Make the Most of a Music Internship

Music internship Most anyone can offer a music internship, or participate in one. If you are a composer, a singer-songwriter, a member of a band, etc., and have a bunch of stuff that you keep putting off: like making posters, booking a tour, or reaching out to licensing companies, you have a lot to gain from having an intern. On the flip side, no matter how old you are or what your experience level, if you’re looking to dive deeper into the music biz, you could benefit from being an intern. Read more.

Who Influences Your Music Most?

Musical inspirationYou know that question people ask musicians “who influences you most”? Well, I’ve never been able to answer it. For a while I thought I’d just list what music I grew up listening to, as that must have made an impact on my writing style. Later, I started listing musicians whose music I currently am into because I must be trying to be more like them if I am a fan, right? Read more.

How to get your music video viewed 1,000 times in one day

CherylsVideoMusic promotion isn’t just about amazing content, it’s about how you share it. Let’s assume you have high quality content, like a music video posted on YouTube that you just spent weeks pouring your heart and soul into, and it hasn’t quite gone viral yet. How can you boost views, downloads, and likes without bugging the heck out of your fans or spending a gazillion dollars on ads? Read more.

Saving Money While Touring

TourMoneyTraveling to play music gigs is expensive. Being on the road also takes a lot of planning, time, energy, and day-of alertness for travel plans to be flawlessly executed. Whether touring around your favorite regions of the globe or traveling to a far off city for a music conference, there are a few tricks and tips that can help make your travels go smoothly, and keep your bank account afloat at the same time. Read more.

Writing Jingles – The Process Explained

Composer Today, a typical jingle is only part of advertising music content. You will also hear underscores, or music created specifically for the video. You may also recognize a favorite song, or discover a new band to like in the thirty seconds that an iPod ad plays, or hear a cool rendition of a favorite old tune. As long as it’s memorable, musical, and arcs the same way the story of the ad arcs, you’ve got yourself some ad music. In this article, I am going to focus on the process of creating new music (either an underscore or a jingle) for an ad. Read more.

My Anti-Resolution to Ditch the One Big Goal

My Anti-Resolution to Ditch the One Big GoalNew Year’s Resolutions — they’re created with the best intentions. To do better, live better, be better. They hang over our heads, guilt us into temporary action, and for 92% of Americans, they’re a distant memory by Valentine’s Day. These resolutions tend to be vague goals with no real measurable result, like "lose weight," "fall in love," or "be a better friend," and they can get in the way of the one thing that can bring us what we want: a commitment to a purpose. Read more.

Why you want a music video

Music videos never seemed like something I should pursue. I never understood how they could translate into sales or revenue, and I certainly didn’t know how to come up with an idea that wasn’t a literal translation of my lyrics – “all I have to say is I love you” only invokes an image of two people running at each other in slow-mo, arms open for an embrace… cheese city. Read more.

Thoughts on Writer’s Block From One Songwriter to Another

You may not think it’s possible to write on demand. You may or may not believe you have a muse that sits in the back of your room when you are feeling the creative flow, and is on a lunch break when you’re not. Trust me, I’ve gone through all the possibilities of why I often feel like a magnet drawn to my piano and writer’s pad, and why at other times, I’d rather crawl into bed, clean my bathroom for the third time, or do my taxes before sitting at that bench with a pencil in hand. What gives? Don’t I have any control of this? Read more.