The X-Factor In Music Uncovered Reveals The Anatomy Of Hit Songs

What makes a great song? A catchy melody? Definitely. Killer lyrics? Possibly. But if you really want to know what helped Mark Ronson shift 14 million copies of Uptown Funk in an age where piracy and streaming rule, research suggests you may have to dig a little deeper.

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Press Release: A Brash! Blog Birthday Celebration

Atlanta, GA – August 18, 2015 - BRASH! – A Music Marketing Blog began in August of 2011 with the notion of providing new/independent artists with music marketing knowledge to help advance their careers.. Since its beginnings, BRASH! has made a grand name for itself by sticking to its original notion along with giving independent artists exposure and displaying how the music industry is gaining innovation. Now celebrating its fourth year, BRASH! is looking to gain more ground to reach a broader audience, provide more content, and fulfill the vision of music marketing in the Indie music industry. “I remember sitting in an office cubicle writing blogs for this corporate company that I had no interest in. Then, I got the idea of writing my own, I wanted it to be helpful, I wanted it to be about music & entertainment, and I wanted it to be BRASH!” says founder/editor-in-chief E. Alexcina Brown. “My goal was to provide an outlet for great artists who were not fortunate enough to have that mainstream exposure.”

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Music & Fashion Pt Deux

In our last blog about Music & Fashion, we highlighted how these two elements can come together to make a powerful force in the entertainment and fashion industries. You can take that on and allow yourself as an indie artist to be a part of that force. Today, music artists are setting the latest fashion trends. Consumers are being inspired by what today’s hottest artists are wearing on red carpets, interviews, appearances, concerts, and even on their social media during random outings. Some wardrobe choices are only meant for the stage however, fans are constantly wondering, “What are they wearing? How can I get it?” This blog can go for up & coming fashion moguls as well. You want your clothes to have more exposure in your industry, team up with a great artist to help build that brand. Gain their fans as future customers.

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Sell Your Music (with No Competition) - CustomComposing.com

My name is Aaron Billings. I am also known as the Custom Music Guy.

I have created a revolutionary website and system that helps composers turn their dream of creating music for a living into a reality.

In fact, I ran some numbers about how likely it is for one composer’s work to be chosen when a music sale is made. And these are the results that I found:

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Post-Show Procedures: 8 Things Every Band Should Do After the Performance

Do you have a post-show plan? Is there a set of procedures that you work on after each performance? Or, does your band simply work on the next upcoming event – the next show, the next rehearsal, time in the studio, etc.?

In almost every professional endeavor, there is some kind of routine or review period to measure performance or follow-up with customers:

• In sports, the coach diligently sits down with the entire team to review footage of the previous game. Team member celebrate successes and most importantly, look for areas of improvement.

• In corporate business, the board of directors and executive staff look over stock performance and make decisions to keep their shareholders satisfied.

• In the arts, performers carefully review each element of the show to see what delighted audiences and what could use work.

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Pickasound; A movement for the free expression of musical Ideas online

About 8 months ago, me and an amateur musician friend of mine living in Toronto were trying to collaborate on a few tracks for his upcoming album.  

I created instrumentals and he wanted to sing over them. 
We were both excited about working together on a project, but when it came time to communicate our musical ideas online, the process proved to be a daunting task.

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One Book To Rule Them All! The Elusive "It" Factor in the Music Industry

I have always been a creative entrepreneur, and not allowed the world to get the better of me, but instead, let the world fuel me. Throughout 13 years in the music industry I’ve worked with some of the best in the business: Anita Baker, KC Porter, Jim Henson Studios, Never Land, OK GO, George Duke, Lauren Mayhew, Pomplamoose, and as far as I can remember, I’ve heard of “it,” this elusive thing setting apart the extraordinary from the ordinary. These people encapsulate: auras, energy, and empower all that are near; you’re drawn to them.

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Before You Sign...

What You Should Know Before You Sign the Deal can be found in this book…

Unlike any other book about the music business, “Music Business: It’s a Dirty Game!”,

this book is not a ‘puff piece’ about the glitz and glamour about the music business.

This book takes you on a journey from the excitement of having a music publishing contract with a major music publishing company to the legal battles that followed.

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Digital Mixtape promotion, easy and beautiful

Re-caught  is a new and easy app that lets you create your own digital mixtapes from music you find on youtube. Whether you find music and want to remember and play it for your own or create mixtapes for friends as a gift. One thing that was important when designing re-caught was to make sure that tapes cannot be modified later on and are created anonymously. You don’t need to sign up or register to create mixtapes or play them ! 

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The impact that blogging has had on my music career

Houston Hip Hop artist Rob Jay explains the impacts that blogging has had on his career and how artist can get started with it. http://www.robjay.com

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Joe Solo: Commonsense advice sprinkled with gems

The more emails and tips I get from this guy, the more his great advice sinks in - and I’m not a working/recording musician. It’s just damned good advice. A mix of “DOH! slap me up side the head” commonsense stuff that we need to be reminded of constantly - sprinkled with brilliant gems of creative advice. I heard him speak at a couple of different songwriter workshops and conferences within a 3-month time span, and then I signed up for his free email tips and video nuggets. It’s THAT good that I suggest y’all do the same at his website joesolo dot com. Did I mention that it’s FREE!!!!  End of public service announcement. :-)

5 Tips Toward Making XXL’s Freshmen Class

Consistency: As with any goal that you set, you have to be consistent and continually take action. Each XXL freshman has been consistent in their efforts. Big K.R.I.T first started generating a MySpace buzz in 2005, releasing his first mixtape at 18. Curren$y started off as one of the 504 Boyz on Master P’s No Limit Records, he later signed with Young Money where he released the track “Where Da the Cash At”. After pushbacks, he left and took control of his career. He released the popular mixtapes: Independence Day and Higher than 30,000 Feet, generating a buzz that landed him in the 2009 freshmen class.

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Practical Music Theory

There’s some debate among musicians and songwriters about the value of learning music theory. At one extreme are those who feel that learning a set of “rules” will only limit their creativity, and at the other end are those who are truly interested in understanding how the parts of a musical piece work together.
Both extremes have some validity to their viewpoints, but they ARE extremes – most people fall somewhere in the middle. They see the value in knowing more than they do, but may be intimidated by the topic or may not see the value in knowing about it.

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Are Musicians Using "All" Of Their Creative Talents When Promoting And Marketing?

I was looking at a new Comic Book released by a Major artist the other day,
and started asking myself the question…

Why do so many independent artists limit their online promotional
activities to spamming Facebook and peoples email addresses with links
and postings that simply say: “hey check out my new track!”

Is that really the boundary of their creative marketing ideas?

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