The Importance Of Creating A Paper Trail When Submitting Your Work

When pitching a project, whether a TV program or game show concept, a video game idea, a proposal for a book or magazine article or circulating a demo of your song, it is a good idea to file a copyright registration on it before making it public. It is also important to create a paper trail in order to keep track of where and to whom your work is submitted. In the event that you someday decide that someone stole your work or “infringed” your copyright you will need to prove two things in order to win a copyright infringement lawsuit: (1) access to your work and (2) substantial similarity between your work and the allegedly infringing work.

Click to read more ...

Promoting Your Music With Snapchat

Jack McCarthy is a contributing writer for of WeSpin, a growth training platform and community which offers a free Fan Engagement course available at: box.wespin.co.

If you or your band have been steadily growing a fanbase and seeing increasing engagement online while touring and releasing music, then you know all about the constant demand for content on your social media networks. If you are not sharing photos on Instagram, tweeting and direct messaging your fans, and getting comfortable using YouTube regularly then you are probably falling behind in taking full advantage of the social platforms where your fans live their daily lives.

Click to read more ...

MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: 4 Ways To Battle The Stress Of Managing Your Own Music Career

• Sonicbids | 4 Ways To Battle The Stress Of Managing Your Own Music Career
• Liz Lupton | Spotify’s Clout
• Mylène Besançon | Make Your Lyrics Shine
• Paul Williamson | How To: Be Your Own Promoter

4 Ways To Battle The Stress Of Managing Your Own Music Career

This article originally appeared on the Sonicbids blog

We’ve said it a thousand times: being an independent musician isn’t easy. Part of the difficulty in that effort is managing the stress it brings. When you’re overwhelmed, achieving your goals can seem impossible. Minimizing the pressure is paramount.

The four points outlined here are pretty basic, but the effects of wholeheartedly incorporating them can be tremendous. If you often find yourself stressed about your career, try them out, and let us know how things go in the comments section.

Click to read more ...

Spotify's Clout

By Spencer Ritchie from Berklee’s Music Business Journal, thembj.org.

In the last four months three new streaming platforms were launched: Apple Music, Tidal, and Google Play Music. Others, among them YouTube, Deezer, and Rdio, still compete for market share. The Freemium camp, with Spotify, Google Play Music, and Pandora, collects revenue from advertising & subscriptions. The Premium camp, with Apple Music and Tidal, produces receipts exclusively from paid memberships. Spotify is the very embodiment of Freemium, and the release of Apple Music will undoubtedly be a big challenge—coming, as it does, from the largest company in the world, with a remarkable market cap of more than $700 billion.

Click to read more ...

Make Your Lyrics Shine

The human voice is one of the most powerful instruments in music. Lyrics are a critical piece of songwriting, and the process of writing these lyrics can be one of the most difficult tasks that any songwriter will encounter. Like any other art form, songwriting is a powerful way to communicate with an audience and evoke emotion or convey a message. However, only some songwriters manage to accomplish this task. So how do you make your lyrics shine?

Click to read more ...

How To: Be Your Own Promoter

My name is Paul Williamson, founder of www.Band-Stuff.com, musician, singer, and promoter. In the past 2 years I have worked as a promoter, putting on events in London, working with a variety of bands and artists ranging from small garage band acts, to international touring acts. 

In this article I will go through the bare essentials behind being a promoter for your own shows. This is mainly to cover the nitty gritty essentials of putting on a show and not so much detail into the promotion side of things (since that is an extensive topic I will cover in another article at a later date!). This is by no means the only or best way to go about things, just one way.

Click to read more ...

MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: Protect Your Sound Studio

• Cherie Nelson | Protect Your Sound Studio
• Zac Shull | 6 Things Every Artist Needs From The Jump
• Andrew Salmon | DotMusic Looks To Fairly Administer The .music Domain
• Jason K Ventura | It’s Time To Rethink Everything
• Brianna DeMayo | 8 Ways To Get People To Share Your Song

Protect Your Sound Studio

Sound engineers spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on their equipment. This quality equipment is a hot target for thieves and burglars if you don’t have adequate security. Whether you have a professional or home sound studio, make sure it’s protected from dishonest people. Here are some tips to get you started.

Click to read more ...

6 Things Every Artist Needs From The Jump

Every rapper thinks they are the great, they think they are ready to change the game, and that’s good. However, before you can get to the top, you have to build the foundation from the bottom. With the internet today the world is at your fingertips, you just have to have the right tools.

Click to read more ...

Call To Action: DotMusic Looks To Fairly Administer The .music Domain With Safeguards

We are about to enter into the world of the .music realm, as the domain will soon be available for registration for the first time.  In other words, www.[yourname].music will soon become a possibility.  Constantine Roussos, the leader of DotMusic, is leading this charge. DotMusic wants to be the neutral administrator of the distribution of these domains.  DotMusic’s goal: to clean up the online music community by allowing music artists, music professionals and music companies to claim the domains that are rightfully theirs.

Click to read more ...

It's Time To Rethink Everything

As many of you who normally read my blog post know that I do not support the music-streaming model that is currently being used. I believe that streaming in the current business model is not sustainable revenue for the music industry. To date there hasn’t been any music streaming service that has yet made a profit. It’s easy math here, the record labels and artists spend big time dollars to produce, market, and distribute music. In turn they receive pennies to the dollar, this seems like a no brainer. No wonder why music-streaming services have not made a dollar.

Click to read more ...

8 Ways To Get People To Share Your Song

Does promotion often feel like pulling teeth?

Has it been hard for you to get people to share your music?

If so, continue reading. We’re about to clear things up for you.

Click to read more ...

MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: Sell More Music

• Jordan Brace | Sell More Music & Segment 
• Sonicbids | 5 Factors You Have Consider Before Moving Your Music Career
• Andrew Dubber | Human Music Interaction
• Larry Butler | The Unsung Hero Of The Music Business - The Artist Bio Writer 
• Sonicbids | The 5 Most Annoying Ways That Bands Promote Their Music