It seems like the music journalism community has decided that this is the week they can finally pile on Taylor Swift. In the past 36 hours, I’ve read headlines about her “career-ending” Grammy performance, bloggers and columnists have called for…
Author
Joe Taylor Jr.
2010 Grammy Awards Recap
Everyone I know has a newfound respect for P!nk. Apparently, she’s been doing the wire act from last night’s Grammy Awards as an encore in her live set for some time now. That it was the standout moment in the…
01/28/10 – Music Management for the Rest of Us Q&A Call
Ingrid Michaelson Focuses on Live Gigs, Song Placement
This London Times profile of singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson deserves a little more than just a slot on this week’s “interesting links” list. A few slices of Michaelson’s life indicate the direction that savvy working musicians will need to take in…
Believing Your Own Story
Natalie Gelman’s recapping some of her favorite Seth Godin books on her blog, and relating what she’s learned to her experience as a New York City street musician. One of the most important things Godin said in the book for…
Mailbag: Music Management Degrees in New York City
Hello Mr.Taylor, I hope everything is going well with you. I found your website on google and I’m looking for someone to help me with some music management advice. Could you? I’ve been in NYC for almost 3 years, and…
Predicting the “Death of Twitter.”
Heather Nolte remarks that Twitter’s latest usage numbers show a decline in active users, from 23 million down to 20 million. Whether the novelty has worn off for some passive users of the service or whether the entire social media…
Social Media Tools that Grow Your Audience
Yes, I’m still working on the draft of “Grow Your Band’s Audience,” version 4.0. (Side note: if you buy the PDF version now, you will get a free upgrade to 4.0 when it launches.) One of the things I find…
Talent Buyers and Booking Agents’ Bottom Line
“The way this place is working, the landlord business may be more profitable than the bar.” That’s the critical quote from an accountant interviewed for a CNN profile on a relatively new bar in Detroit, P.J.’s Lager House. Owner P.J.…
Talent2K Complaints Return to My Inbox
Some things show up in four year cycles, like the Winter Olympics, leap years, and complaints about Talent2K. In the past few weeks, I’ve found myself again facing a stack of mail asking whether Talent2K is “legit,” whether they’re “reformed,”…
The Orchard Lays off 20% of Staff, CEO Exits
It’s hard to read the tea leaves on this one, since this company has survived and evolved through things far worse than this: CEO Greg Scholl is leaving the company, which is also laying off one-fifth of its team. News…
Is Poor Self-Esteem Killing Your Band?
Derek Sivers posted a little experiment. In it, a band that was selling its CD for $15 at gigs asked the audience to come see them at the merch table. “Pay what you want,” they said, “and if you can’t…