No matter how powerful social media is today, a website is still one of the most important tools that an artist can have. The reason is that you control everything about it, while a social site can (and does) change look and design at will without you having a say in the matter. Of course, […]
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TikTok is getting as commercialized as any other social platform as it matures. When that happens, most of the early adopter creators whose content helped build the platform’s popularity get squeezed out. TikTok may be bucking that trend though, as some new data indicates that you can still go viral on the service far easier […]
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On my latest podcast episode: Crowd Surf’s Cassie Petrey on convincing a major label about the value of social media, motivating artists to post, how artists may compromise their brand on TikTok, getting artists to establish their brand, and much more. A look at the new bills before Congress for artists to get royalties from […]
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You can post all you want on a social platform, but it’s easy to get fooled into thinking those posts are getting more traction than they really are because you’re using the wrong data as a measuring stick. Worse, you may be misinterpreting the data and assume something other than reality. If TikTok is your […]
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The RIAA just issued its mid-year report, and as almost always, there are surprises. Perhaps the biggest is that vinyl sales continue to grow at a rapid rate. On the other had, streaming is showing signs of plateauing, news that must send shivers down label execs everywhere. Physical Sales Let’s get to the good news […]
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On my latest podcast episode: Grammy-nominated engineer Justin Cortelyou talks about personal studio dynamics, working with legendary producer Bob Ezrin, his hybrid mixing technique, the importance of a sonic signature, and much more. A look at the massive Soundcloud layoffs and what it may mean for artists Unusual effects pedal packages (hint: one comes in […]
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We all watch YouTube videos, and some of us watch a lot more than we’re aware of. That said, nobody likes to watch the ads that come with the free tier. You can usually skip the ones at the front of the videos after 5 seconds, but not the mid-roll ones. That’s bad enough, but […]
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The dream of every musician is to make enough money from music to not have to work a day job. It’s a nice dream but unfortunately not possible for the vast majority of musicians, especially those just starting out. Unless you live in Ireland, which will now pay at least some artists and musicians a […]
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On my latest podcast episode: Former Maroon 5 drummer Ryan Dusick discusses the early days of Maroon 5, dealing with anxiety and a chronic injury, advice from U2, his new book, and much more. What are the odds that your song will be stolen? The 8 constants of vocal recording. Listen to it the at BobbyOInnerCircle.com, […]
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Report after report has given us data that both Facebook and Instagram have a user retention problem, and it’s all because of the rise of TikTok. The problem is that most reports just give you the results and don’t really dig into the reasons behind the numbers. But here’s a secret that no one is […]
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If you’re like most musicians, you’d rather spend your time creating new music than working on social media. The problem is that we all know how important social engagement is when it comes to maintaining and growing your audience. As a result, many artists would rather have a dedicated person handle their online presence. The […]
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On my latest podcast episode: Song doctor Molly Leikin talks about being a staff writer for a publisher, the most common song problems, writing for the current marketplace, the process of creative songwriting, her new book, and much more. The 2 metadata codes that every songwriter and artist should know. The bass line so powerful […]
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There are too many videos on YouTube to ever keep up with, so many users are trying their best by using the faster speed function. Yes, you can’t see them all, but you can see more of them if they run faster. In fact, the platform figures that people save about 900 years worth of […]
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If you think that streaming royalty rates for artists are low, until recently songwriters and publishers make far less. They’ve been arguing for a raise for a while now with a lot of pushback from the big streamers, but that may be all behind us now. The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the Nashville Songwriters […]
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On my latest podcast episode: Producer, mixer and educator Kevin Kelly talks about the importance of networking, the new generation of plugins, how mutli-tasking has changed attention spans, analog summing during mixing, and much more. Being nominated for a Grammy can have a big downside. A new environmentally-friendly vinyl record is coming. Listen to it […]
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