Physical Product Is Still The Chink In The Armor Of The Recorded Music Business

The recent release of the IFPI’s annual Global Music Report brought the news that the industry was back on the right side of $20 billion. While streaming growth had slowed a bit from previous years, revenue from that part of the business was still up 23% over the previous year. As you’d probably expect, there […]

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Demystifying Streaming Royalties, Inside Gear Reviews, And Agent Jack Forman On My Latest Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is Jack Forman, who’s a senior vice-president at BiCoastal Productions, the New York City-based concerts and theatrical booking agency.  Originally spearheading the agency’s coverage of the Western United States, Jack now oversees the core agency staff and global touring strategy. Jack provides an agent’s perspective of working with an artist, as […]

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2020 Posting Frequency Recommendations For Social Media

While many have the opinion that you can never post too much on a social media network, research shows that there’s definitely a threshold after which additional posts begin to feel like spam. That point varies for each network however. In this excerpt from the latest edition of the Social Media Promotion For Musicians handbook […]

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Your Studio Might Be Safe From Wildfire, But Not From The Insurance company

When composer Richard Gibbs and his wife Linda lost their home in Malibu in the Woolsey Wildfire of November 2018, the one silver lining was that their world-class recording studio was left standing and mostly untouched. Woodshed Recording, built in a detached former barn on the Gibbs property, has long been one of the most […]

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Music Exec Camille Barbone, YouTube Views Increase And So Do Music Gear Sales On My Latest Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is Camille Barbone, who’s done just about every behind-the-scenes job in the music business you can think of.  From working as a label executive for Columbia and EMI, to managing Madonna, to owning the famous Longview Farm and Gotham Sound studios, to producing major concerts and tours and more, Camille has […]

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You Can’t Brand Your Music Until You Know What One Is

One of the things that an artist or band hears a lot these days is the need to promote “your brand” in order to get ahead in the current era of the music business. That’s all well and good, but you can’t promote your brand unless you know the definition in the first place. Here’s […]

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Our Music Consumption Patterns Are Changing, But Will They Stay That Way?

Most people don’t need a survey to tell them that what they listen to or view is different today than before COVID. Our lives have changed so much in that time that it’s a given that our music consumption patterns have as well. Even if you know that you’re listening more or less than before, […]

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Musician Relief Funds, Fender Stops Using Ash, And Composer Joe Renzetti On My Latest Podcast

My guest on this week’s podcast episode is Joe Renzetti, who started in the studio band of the Cameo Parkway label in Philadelphia playing on hits like “Let’s Twist Again,” “South Street,” Palisades Park,” and “Limbo Rock.” He then moved to New York where he worked as an arranger on huge hits like “Sunny” by […]

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The Best Post Times On Social Media During COVID-19

If you observe viewing habits on social media for a while, you know that the best times to post not only vary from social platform to platform, but from year to year as well. These changes are usually gradual, but COVID-19 isolation has changed how everyone uses social media, which has brought some big changes […]

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Spotify’s Artist Fundraising Pick Is A Great New Feature, And that’s The Dilemma

It’s never been easy to make it as an artist, and with gigging now out of the picture most are put into an even more precarious position than ever. Living on a shoestring is okay if you feel like your career is making progress, but with everything and everyone in lockdown it’s pretty easy to […]

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10 Ways To Use Spotify Like A Social Platform

Many musicians are adept in at least one of the major social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), but aren’t aware that those skills are transferrable to a platform that requires a lot more social interaction that you might think, and that’s Spotify. The service has done a good job not only as a music distributor, […]

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5 Ways To Make Money On YouTube, Recordings In The National Registry, And Wellness Coach Katie Zaccardi On My Latest Podcast

My guest today is Katie Zaccardi who’s a songwriter, artist, music industry professional, and certified yoga instructor. Through her work in both music and wellness along with her own experience with a generalized anxiety disorder, Katie discovered the urgent need for conversation surrounding mental health and self care within the music industry. Through her Out […]

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How The Recorded Music Landscape Might Look Different By Year’s End

There are so many unknowns in the world brought about by COVID-19, and unsurprisingly, how the recorded music industry will come out the other side is one of them. Luckily we live in a world of data these days, but sometimes it’s not easy to tell what we’re looking at until we gain some distance […]

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Creativity And Age, AI In The Studio, And MIDI 2.0 With Brett Porter On My Latest Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is Brett Porter, who was one of the lead engineers in the development of the MIDI 2.0 spec. Brett has a big background in electronic music, but he’s also developed software products for the pro audio, broadcast, and musical instrument industries as part of the Art+Logic development team. Musicians have been […]

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The 6 Steps To A Successful Online Strategy

Although you’ll find plenty of detailed information about most aspects of your online promotion in the latest edition of my Social Media Promotion For Musicians book, here are the six basic steps you’ll need to take in order to prepare for a successful online strategy.   1. Make your website your main online focal point. […]

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