Music Publishing Deals: A Songwriter’s Dream and Dilemma
Written by: Cliff Goldmacher If you’re a songwriter in the early stages of your career, the idea of being hired as a staff songwriter for a publishing company is akin to winning the lottery. It’s the...
View ArticleThe Struggle Against Obsession
The cursor sits there, flashing impatiently, daring me to fill the page with words that mean something. I have a vague concept in my head, but it shifts when I try to see it more clearly. I start...
View ArticleHard Work Alone Won’t Prevent Costly Mistakes
written by: legendary guitarist Rocky Athas When I started my career as a guitarist, I was focused on being able to play guitar all day, every day, at every possible opportunity. I was young and...
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How to Get 20 Million Views—Taking Note of Meghan Trainor
Two months ago, Meghan Trainor was an unknown songwriter. Even today, she isn’t a big, established artist… at least, not yet. But, if her first single’s smashing success on YouTube is any indication of...
View ArticleStruggling to Hit the Notes? Perfect Vocals in 5 Steps
Don’t hate me, but it seems that the life of a serious vocalist—whatever your genre—is less the Hollywood portrayal of all-night partying (and all that comes with such a scene) and more of self-control...
View ArticleHow To Find and Keep Fans: Taking Note of Shakey Graves
Often, communicating with fans is like walking a tightrope. If your balance tips ever so slightly to one side or the other—too frequent, too seldom, too polished, too sloppy—you lose them. They get...
View ArticleMaking It In Music: How to Define Success
Have you ever gone to the grocery store and bought a whole trunk full of food, and realized when you got home that you have nothing to actually eat? You bought good food, but you can’t make a complete...
View Article4 Things Independent Musicians Can Learn From Kanye West
Kanye West. Just mentioning that name calls up several wildly different things to mind. A rap superstar, that one guy who was mean to Taylor Swift, a man who loves Twitter rants, and most recently, a...
View ArticleConflict In The Band – Fix It In 5 Easy Steps
AKA: Not cool, man No matter how famously you get along with your band mates, at one point or another you will find yourself, at the very least, disagreeing about something. This is one of the...
View ArticleMaking Money With Music
The Business of Music If you are booking paying gigs at all, you at least have a toe in the business side of music. That is, you are performing music in exchange for money. Now, depending on your...
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