Posted: Oct 24, 2016

Category: Licensing

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**Guest post written by Ari Herstand, the author of How To Make It in the New Music Business. It originally appeared on Digital Music News.

Posted: Aug 8, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Music Director and guitarist for Kenny Babyface Edmonds, composer, artist and author of: The Career Guitarist.

"1) What does the term "Career Guitarist" mean? Typically when speaking of a musician who solely earns their money from music, we refer to them as a professional musician. I just simplified it and coined the phrase Career Musician, then narrowed that down to Career Guitarist which is the embodiment of what I’ve done throughout my career in the music industry, which includes..." 

Posted: Jul 26, 2016

Category: Performance Rights Organizations

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**Guest post written by Brian Penick as featured on the SOUNDSTR Blog.

"What is the Consent Decree, and why are people talking (and so upset!) about it?...For songwriters, one of the least discussed (yet most important topics) is music licensing. But major changes to the consent decree – the federal agreement that governs how ASCAP and BMI operate – is bringing this topic to the surface. The truth is, these changes could be the biggest in the music industry in 75 years and greatly impact your career."

Posted: Mar 28, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Carlos A. Machado of Mystery Loves Company.

"With almost 200 shows and multiple music conferences in the past two years, Maddy and I have learned a ton about the current music industry. For those wanting a career as singer-songwriters, here are a two things we think are worth keeping in mind..."

Posted: Mar 21, 2016

Category: Licensing

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**Guest post written by Matt Bacon, originally featured on IndependentMusicPromotions.com.

Posted: Jan 25, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest Post written by Jay Rutherford of Los Colognes.

"Like millions of other morons out there, I'm attempting to make music both the primary joy and primary financial security in my life. My band Los Colognes has achieved marginal success, just enough to get mom and dad off our backs, so to speak. Without further adieu, here’s me convincing myself I have achieved some wisdom, when in reality I have no psychological control over any of it yet. Pretend this is the Old Ben Kenobi version of me, from somewhere in the future..."

Posted: Dec 14, 2015

Category: Licensing

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**Guest post written by Michael Gallant as featured in the Disc Makers' Echoes Blog.

Posted: Nov 2, 2015

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post written by Matt Bacon, Senior Campaign Manager at Independent Music Promotions.

You look out on the crowd after a high powered set opening up for one of your favorite bands – and then instead of playing another song off your latest release you instead pull off a killer cover of Just Like Heaven...People love artists who pay tribute to their influences.

Posted: Feb 23, 2015

Category: Sponsorship

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**Guest post written by Anelka Argiro, VP of Brand Partnerships for Wind Up Records.

A good song just isn't enough [to break through the clutter] these days...Enter your new best friend -- brand partnerships.

Posted: Nov 17, 2014

Category: Licensing

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**Guest post written by Jennifer Kes Remington, composer and filmmaker, as featured on Pyragraph.

"So in my quest to throw multiple things against the wall and hope that money comes out of it, I’ve been licensing a lot of my music to library companies...I asked a few other composer friends if they knew of any library companies offhand. On their initial recommendations, I started entering my music into a couple music libraries, and waited and watched as the royalties came in..."

Posted: Nov 4, 2014

Category: Marketing

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**Guest post written by Brandon Seymour, musician, SEO analyst, web designer, and social media marketer.

"I know - I'm not the first genius to point out that the music industry is dead. I'm also not the first person to point out that artists have been complaining about this for a very long time. I just can't help but wonder if maybe - just maybe - the music industry needed to die..."

Posted: Aug 4, 2014

Category: Licensing

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**Guest post written by Ari Herstand. It originally appeared on Ari's Take. 

Posted: May 5, 2014

Category: Licensing

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**Guest post written by Mallory Zumbach, Sr. Director of Creative at Round Hill Music.

"You might be wondering what exactly a company like RHM looks for when they’re signing a songwriter, artist, or band with the goal of having significant synch success with them. First and foremost, of course, we want to work with tremendously talented people. The music has to make us sit up and take notice the first time we hear it—if it does, we know that people in the synch world will take note, too..."

Posted: Feb 24, 2014

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by David Priebe of Green Room Music Source, a full time agent/artist manager and also part time instructor of music business at the Institute of Production & Recording in Minneapolis.

"It official- it’s now impossible to make money in the music industry." There are scads and scads of articles and commentary that sound a lot like that statement. What you hear much less about are the people who completely disagree with that sentiment. I’m in that camp, and I’m going to tell you why...

Posted: Jan 20, 2014

Category: Licensing

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**Guest post written by Chris "Seth" Jackson, a bass guitarist and composer and founder of HowToRunABand.com.

"My band is recording a cover song, Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot. Since it’s a cover song, I need to get the rights to use it. I found a really easy and affordable way to license the music! But, I also found a giant and annoying snag in regards to YouTube. A snag so big it makes me a bit resentful of the music industry’s antiquated ways."

Posted: Nov 11, 2013

Category: Fundraising

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**Guest post written by Dae Bogan, Music Industry Insider For The Indie Artist, of Dae Bogan Music.

"What do you do when you don’t have a label underwriting your career and you have to choose between paying your personal bills and paying a studio engineer, publicist, or rental van company? You fund raise!" But how...

Posted: Oct 30, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

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We often hear that music publishing is a lucrative side of the music business, but it's a difficult one to define. Luckily for all of us, Jody Gerson quickly breaks down the nuts-and-bolts of music publishing and tells us that it's a "pennies business, but those pennies add up." Did you know that music publishing is involved every time you hear a piece of music in the elevator, at the movies, on the internet, and on a CD? For a real life example, watch this video to find out how one artist was a smash success for Sony/ATV publishing, but a complete bust for the record company.

Posted: Sep 25, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

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Making a living as an indie musician is difficult, but there are ways to generate money with your music if you're smart and persistent. In this clip, A&R for Position Music Publishing, Jake Versluis, talks about the gatekeepers of the publishing industry and the best ways to get music in front of them. Jake also reminds us that personal relationships are the biggest deal makers in the publishing side of the music business.

Posted: Aug 6, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

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Making your music is the fun part, but if you can turn it into some money that makes it even more fun! A great way to do this is to use a music publisher and a music supervisor to help place your music in TV, Film, and Advertising! Supervisors and publishers are always looking for new music and in this clip Position Music's Jake Versluis walks us through five pieces to have prepared before submitting to supervisors and publishers.

Posted: Jul 9, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

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Using samples in music poses a problem for young producers unaware of the legalities and obligations that go along with it. In this clip, electronic producer Pretty Lights, aka Derek Vincent Smith, discusses the ramifications of using unlicensed music in a track, what he did to fix the problem, and the potential pitfalls if a producer is not careful.