May 18, 2017 Musicians have a lot on their plates. Those plates are especially full during a performance schedule. These four tips will help you to stay safe and keep it all together while performing.
May 15, 2017 Summer is a time for adventure. When you aren’t busy dealing with school assignments, this is a perfect time to make some memories. Going to concerts is right at the top of the list for many music lovers. However, you can really take this to the next level by deciding to follow your favorite band on tour. This can be a fun way to be a part of your favorite band’s tour while seeing many different cities along the way. While this is a grand adventure, it is always important to stay safe when you are on the road for long periods of time. Here are three tips for the ultimate summer while following your favorite band.
May 8, 2017 There are at least a hundred ways for every singer/songwriter to improve his or her chances of success, but these are the five I already know that need to be addressed without even seeing your show. They are inherent the performance of virtually all aspiring (and sadly many seasoned) singer/songwriters.
Advice, Songwriting tagged Advice, DIY, Songwriting Tips, singer, songwriter, songwriting March 14, 2017 Advice, Publishing, Selling Your Music tagged Advice, Donnelly, Empire, Help, Independent, Music, PR, Ryan, book, premiere, press release, promotion March 1, 2017 Advice tagged Advice, Listening, listening to music February 22, 2017 February 8, 2017 If you’re a musician, then there’s a good chance that your instruments mean more to you than words can describe. You play and care for them every single day, always making sure that they’re in tip-top condition. But what happens when it’s time for you and your instruments to move into new digs? Here are four tips to help you move your instruments safely without scratching, dinging or denting them.
Advice tagged Advice, gear, instrument protection January 26, 2017 Concerts are great events for most people, and the energy of the crowd is as much a part of the show as the performers. There are multiple factions and demographics when the concert is a particularly big event, such as an all-day festival where people actually set up tents and other camping equipment. Depending on the circumstances, the excitement of the event also comes with potential opportunity to indulge in drugs and alcohol that many people do not enjoy. And, for those who are in recovery, this can be a particularly uncomfortable situation. This does not mean that anyone cannot attend a show and stay sober and safe while still enjoying the music, but there are some situations to avoid concerning both sobriety and safety.
Advice tagged Advice, concerts, live music, safety January 10, 2017 This post was written by Ari Herstand and originally appeared on the Bandzoogle Blog. It is an excerpt from his new book How To Make It in the New Music Business
If pursuing licensing is your main focus, you need to plan this out long before you write your first song, let alone record it. The fact of the matter is, not every song or every genre works for licensing.
If your chorus is all about Sarah, but the main character of the show is named Amy, they aren’t going to use your song, no matter how perfect it may be musically. And because TV moves so quickly, they aren’t going to ask you to go replace “Sarah” with “Amy.” It either works or it doesn’t. For the most part.
Advice tagged Advice, DIY, TV placement October 28, 2016 It’s no coincidence that so many aspiring musicians live in New York City. The Big Apple is one of the best places in the world for any type of artist to be successful. If you’re already living in one of the five boroughs, you’re on the road to making your musical dreams come true… but you still need to get your act together. Here’s our advice for how to start a band and set yourself up for success. Read full how to start a band in NYC post here.
October 21, 2016 This massive amount of information can be deceiving because students think they have to watch it all. But that’s not the reason we have so many different lessons. The reason we have so many different lessons is because there are so many different drummers who all want to learn something different. We want to help everyone!
So in this article, I want to share with you my five tips for practicing the drums and cutting through the information overload:
August 8, 2016 This article originally appeared on the Sonicbids Blog
Music journalists aren’t angry people. Really, we aren’t, but certain things artists have been known to do make us go from mild-mannered Bruce Banner to full-on Hulk smash. If you don’t want to feel the wrath of the Hulk, here are eight sins you’ll want to avoid.
Advice tagged Advice, interviews, journalism, promotion July 21, 2016 Yes, I finally sat down to watch this documentary. I know, I’m late.
First, the film is so damn good, I wish I would have shot it myself. I’m mad QD3 beat me to it.
Second, the film contains ninety minutes of heavy, mind piercing ammunition and large atomic bombs of knowledge that fire in rapid succession, covering everything from the internal mindsets and attitudes necessary for success to the external situations and factors that rain down failure.
In other words, if you aspire to create success as they did (and avoid the trap of failure they ran into), reading this AND watching the film is very much worth your time (as you watch, you may mistake twinkling jewels of wisdom for mundane commentary as viewers tend to do).
Advice tagged Advice, Artist Advice, documentary, video April 29, 2016 Summer touring season is fast approaching and many bands are finalizing those last minute details before the tour starts. Every year, bands report issues and problems that could have easily been avoided by simply talking to their manager before they ever set foot on the tour bus. Whether you’re a part of a top selling band or just starting out with an unknown group, there are some simple details that can make this tour the best one ever.