Hello everyone. Well, after a lot of hard work, I can now proudly say that Making it in Music has a new look! It took more time than anticipated, mainly because of ongoing recording and development projects I’ve been caught up in, but as I said before, I am committed to raising the bar for MIIM in 2011! Besides our commitment to overhaul the website, our goal is to create more content based upon your preferences.  Admittingly, the frequency...

Finally, Making It In Music’s first podcast covering the topic of getting your mind right for success….appropriately titled: Mind on Music. Making It In Music firmly believes that you can search for all the strategies on the planet to help you get ahead, but if you’re mind isn’t right, they won’t do a thing. It takes the combination of planning, people and ultimately, action to make a strategy work for you. More importantly, you hav...

I love running. Yeah, I know - to some of you that may seem like complete lunacy; but to me, there is nothing more exhilarating than pushing myself to the limit by challenging myself to go that extra distance. I recommend it for anyone who wants to learn how the mind can truly prevail over substance. Athletes often to refer to this as being in the zone. At any rate, as I was running the other day, I suddenly found myself creating an analog...

Lately, I’ve been caught up in an online music industry group regarding when the best time is for an act to join forces with a manager to further their career opportunities. There were a multitude of opinions about this topic from a variety of industry managers and marketing people. It’s a great topic, worthy of discussion. Something to think about when you read further, is the level and type of management. Management companies have explo...

Today as I was checking my email, I received a call from a dentist office.  No big deal on the surface, but a light bulb turned on inside my head instantly which lead to the inspiration of this post. Why so?  The dentist office was returning my call in reference to a message I left them about making an appointment.  This wasn’t the first call back. They were actually following up to see if I received their initial voice mail in response ...

About a month ago, I downloaded the Russell Simmons audio book Do You: The 12 Laws To Access The Power in You To Achieve Happiness and Success.  I’m not crazy about some of his personal and political beliefs, however I will say this: when it comes to music - and particularly merchandising and branding (end result: making money), Russell Simmons knows how to DO YOU. The competition is fierce, no doubt. “Being you” is often a contradictio...

As a musician, it can take years to build a solid fan base that will support your music and take you to the next level. There is no one that knows better than you, how much perseverance and motivation it takes to maximize CD and digital download sales, landing bigger gigs and positioning yourself for that big break. It's an unyielding process to shine above all the talent and get noticed. Sadly, the reality is that many bands get blind sighted...

In such a competitive environment as the music business, it can be tough to stay motivated and persevere. There are some days when I personally just feel like giving up, and other days when I feel invincible. Fact is, I’m human and no matter how driven I am, life can give me a wedgie once in a while! Hope comes in many forms. Often it is subtle. An email from an appreciative fan, a motivating article on the Internet, or maybe even a great so...

You’ve composed some awesome songs and found the right musicians to lay them down to track. You’ve spent countless hours at the console to ensure that the right sound you’ve had in your head is not lost in translation. As a producer, I know first hand that this is not an easy process. Sometimes the initial instrument track was not set up to capture exactly what you wanted (an example is mic placement on the drums). It was a great pe...