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On the Scene: City Scenes: Cincinnati
Posted by Heidi Drockelman - on Saturday, May 03, 2008 @ 17:59:40 EDT (263 reads)
Topic: Local
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Cincinnati will always have a special place in this Midwesterner's heart. My
mother's family was born and raised there, and it could be said that my musical
tastes were heavily influenced there. While rock, punk, and jazz continue to
thrive on a local level, some years ago Cincinnati was a hotbed for alternative
music. Local band The Afghan Whigs took over the alt-rock mantle in 1989 when
they became the first non-Northwestern band to sign to Sub Pop Records and unleashed
the garage rock movement in the Midwest during the 90s. Nearby Columbus, Ohio,
bands such as Royal Crescent Mob and Howlin' Maggie made regular road trips
to Cincinnati and brought even more attention to the rock scene in the area.
Because most bars in the area adhere to the 18+ years admittance rule, teenagers
and scenesters alike frequent the same haunts, and this leads to a strong, diverse
local following for any band that gets out and about on a regular basis. Built-in
audiences don't come easily to many local scenes, but in Cincinnati, they like
their music loud, proud, and for all ages.
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Interviews: Choice Cuts In Depth: Roby Mathew
Posted by Barney Quick - on Saturday, May 03, 2008 @ 17:55:41 EDT (110 reads)
Topic: Interviews
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"Fully human" is the term that comes closest to encapsulating all
facets of Roby Mathew into one phrase. Pop musician, theology student, software
engineer, multilingual young man with experience living on three continents
- these are just some of the elements that comprise this unique individual.
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Interviews: Company Profile: Mi2N / MusicDish
Posted by Suzanne Glass - on Saturday, May 03, 2008 @ 17:31:15 EDT (75 reads)
Topic: Interviews
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MusicDish LLC is a veteran internet company that is composed of several divisions
designed to help both indie artists and business professionals expand their
reach in the digital world. Mi2N is a music newswire service carrying thousands
of news items from all around the music business. MusicDish is an online magazine
offering a variety of articles focused on the modern musician and technology.
The MusicDish Network, formerly known as Artist Express, gives artists an affordable
method of syndicating press releases across the internet. The combined companies
are run by Astoria, New York, brothers, Eric and Sounni de Fontenay. Indie-Music
recently spoke to Eric de Fontenay and got the low-down on the MusicDish operation.
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Major Artists: Buddy Guy: Chops, Attitude Still Strong at 72
Posted by Barney Quick - on Saturday, May 03, 2008 @ 17:23:26 EDT (132 reads)
Topic: Major Artists
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If you're looking for bracingly strong viewpoints on music, business and culture,
five-time Grammy-winning blues legend Buddy Guy is your man. Indie-Music.com
caught up with him recently, in the run-up to the May 31 Elk Creek Blues Festival
in eastern Kentucky, which he will headline, and he didn't mince words on any
subject that arose in the conversation. Guy was one of the wave of late-1950s
guitarist-singers, along with Otis Rush and Magic Sam, based on Chicago's west
side, who were known for a more fiery, forthrightly passionate delivery than
previous generations of Windy City players. He came from north from Louisiana
in 1957 and cut several blistering sides for Eli Toscano's Cobra label, and
then Willie Dixon took him to Chess, where he spent much of the 1960s.
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Live Performance: Get Up, Get On and Get Off: The Early Bird Catches the Record Deal!
Posted by Sheena Metal - on Saturday, May 03, 2008 @ 17:17:45 EDT (95 reads)
Topic: Live Performance
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Imagine this: You're in the local hospital's pre-op ward waiting for the removal
of your pesky rupturing appendix. You wait and wait in side-splitting agony
while your doctor chats it up with the nurses, gathering phone numbers from
the hot ones. After what seems forever, he gets you prepped and begins the surgery.
What should have been a 20-minute procedure turns into two hours. He cracks
jokes and talks about his cherry red Ferrari, while you're lying unconscious
with your abdomen split open. Finally, you're sewn up and ready for recovery,
but super surgeon and his crack anesthesiologist are having a heated discussion
about the science of their golf games and have forgotten you're passed out underneath
them with tubes stuck in every orifice. If this were your surgery experience,
you'd freak out, sue the hospital, and your hotshot doc would wind up cleaning
bedpans at the state convalescent hospital.
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On the Scene: City Scenes: Charlotte
Posted by Heidi Drockelman - on Saturday, April 05, 2008 @ 15:49:44 EDT (630 reads)
Topic: Local
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For many across the United States, the first thing that springs to mind when
thinking of the city of Charlotte is NASCAR racing. The second, the fact that
Charlotte is the second largest banking capital in the US, second only to New
York. And the truth is, Charlotte is best known for these two things,
but the metropolis also thrives on major sports franchises and an ability to
draw large festivals and crowds to town. The citizens aren't starved for entertainment
on the local level, either, with a thriving performing arts tradition and well-established
blues venues breathing life into the cultural community. Indeed, the "Queen
City" also plays host to several college campuses and a booming tourist
business. The local music scene here may be understated, but Charlotte is a
major player among the cities of the South.
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Interviews: Company Profile: USA Songwriting Competition
Posted by Suzanne Glass - on Saturday, April 05, 2008 @ 15:44:31 EDT (159 reads)
Topic: Interviews
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The USA Songwriting Competition, founded in 1995, is one of the longest running
independent songwriting contests around, and over the years, the prize packages
and prestige of winning have only increased. With the Competition's entry deadline
fast approaching (May 30th), Indie-Music spoke with the USA's Artist Relations
Rep, Jessica Brandon, to find out more about the event, as well as how to enter
your songs to win.
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Live Performance: A Musicians View of SXSW '08
Posted by Denise Squier - on Saturday, April 05, 2008 @ 15:40:42 EDT (160 reads)
Topic: Live Performance
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As an Austin musician, in previous years I have experienced SXSW (South by Southwest)
as either a music fan or a member of a production crew, but, this year, I was
honored to experience SXSW as a singer / musician with my band Crosswind - which
brought a whole new meaning to me of an "Austin musician".
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Music Business: And The Winner Is: Will Awards & Contests Lead to Bigger Things?
Posted by Sheena Metal - on Saturday, April 05, 2008 @ 15:37:47 EDT (159 reads)
Topic: Promotions
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Imagine this: you’re a huge rockstar. Your pool is filled with hotties
and your bathtub with champagne. You have a coffee table made out of your signature
guitar and your Cadillac Escalade has beer on tap and a flat screen high definition
TV. Even with all of the expensive toys and extravagant showpieces in your crib,
the thing that first draws the attention of press and partygoers alike: the
wall lined with your awards.
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Music Business: Promote Your Music on Social Networking Sites
Posted by Guest Author - on Saturday, April 05, 2008 @ 15:34:41 EDT (226 reads)
Topic: Promotions
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Social networking websites are one of the hottest trends around. Everyone is
on them. They grow virally and extremely fast. If someone joins up, they'll
have to invite their Yahoo, AIM, or Hotmail address book, and soon they'll have
all their friends on it, too.
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On the Scene: City Scenes: Memphis
Posted by Heidi Drockelman - on Saturday, March 08, 2008 @ 16:18:47 EST (651 reads)
Topic: Local
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It's no surprise to hear that Memphis is the home of blues, brews, and barbecues.
No matter how you stack (or, Stax) it, music roots run deep in this full-of-soul
southern city. In fact, you can't walk down Beale Street without passing a blues
bar or barbecue joint within 10 seconds. The list of musicians hailing from
this city reads like a who's who of rhythm, blues, and soul, but it's the dedication
and commitment to the local music scene in modern times that keeps the spirit
of soul alive. Music fans flock here every year for many fine festivals, a chance
to visit historic Sun Studios, or get their Elvis on at Graceland. Memphis may
not be the first city that fans think of when they're marking down travel destinations,
but for this writer's money, it's a trip well worth taking more than once to
soak in all this traditional city has to offer. Forsaking rhinestones for grittier
textures, this "other" Tennessee music capital provides less glitter
and more groove.
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Interviews: Company Profile: FanBridge
Posted by Suzanne Glass - on Saturday, March 08, 2008 @ 15:56:04 EST (257 reads)
Topic: Interviews
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FanBridge.com was founded in 2006 by three music-loving business majors that
wanted to bring new ease and ability to bands' communication efforts with their
fans. With advanced email list and mobile messaging tools, FanBridge is designed
to save time and effort while improving the return on investment of communicating
with your fans (as well as industry contacts). Indie-Music.com recently spoke
with Co-Founder Spencer Richardson to find out more about the Company and how
you can use it to advance your career.
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Music Business: Crowdfunding: Arts Patronage for the Masses?
Posted by Peter Spellman - on Saturday, March 08, 2008 @ 15:45:22 EST (272 reads)
Topic: Internet
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In 1997 when 80's prog-rock band Marillion scheduled a European tour to support
its new album, keyboardist Mark Kelly posted an Internet message stating that
the band would not tour the United States due to a lack of record company support.
Fans of the band worldwide joined forces to raise over $60,000 to underwrite
it, and the band undertook its largest North American tour since 1991. Since
then, Marillion has been able to tour and record several more times all based
on direct fan support. As a result, such passionate, wholesale support has allowed
Marillion to step outside of the conventional music industry and find their
own path.
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Music Business: Record Labels: Survival Of The Fittest
Posted by Chris Standring - on Saturday, March 08, 2008 @ 15:31:44 EST (290 reads)
Topic: Labels
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We all know that the record business is in major transition, has been for a
few years now. Still, major labels and independent labels are trying to figure
out what the new model is. But the real problem with most labels is that they
still want to be in 'big business'. This is the first real issue labels have
got to deal with. Because CD sales are on the downturn, record labels are cutting
back on staff (hence the EMI shake up recently). But I have my own opinion about
this. I firmly believe any existing record label that has an office staff
on salary is now doomed to fail. And the old model where labels had one or two
successful acts in order to 'fund' 80% of their other failed acts, absolutely
needs to go. Any label existing today thinking that this is something that even
has a chance of working has its days numbered.
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Music Business: The Green-Eyed Monster: Are You Friends Really Happy For Your Success?
Posted by Sheena Metal - on Saturday, March 08, 2008 @ 15:29:13 EST (231 reads)
Topic: Attitude
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Ideally, it should always be the way you've imagined it in your daydreams. You
get the phone call you've been waiting for: the big live review, the hot music
management company wants you to sign with them, the A&R rep from that major
label is coming to your next showcase, or you were picked as one of the best
unsigned musicians in the area. Your first thought is to share your good news
with your best friends, your comrades, your fellow struggling musicians.
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On the Scene: City Scenes: Miami
Posted by Heidi Drockelman - on Sunday, February 10, 2008 @ 16:05:44 EST (1789 reads)
Topic: Local
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While the initial thought that comes to mind when I think of Miami is generally
Latin or Cuban-related, I've come to find that, much like its citizenship, the
music scene in this South Florida city is multidimensional and full of fire.
It's not uncommon to consider Miami one of the Latin/Cuban/Brazilian music capitals
of these United States, after all, many of those genres' most affluent and talented
musicians call it home. The international flavor of this city evokes scads of
influences, cultural practices, and world views to your doorstep. If you're
looking for inspiration, the musical, cultural, and gastronomic fusion that
takes place here is nothing short of mind-blowing. But there are two distinct
lifestyles and attitudes at play in Miami - the histrionic, celebrity-filled,
modelesque version of South Beach; and the laid-back, sun-soaked locals whose
appreciation for differences make for quite a change from the vacation trade.
What you get when you explore Miami, the Keys, and the beaches here is more
of a melting pot than a huge city - it's not about coexisting, it's about harmony.
So what better place to get rock, blues, calypso, Brazilian beats, salsa, jazz,
and Cuban rhythm and dance than the US southernmost mainland tip, a city that
naturally ebbs and flows like the tides on its shores.
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Interviews: Company Profile: TuneCore
Posted by Suzanne Glass - on Sunday, February 10, 2008 @ 16:03:29 EST (334 reads)
Topic: Interviews
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TuneCore.com Founder Jeff Price recently spoke to Indie-Music.com about what
the Company offers to independent musicians. Since 2006, TuneCore has offered
a digital distribution service, open to artists of all styles and levels. The
service distributes music through iTunes in seven countries, eMusic, Rhapsody/BestBuy.com,
Napster, AmazonMP3, GroupieTunes, and more. For a simple flat-fee, music is
placed in these select online stores and when it sells, the artist receives
100% of the revenue. In addition, TuneCore offers additional artist services
that used to be available only through record labels, providing today's musicians
with choice, flexibility, and freedom.
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Guitar: Guitar Slap Technique
Posted by Guest Author - on Sunday, February 10, 2008 @ 15:57:16 EST (305 reads)
Topic: Guitar
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Many guitarists today are using what can be referred to as the "slap technique."
They use this technique to add a unique dynamic aspect to their sound or for
rhythmic purposes. In short, the slap technique can be easily described as just
a smack of your thumb on the guitar strings (typically E).
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Music Business: So You're Planning a CD Release Party
Posted by Guest Author - on Sunday, February 10, 2008 @ 15:55:33 EST (427 reads)
Topic: Promotions
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You would be amazed how often I get a phone call like this: "We're almost
finished mixing our songs and we have a release party booked for next weekend.
How fast can we get our CDs made?" Unfortunately this scenario happens
all too often, and it's the reason why I decided to impart a few thoughts about
it.
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Music Business: How to Create Your Own Virtual Street Team
Posted by Guest Author - on Sunday, February 10, 2008 @ 15:54:07 EST (482 reads)
Topic: Promotions
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One of the Keys to true independence as an artist is creating and running your
own street team. Now with the power of the internet you can make this a reality
without breaking the bank. It has been tried true and tested by some of the
top indie artists and labels. This can be an artist's #1 source of money if
done right. A prime example is Maroon 5. From what I understand they have sold
over 500,000 records from their street teams.
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