Music Articles & News
Songwriter Confessions #4
Once a recording studio reaches a certain size, it has to have a studio cat. That seems to be Nature's unwritten law and you resist it at your peril. It happens as you're unwrapping the new Lexicon reverb unit that will take you up to the next level of sound. Before the carton has been cleared away, there is a scratching at the studio door. And you really don't have any say about the applicant. Apparently there is some mystical studio cat network, and when that unheard alarm goes off, Ma Nature ...
If You're Going To Go Broke, At Least Don't Be Tired Doing It
You're calling club to book your band and the guy on the other end says, "I can get the same thing from a band down the street for half the price." What now? Most musicians start cutting prices. The truth is though, that if you're not making money on the gig (or getting some other form of payment), it's not worth playing. And you're probably better off not doing ANYTHING. Nothing will happen for your music career, but at least you won't be tired.
In The Music Business...
Living in Nashville, I meet a lot of people who are "in the music business." But 99% of them are not really in the music business. It's not because they're not making a living at it...lots of people have other ways of paying the bills. In fact, like my friend who owns a gas station yet doesn't make his living selling gas, many "full-time musicians" are doing the same thing with t-shirts, licensing deals, and other income streams rather than music. Forget those ...
Alternative Income Stream For Musicians (And Others)
What happens when you put out music that distribution companies won't touch, radio won't play, and only a small percentage of the population is interested in? The movie industry has the same problems. The major distributors won't touch a lot of movies because they don't think there's enough money in it for them. Remember, the mainstream movie business literally runs as much on popcorn-sales as ticket-sales. Big, violent action movies bring in audiences that eat $7 boxes of ...
Overnight = 7-10 Years
We, the music industry, make things look really easy. That's our job. We want the public to think that somebody was just pluked out of their job at the local fried chicken place when a record executive heard her singing and two weeks later, she's on MTV, getting ready to headline an arena tour, and making millions of dollars with record sales and endorsements. This isn't true though. Being successful in the music business takes a lot of work. Had a ...
Audio On The Web - How To Do It With Ease
It always amazes me at how many bands and musicians don't have audio on their web sites. Doing so increases sales of your album and makes it easier to get people to come out to gigs, so why wouldn't you? There are usually two reasons: 1. People are scared to giveaway their music because "people don't buy what they get for free." This isn't true and the best example I can think of to illustrate the point is bottled water. People can ...
The Third Ear
Spent about half my day in the production studio working on Music Business Radio stuff. It was me, the producer, a station executive, and an intern...all crammed into a small room. Was working on a few edits today. I talk and the producer works the board... So why have two extra people in where space (and ventilation) are at a premium? Kathode Ray Music is ten years old this month and we didn't get here because I think I know everything. Yes, ...
Thoughts On Independence For Independent Musicians
Today is Independence Day in the United States, so I thought it would be a good chance to write a few things on the subject of being independent. There is obviously an element of independence that is related to money. If you're not able to financially exist the way you want to without the help of somebody else, you don't have it. But I'm writing today about something more than that. People who are independent think differently from those who are not. People who ...
Family (Music) Business
If you're a musician or songwriter, your manager and your attorney should always be two different people, your agent and your manager should always be two different people, and you, your manager, and your agent should all have different attorneys, all of whom should work at different law firms. But that's not all... Your manager shouldn't be in your immediate family. In other words, don't get a parent or spouse to do the job of a professional. Management is a ...
Music Business Lessons From The Village People
Just saw Can't Stop the Music, which is the Village People's big screen debut... What a great movie. Lots of inside jokes, a good "time capsule" of disco culture, and a great lesson on the music business. The movie wasn't entirely true, but the Village People has been a business from Day One and there is plenty to learn from these guys. For one, they started with a market and then put the band together. The first album, a self-titled EP, was ...
Music Of The 70's
Reliving The Music Of The Seventies We all associate songs and music with events in our life. Many songs hold special memories for us. We fondly remember the songs that were playing when we went to our first dance, the songs the school band attempted to play during half time at the high school football games, the songs that we heard on our first date, or the songs we heard on the radio while driving our first car. The music of the 1970’s is probably the most ...
Wal-mart Music Downloads, Napster And Other Legal Digital Music Download Sites
Digital Music Download. Ever since file-sharing programs entered the hard drives of our computers, people have wanted the best place for a digital music download. Music companies have had to figure out what to do about illegal music downloads and the music download web site. The legal battle continues but they have fought back by offering the consumer a legal alternative, the music download site to get a digital music download. These sites let you get what music you want, from who you want, ...
Trusting A Music Site To Download And Burn Free Music
File-sharing programs are the most controversial way to download and burn free music on the Internet, but file sharing has never been more popular. Programs like KaZaA, Limewire, Ares, Shareaza, WinMX, iMesh seem to be the most popular for gathering totally free music to download. Lawsuits by the music industry have slowed some of the illegal sharing of pirated music, but there are new file-sharing programs that use methods to allow users to be anonymous.
Wal-mart Music Downloads
Wal-Mart music downloads site is one of the easiest services available. Every song on the Wal-mart music downloads site has the same “Always Low Price” of .88 cents.
Emusic...50 Free Music Downloads
If you are looking for free music downloads eMusic lets you download free music online. This digital music download service has a variety of options for a music download site. One of them is 50 free music downloads , a great incentive to test drive this program.eMusic is a website for sampling and purchasing music in the MP3 format, which has become the standard in digital music download distribution. With their direct relationship with leading artists and exclusive licensing agreements with ...
Are Free Music Download Programs
Before you use one of those free music download programs you may want to compare them with the legal file-sharing programs to help you make a decision.
Live Music!
"Live music." That common saying may contain some truth, but these days the word "live" is having less and less to do with music. For many people, a dj is their form of live music. Despite what dj's would like to have you believe, musicians make excellent entertainment.
Rhapsody Music Downloads Part II A pleasant experience?
Welcome back to Part II of Rhapsody Music Downloads! I hope you took an opportunity to enjoy the first week of your two-week trial. Must have been a joy to stream and download online music by the truckloads. Now...you did take the liberty to utilize the free trial, didn't you??
How to Remove DRM from WMA Is It Legal and Worth the Effort?
Technically, it's illegal to remove DRM from WMA protected music. Digital Rights Management (DRM) is part of the music industry's effort to curb piracy. There are legitimate reasons for removing it, but first understand DRM can not be removed from file sharing network downloads. Most tracks can be legally copied 3 to 5 times, and this has been exceeded long before they appear on a peer-to-peer network. You must have either purchased the music or have unrestricted free music ...
Right Hand Guitar Playing Tip
This lesson can open for you a secret of high-speed guitar playing. If take the given technique for 2-3 weeks you'll feel progress in high-speed playing of complex passages.
How Many Chords Are There, Anyway?
Since chords (the main component of harmony) are one of the three most vital elements of music – the others being melody and rhythm – it would be useful to know how many chords there are. And it doesn’t matter whether you play piano or guitar or some other instrument – chords are chords.
Do you really need college to learn to play music?
Music courses are a great way to learn about virtually any area of music; history, theory, and musical instrument instruction -- you name it and somewhere music courses specialize in it. Though generally found through colleges, universities or high school programs, music courses are also offered via one-on-one instruction with a private teacher or community-based workshops. Some churches even offer music courses as a complement to their choirs; the music courses may be offered to the general ...
An Introduction to CD Mastering
While many people think that the mixing of the separate audio tracks is the final step, a recording must be mastered well in order to sound good. CD mastering is the last chance for creative input when creating a compact disc. After a disc is mastered, it can be printed, reproduced, and sold.
3 Quick & Easy Steps To Playing Music by Ear
Playing by ear is the ability to play a piece of music (or, eventually, learn an instrument) by simply listening to it repeatedly. The majority of self-taught musicians began their education this way; they picked up their instrument and began playing an easy melody from a well-known song, slowly picking out the notes as they went along. And even after these musicians master their instruments or a particular song, playing by ear still plays a large role. Many pop and rock bands don't play ...
The Art of Music
Music is the art of arranging sounds in periodic time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre.
How To Improve Your Employment Prospects As A Musician.
How do you expand your opportunities to work in the music business? How do you improve your employment prospects? The key to doing that is developing your versatility. There are many ways of expanding what you already know how to do as a musician. It's all about using the skills that you already possess and channeling them towards related fields.
Bono: From Music To Fashion To Helping The Poor
U2s lead singer Bono isn’t content with being part of a top band. Fashion and Music – well I’m sure they can mix! Bono was born Paul David Hewson in 1960 in Dublin Ireland. His stage name is Bono.
3 Secrets To Understanding What Music Is Made Of
It’s no secret that virtually everyone loves music in some form or other. After all, it is the universal language, and we all participate in it to some degree from the cradle to the grave. It starts with our Mothers’ lullaby, ends with our funeral song, with a zillion other stops along the way.
Rhapsody Music Downloads Part Ii - A Pleasant Experience?
Welcome back to Part II of Rhapsody Music Downloads! I hope you took an opportunity to enjoy the first week of your two-week trial. Must have been a joy to stream and download online music by the truckloads. Now...you did take the liberty to utilize the free trial, didn't you??
How to Become a Filthy Rich Record Label Mogul
Let me guess, you love music and would do anything to be able to enter into the fabulous life of the music business? Better yet, you would love to become the next record mogul like P.Diddy or Clive Davis.