Innovation, Our New Job As The Music Industry

I released my first music video, “Rocket to the Moon” today. As a new artist with a low starting fanbase I understood I wouldn’t be able to get much press write up for my music video unless I presented something never seen before. So that’s what I did, I created “The World’s First Portrait Music Video”, and the press followed. It is our new job as the Music Industry to lead innovation.

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The Ultimate Gig Booking Guide | Phosphene Productions

Booking regular shows is an essential part of being a musician when expecting to be heard by the public, and a question we here at Phosphene Productions get asked a lot about. Though everyone has their own technique when it comes to finding the perfect show, many artists new to the scene should devise a “template” to work by and to keep yourself organized when contacting so many different people.

Our goal in this article is to give you a sort of template to use when beginning to develop your own booking strategy, and by the end you should have all the necessary information to kick off your gig.

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Feed The Arts Introduces TIME Funding

FEED THE ARTS INTRODUCES TIME FUNDING WEBSITE FOR THE ARTS
ENTERTAINMENT SERVICE PROVIDERS BENEFIT AND BUILD THEIR BUSINESS WHILE HELPING ARTISTS

NEW YORK, NY (June 4, 2013)—

Feedthearts.com is forever changing the way art is funded by introducing its patent pending TIME FUNDING Model.  Time Funding is a cross between crowd funding and virtual rewards programs allowing fans to donate time instead of money.  Their time is what helps Artists get funded and allows funding of Creative Arts projects with fans earning virtual currency we call ?Helping Hands?.  Helping Hands are then turned around through an advertising revenue share and giving that currency to artists projects posted on the site.  This revolutionary model eliminates the risk of previous crowd funding and traditional funding models.

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The UK markets MBA for the Music Industry at Henley Business School proves to be a Key Influencer in US Job success

The UK market is known for its influence in music across the world so its no surprise that its world first MBA in the Music Industry also proves to be a real game changer and a positive effect on the US jobs market.

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Henley Business School's New MBA for the Music Industry Program Gets U.S. Launch at Musexpo, May 5-8, 2013

Spearheaded by Program Director, Helen Gammons, the Henley Business School will officially launch it’s new MBA in the Music Industry program in Hollywood at the Musexpo global music event, May 5-8, 2013.

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Need help winning Joe Bonamassa's Blues Masters Competition

Hello my name is Hollaman Lindsay and I am asking all of you to see if you can possibly aid me in my attempt to win Joe Bonamassa’s Blues Masters Competition. The first round for this contest is based off of viral popularity and how many views and shares your audition video gets, now I aint sayin that I cant generate that many views and shares because I dont have the talent, Its just that I live in Hiram Georgia and we got more stock in rakes then we do computers so its hard for me to find many people around me to support it. So I am inquiring you to see if you can help me get my name out there and get my audition video views and shares because if I can get past this first round and make it to guitar duals I think I got it made in the shade.

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Music Without Labels Seeking Submissions for New Web Series!

Hello Everyone!

I am the spokesperson for Music Without Labels & Beat-Play LLC.  MWL is an umbrella for many music projects, ideas and conversation. The MWL Live just wrapped up a on a 15,000 mile cross-country video tour covering the hottest summer musicians and artists across the country. We featured several great bands such as Portugal. The Man, Datsik, The Lonely Forest, Yann Tiersen, Carina Round, Vintage Trouble, Dry the River, Washed Out, Gardens & Villa, Fun. and many more! Check out the MWL Live Tour 2012 videos here. 

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Guerrilla Promotion; Building Better MI Relationships

Contacting music industry professionals can be easy if you have the right approach. Unfortunately, many independent artists do not use the right approach and have limited success. The Guerrilla Promotion tips in this post are designed to help musicians that find it difficult to get in touch with or to work with music industry professionals. If you find yourself leaving a lot of message that don’t get returned, or cant get people on the phone, this article may help.

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BBox: Brooklyn’s New Community Radio Station: Call for Entries!

Hi Music Think Tank, We are BBox Radio, a new community-powered platform and internet station broadcasting from NYC’s creative center: Brooklyn! Take a look at our Call for Entries — we’re asking everyone in and around the borough to help us reinvent radio! The idea is to create something new, expressive and decidedly LOCAL, yet global in reach. We hope you can help us spread the word! Visit BBoxRadio.com for more information and let us know if you have any questions. We’ll keep you tuned in. Love, BBox Radio

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Don't Get Screwed!!! Music Contract Terms Every Artist Should Know, In Plain English-Part 2

In Part 1 of this list, I began listing common terminology you will see over and over again in the contracts you receive. And although an entertainment attorney and other experienced professionals should be reviewing and explaining them to you, it is always good to have at least a basic understanding of some of the jargon. So here is Part 2 of Music Contract Terms Every Artist Should Know, In Plain English…

Common Contract Terms Every Artist Should Know

License - This has nothing to do with your driving…A license in the entertainment business is permission a company or any other 3rd party gets when they want to use your music. If you write a song, and Lady Gaga wants to sing it, she has to get a license from you to use it. If “Ride Or Die San Andreas-The Movie” wants to then use her version of that song in their new game, they need a license from you AND her…Radio gets a license for every song they play. So does every bar, club, and restaurant! (Well, they’re suppose to anyway…) This license is needed because under copyright law, you own the song, and therefore have a right to decide who gets to use it (for an exception, see compulsory license below).

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"When Will We See You On MTV?"...Thoughts of an Independent Musician

“So when will we see you on MTV?” “When will we be hearing your stuff on the (mainstream) radio?”  “You should be famous by now.”  “When you’re famous we can say we knew you when.”

These are all questions and statments that I’m certain many relatively well-known touring independent musicians and bands (including myself) hear on at least a fairly regular basis.  I don’t know about you, but I usually feel slightly taken aback when I hear statements such as this even though I know the person or persons making the statement/s probably mean well.  I’ve sat down to think about why these feelings arise when I hear such statements.  When I think about it though, certain key words from such statements that are frequnently uttered when they are made: MTV, radio, and (most prominently) FAMOUS.  That then raises the question; What exactly is fame nowadays? 

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Rock The Biz: documentary finally online for free!!!

The documemtary about the new music business in Europe is now online. 105 minutes with 11 chapters. Watch them for free, download them, share them

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An Open Letter to the Music Industry.

An open letter from the co-founders of the Restoring Music Foundation.

There is more music available than ever.  The ability for anyone to easily produce music at low cost coupled with an increase in available distribution channels, makes scarcity and control of music a thing of the past.  This is compounded by the proliferation of online piracy, that has made a significant dent in the revenues of the music business over the past decade.  Competing with “free” music is a challenge.  This has resulted in a devaluing of music, which has affected every stakeholder in the supply chain, from the record company to the musician.  This devaluation is the central reason for the Restoring Music Foundation.

In 2009 we defined the economic crisis with the help of our wonderful network of music industry supporters.  We want to personally thank all of you that pitched in your opinions and helped us ask the big questions.  The campaign was a massive success and it was all because of you.  We hope you will continue to stay involved in the ongoing Restoring Music Dialogue.  Thanks again!

Here at The Restoring Music Foundation, our goal is to create and implement solutions to the crisis and in turn, create an economically sustainable road map for the restoration of the music industry.

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American Idol Take 2 or another take.

After all the media from last week about American Idol and whether it was fixed or if Paula is coming back, I was asked by a few people to repost and recycle this blog from earlier in the year. This was written right before the beginning of last season, but I think it still relevant.

“Are you the next American Idol?”

Realistically? Nope. Not a freaking chance.

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