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Welcome to MusicBizAdvice.com!
MusicBizAdvice.com
contains music business advice and
lifestyle tips for working musicians, bands, songwriters, indie artists, and behind-the-scenes music industry
professionals from the local to international level.
Whether you work in songwriting, publishing, recording,
live music performance, artist management, production, concert promotion, or
as part of the crew, we strive to provide you with the most accurate information.
As of July 1, 2009 MusicBizAdvice.com has readers in
77 countries and territories.
MusicBizAdvice.com's content is primarily the equivalent of PG-13, as outlined in our
Terms of Use.
(Our Body and Soul musician's health &
lifestyle section may contain material
intended for readers over 18.)
Remember: Legitimate music industry companies
will never ask a minor to come to a meeting alone. The parent or legal
guardian is required to be present and must sign any contracts on the minor's
behalf.
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This month
on MusicBizAdvice.com:
Graduation season means a slew of
new, inexperienced promoters & small labels popping up.
This article explains what to ask an unfamiliar promoter,
plus gives you easy tips on how indie bands and small label touring
musicians can keep from getting ripped off by someone who may not be telling
you the real deal about their company finances (especially in light of the
mortgage & credit crisis).
Want to analyze what happened with American Idol? We've got the complete
rundown for Season 8 (and for previous seasons too) in the
MBADC American
Idol Armchair
Quarterback.
In Features, Boston Hip Hop Alliance co-founder Darcie-Nicole Wicknick has
written a provocative
op-ed about use
of the n word and the b word in pop culture.
Also
in Features, Darcie
gives you the scoop on the
difference between a record label and a production company, and explains the
history and evolution of the production company. There you
can read about The Production Deal, the Imprint Deal, the Joint Venture, and
Pros and Cons of Recording and Production Contracts, as well as things to
consider in a major label deal.
In How To,
we discuss why double-bookings should never happen, along with
five easy ways to prevent them (whether you're a DIY indie band or an
artist with an agent). Also in How To, our own
Office Guru Jinjer Hundley gives you simple
tips on how to manage your band's schedule with Outlook.
Over on our blog,
MusicBizAdvice.com Editor-in-Chief talks about the state of the live music
industry in light of the proposed Live Nation / Ticketmaster merger.
In our Body and Soul
section, Darcie-Nicole Wicknick writes about the ups and down of the music
industry in
Music Business Survival: Finding the truffles in the Music Industry Dirt.
Think a Poor Man's Copyright (mailing a copy to yourself and not opening
the envelope, or emailing yourself a copy of the song) will protect you against copyright infringement? It won't.
Read this, as well as the
MusicBizAdvice Blog, to
find out why.
Speaking of Copyright, did you know that the U.S. Copyright fee has
increased, and that there is a new, all-in-one form called Form CO? Or that online registration
now available through the Copyright office will save you money? Try it out
here on the Copyright Office website
and save $10 on your copyright registration fee (regularly $45)!
Meanwhile, if you're confused about how to fill out the new copyright form
CO, Darcie-Nicole Wicknick breaks it down for you
here in our
How To
department. Also in How To, we offer a Quick
Tip on how to use MySpace more effectively to
gauge response to your tracks, and
we've updated
How to
Read a Live Performance Contract
(the AFM
Standard Performance Agreement) to reflect varying currency rates. In this
article you'll also learn the important aspects of
Deposit and
Payment Terms, Radius clauses, Transportation, Settlement, Force majeure,
What Happens When a Show is Canceled, and Why Artists, Agents, and Managers
Won’t Work with Promoters they Don’t Know.
In Q&A,
we answer a new promoter's question about
hiring an A-list band,
how to become a preliminary round judge for reality show talent
competitions such as American Idol, we update our advice about
double commissions for artist managers, and advise a young songwriter
how to stop making excuses and just write. Also in Q&A learn
why it’s important for artists to write their own songs,
why label
execs don't smile much when they go to see an artist's show,
How to Find a Manager and What You Need to Know Before Contacting Management Companies,
and
what the biggest factor is in deciding whether to go for an Indie label deal
or a major label deal.
The MBADC Performance Coach
helps you learn how to turn an unusual performance setting into a winning
one, getting more emotion out of the lyrics during your performances, and
how to make a cover song your own.
Soraia's single "Not The
Woman" is playing on Sirius Radio's Alt Nation Channel 21, and that you can
check out their video on
MaxMouth. (Gee, that Sonny Bono-esque guy in the video looks awfully
familiar, Mr.O'Brien...) Meanwhile, if you missed it, check out our
interview with Soraia's Sue Mansour. In it, Sue tells how she went from studio
intern to recording at the legendary Henson (former A&M) Studios with Bon
Jovi recording engineer / producer
Obie O'Brien.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of
Rock City magazine, Jinjer Hundley has new updates to her article,
Where Are They Now:
The Decline of Western Civilization Part ll: The Metal
Years. In it, Jinjer tells
you whatever became of the of the L.A. bands that populated the Sunset Strip
and were featured in the documentary The Decline of
Western Civilization Part ll: The Metal Years.
In Music Business
Lesson from Berklee Press
check out
The 5 Primary Functions of a Music Publisher. Also in Music
Business Lessons:
Management: Finding it and Making it Work for You,
3 specific things focusing on one musical
genre does for your songwriting or publishing career, and more.
Body and Soul has
HIV/AIDS Prevention Tips and Facts, voice care tips,
how to prevent getting colds or flu at your band's next Meet and Greet,
and more.
Check out
James Auburn's interview with Red K Records CEO Clayton Savage.
In it Clayton talks about
his work with Sugar Hill Records, the early days of Hip Hop and how its
musicianship and live performance have changed over the years, and
ugly breakups in the music industry...stuff any artist can relate to, regardless of genre.
Ever wonder
why some talented, hard working local musicians never make
it past the local level, or why some artist's careers seem to stall out just
past the starting gates? Check out
20 Reasons Why Musicians Get Stuck at the Local or Regional Level,
which helped inspire an article in Independent
Weekly this past summer.
At the opposite end of the spectrum,
Bon Jovi, whose single for "Who Says You
Can't Go Home" made them the first rock band ever to hit #1 on
Billboard's Country Singles chart, have been going strong for 25 years now.
Maintaining visibility in a music industry career for over two decades takes
as much business smarts as talent, and our
MusicBizAdvice.com Case Study:
Why Bon Jovi is Music Business 101 highlights some of their key
marketing decisions. Meanwhile, Jon will be speaking at the Advertising Week
Billboard Live
seminar in New York on September 25, 2008 at 12:00 noon.
If someone you know
still insists on using online
modeling and talent agencies, show them our
ScamAlert Safety Alert report
about kidnappers posting fake audition notices. Although some of the facts of
the story sound hard to believe, we verified it with Emmy Award winning
reporter Kristin Stinar, who first
presented the story on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. This story
contains material some parents (and parental filters) may find
objectionable, but it's important to get the information out there.
Also in ScamAlert, see if you can spot the 6 red flags that indicated
the audition notice was fake. They apply to other online modeling and talent
agencies as well. (The
Red Flag Safety Quiz
Answers contain no material that parental filters should object to,
so you can still learn the red flags that indicate a potential scam.)
Did you know that as of
9/30/08 MusicBizAdvice.com has a new reprint policy? Check it out
here.
This week on our
Ed in Chief's
MusicBizAdvice MySpace:
When you join
us on MySpace you'll find:...A playlist of some of my
favorite tracks from unsigned bands in my Friends list, two new MySpace blog
entries, and a new photo album of stuff from my archives. Enjoy! --RR
MusicBizAdvice.com is also on Facebook under
MuzBiz Advc. (I'm very new at it, so stop by and help me out!--RR)
We're also very active on
Twitter, at
MusicBizAdvice .
Not done yet? You can also check out our
Editor in Chief's blog
at
http://musicbizadvice.blogspot.com
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MusicBizAdvice.com recommends Barbara Brabec's home business
books, such as
this one .
For a list of Barbara's other books, click
here. |
