Analysis Of Every Billboard Top 5 Song In 2018 – The Structure And Composition Of A Hit

Our friends at Soundfly have done an exhaustive breakdown of the musical structure and composition behind every song from the year that cracked the Billboard Top 5, revealing more than a few Drakes. _______________________________ Guest post by Dean Olivet of Soundfly’s Flypaper “My Mount Rushmore is me with four different…

Music Distribution: Upfront Revenue vs. Revenue Sharing

Once you’ve finished creating your music, its time to develop a strategy for how you want to release it. With so many digital distributors out, it picking one can be a difficult choice, something made more complicated by the decision of whether you want to pay an upfront fee, or…

Why We Need More (Quality) Music Journalism

In this piece James Shotwell argues that, as music industry becomes increasingly crowded with artists, the need for more music journalists grows, and that social media’s ability to fill this void is sorely lacking in the quality department. ___________________________ Guest post by James Shotwell of Haulix Music journalism matters more…

Dreamville Sessions: The Album Cycle Reimagined

Here Jake Udell explores how one artist is reinventing the traditional album cycle by using a marketing a strategy which goes past building anticipation, instead using the groundwork of fan loyalty to propel the release. ______________________ Guest post by Jake Udell of Art of Manager Study all the time, listen…

Making The Most Of Your Ideas (Even The Bad Ones)

In this piece, James Shotwell encourages musical creators to slow down and think about their developmental process, as well as the value of fully exploring ideas to determine their value before writing them off. ___________________________ Guest post by James Shotwell of Haulix Last year, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler appeared on…

The Truth About Advances In The Music Business

As with all entrepreneurs, songwriters are likely to run into issues with cash flow, to which getting an advance is one solution. Unsurprisingly such advance payments, while they do provide much needed cash on hand, come with a number of strings attached, and aren’t always the best option. ___________________________ Guest…

New Titles Entering The Public Domain

January 1st of 2019 marked the first day on which a plethora of titles originally published in 1923 will finally enter the public domain, (meaning they can be used for free and without permission) after Congress extended the copyright term for an additional twenty years when they were originally supposed…

Guide To Making Your Live Show More Interesting

The shows that truly stick in our minds often transcend just great music, using stunning visuals or other dramatic elements to emphasize the emotional power of the performance. Here we look at how artists can take their show to the next level and give fans a truly unforgettable experience. ____________________________…

6 Best FREE Tools, Ideas For Show Promotion

Once you’ve planned the perfect show or event, you are then faced with the uncomfortable necessity of getting people to actually attend. Luckily, there are a variety of tools and strategies out there for doing precisely that. __________________________ Guest post by Ronnie Higgins of Eventbrite You’ve organized a can’t-miss event….

Why Subscriptions Matter To Musicians [Jack Udell]

As subscription based services begin to occupy an increasingly large section of the market, artists are wondering how they can better get in on the action. Here we look at why a subscriber base would be so valuable to artists, and some of the challenges in creating an artist-specific subscription…