IOTM Blog
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..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 24, 2019
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Nick Cesarz, drummer, producer, and blogger from Milwaukee, WI. Nick is the editor and owner of DrummingReview.com, a website dedicated to helping drummers choose gear, learn how to play, and guide them through the music industry.
"It's a phone call conversation I wouldn't wish on any of my enemies: getting dropped from a record label. Being let go from a record company is a sad tale that many acts endure throughout their careers. Today I'll explain what it's like and how you can reduce your chances of having this unfortunate conversation."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jul 31, 2017
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post by Vinnie Hines of Artist Collective.
"For ages, there’s been a cliché dream for any would-be musician...You’re immediately bombarded by these different suits throwing you offers from every record label you could think of, and finally, you’ve made it. You’re “signed...It’s all bullshit.” View Full Article
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..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 14, 2016
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Gaetano, a NYC based Singer, Songwriter, Producer, and Guitarist, as featured in his blog and on Digital Music News.
"At this point, we all know someone trying to “make it” in the music business. Thanks to the world of technology we live in, the industry has easily become over-saturated with thousands, if not millions, of aspiring singers, producers, songwriters, musicians, DJs, etc. Anyone with a smartphone and a Wi-Fi connection can simply fill out their social media bio and give themselves whatever title they wish to be called. With too much supply and not enough demand, it’s no wonder that so many are getting discouraged while in pursuit of their dreams..." View Full Article
Posted: Mar 7, 2016
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest Post by Bret Alexander of The Badlees and Saturation Acres.
"Pretty much for all of the 1990s, I played with one band. One band. That was it...Ours was a pretty typical scenario for a band around that time. The object of worship was the CD. Or even a few cassettes and vinyl. Those little circles of information were your lifeblood….. and your salvation...Cut to 2016. Things have definitely changed. Quite a bit. CDs barely sell on an independent level. Vinyl has some appeal, but I would think on the ground floor it would be a break even proposition at best. There are download sales, but as we all know if you want the music for free it ain’t too hard to find...Musicians no longer worship that little round piece of plastic. Their new object of worship is square. And much bigger. It’s called a calendar."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 12, 2015
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest Post by Bret Alexander of The Badlees and Saturation Acres.
"I’ve been a vocational musician for almost 30 years...This is an incredibly difficult business to make any sort of sustainable living at for that long, so inevitably people ask me what advice I would have for anyone who wants to do the same. Opinions are certainly like assholes, but I’ll give you my take on that. Do with it what you will..."
View Full ArticlePosted: 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.
View Full ArticlePosted: Mar 23, 2013
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest Post by Bret Alexander of The Badlees and Saturation Acres.
"When I started producing records, almost every band I worked with talked incessantly about getting a record deal and “making it”. Now I almost never hear that discussion. And that, for me, is a welcome development."
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