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10,000 Band Names for the Taking
MIT researchers used a computer to generate 10,000 “fake” band names, though I suspect at least a few of these will show up on MySpace in the next few months. I’m already poised to join the street team for “Retribution…
Be the Change You Want to See in the Music Industry
Bob Baker’s saying it better than I can, but I’ll elaborate. If you’re sitting around, pissing and moaning about your scene or the business or the A&R guys that don’t get it, you’re never going to succeed as a working…
Do radio stations use peer-to-peer technology?
Ray Beckerman’s looking for evidence that the record industry actively uses BitTorrent, Kazaa, or other P2P platforms to get tracks to radio stations. While I doubt that there’s a studio executive who would authorize such a thing (on paper), it…
A person’s personality is their art.
Since my little vacation, I’ve been meaning to write something up based on a recent comment. I linked to a debate about whether to put your own face on your album cover. The business consensus says, “no.” And the reality,…
Avoiding Music Business Scams (Or, it’s Partly Cloudy with a 90% Chance of Cra-Zeee!)
It’s almost like our own version of the swallows returning to Capistrano. Over in the comments, some folks are stirring the pot around a cabal of companies that we have repeatedly called out for separating working musicians from their cash…
Is BurnLounge a Ripoff?
I had a great conversation with a professional network marketer during my trip to Philly and the Jersey Shore. We agreed that the very best opportunities to make money require lots of hard work, but shouldn’t necessarily involve an upfront…
Audio flyers?
Kathryn snapped this photo of a CD-R stuck to a telephone pole: Gotta admit it’s a cool and aggressive way to get your music “out there.” (Via BoingBoing.) My only criticism: there’s nothing on the CD to describe what the…
Spreading the word vs. inspiring action
Virgil Dickerson of Suburban Home Records is asking his blog readers for advice on how to (cheaply) promote a tour for one of his bands. He’s already got a partial list of ideas posted and a few responses (mine included)…
5 Questions With Tom Dorsey, Nice Promotion
Today’s 5 Questions interviewee is Tom Dorsey of Nice, a promotional firm specializing in print and radio, headquartered in Portland OR. Starting only a few years ago with a handful of local bands and singer-songwriters as clients, the Nice roster…
What if your fans don’t want you to get too successful?
I remember the first time Jennie made me listen to Green Day. We were both working at our college radio station, and I was still mostly listening to Paul Weller. I had no clue what to make of them, and…
Rock Star: Supernova — Bye, Matt!
Chris needs to send you a fruit basket, or buy you dinner at Morton’s or something, because you totally saved his ass last night by screwing up a familiar song even worse than he did.