Tag Archive | "music career"

The Internet’s Bringing Idealism Back To Music…And Why Microsoft’s Still Evil

Monday, May 3, 2010

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The Internet’s Bringing Idealism Back To Music…And Why Microsoft’s Still Evil

Most of us assume that people are motivated primarily by self-interest. It’s a logical assumption to make because, after all, most people do care about their job more than they do about yours. They do care about their own kids more than they do yours. None of this is surprising in the least because it’s [...]

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Wisdom For Dealing With The Harsh Music World

Thursday, March 18, 2010

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Wisdom For Dealing With The Harsh Music World

I usually write about the intersection between music and marketing. I want to get off the beaten path a bit with this article because I know that an indie music career is about more than marketing and money. It’s about your inner spirit too. It’s about what you’re made of on the inside. It’s about how [...]

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Twitter, Humility And The Secret To A Long Music Career

Monday, January 18, 2010

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Twitter, Humility And The Secret To A Long Music  Career

I was looking at music sales for the week of 1/3/10. Susan Boyle’s “I Dreamed a Dream” was on its sixth week and sold 3, 103, 828 copies. Mega-selling records like this are becoming an anomaly, but I think there’ll continue to be a place for them in our culture because people still like a [...]

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Why Good Music No Longer Equals Success

Monday, January 11, 2010

5 Comments

Why Good Music No Longer Equals Success

I was involved with a group of guys several years ago trying to start up a record label. There were four of us. We had world-class production talent and managed to recruit two very talented hip hop and pop artists. All we wanted was to sign a distribution deal with a major label. The quality [...]

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Indie Music Artists Shouldn’t Try To Dominate Niche Markets

Thursday, January 7, 2010

3 Comments

Indie Music Artists Shouldn’t Try To Dominate Niche Markets

The other day a reader asked how one goes about dominating a niche market in order to make the money that would make it worthwhile to make music. It’s an honest question, but it’s based on the faulty assumption that you have to dominate a market to make money. The reason that the whole market domination [...]

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The Number One Reason Not To Give Up On A Music Career

Monday, January 4, 2010

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The Number One Reason Not To Give Up On A Music Career

Revolutions on the level of the one brought about by the Internet happen rarely. At most, once or twice a century. This one’s a big one. Few industries have been untouched. And it’s just getting started. Perhaps no industry has seen the degree of upheaval that the music industry has. We’re going to see a [...]

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Digital Music Sales: Not Enough To Support The Average Indie Band

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

13 Comments

Digital Music Sales: Not Enough To Support The Average Indie Band

A reader commented on this blog several days ago that he was finding it difficult to sell his mp3s on iTunes and Amazon. He asked me if I could give him advice. I replied that no musician in the new media economy can rely on digital music sales to make a living. One of the [...]

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