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Do Social Networks Really Help Musicians?
On Music Think Tank, Dan Morgan writes about the problem of overcrowding and social media. It's hard to catch the attention of A&R reps with overcrowding, but Dan looks at three websites that can help artists reach the industry. “This overcrowding, or “noise" makes it harder for talented musicians to get spotted (because it makes it ...
Music Services Agree! Freemium Just Doesn't Pay...
Freemium has the Chris Anderson stamp of approval. But in the real world, music companies are realizing that freemium is too expensive and unsustainable, at least without serious constraints. It doesn't make economic sense, and worse, it feeds a consumer addiction to free—instead of whetting the appetite for premium. This has become obvious, and the examples ...
C'mon: Is Soundscan Really Undercounting the Little Guy?
One thing's clear: Nielsen Soundscan doesn't count every last album sale. That would be impossible. But are they somehow missing this vast number of unsigned and indie albums (and singles), and grossly skewing our picture of who's really winning? That's been a longtime argument from two of the front-running digital distributors, Tunecore and CD Baby. In ...
5 Reasons Free is Hurting Us All
Few question the power of free music to garner new fans and reward existing ones. But marketing guru John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing is worried that too much free has side effects. Free everything has “created an environment that may actually be hurting the seeker of quality information more than the spreader of quality information, ...
Album Art: Suburban Abstract
Somehow abstract art became popular among the American suburban culture of the late '50s and early '60s. For proof, watch any episode of Mad Men, one of the best ways to see—not really know—what the world might have been like for East Coast Americans of a certain age at certain point in history. (Left: Olga Albizu's ...
Have the Grammys Become Racist? Take a Look...
At first blush, it seemed like cutting categories was a smart path for the Grammy Awards. But instead of cutting the fat, a lot of important ethnic genres were eliminated—and that is stirring a growing consortium of concerned musicians. “The biggest and most irresponsible cut to us is that you have eliminated Latin Jazz," Carlos Santana ...
Jonathan Coulton on His Business Model and How Now is Best Time Ever to be a Musician
NPR's Panet Money recently featured successful d.i.y. musician Jonathan Coulton (@jonathancoulton), dissecting his success and asking if other musicians could follow a similar path, Hypebot's look at the interview “How Jonathan Coulton Made $500,000 Last Year As A D.I.Y. Musician“ received heated comments and questions that he's agreed to answer. But first, we wanted to share ...
Unraveling the Grammy Travesty: Bobby Sanabria Discusses the Latin Jazz Grammy
On April 6, 2011, the National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences introduced a “restructuring" of The Grammy Awards, eliminating 31 categories. This unexpected downsizing stole recognition from a number of genres, including Latin Jazz, contemporary jazz, classical music, Hawaiian music, and more. The storm had been brewing for a while, as the popular music industry ...
Is This the Best or the Worst Time for Independent Musicians?
On Music Think Tank, Rich Gordon poses an interesting question—Is this the best or the worst time for independent musicians? With the ever growing DIY movement, musicians are finding that they can record and release their music without big companies. If enough people like their music, then artists are able to become successful. However, more opportunity ...
Jazz Takes a Back Seat at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
This was originally posted by Brian Ross (Managing Editor of Truth-2-Power.com) on The Huffington Post on 5/8/11. Brian makes some excellent points about the state of the music today. Feel free to discuss below. Yes, I speak jazz heresy: Maybe it is time that the promoters of the annual April/May music festival in New Orleans fess ...
