He’s singing the National Anthem at the Coca-Cola 600 this weekend, so the Sporting News checks in with Darryl Worley about how he got to where he is today. He converted a degree in organic chemistry into a successful business, then used the proceeds to fund his full-time music career.
Then he lost it all, and [...]

After hearing so much great response from our profile of Drexel’s campus-based music business program, I’m noticing more stories about schools that model their student-run record labels and booking agencies along the same principles. This week, the Los Angeles Times profiles a school that’s offering the same kind of real world experience, only at a [...]

I was in a meeting at the day job today when one of the marketing folks mentioned an awesome, mind-exploding idea that fits perfectly with setting music career goals: write a press release, then work backwards.
The idea is to sit down and write the ideal make-believe press release for your project. It’s a powerful, imaginative [...]

A great prompt this morning from Jason Womack:
If (and I think this is the big if) everything were up to date, your workstation were organized, your projects were identified, and you had a strong/complete/total inventory of “hi-po*” activities…I have a questions:
How would you choose what you choose to work on?
When I speak with musicians [...]

When I first started working in radio, one of our station’s specialty DJ’s was a fascinating guy named Bernie Milton. He actually fronted a band called Bernie Milton and the Soul Patrol WAY back in the day. He had a dance hit called “The Waddle” back in the 60’s, and hit the charts again in [...]

Let us now sing the praises of not being in the public eye…
I love this article: Embrace Obscurity. The author is talking about business but it certainly applies to musical pursuits as well:
When no one knows about you you can make mistakes quietly. Learn at your own pace. Fail without the fear of failure. Failing [...]

Print this out and stick it on the door of your studio or practice room. Or, if it helps, your forehead (via Brad).
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Here’s a cool article on Brit Daniels and his band Spoon, and his workman-like approach to music:
The singer-guitarist-songwriter says his years intently listening to radio hits were like “extensive research.” Knowing from the beginning that he cared most about music, he set out with realistic, step-by-step ambitions. Now, he even treats the studio like an [...]

In the mid-90s producer/engineer Evan Brubaker founded Cake Records as a boutique label, producing and collaborating on records by artists such as Holly Figueroa and Kym Tuvim. Since then, Cake has undergone a dramatic growth spurt, embracing a wide range of musical genres, securing national distribution and garnering lots of press interest as the Little [...]

Seth Godin’s blog is another non-music website I think all working musicians should read. Godin has a rep as a marketing “guru” but I suspect his true talent is a keen grasp on what people really value in their lives.
Godin has a great thought-provoking post today on the value of authenticity which really speaks to [...]