Hem has been honing their sound — a blend of etherial vocals and Americana — for close to seven years now. DreamWorks signed them in 2003, but couldn’t make their records click at radio. Luckily, they’ve moved on to Rounder,…
Author
Joe Taylor Jr.
New Tastemakers
Back in about 1996, I decided to shift my career away from music programming and toward production. That’s because I simply didn’t have the memory capacity of my colleagues, who can remember everything about every act they’ve ever heard. (A…
Sales Drive Radio Airplay, Not Vice Versa
Yes, back when guys like Cousin Brucie and Dick Clark could open a mic and cause a Sam Goody stampede, radio (and TV) could dictate what records flew off store shelves. Not today. Focus groups and sales forecasts determine what…
How much destruction can a rock star write off on his or her taxes?
Here’s an awesome interview with an experienced band business manager about the kind of expenses he sees each week from his clients (and other musicians). Smashed Guitar? Investment in your image. Nephew wants to open a bar? Stay away, especially…
Que SIRA SIRA
…whatever will be, will be, if you don’t put your two cents into the latest Capitol Hill copyright fight. The Section 115 Reform Act (SIRA) would revise the way that businesses and consumers pay for the right to make “incidental”…
Is YouTube Generating Music Stars?
I guess with folks dissing MySpace and the Sandi Thom incident souring fans on the idea of an internet-generated music superstar, it makes sense that YouTube is the new meme on the block. I’ve been digging all the tracks from…
Learn without your world imploding.
We talk a lot about “getting out of our comfort zone.” But, for many of us, that means dealing with anxiety that can pretty much shut you down. It’s why a lot of musicians fail to grow their audiences beyond…
Taylor Hicks’ Uphill Battle
Analysts are already calling Taylor Hicks’ post-Idol career an uphill battle. Will the folks that phoned in to see him win actually plunk $17.98 for a Taylor Hicks record? Two things going on here: 1. Record company expectations are too…
Let me tell you about the ORIGINAL Soul Patrol.
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…
What does your mailing list mean if it’s not local?
About once a week, folks will ask me about another new service that’s supposed to “get your music heard.” And some folks will try these services out and report that they got a hundred new people on their mailing lists,…
Create.
David comes to the aid of Delta in an earlier post (at least someone’s getting some good service from them), but brings up a bigger issue. If you believe that something sucks going in, it probably will suck for you.…
CD Baby Launches 1-Stop In Store Distribution for Independent Artists
Oh, yeah. It’s free if you’ve paid the $35 to get your product into their database. That sound you just heard was hundreds of song sharks crapping themselves.