Posted: Jan 3, 2024

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Aaron Enneking as featured in the artist growth blog.

Posted: Oct 18, 2023

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by David Andrew Wiebe for Bandzoogle.com.

"One of the reasons musicians end up choosing to become artists and joining bands in the first place is because they love live performance and simply can’t get enough of the adrenaline and dopamine cocktail. That is, of course, until they’ve been rejected by 10 venues in a row and grow tired of trying to grind it out. It’s usually at this point that the bassist chimes in with – “I know! We should find a booking agent!” But is now the right time for a booking agent? And, if it is, how do you get one?"

Posted: May 9, 2023

Category: Online Presence

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**Guest post written by Melanie Kealey of Bandzoogle.

"As a musician, you need tools for promotion. An EPK is your online resume and musical business card, making it easy for industry professionals to discover who you are. Included in an EPK are assets to help industry easily understand and promote a band’s music. You’ve likely heard that every artist should have an EPK - let’s look at the reasons you might need one."

Posted: Aug 23, 2022

Category: Managers

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**Guest post written by Yona Marie, originally featured in her blog.

"Have you reached the point where you need someone else to manage many of your business aspects in order to you to be able to focus more on the creative side of things? Are you unsure of the process for getting a manager that fits your style, location, budget, and interests? You are not at all alone...Not everyone that can manage should manage you. Also, more importantly, not everyone that is looking for management is ready for it."

Posted: Apr 4, 2022

Category: Tips & Tricks

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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!

"Well, the secret's out..."

Posted: Nov 29, 2021

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Yona Marie, originally featured in her blog.

"Releasing songs as an independent artist is pretty easy thanks to technology. 50 years back, you'd be out of luck for the most part, but now is the best time to thrive as a musician or artist without having to rely on a label! The main thing about being independent is that you want to make sure you're always growing and learning when it comes to music industry knowledge. You are in charge of your career and will not have any big-money company backing you or guiding you."

Posted: Nov 23, 2020

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of MakingMoneyWithMusic.com. Originally featured in the Disc Makers Blog. Reprinted with permission.

"...there are industries around music. These industries offer solutions and expertise that, not long ago, only a music label could handle. Today, you can leverage these services and resources to offload work to a team of experts that you normally would have to do yourself. In this multi-article series, we’re going to explain all the major music business roles, the work each role performs, why what they do is helpful for your career, and give you options to outsource the work or empower you to do-it-yourself."

Posted: Nov 16, 2020

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Jeff Lysyczyn, music industry veteran, educator, and creator of Music Business After Dark.

"Episode 6 of Music Business After Dark, a series of informative vlogs by music industry veteran and educator Jeff Lysyczyn."

Posted: Dec 23, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post written by Scott Ronald, musician, songwriter, and creator of GuitarGearHeadz.com.

"Before signing a deal, artists need to be able to weigh up what the label can do for their career versus the rights, control and income they are signing away. These are four important questions you need to ask yourself when evaluating a label offer, in order to ensure that you make the best decision for your career..."

Posted: Oct 14, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Jeff Lysyczyn, music industry veteran, educator, and creator of Music Business After Dark.

"Episode 2 of Music Business After Dark, a series of informative vlogs by music industry veteran and educator Jeff Lysyczyn."

Posted: Sep 16, 2019

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest post by Jeff Lysyczyn, music industry veteran, educator, and creator of Music Business After Dark.

"The first episode of Music Business After Dark, a series of informative vlogs by music industry veteran and educator Jeff Lysyczyn."

Posted: Sep 9, 2019

Category: The Lefsetz Letter

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**Guest post by Bob Lefsetz of The Lefsetz Letter.

"Don't wait for help, do it yourself. Just like you can record and distribute yourself, you can promote too. If you're waiting for a manager to start, don't...Decide who you want to be. A hobbyist, a touring musician or a superstar. This affects your path..."

Posted: Jul 1, 2019

Category: Online Presence

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**Guest post written by Dave Cool of Bandzoogle.com.

"An electronic press kit (EPK) is essential for making a strong first impression on promoters, bookers, media, and other music industry professionals...You can use your EPK to help you get more press, more gigs, and come across as a serious artist."

Posted: Oct 17, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest Post by Bret Alexander of The Badlees and Saturation Acres.

"This week I finally got around to watching the Steve Jobs movie. He was a complicated man for sure. It wasn’t the most feel good film I have ever watched. But I must say there were several scenes that apply to many of the things I try and discuss in this music blog. I was surprised how much Steve Jobs referenced musicians when talking about his quest to democratize the computer. It was pretty cool..."

Posted: Apr 12, 2016

Category: The Musician Business

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**Guest Post written by Danny Barnes as featured on DannyBarnes.com.

"I hear so much complaining about this subject, I just wanted to lay my practical experience on you. free... Assuming... you are financially workable and you have the music where you want it and you are surely called into the art, here goes, in no particular order..."

Posted: Apr 10, 2014

Category: Renman Music & Business

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In week #5 of RenmanMB's Insider's Guide to Today's Music Business, the lesson looked at the key contracts and agreements you will likely come across if you are doing something big in the music business. Among many topics covered are the 4 key agreements: Band Agreements, Management Agreements, Recording Agreements and Music Publishing Agreements. To help teach this session of Renman U, Renman enlisted Gary Gilbert Partner and Co-Chair of Entertainment & Media for one of top entertainment and media legal firms in today's business.

Posted: Mar 5, 2014

Category: Renman Music & Business

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Finding the right manager might be the most important decision an artist makes after they've picked their musical partners. But finding a great manager is not easy. In this lesson of Renman U, the Renman talks about why to hire a manager, what a manager does, what qualifications you should be looking for in a manager, what personality traits to look for, when to get a manager, how to connect with a manager, and about the artist manager relationship.

Posted: Dec 11, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

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This playlist is a group of videos arranged to get a manager's head in the right place for success. It starts off with the basics of what a manager does, from what to expect to what your actual role is. The playlist ends with a forward by Brandon Boyd, which perfectly describes the relationship of artist and manager, and gives insights on what it takes to succeed and work together over long periods of time.

Posted: Sep 13, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

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Deciding the next step to help break your music and band can be a confusing one. You'll have people tell you what they think you should do and if you don't know any better or have an experienced person to talk to about it, packing up the van and moving to LA might seem like the very best option. But before you do that, take a listen to what industry veteran and manager Bruce Flohr thinks of that approach and his opinion on the best way to get some worthwhile attention in the music industry.

Posted: Aug 21, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

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It's easy to understand that there wouldn't be a music industry without music, but sometimes we forget that the creation process is only the beginning. Once created, a major part of the battle is having the right people, plan, timeline, and creative ideas to get your music to an audience. In this clip Pat Magnarella, manager of Green Day, talks about marketing an album a year and a half before release and some of the pieces he used in the campaign.

Posted: Jul 8, 2013

Category: Managers

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**Guest post written by Ari Herstand, a DIY singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, CA with 500+ shows under his belt, as featured in his blog "Ari's Take". 

"A manager's biggest asset is not being you. A manager talking his band up will get a much better response than the singer talking his band up. Even if the manager is the lead singer's brother (Imagine Dragons)...You need to be kicking ass on your own BEFORE any manager will want to represent you."

Posted: Jun 11, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

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Bass player and manager Blasko discusses how he got his start as a musician, from underground hopeful to center stage bass player, and how he transitioned into becoming the manager of the Black Veil Brides.

Posted: Apr 16, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

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Imagine Dragons blew up to become a huge band last year and that took plenty of time and seasoning. Their manager, Mac Reynolds, knew from the get go that the bread and butter for many artists is touring both monetarily and in terms of exposure. Building those touring chops though is a tough cookie for plenty of bands. First, you got to hone your skills, then hone your hometown, and work around from there. Mac talks about what Imagine Dragons did to hone their live performances along with how this paved the way for how they played shows live when they were huge and had all the eyeballs on them. Mac is a firm believer that you don't have to be in either LA or New York to be successful, and he illustrates how a band can use their hometown (Vegas being very unique in this instance) to an advantage. If you are just starting out playing live, watch this video for great strategy on how to round out your own live set!

Posted: Mar 4, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

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Everyone wants to know how to get in front of the eyes and ears of A&R, managers, agents, etc. Each of those individuals are foundational members of the team around the band, but getting any or all to join your team is always the big challenge for any artist. But, before you convince them to join your team, you got to get them in the room with you first! This is exactly what one of our RMB callers asked about: how to best draw the attention of booking agents at festivals like SXSW, or even just locally in the artist’s hometown. There is no one answer to that question, but Kyle offers his advice on how to best get in front of a booking agent!

Posted: Feb 27, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

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Troy Carter blew Lady GaGa up into the biggest pop sensation in recent memory, but people tend to forget that she didn’t start out that way. Stardom was not automatic. She had to grind away just like everyone else, and she played more than her fair share of small gigs as a support slot for bigger acts. Through developing her career, Troy certainly has picked up pearls of wisdom that can help bridge a support slot on a tour into being a headliner eventually. Often to do that, the support slot needs to connect with the fans of the bands they open for. A RenmanMB member asked Troy what his thoughts were on how to best establish that connection in order to create new fans, and Troy obliges with his thoughts here!