
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
So you have a new release and want it to be featured on Beatport. Well get ready, because there is a lot of competition. But the good news is that it can all happen with consistency and, of course, good music. We work very hard to help our clients get features each and every week. Here are some simple yet effective ways to increase your chances of being featured on the coveted site.
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
Infograph
Click here for more information
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.
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.
The last year in hip-hop has been a glorious one. Long gone are the lukewarm mid-2000’s, and the spectral stagnation that plagued the industry half a decade ago is nowhere to be seen.
The 32 pages long YouTube horror story
Some time ago I happened to read the long, horrible contract that YouTube asked indie labels to sign for launching their new premium streaming service. A copy of the leaked contract is here but I guess you won’t go far: their legal patois is unintelligible to a normal human being.
The contract is not only horrible to read: it is also greatly unfair toward indies. So indies promptly replied by taking off content from YouTube (Adele was said to be missing although I was much more concerned about XX and Anna Calvi).
Indies’ next bold move
Now it seems that indies have taken another move toward the Cupertino’s giant: more than 750 of them have signed the Fair Digital Deals Declaration (and notwithstanding the longish hashtag #fairdigitaldeal4artists, they quickly created a buzz on twitter), an initiative launched by the WIN- Worldwide independent network, that represents the interests of independent labels.
What questions do you have as you pave your path in the music industry?
One individual can never be allowed to undermine or destroy a successful business. If a player isn’t happy and wants to leave – they should be allowed to continue their career elsewhere. Each team needs players who will benefit the team as a whole – this benefits the business as well – because the team IS a business.