If there’s one thing we know about promotion and branding, it’s that visual marketing works. The problem is that most musicians aren’t graphic designers. The software can be learned with a lot of patience and time, but many of the programs are too confusing, under-powered, or unreasonably expensive to be practical. Becoming a Photoshop guru…
If you’re on SoundCloud, you may be wondering how you can get more people following you, or how you can get more people listening to the songs you’ve uploaded on there. If so, you’re in luck. Today I’m going to show you how to get more SoundCloud plays and followers, as well as looking at…
If you’re reading this, it means you’re interested in becoming a better guitarist. To get there, we must get back to the basics. Much of what follows will be review for you if you’ve been playing guitar for any length of time. But that’s not a bad thing, because we all need some reinforcement from…
Music videos seem to be king these days. Artists are making videos of stunning length and quality, putting as much money and effort into the video as they are into the song itself. Beyond that, nothing goes viral like a great video. So many songs have been made hits because of their video that it’s…
Many artists dream of one day earning a sponsorship deal with their favorite clothing company or big brand. The good news is that this dream may not be that far out of reach. The not-so-good news is that it’s going to take some work. You have to build a following, and you have to know…
You might be surprised by the types of guitarists that use fingerstyle guitar techniques in their playing – James Hetfield (Metallica), Mark Tremonti (Creed, Alter Bridge), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), and even Eddie Van Halen! So if John Denver or Chet Atkins is what first came to mind when you heard the word “fingerstyle”, it’s…
A great brand takes a lot of brains to come up with, and even more to execute properly. You need great ideas to create a brand, and you need some know-how and a whole lot of determination to make it happen. However, a good brand goes hand in hand with good music and a successful…
If you’ve been in the music industry for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the terms “LP” and “EP” before. But what exactly do these terms mean, and how do they differ from each other? This is something you should definitely be aware of as an artist, so let’s take a look. The Origin…
What’s the most aggressive style of music on the guitar? Is it metal? Djent? Funk? Believe it or not, it’s actually country. When you really listen to all of the snapping and popping that happens in a typical country solo or lead lick, it’s not hard to see why. Even if you have no plans…
You’ve seen the acronym, you’ve heard people talking about it, but do you really know what ASCAP is? Are you feeling lost between ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, and wondering whether or not any of them are even worth your time? Well let me tell you, it is definitely worth your time, and it’s probably not…
You’ve heard about house concerts. Perhaps you’ve even considered playing one. But you’re not entirely sure how they work or what you can do to get booked for one. You don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, house concerts are typically set up to serve the artist, and the terms are almost always in favor of…
Contrast exists in every facet of the world: day and night, happiness and sadness, love and hate, male and female (note I did not say opposite, I said contrast). In music, legato is typically seen as the contrasting element to staccato. In essence, you can’t really have one without the other. From a broader perspective,…
You’ve heard about royalties before – artists living off of royalties, not getting paid enough royalties, etc. But do you understand what it all means? How it all works? Probably not! But you should, and you can definitely grasp the basics after a little bit of reading. The first thing you need to understand is…
We live in exciting times. There have never been more ways to market your music for free, and every day there are new tools, resources, apps, and websites popping up! The key to your success, then, is to figure out what works for you, and then keep doing that. Pursuing every single avenue could be…
Rhythm is what separates one genre of music from another. Sure, the accompaniment, the chords and riffs, the melodies and harmonies all play a part. But jazz tends to have a very different rhythm than rock, and reggae is a little different than the blues. If not for differences in rhythmic patterns, the division lines…