The blog at Venture Harbour posted advice from 30 people in the music industry for aspiring entrepreneurs. Of course, most everything included translates to building a music career and is definitely worth a read. Echoes’ Andre Calilhanna is among those polled, and his insights are to "continually re-prioritize." Read more.
Is there a next step that you really need to take with your music career, but you keep procrastinating and putting your dream on hold because things are not perfect yet? From one music artist to another, I totally relate to wanting your work to be perfect before you get it out there. But really, procrastination is an excuse for not taking control of your music career. Don’t let this happen to you. Read more.
There are a lot of posts out there that have great tips for becoming a more successful musician by using things like social media, sales techniques and email marketing strategies. I wanted to take a bit of a different approach and look at getting better results by improving the foundation that those things are built on…YOU! By changing some of your unconscious habits you can literally multiply your results in just a matter of months. Read more…
It’s like a job interview, but so much more. A band member isn’t just doing a job – they are joining your creative family. You want to be sure of their technical ability, and you also want to be sure they will blend with the rest of the band. Success for your group depends on a synergistic blend of personalities. Here are ten questions you can ask a potential band member to ensure they will be exactly what you need to take your band to the next level. Read more…
Do you ever feel like you’re just going through the motions? Like your shows are not quite as fun for you as they used to be? Has your audience started to shrink and lose interest? Then now might be a good time to take a step back and reflect on where you are and what you can do to change.
If your audience has started to dwindle then chances are you’re feeling anxious, depressed, sad, etc. Not exactly the right frame of mind to put off an attractive energy that’s going to make people want to forget about whatever else is going on, get in their cars and pay to come see you play. Read more…
What does copyright law say about your rights when an original idea is formed between two or more people? Here’s how some co-writers divide percentage shares in a song. Read the post.
Many of us use the term ‘independent artist’ or ‘recording artist’ to describe ourselves, but are we really artists, or are we just people who play music?
To answer that question we need to decide what it means to be an artist. Many of us grew up in an environment where we were only taught what art means at a superficial level. Maybe our first definition of an artist was someone who was really good at making realistic paintings or drawings or maybe someone who made weird abstract creations that were supposedly only understood by special people. Read more…
Being an independent artist doesn’t mean you need to take the word ‘Independent’ too literally. Chances are, you’re missing big opportunities to take your career to new levels if you’re not actively looking for chances to join forces with other artists and industry pros. A piece of something big is worth a lot more than all of little or nothing. If you feel like you’re bashing your head against the wall trying to get people to your shows or to buy your music on your own then changing your approach can make all the difference in the world. Read more…
I’ve never been one for top 5 or top 10 lists, but I have seen these mistakes so many times in the past year, I figured they needed to be documented. #1 Waiting. You may want to reconsider. With replication costs low and mailings that can be made for little more than the cost of a stamp, putting your message on disc may be the smartest way to tell your company’s story and interest new and existing customers in your latest offer. Read more…
This excerpt from Q on Producing, by Quincy Jones with Bill Gibson, touches on Quincy’s ideas of what the core skills of a record producer are. Read the post.
About 8 years ago I used to smoke two packs of Marlboro Red cigarettes a day. It was hard for me to imagine what it would really take to quit. I tried to kick the habit cold turkey a few times and it just made me want to crawl out of my skin. Then I heard about the patch and decided to give it a try.
I put it on one morning and made it until about 10PM before I ripped it off and started smoking. The fact that I don’t smoke today has a lot to do with how I chose to look at what happened that day. Read more…
Join us at our Los Angeles seminar where we will share years of knowledge about what it takes to be successful as a musician in today’s world, including:
• What Makes an Artist or Band Instantly Signable
• How Good Your Demos Really Have to Be
• How to Dramatically Increase Your CD Sales
• Radio Airplay: Myth Or Reality for Independent Artists?
• How to Get Distribution and Not Get Burned
• And Much, Much More! Read more…
Our friends over at We All Make Music have started a new series called “The Couch Sessions,” in which Rock Shrink Lisa Thaler, LCSW, tackles the music career-related anxieties and fears of indie musicians. Check out the first two installments and then submit your own question/concern for some free professional advice and insight! Read more…
“How do I find a music manager? How do I find a booking agent? I just need to find someone to get my music to the next level.” I’ve heard these questions and statements before, and fifteen or so years ago I sounded exactly like this. As it turns out I wound up on the industry side of the fence and traded in the crowded smelly van for a record company desk job but I do have some answers for you. Read more.
Last week, Disc Makers CEO, Tony van Veen, spoke at the New Music Seminar in New York City about how artists, no matter where they are at in their career, can make more money. Digital Music News, the premier news and information authority for the music industry and technology executives, put together their top five takeaways from the three-day seminar, which we thought was worth sharing: Read more…