What Would John Doe Do - Getting a New Band Noticed

johndoe

John Doe is the founder of the seminal Los Angeles punk group X, a solo artist and actor. John answers questions from our community members in the WWJDD? blog. Photo by Autumn de Wilde.

A question from Robert in Jacksonville, FL

Hello John,

I
am in the process of putting a new band together with some really
strong players an [...]

The Critical Item Missing from Most Music Marketing Strategies by David Rose

drose

There has been tremendous excitement over the past few years about the new technologies and services that help artists directly connect with their fans. I’m personally a huge advocate of this trend and the opportunity it presents for both artists and music fans.

However, I’ve recently noticed just how many artist websites are still lacking the primary thing music fans are
interested in today; downloadable music in MP3 forma [...]

Recording into Pro Tools by David Franz

David Franz

David Franz is a songwriter, producer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, and educator. David’s production company, Underground Sun, writes, produces and engineers music for a wide range of clients. He teaches production courses online at Berkleemusic, the continuing education arm of Berklee College of Music, and performs with his touring rock band, midatlantic. He is author of Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools
(the fi [...]

Music Licensing for Independent Artists by Larry Mills

Larry Mills

Larry Mills is VP of Marketing & Partnerships with independent music licensing company Pump Audio (a division of Getty Images ).

As everyone knows, the music industry is in a state of flux. What we know and what we thought we knew changes e [...]

Why Don't You Just Try Making Music by Steve Wynn

Steve Wynn

Steve Wynn led the influential band the Dream Syndicate from 1981 to 1989 and afterward began a solo career. Steve recently teamed up with fellow baseball and music fan Scott McCaughey plus Peter Buck and Linda Pitmon to record The Baseball Project, Volume One: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails

There's a story from the filming of “Marathon Man” that I love and often repeat (I hope it's actually true and not just a cinematic urban legend) [...]

What Would John Doe Do - Punks Throwing Bottle Rockets

johndoe

John Doe is the founder of the seminal Los Angeles punk group X, a solo artist and actor. John answers questions from our community members in the WWJDD? blog. Photo by Autumn de Wilde.

A Question from Pete in New York

What would you do if a drunk punk throws bottle rockets at you onstage during a solo acoustic show?

WWJDD?

How to Promote Your Music on Last.fm by Fiona McLaren

Fiona McLaren

Fiona McLaren is a Label Liaison with Last.FM and based in London

Promoting your music online these days is meant to be easy - but due to the sheer number of sites out there it might not always seem that way. This is a brief guide to why Last.fm should be one of the main sites you use to promote yourself, and how to get the most out of it with minimal effort.

The Last.fm music database

First off, yo [...]

What Every Musician Should Know about Digital Distribution Part III by Peter Wells

Peter Wells

Peter Wells is the SVP of Operations and Customer Advocate at TuneCore. Peter began as a classical pianist, English literature teacher, senior technical writer at Cisco and director of label relations at eMusic, where he built a deep knowledge of the music business.

Part III: The Myth of Marketing and Promotion

Aggregators
take a percentage of your earnings, forever, with [...]

The DIY Musician New Release Checklist by David Rose

drose

Artists no longer have to wait for a record label deal to get their music recorded or distributed. Self releasing one’s own material is now a very viable option. However, if you are self releasing there are a few business items that will need to be tended to before making the music available for streaming or purchase. Please note that this information is for USA based releases.

Determine Songwriter Ownership Percentages< [...]

A Closer Look at Musician's Atlas Online by Heather McDonald

hmcdonald

Heather McDonald is a music journalist and press agent. You can read more of her work on About.com's Music Careers website.

Even
for a cliché, the saying “it’s not what you know, it’s who know” is
pretty overdone. In the music biz, however, it’s worth repeating. You
can be sure you’re sitting on the next number one song (or you [...]

An Introduction to Pro Tools by David Franz

David Franz

David Franz is a songwriter, producer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, and educator. David’s production company, Underground Sun, writes, produces and engineers music for a wide range of clients. He teaches production courses online at Berkleemusic, the continuing education arm of Berklee College of Music, and performs with his touring rock band, midatlantic. He is author of Producin [...]

What Would John Doe Do - An Unscrupulous Producer

johndoe

John Doe is the founder of the seminal Los Angeles punk group X, a solo artist and actor. John answers questions from our community members in the WWJDD? blog. Photo by Autumn de Wilde.

A Question from Amanda in Indianapolis

Hello John,

I have been writing songs for some time now and it's been a dream of
mine to record my own record. The local recording studio [...]

What Every Musician Should Look For in a Digital Distributor by Peter Wells

Peter Wells

Peter Wells is the
SVP of Operations and Customer Advocate at TuneCore .
Peter began as a classical pianist, English literature teacher, senior
technical writer at Cisco and director of label relations at eMusic, where he
built a deep knowledge of the music business.

Part II of What Every Musician Should [...]

Record Labels Are Not Venture Capitalists by David Rose

drose

Having worked for both venture backed technology companies and record labels I often have friends from one industry attempt to relate to the other by saying something along the lines of “record labels are just like venture capitalists”. It is true both venture firms and record companies invest their time and money into a third party with the intent of making a (large) return on their investment. However, in my experience there are
more differences in their tra [...]

What Every Musician Should Know about Digital Distribution by Peter Wells

Peter Wells

Peter Wells is the SVP of Operations and Customer Advocate at TuneCore. Peter began as a classical pianist, English literature teacher, senior technical writer at Cisco and director of label relations at eMusic, where he built a deep knowledge of the music business.

Part I: Distribution and Doing It Yourself

You
can sell your mus [...]

What Would John Doe Do - Publicity Interviews

johndoe

John Doe is the founder of the
seminal Los Angeles punk group X, a solo artist and actor. John answers
questions from our community members in the WWJDD? blog. Photo by Autumn de
Wilde.

A Question from Christina in Half Moon Bay, California

Hello John,

[...]

Project Unfound Artist Helping Musicians Get Paid by David Rose

drose

SoundExchange collects royalties from satellite, cable and online radio stations on behalf or recording artists and record labels in the United States. Each time a song is played on stations from XM, Sirius, Pandora, Last.fm and the like Soundexchange collects royalties that are supposed to be paid out directly to recording artists and their record label (regardless of an artist’s “recoupment” balance with their label).

Unl [...]

9 Mistakes You Shouldn't Make When Performing Live by Jimmy Shelter

Jimmy Shelter

Peter Eijk (or Jimmy Shelter, his
rock star alter ego) has played in numerous bands, and made countless mistakes
doing that. At JimmyShelter.nl he
blogs about the gigs he visits, and articles based on the mistakes he made, so
you won't make them.

For
most beginning bands getting and playing as many gigs as possible is
one of the main [...]

Writing Songs Is Easy by Matthew Ryan

Matthew Ryan

Matthew
Ryan first debuted in 1997 with May Day (A&M Records) and since, has
amassed an impressive catalog of critically lauded major label, DIY and indie
releases to date. Matthew Ryan
vs The Silver State is Ryan's 11th record released by Brooklyn indie
00:02:59 on [...]

The Myths and Truths of Playing The SXSW and CMJ Festivals by David Slade and Collins Kilgore

Collins Kilgore

David Slade and Collins Kilgore play in the indie band American Princes. The band's fourth record Other People was recently released on Yep Roc Records

Anyone who’s ever had serious hopes of being a professional pop musician has heard of South By Southwest. Specifically, they’ve heard the dictum “You’ve gotta play South By Southwest.” [...]

Blog Entries

What Would John Doe Do - Getting a New Band Noticed

The Critical Item Missing from Most Music Marketing Strategies by David Rose

Recording into Pro Tools by David Franz

Music Licensing for Independent Artists by Larry Mills

Why Don't You Just Try Making Music by Steve Wynn

What Would John Doe Do - Punks Throwing Bottle Rockets

How to Promote Your Music on Last.fm by Fiona McLaren

What Every Musician Should Know about Digital Distribution Part III by Peter Wells

The DIY Musician New Release Checklist by David Rose

A Closer Look at Musician's Atlas Online by Heather McDonald

An Introduction to Pro Tools by David Franz

What Would John Doe Do - An Unscrupulous Producer

What Every Musician Should Look For in a Digital Distributor by Peter Wells

Record Labels Are Not Venture Capitalists by David Rose

What Every Musician Should Know about Digital Distribution by Peter Wells

What Would John Doe Do - Publicity Interviews

Project Unfound Artist Helping Musicians Get Paid by David Rose

9 Mistakes You Shouldn't Make When Performing Live by Jimmy Shelter

Writing Songs Is Easy by Matthew Ryan

The Myths and Truths of Playing The SXSW and CMJ Festivals by David Slade and Collins Kilgore