You can gain traction — even some success — all by yourself as an independent artist. We’ve seen...
Band Management
Learn more about the music business and band management, including music licensing, booking your own DIY tour, music publishing, copyright law, music royalties, music promotion, music distribution and performing rights organizations.
Premium Lyrics: Curated Words for Serious Songwriters
“Why do I find it hard to write the next line? Oh, I want the truth to be said.” Spandau...
How Much Liability Insurance Does My Band Need?
We’ve spoken at length about liability insurance for live bands, especially touring bands and...
Engage Fans With Pinterest and Other Social Tools
Engaging with fans is crucial for an artist at any level. Today, maintaining an active connection with fans involves a strong online presence, especially on social media. As you are likely already...
Get Paid Your Digital Download Royalties
WHEN RECORD LABELS STARTED SELLING THEIR CATALOGUES AS DIGITAL downloads through online services (iTunes, Rhapsody, etc), a critical issue emerged regarding artist compensation: What percentage...
Build a Merch Display to Make Optimus Prime Jealous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F018BPEaFeU Not every band’s van has an extra seat for the merch girl. That’s what I realized while on tour with my band, The Lights Out. In your home city, there’s...
Pay-to-Play: Prohibited or Rite of Passage?
You’ve heard the deal before: get a slot at this summer’s music festival by pre-purchasing 40 tickets in advance. Some see it as a rite of passage, others a blatant scam. Whichever way you see...
Canadian Supreme Court Issues New Musical Copyright Rulings
On Thursday, July 12, Canada’s Supreme Court issued five rulings regarding existing or proposed tariffs issued by the Copyright Board under the Copyright Act, four of which directly dealt with music...
Keyboardist Joey Huffman’s Tips for Surviving on the Road
Joey Huffman is a veteran keyboard player who currently tours with Hank Williams, Jr. and has previously toured with Keith Richards, Isaac Hayes, Matchbox Twenty, Soul Asylum, Lynyrd Skynyrd,...
The Experts Weigh In on Press
MEET THE EXPERTS: Name: Lily Golightly Company: Effective Immediately PR Prominent Clients: Paper Garden Records, sami.the.great, Nightmare River Band, XNY Website:...
Legally Produce Your Hip-Hop Mixtape
Quick Tips for Avoiding Some Serious Trouble IN MARCH 2012, KANYE WEST WAS SUED IN UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT by The Persuaders' Robert Poindexter for $500,000, alleging that a track on Kanye’s...
Business Models of Pirating Websites Studied by Google in UK
Google and PRS for Music recently commissioned a study from data organization company BAE Systems Detica that discovered commercial purposes behind business models used by copyright infringing...
Get Brands to Pay Your Band
A Conversation with My Love Affair’s Renaud Skalli In April 2011, Cathy Guetta (wife of musician David Guetta) and ad exec Raphael Aflalo launched My Love Affair in Europe as a way to connect...