Gear Reviews
Why NOW is the Perfect Time to Get Insurance For Your Band
If the pandemic taught us anything as musicians and music-lovers, it’s how much we took for granted seeing live music (and performing live on-stage for those of us who do so). And during the past few years, if you were spending more time in the studio than on the...
REVIEW: Donner Starry Pad MIDI Drum Pad Controller
We hate to keep comparing things, but since our go-to pad controller in the studio is the PreSonus Atom, it would be dishonest to say we didn’t draw comparisons when testing out the Donner Starry Pad. For reference, this comes in about $50 cheaper than the PreSonus...
REVIEW: Donner DMK-25 PRO MIDI Controller
The Donner DMK-25 PRO MIDI Controller comes in an attractive blacked-out finish, and a two-octave keyboard that’ll get any budding producer started, whether it’s adding bass lines, melodies, drum samples or chord changes to their tracks. It’s all USB powered, so you...
How To
5 Rules for Modern Songwriters to Get Noticed
Secure More Licensing Opps Anyone in the music business will tell you that teaching songwriting is a difficult—if not impossible—task. There are some who do it well. For instance, Judy Stakee at Berklee is excellent. Whenever I am asked to teach songwriting, it...
Get Schooled at the ASCAP Experience
Learn new skills & career-boosting tips from the pros Just wanted to share some exciting news from our friends at the ASCAP Experience: "Shake off the lazy days of summer and kick back into gear with ASCAP Experience! We’ve got tons of sessions to help you set...
The Myth of Fanbase Building
There is a disturbing trend I am seeing on YouTube and TikTok where the majority of music marketing gurus are telling indie artists to “stop chasing streams” and focus on building a dedicated fanbase. They say that tripping the algorithm for Discover Weekly or...
Buying Guide
DPA introduces new microphone kits
DPA Microphones now offers specifically-designed kits, intended to meet the critical needs of a specific type of application or task. Each kit is actually a demo of their best mics for the application and provides a professional audio engineer with the best starting...
Why NOW is the Perfect Time to Get Insurance For Your Band
If the pandemic taught us anything as musicians and music-lovers, it’s how much we took for granted seeing live music (and performing live on-stage for those of us who do so). And during the past few years, if you were spending more time in the studio than on the...
REVIEW: Donner Starry Pad MIDI Drum Pad Controller
We hate to keep comparing things, but since our go-to pad controller in the studio is the PreSonus Atom, it would be dishonest to say we didn’t draw comparisons when testing out the Donner Starry Pad. For reference, this comes in about $50 cheaper than the PreSonus...
Industry News
How to Release a “Single” in 2023
I posted, “Few things make me as sad as seeing: ‘I just dropped my new song today.’” Within one minute of posting that, I got flooded with countless direct messages. “What does that mean?,” “Why wouldn’t I promote myself?,” and many other comments along the same...
Christmas in July – Tips for Holiday Song Placements
It’s 97 degrees outside, fireworks are exploding outside my window, and here I am sitting in an air-conditioned studio, with a floppy Santa hat on, trying to nail this glockenspiel part. Why? Because this is July, when many in the industry are producing and recording...
Clearing up the Most Common Misconception About Musician Insurance
When it comes to the life of your band, or your solo career, we understand that insurance topics might not be the sexiest thing to cover. That said, it’s oftentimes a misunderstand, and crucial part of your business plan. Look, we don’t wish for the worst or...