I like to travel. In the last few years, I haven’t done as much travelling as I did between 2011 and 2014 but I still made it out to Japan once and British Columbia multiple times. When I was a teenager, my guitar used to go with me everywhere I went. And, if it’s not…
Video is all the rage right now. As a musician, you already know the importance of video marketing. Music videos, for instance, are powerful tools for helping you get exposure, make more fans, and book more gigs. Today, if you aren’t using videos to market your music, you’re probably leaving opportunity on the table, because…
Noise cancelling headphones are awesome for certain situations. Maybe you want to listen to your music at work, but you can’t have your colleagues distracted by excess noise. Perhaps you’d like to listen to your music at the gym without being bothered. Or, maybe you need a good pair of headphones to sleep on the…
Many musicians say streaming royalties are a waste of time. Here’s what I think – streaming has the potential to be a good passive source of income. And, if you know anything about passive income, you know that it takes time to build. Even as you’re busy playing shows and marketing your music, you could…
The music industry is a fragmented and diverse world made up of executives, managers, publicists, musicians and everything in between. There are labels and talent agencies, PR and tech companies, Performances Rights Organizations and internet radio stations, social media platforms and specialized apps and many other types of organizations and businesses. Finding your place in…
In the rap and hip-hop world, it’s not unusual for producers and artists to take samples from other recorded works and incorporate them into their beats. This happens in the DJ and EDM world too. You might have other reasons for wanting to use a sample in your song, such as the desire to pay…
I’d like to share a little about my latest mini-book, The Essential Guide to Music Entrepreneurship: 2018 Edition. In 2011, I had an awakening. I’d started and ran a couple of businesses up until that point. But as I look back, I can see that I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t…
So, you’ve committed to writing your own bio. In an ideal world, you would get a professional to help you with this. But hiring a writer can be pricey. And, if you’re just getting your start in music, you probably don’t have much money. I understand. I’ve been in your shoes. Early on in my…
The artistic side of the music industry tends to get most of the attention. But without the people working behind the scenes, some of the success stories you’ve become familiar with may have never happened. And, even though some of these people may not be in the limelight, many of them have rewarding and lucrative…
You would think you’d know it when you’re a good singer or instrumentalist. But what shows like American Idol and The Voice have demonstrated time and again is that some people think they’re great performers but are in fact terrible. And, sure, some have even made a career out of it – like William Hung….
A lot of musicians ask me how many social media sites they should be on. The answer is simple – you should not do more than you can do well. For instance, if you’re doing well on Facebook and Twitter, but the moment you begin posting to Instagram your results on Facebook and Twitter begin…
I think many musicians dream of one day hearing their music in a commercial, TV show, video game or movie. I know I think about it from time to time. Some musicians call this “selling out”. But licensing your music is one of the most viable opportunities available and could even be your ticket to…
A portable recorder can come in handy in a lot of situations. Maybe you’d like to record your practice sessions and listen back to how things went. Perhaps you’d like to record a podcast or capture audio notes as ideas come to you. Or, maybe you need to capture some live audio to go along…
Distributing your music to popular streaming platforms may not get you many streams unless you’ve already got a large fan base. That’s where playlists come in. By getting your song featured on a popular Spotify playlist, you can instantly boost your play count and start earning a greater income from streaming. But this is easier…
Consumers love it. Musicians hate it. What is it? Music streaming. Okay, to be fair, that’s a vast generalization. But you will find that most music fans enjoy music streaming because it’s convenient, and it’s either free or low-cost. Some artists, on the other hand, have expressed disdain for it because it pays very little….