Gear Reviews
Session Player Royalties: Making Harmony out of Discord
On June 29, 2022, a declaration was filed in federal district court in New York confirming that $45 million had been paid to nearly 60,000 session musicians and background singers as part of a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit had been brought by six Texas session...
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...
How To
The Pros, Cons, and Future of Artificial Intelligence in Music
Since American Idol star and YouTube sensation Taryn Southern started composing music with AI in 2017, musicians all over the world have begun wondering about the implications of AI and modern technology where music production is concerned. Technology has long been an...
Spring Cleaning For Musicians: 2020 Edition
Well, here we are with some time on our hands. Don’t worry, I’m not going to talk about the “V” word that starts with a “C.” Nope, we’re just going to focus on some positives today. It’s Spring, and that means it’s time for some Spring cleaning! Aw yeah, throw open...
Qobuz expands “Gimme Shelter” program to include streaming revenues
Qobuz, the music service with the world’s largest HD music catalog, is expanding its “Gimme Shelter” artist relief program by returning 100% of commissions made on new customers’ first paid month of streaming back to rightsholders, for all new subscribers who join...
Buying Guide
Focusrite Vocaster Two USB-C Podcasting Audio Interface REVIEW
Podcasting started out pretty simply: a computer and a microphone. Then the ability to have someone call in, like a radio show, and the hardware and software needed for more (and better) microphones meant more gear that in many cases were overkill for most...
Focal Solo6 6.5-inch Powered Studio Monitors REVIEW
Monitors are always a big deal in any studio situation, but more importantly, how they work in your space. The idea is the monitor won’t interpret the sounds in a way that makes the mix sound bad on other devices. With more options available to help refine a mix,...
Lowden Ed Sheeran Tour Edition Guitar Review
In many cases signature instruments can be a hard pill to swallow; if they’re overdone with an artist’s signature graphics or other adornments, players sometimes feel that there’s no room for their own growth, or even worse, pass on a great guitar just because of the...
Industry News
10 Ways to Ruin Your Music Career
There is no shortage of people who can give you great advice on what to do to further your music career, including me. That’s what this magazine and these columns are all about, really. Whether it’s improving your live bookings, increasing your sync opportunities,...
Beats Marketplace Basics 101: From Leasing to Recording
In many ways, there’s never been a better time to be an up-and-coming singer, rapper, or producer. The DIY scene is thriving in ways that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. Options for self-recording and production are better and more available than...
What Order Should My Guitar Pedals Go In?
With the recent re-launch of the Maestro brand from Gibson, we thought it would be fun to take a look at the entire lineup of pedals, evaluate each one, and review them. So, we’re doing that…just not in this article. But it got us thinking – Maestro’s got a new fuzz,...