
Jan/Feb '17 Issue Of BRASH! Magazine Available Now!
Jan/Feb BRASH! Magazine Featuring Cover Artists The Last Living









































Anybody (no really anybody) can contribute anything relevant to this page…All mp3s should be posted on the MTT radio page. If you cannot find your post here, your article may have been moved to the MTT homepage.
If you would like Music Think Tank to publish your contribution, please read our posting guidelines and our posting advice.
Jan/Feb BRASH! Magazine Featuring Cover Artists The Last Living
As a music fan today, I’m introduced to new music every week. I have what at times feels like almost personal access to my favorite artists; ranging from scintillating personal thoughts and pictures (Instagram, Twitter) to inspired support of an album’s production (PledgeMusic).
For listening to music, the physical to digital shift has given way to an abundance of platforms from which to discover, purchase, and share music. Chances are that if we met at one of our industry’s many events, we’d end up discussing the variety of streaming services that are available. I’d ask ‘what service do you use?’ to which you may confess no particular allegiance to one, rather, that you use more than one depending on the situation. Many people (including myself) would probably answer this way.
Like many of you I occasionally like to watch reality talent shows to potentially discover the next “big thing” that once upon a time we may never have come across. Naturally the world of an unsigned / emerging artist was once a lonely one with a mountain to climb and a lot of hard work and sheer persistence to get yourself heard or in fact in front of the right people. It is a shame though that for the majority of singers / bands that something is definitely missing.
We’ve all seen the ads, spam comments from random accounts, and posts that look oh so tempting to check out or even try. Increase your followers!, Gain more followers! Blah! Blah! Blah!…but of course it comes with a cost…literally. Now, we can’t discredit the supply/demand business savvy that is being used here. These fly by night business pages/companies are aware that people are now desperate to get their follower numbers up. With this in mind, they’ve set up a way to manipulate the social media numbers to create the illusion of a large following. It’s smart, in a way, because when one person sees that an artist has a large number of followers on their page, they tend to check it out to see what the hype is all about. However, at the end of the day, the numbers just don’t add up.
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.”
Where can we find quality music today?
It’s a no-brainer that the music industry has DRASTICALLY changed since some of our favorite mainstream artists began. These changes have created a domino effect on how music is made, distributed, marketed, and handled business wise. A lot of our beloved artists who were once signed to major labels have now started their own or joined independent labels. On the other hand, technology changes have had a grand effect on new indie artists who have hopes on getting picked up/signed by major labels OR continue their growth on the independent route
Clients on board of Symphonic Distribution have a lot of offerings, but above all, they have choice. Our clients can choose when they want to deliver their content and where they want to deliver it. That choice is not easily found with our competitors, as some won’t even let clients have a direct account on a partner that the distributor is not delivering to (we call that ridiculous).
BRASH! - A Music Marketing Blog started in 2012. This blog was designed to provide music marketing tips for Independent Artists as well as provide a platform for exposure by giving exclusive interviews and social media promotions. In 2016, BRASH! is ready to expand to the magazine scene but we need your help. In order to bring this to life we are accepting donations to design, create, and develop a Music Marketing Magazine to increase exposure and awareness for quality Indie Artists. Funds raised will be used for staff memebers (writers, graphics artists, events etc.) as well as the development for the magazine’s platform, both online and print.
By Zach Rickers
In February of 2014, Warner Music Group and Shazam announced that they would enter into a “strategic collaboration” in which Warner would have access to Shazam’s user data and Shazam would have access to exclusive Warner content.1 Currently, when a user hears a song that they like, whether it is at a restaurant or on the radio, they can open up the Shazam application on their smartphone and hold the phones microphone to the speaker which will then analyze and identify the song title and artist that the user is listening to.2 Once a song is identified, the app logs data such as the time of day the song was “tagged”, the song being identified, and even where the song was tagged (if the user has location services enabled).3 This is the sort of data that Warner plans to use not only for A&R, but also for marketing and promotion purposes.
Do you know the difference between an 8-Track and a MiniDisc? What about a Walkman and a Discman? Our History of Portable Music gives you an insight into where it started, and how it came to be today. From not-so-portable Phonograph players, to an entire computer in your pocket, we outline the History of Portable Music.
The history of portable music - A video by the team at Beatsuite.com
Have you ever felt like you were no longer in the loop when it comes to new music? “Have you heard Beyonce’s new song?!” “Did you get tickets for that gig?” “It went to number 1!”. None of us like to feel left out when it comes to the hottest new songs, the latest summer smash, or that killer album everybody’s talking about.
Here are a number of methods to stay up to date with the best music and most anticipated releases.
1. Social media
Following your favourite artists and bands on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook will ensure that you are constantly in the know about what’s out and what’s coming next. Artists promote themselves and their music this way as it’s the easiest outlet to connect with their fans.
Purify Media announced the release of PurifyArt.com, an ad-free service directly connecting artists and fans. A first of its kind, PurifyArt.com enables artists and fans to find and promote music, images and video on one platform, maximizing the revenue artists and companies receive for sharing and selling content while providing viewers one affordable, complete, and interactive online service.
Happy Dog Music is one of a handful of marketing centered music start-ups that are a product of the seismic shift that has taken place in the music industry in the last ten years. Happy Dog Music crafts and implements custom marketing campaigns and provides any other ancillary support clients may need during the course of the agreement. Unlike the typical record label deal, Happy Dog Music clients retain 100% of all rights. Happy Dog Music provides major label support without all of the strings that come attached to a major record deal.