The Top 50 Most Influential A&R People in the U.K.

It’s true - I’ve listed the contact details of the top 50 biggest A&R cheeses in the U.K. here - http://mashbinsocial.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/the-top-50-ar-people-in-the-u-k/

There’s no catch - it’s my Blog, you don’t have to sign up for anything, pay anything, sell your grandmother - nothing at all. If you’re in a band looking for a decent record deal, then it’s probably the best bit of free information you’ll ever receive.

Click to read more ...

Top 10 Reasons Your Efforts to Find a Band via Craigslist are Failing

I’m going to vent a little, and in the process give you a few laughs.

If you’re a musician looking to join a band,  and you’ve been trying & trying, responding to tons of ads, or running ads of your own, yet you just can’t seem to get into a band, you might pick up some tips here.

Click to read more ...

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

Click to read more ...

The Neighbourhood is a Band to Watch in 2013 [NEW MUSIC/SOCIAL MEDIA]

The power of social media is growing in the music industry.  Does it sell records?  In rare cases, yes, but I believe that since it’s already become a significant factor in how music is discovered, sales aren’t too far behind.  For example, my friends know my basic overall taste in music.  If they don’t, a quick look at my social media channels could easily give them a few ideas.  Charlie sends me a message saying, “What up man!?  How have you been?  I was listening to a band the other day and I thought you would enjoy them too. They are fairly new and are gaining traction quick. http://www.last.fm/music/The+Neighbourhood  I think it’s pretty good stuff.”  That personal recommendation (not a flashing message on the side of my screen or ad on Pandora) got me to open a new tab and listen to their music.  It’s not rocket science people, it’s simply quality music that does the job. When bands take the time to make good music, it will eventually find their audience.

Click to read more ...

Send Your Home Made Music Have It Published in 15 Days

Making a world-class recording is easier than it used to be. Scarlet Lab, our professional album recording and artist creation studio, turns your raw music into fully developed tracks, composed by professional musicians in 15 days including all instrument and vocal tracks. All tracks are recorded, mixed and mastered in 5 steps. In addition to acoustic recording, Scarlet Lab also provide a vast library of live recorded sample instruments from which you can choose any instrument complementary to your music style.

Click to read more ...

The Low-Down on Music Publicists

A common question for many new bands is “what do publicists do and do I need one?” Although brief, I hope I can expand upon the idea of hiring a publicist to do your promotion and press for you without boring you to death.

Click to read more ...

Creating an Unstoppable Kickstarter Campaign: Start With the Fans

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur on Fire. He was launching a new podcast series called “The Great Business Experiment: Kickstarter.” It featured interviews with ten successful Kickstarter campaigns to talk about what worked, what was learned, and what can be done for the future. 

Click to read more ...

Post-Digital

// Digital download cards are boring at the merch table but don’t have to be. The coolest thing about downloads is that they can go anywhere, so why do we always pick card stock? //

Click to read more ...

Unit Audio Announces the “New Unit” 16 x 2 Analog Summing Mixer

Unit Audio recently released the New Unit 16 x 2 analog summing mixer. The New Unit features 16 channels of actual physical Analog Summing for less than $300.00. That’s less than the cost of plug-ins designed to emulate analog summing. Like all Unit Audio mixers, the “Unit “ it is completely hand assembled, tested, and wired point to point in Nashville, TN using only the highest quality components like Neutik connectors and Xicon resistors.

Click to read more ...

9 Jobs In The Music Industry You Probably Never Thought Of

The time has come for you to decide what your projected career path will be. For several years now you’ve had your sights set on a career in the music industry. With all the competition out there you might find yourself a little hesitant to jump into such a cutthroat field.

A different perspective may help you land the job you have always wanted but never knew existed. The music industry operates the same as many other industries do in that one persons job makes another person’s job possible.

Click to read more ...

4 Reasons Why Your Band Needs To Blog

If you have a website, but you are not actively maintaining a blog…

You are seriously killing your marketing game.

Let’s dive in.

Click to read more ...

Why Most Indie Music Groups and Labels Fail (Part 2)

This is part 2 of a 2 part article I wrote strictly based on my professional experience producing and engineering and managing artists. Since 2006, I’ve been involved as a key member in several music groups, labels, and production teams that despite all their potential to achieve greatness, fail and fall apart, often at critical moments.

Click to read more ...

Moupp, The First Mobile Fan App for Bands and Artists

The first ever mobile app for bands & artists to market and promote themselves. The app alerts fans to notify them of their favorite bands at the right time and right place. Bands increase their fan base, expand their reach and increase earnings.

Click to read more ...

To Stream or Not to Stream: Pro and Cons

Everyone has heard so much hoopla about streaming and subscription services. Everyone has also heard of Lady Ga Ga . Well, here’s an article every musician needs to read http://www.good.is/posts/thieving-and-streaming-spotify-paid-gaga-167-for-1-million-spins-of-poker-face/

Lady Ga Ga had over a million spins on Spotify and was paid a whopping $167.00. So who does streaming benefit? It sure isn’t the artists who make the music. Spotify claims it’s loosing money. Since the inception of streams and subscription services, labels and artists have watched their digital income plummet into the toilet. Anyone know a good plumber to retrieve all those “would have been” downloads?

Click to read more ...