There are tons of legitimate music services, but the scammers are out there, too. Use these four questions to evaluate any service you’re thinking of using and avoid getting suckered into something you’ll regret. Read the post.
We hear from consummate indie artist Jim Infantino to get some real-world advice about cultivating relationships, merch and physical product, and being creative with how you survive as a musician in the 21st century. Read the post.
Being blind hasn’t stopped Joey Stuckey from living a life of intention, joy, and music-making. He also helps design and sell his merch, which is a big part of his revenue stream as an indie artist. Read the post.
Your one song can create dozens of hidden revenue streams. Make more income from the fans and musicians who want access to your source tracks, stems, sounds, and more. Read the post.
Disc Makers’ CEO Tony van Veen shares his history with the company, the changes in the industry, and where things are heading. Read the post.
Thinking about making cassettes? Why not cassette USBs? You can release something really deluxe with music, video, photos, journals from the road… whatever you want.
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I Fight Dragons has been selling music on custom USB drives for years with notable success. Here are some tips from Brian Mazzaferri on how to make the most of the venture. Read the post.
While CDs and vinyl records are a major revenue source for indie musicians, custom USB drives are the latest merch table draw when it comes to physical product music sales. Read the post.
Not all music purchases are motivated by low price. Blue Coast Records’ development of Extended Sound Environment recording has created a new niche for the audiophile market through high-res audio streams and CDs. Read More.
“Happy Birthday To Me:” a complicated history – and future – for the world’s simplest song; vinyl sales continue to make headlines, with sales generating more revenue than free Spotify, YouTube, and VEVO combined; JVC and Taiyo Yuden to stop producing optical media – FalconMedia remains a reliable option. Read more.
The Future of Music Coalition just released the results of a research project they conducted where over 5,000 US-based musicians were surveyed about how they earned money. Here is the list with their findings. 1. Publisher advance. Bulk payment to songwriter/composer as part of a publishing deal. 2. Mechanical Royalties. Royalties generated through the licensed reproduction of recordings of your songs — either physical or digital. Read more.
Rob Walker wrote an article called, “The Song Decoders,” which was published in the New York Times Magazine this past Sunday. If you’re unfamiliar with Pandora it’s a great way to get up to speed; if you already use it, it’ll help you understand the way the recommendation engine actually functions. Pandora’s model is unique partly because of the musicologists behind the scenes – the people who rate each song on its melody, harmony, rhythm, form, and sound (and dozens of smaller categories within each of those aspects). Surprisingly, Pandora only has 700,000 songs in its library, significantly less than some of the other online streaming sites. Read more…