8. December 2009

3 Comments

Live Music Is The Future

Live Music Is The Future

If I were a record label exec, I’d be worried by the graph below.

It’s based on research conducted by the Times Online Labs. It shows the state of live and recorded music in the UK from 2004-2008. The most striking thing about it is the drastic decline in recorded revenue to record labels; and the [...]

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5. December 2009

6 Comments

How Attention Obsession Keeps Music Artists Broke

How Attention Obsession Keeps Music Artists Broke

An old acquaintance of mine wrote on my Facebook wall recently. He said, “Wut up Mika check out X’s battle”.( I intentionally left out the battle rapper’s name) There was a link following the post which took me to a YouTube video of a battle rap contest. One of the guys battling is the guy [...]

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1. December 2009

4 Comments

The Days Of Mega-Riches In Music Are Over

The Days Of Mega-Riches In Music Are Over

Here’s what David Bowie wrote in a 2002 New York Times article:
“The absolute transformation of everything that we ever thought about music will take place within ten years, and nothing is going to be able to stop it. I see absolutely no point in pretending that it’s not going to happen. I’m fully confident [...]

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28. November 2009

7 Comments

The Perfect Online Marketing Strategy For Music Artists

The Perfect Online Marketing Strategy For Music Artists

One constant in today’s world is that things never stay the same. There’s always some shiny new technological tool right around the corner. First it was MySpace, then Facebook, and now Twitter.
It used to be fashionable to name-drop your MySpace address just four years ago. Not anymore. Now the world’s aTwitter. I can guarantee that [...]

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24. November 2009

3 Comments

Your Brilliant Idea Is Worthless

Your Brilliant Idea Is Worthless

Several years ago, a few friends and I tried to start up a small record label. We recruited several music artists in the DC metro area. I remember one day we were on a conference call with this one hip hop artist.
Prior to the call, we had listened to several of his tracks. [...]

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22. November 2009

5 Comments

Free A&R Contacts – November 2009

Free A&R Contacts – November 2009

You know, it still baffles me that so many people are using these A&R numbers. In my opinion everyone should be soaking up the knowledge on this site and then applying it, making your own way through the musical landscape as budding entrepreneurs. But it looks like many are here using these numbers, hoping to [...]

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17. November 2009

3 Comments

A Book About The Google Era That Every Music Artist Should Read

A Book About The Google Era That Every Music Artist Should Read

I read a lot; mostly online, but I also read a lot of books.
I know some of you reading this think that reading a lot is a waste of time. I know that because many people think that in general. The problem with that point of view is that it stunts you…tremendously. The reason is [...]

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