Learning to play a musical instrument is not easy. It doesn’t matter what instruments you choose to learn, getting good at an instrument requires time, patience, commitment and practice. That said, it’s also super fun and rewarding! There is no better feeling than mastering a part, jamming with friends, or writing a full song. Music…
There are many ways to make money in the music industry. To date, I’ve made money from the music business in 21 different ways and counting (though I probably don’t represent the average artist since I’m into media creation and business). But where do most artists earn the bulk of their income? What are they…
When it comes right down to it, there are a lot of ways to make money with a recording studio. Many studios only think in terms of their flat hourly fee and don’t consider the many other opportunities that exist. If you’re an upscale boutique studio with a large client base, maybe you don’t need…
Your record label deserves a strong online presence. When people want to learn more about something, they typically start their research online. It’s much easier to run a few Google searches than to go to the library, search through encyclopedias and directories, or even ask their friends. What does this mean? It means if you…
Once you’ve gained some experience as a studio engineer or producer and you’ve set up your own recording studio, it’s only natural that you’re going to want to start working with paying clients. But as with anything else, the “build it and they will come” philosophy tends to fall short. You must do more than…
Many beginner and intermediate guitarists find soloing to be a unique challenge. Within any band with two guitarists, there often is a “rhythm” guitarist and a “lead” guitarist, even if they happen to trade off those roles at times. That’s for good reason. In most cases, the lead guitarist has a bigger bag of tricks…
Booking gigs without putting any effort into it? How absurd! And yet, I’ve had to book very few of my own gigs in the last seven years (if any), and I’ve still had more than my fair share of well-paying and creatively fulfilling gigs. So, I’m here to tell you that it is possible. I’m…
When I talk about building connections, I often mention how important it is to add value to others. But as I continue to watch the emails that roll into my inbox and observe how musicians interact with others, I sense there is still a disconnect as to what this means. Anyone who creates has something…
Being a session musician can be a lot of fun. You get to perform a lot of genres with different artists. You get to be in different studios and on different stages. You get to learn new songs, spend a lot of time with your instrument, and get paid for your passion work. But session…
Does it seem like you’re never getting around to the one thing that matters most as a musician, namely, making music? I’ve been in your shoes. I used to spend countless hours reading, researching, marketing, blogging, experimenting, connecting with people on social media, sending and answering emails, and mostly just spinning my wheels getting nowhere…
You make great music. You play live. You connect with your fans using their preferred social media and digital channels. These are all good things to be doing, and you can achieve considerable success just by working hard and making a conscious effort to grow your fan base over time. But if you find making…
There are many professions in the music industry. That’s why I think it’s funny when people say, “there is no money in music”. If there’s no money in what you’re doing, you should either find a new discipline, or find a different approach! Don’t take this the wrong way – it takes time to build…
It’s one thing to produce music in your spare time – quite another to be doing it full time and get paid for all your work. But we all must start at zero. If you don’t already have a basic home studio setup, and you aren’t practicing on it daily, that would be an excellent…
Today we’re going to look at how to make money as a rapper. As strange as it might sound, different rules can apply to different styles of music. For instance, where I live in Calgary, Alberta, country gigs tend to pay a lot more than rock gigs. I know this from personal experience, as well…
Everywhere you go, people appreciate the ability to pay for products and services with plastic. Some countries, like Japan, are basically a cash-first society. But in North America, many of us are used to making payments with debit and credit cards because of their ease of use and convenience. Even though it doesn’t make much…