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.
Jay Frank, a former VP at Country Music Television and Yahoo Music, recently launched his own record company, called DigSin. Based in Nashville, DigSin, which stands for digital single, has a very unique business model: It promotes free downloads for life and a “360 of the song” deal. Read more.
The market for vinyl has grown 35 percent per year for the last five years, Still, vinyl records represent a niche market in the music manufacturing world, and because of its dramatic strong growth, production capacity has lagged behind. Enter (or should we say re-enter) Disc Makers, the pioneers of vinyl record production for indie artists. Disc Makers again offers high-quality 12- and 7-inch vinyl records. Read More.
There’s a unique pleasure in seeing a vinyl record getting pressed. The glob of vinyl between the stampers, the press closing and squishing the vinyl out the sides, pulling out a beautiful shiny disc. Legendary artists like DJ Jazzy Jeff, Celia Cruz, Big Black, Salt-N-Pepa, and Wu Tang Clan came off our Hamilton presses. Read More.
If you’re an independent artist, you’re probably already functioning as your own label. Keep making music and take advantage of the resources you have. Research blogs and reach out to the ones that post music you like that also matches your sound. Follow up. Build and keep relationships with bookers, bloggers, whoever seems to care about what you’re doing. Try to build a network of support around your music. Read more.
Revised January 2019. Whether you’re contacting magazines, music blogs, radio shows, record labels, music distributors, or promotional services, you have to check their specific submission guidelines before getting in touch. This is the most fundamental rule of music promotion. Read the post.
If you thought the music industry was the only line of business where men are a majority, small opportunities are seized with desperate passion, money is hard to come by (unless you’re in the top 1%), and you live and breathe your passion… it ain’t. This Fall, I’m getting married to a mountain guide, and let me tell you, the mountain guiding industry is exactly the same. Read more.
Independent artists ARE more empowered today than ever before, but at what cost? There are followers and there are leaders, and when it comes to making a career out of music these days, being a leader has become a matter of survival. The tech boom, along with the slow strangulation/metamorphosis of many record labels into black holes for intellectual property, has left independent artists with a plethora of tools to produce, promote, and release better products on their own, while simultaneously releasing them into a mire of audience and market over-saturation. Read More.
Music Business Income Goes Up – Music Business Costs Go Down
So, in Independence for Bands: 101 Pt. 1, I discussed reasons why record deals from big music aren’t the way to go, and some of the negative connotations associated with the old record business behemoths. However, I truly believe that things have never been better for the independent musician. Read more…
“Want a record contract?” No, not really. The good old rock ‘n’ roll myth of the perfect record deal is dead. 9 out of 10 (major label) albums cost more to produce than they make. Of all acts signed in 2007, 70% didn’t have their album released.
The point at which an artist has many fans and is proving profitable is when labels show interest in signing an artist, and is exactly the point when an artist doesn’t need a record label. Read more…
Maximize your profits without compromising control.
More major artists than ever are giving up labels and going independent. From Radiohead to Trent Reznor, Tori Amos to Burning Spear, artists are leaving their labels in increasing numbers and realizing the substantial income potential when strong name recognition is leveraged with a direct-to-consumer sales approach. Read more…