Making it In Music

One thing I loved about the 1970’s and 80’s was the album format. This was the age of AOR or what used to be known as Album Oriented Rock. Used to be, that there was a large legion of music fans that would buy albums, as opposed to merely singles, which in that time were released on 45 RPM’s. There were some great rock and pop ballads written throughout these two decades. My aim is to capture not only some of the best, but more importantly, more obscure songs that you very may never have heard of. This can provide a fresh approach when looking for a selected cover song to record and make your own. So here ... full article »

This guest post was written by Joey Stuckey. Joey is a recording veteran with over 2 decades of experience in the music and recording industries. He owns and operates Shadow Sound Studios in Macon, Georgia. Joey has performed and recorded with Trisha Yearwood, James Brown, Ted Nugent, Smash Mouth, The B-52’s and more. What works for a fully produced recording project ready for retail and distribution isn’t the same kind of recording needed for a booking demo for your band to get performance opportunities and that is again different from what is needed for a publishing demo. In this post, we will explore what... full article »

Think fast. What is the one thing that you really want as a composer and/or music artist? My guess is to get out of the haystack.  There are too many needles and most of them are dull. I mean, geez. There is a TON of music in the digital pipeline. 10-15 years ago, distribution was a controlled entity. If you wanted to get distributed, you had to normally be signed to a record label.  Obviously this is no longer the case. However, one thing does still hold true. Just because the padlocks on the doors to distribution have have been busted off, doesn’t make it any easier. The glut of music out there is insane a... full article »

John Mays is one of the most respected executives in Christian music having discovered and signed Matt Redman, Point of Grace, Nicole Nordeman, Warren Barfield, Cindy Morgan, Scott Krippayne and the Passion worship recordings. He worked in A&R at Word, Sparrow and Star Song Records, and sat at the helm of Benson Records as president of the legendary label. Mays co-founded Centricty Music in 2003. Their current roster includes Aaron Shust, Downhere, Jaime Jamgochian and more. I originally connected with John to tap into his expertise in the Christian music business when I was doing research for my new book that ... full article »

Are you a songwriter who is searching for the different ways you can make money from your songs? Don’t go anywhere! This two part series will give you the answers you need. For starters, I want to define the two types of income as it relates to you as a songwriter. One is active income, the other is passive. 1. Active Income Active income is performance-based pay or more specifically, the money you get in exchange for your services. The majority of people make their money this way. You go to work for 40 hours, you get paid at the end of the week. Done deal. As a songwriter, active income is money that you will ... full article »