Ed Simons from the Chemical Brothers wonders that aloud, in response to Radiohead’s new album release. In an age of quickly copied digital downloads, turning your album into an artifact can help you preserve sales and reward your most loyal fans. But it’s easy to let the planning of your album release and the development [...]
Is it tough to make a living as a music manager? Ask Quincy Jones.
March 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
At 78, you couldn’t possibly begrudge Quincy Jones the right to slow down a little. “Slowing down” for Q means working on just one album project at a time. This powerful career retrospective and interview from The National reveals some things that might make you think twice the next time you want to complain about [...]
University of North Alabama Students Plan Concerts, Run Record Label
March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Here’s another case study of a college-based music management degree program taking things to the next level: At the University of North Alabama, students in an Artist Management and Touring course have to stage a concert for a final project. Getting audiences into seats is just one of the factors affecting students’ final grades. UNA’s [...]
No more “Dadager” for Beyonce
March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The entertainment press buzzes this morning with news that Beyonce has dropped her dad as her manager. It’s not unusual for artists and managers to evolve in different directions, but it’s very rare for a successful family partnership to last as long as that between Beyonce and Mathew Knowles. Our gossip-crazed culture really wants [...]
David Barbe to head University of Georgia music business program full-time.
March 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I’ve written in the past about the music business major degree programs popping up at colleges and universities all over the United States. While it still worries me that we may be creating a bigger supply of would-be music managers than the business currently demands, a handful of schools have stacked the decks in their [...]
Grow Your Band’s Audience Only $2.99 on Kindle! (SPONSORED POST)
March 26, 2011 By
Philadelphia Event Alert: Grammy Awards 101 at Gershman Y, 4/12/11
March 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Could your next album qualify for a Grammy? If you’re in the Philadelphia region, my home chapter of NARAS is sponsoring a free “Grammy Awards 101″ session for performers, producers, and music managers to learn everything about submitting your recordings for Grammy consideration. NARAS VP Bill Freimuth will be in town to walk you through [...]
Songcatch.com: the future of free MP3 search forces a strategy shift for music sales.
March 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Artists sometimes ask me why I focus my books on earning revenue from touring and merchandise sales, instead of from boosting album sales. In response, let me introduce you to Arizona State University Economics and Finance major Hasan Siddiqui. The school’s newspaper just profiled the website he created, SongCatch.com. It’s a search engine that hunts [...]
It’s just as challenging to give away your money as it is to earn it.
March 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
It’s hard enough to find music managers you can trust. Once you’re earning enough money from music to think about helping others, you’ve got to find managers from other disciplines who can carry out your mission without embarrassing you in the details. That’s the frustration Madonna’s dealing with right now, having sacked the management team [...]
