Producing Music: Its History and the Process
By guest student writer, John Freund Music production is simply not what it used to be. Behind every great record is great production, but just what that production entails continues to grow more complex with new technology and a changing music industry. During its humble beginnings in the mid-20th century, production [...]
Return fire by the music industry – artists to testify before Senate
The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a high-profile hearing today on the subject of imposing additional performance royalties on so-called “over-the-air” or “terrestrial” radio stations (I’ll just call them OTA’s in this article). Investigative hearings such as these are usually precursors to legislation being introduced on the subject. Grammy winner, Lyle Lovett and Chicago-based singer-songwriter [...]
Copyright: it's the end of the world as we know it.
Abraham Maslow’s famous “hierarchy of needs” places self-actualization as the pinnacle of human behavior. To illustrate what the phrase “self-actualization” meant , Maslow said: “a musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if they are to be ultimately at peace with themselves.” Of course, the thing that is important to [...]
The long tail wags the dog! An independent artist succeeds using the Internet
I have often advised my clients in the past that the new direction for independent artists is what I refer to as “guerilla” marketing, meaning finding alternative means of marketing your product. One of the most explosive methods of doing that over the past few years has been the Internet. One of the problems with [...]
Taming the “Big Bad Record Company”
What songwriters can do to improve their negotiating strength in an entertainment deal A very common theme among my songwriter and artist clients is the subject of how they were “ripped off” by their record label and/or music publisher (for purposes of this general publication, I’ll refrain from using the actual, more vivid terms often [...]
