires you or refers you as a result. Here are some of the many ways it could happen. Read more…

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Echoes – Insight for Independent Artists