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Indie Artist Clean House At 57th Annual GRAMMYs

[UPDATED] Indie artists took home GRAMMY awards in key categories on Sunday including Best Dance/Electronic Album, Best Country Duo/Group Performance, Best Country Song & Best Alternative Music Album. The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) issued a formal "Congratulations" to their member labels giving a nod to the phenomenal work coming from the Independent Music sector in 2014. 

Understanding Artist Management Agreements, Part 1: What Does (and Doesn't) a Manager Do?

Guest Post by Barry Heyman on Sonicbids Blog

The artist management agreement is the deal that you, the artist, enter into with a personal manager or management company. Not only is it an important agreement, but because your manager is responsible for advancing and overseeing your career, your relationship with your manager will likely be the most important relationship in your professional career. Unfortunately, many new artists and managers do not realize the significance of the relationship.

Getting It Done: The Week In D.I.Y & Indie Music

• 5 Truths About Today's Music Industry That Indie Artists Need To Understand

• 6 Ways You Can Improve Your Band's Image

• So You Only Have $100 to Spend on Marketing - How Do You Spend It?

• Bandsintown Launches Free Artist Analytics Tool

Music Tech - It's Been A Long Hard Winter

Guest Post by Cortney Harding on This Week In Music Tech

An update on last week’s post: there were some pretty good discussions on Twitter and elsewhere, most of which were civil and interesting. Over at Billboard, Andrew Flanagan dug deeper and reported that, according to YouTube, artists who choose not to be part of Music Key would still have right to use Content ID and pull down any or all of their music, should they choose to. Assuming YouTube doesn’t reverse course, it all seems pretty cut and dry — artists have the right to stay and be part of Music Key, or pull their content and go elsewhere.

New Live Music Platform Seeks To Serve Those With Disabilities

According to the World Health Organization, 15% of our global population lives with some form of disability. This totals one billion people who may or may not have access to the specialized health care they need. There are enough often times real limitations that restrict these individuals from actively participating in regular day to day activities - but Why Not People aims to make live music easily accessible for the 15%.

Future Of Music Coalition Expands To Help Musicians

The esteemed musician focused non-profit, Future of Music Coalition (FMC), has announced a new growth phase, positioning itself for further success in its mission "to equip today’s and tomorrow’s creators with the tools they need to be effective in a changing musical landscape." FMC welcomes Casey Rae, who joined the organization in 2007, as CEO along with seven new heavily qualified and uniquely experienced board members. With a new office strategically located on lower 14th St Washington, DC, and a revitalized board, FMC hopes to forge meaningful pathways through the intersection of music, technology, policy and law.

How to Measure if Your PR Campaign Was Successful

Guest Post by Amy Sciaretto on Sonicbids Blog

If you've launched a PR campaign, there are several ways to measure how successful it was or wasn't, but the science is hardly exact. Know this going into it: you shouldn't be looking for quantifiable things that unfold in a set amount of time, because the measurement formula has changed so much, and it's no longer about record sales. You have to be able to understand the intangibles and things that live largely online.

Zimbalam Surpasses 100,000 Artists, Launches New Website

Believe Digital's sister digital distribution platform Zimbalam, a service for unsigned artists worldwide, has hit 100,000 users. Alongside the company's milestone, a new Zimbalam UK website has been revealed. Launched in 2009, Zimbalam serves a route to market for unsigned, self-produced artists across the globe using the technology powering Believe Digital, allowing any artist to release an album or a single via the easily accessible online platform. 

JamKazam Upgrades Virtual Live Music Platform With Launch Of JamBlaster

JamKazam, a virtual live music platform and social media network for musicians, is bringing the stage to performing artists with their newest product, JamBlaster. JamBlaster offers a simple solution to recording music amongst musicians from all over the country by combining a quad core arm processor, like what you'd find in a tablet computer, with a two input premium audio interface into a new kind of music device powered by any standard router. Its plug and play ease of use remove the headache of drivers and software compatibility issues plaguing collaborative musicians today. 

So You Only Have $100 to Spend on Marketing - How Do You Spend It?

Guest Post by Tyler Allen on Sonicbids Blog

Your band is an investment. You've probably already spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on equipment like PA systems, stands, strings, new instruments, and a plethora of other equipment, right? It's normal to put money into something you care about and invest in something that helps pay the bills. So, just as we put money into our equipment and sound, we should also set aside money for marketing our work.

Vinyl Plans: How To Prepare A Release For Record Store Day

Guest Post from PledgeMusic.com

Record Store Day is cause for celebration for music fans everywhere, but some artists might not realise how far in advance they must plan. We asked our UK manufacturing partner Key Production what measures artists and record labels should take in preparation for this event. When should artists and labels start thinking about their Record Store Day releases? The sooner, the better!

Saying More With Lyric Videos

Guest Post by Mike Baldo on The Daily Rind

As YouTube carves out a larger space in the music community, the way music videos are being made and consumed is changing. With millions of artists and creators collaborating constantly, stunning music videos have been made that sometimes challenge typical production conventions. Along with YouTube’s Music Key, there are now multiple forms a music video can take. This combined with a lower barrier to entry has given rise to excellent alternatives you can consider when deciding how to publish your music on an evolving video streaming platform.

FAWM Challenges Artists To Write 14 Songs During The 28 Days Of February

Inspired by National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), FAWM Founder, Burr Settles issued the same type of charge to musicians in the form of February Album Writing Month (FAWM) - where artists are challenged to write 14 songs during the 28 days of February. The 11th Annual FAWM challenge is already underway, bringing artists of all ages, styles, and talents together again to make music for music's sake. FAWM prides itself on being a community that spurs spontaneous creativity and fosters an encouraging environment for artists to create, collaborate and communicate. 

7 Useful Tips To "Earning" People's Help

Guest Post By Bobby Borg, Music Business Consultant, Author, Musician

Let’s face it, every young and developing artist could use some help with getting to that next level of their career—whether it’s getting a producer excited about recording your music at a discount price, or getting a well-connected consultant interested in recommending you for that audition. But to get people’s help, you must first earn their help. Remember these 7 useful tips.

5 Crowdfunding Backer Rewards That Work for Indie Musicians

Guest Post by Adam Bernard on Sonicbids Blog

You're an artist, you need money, and you want to attempt to generate those funds via an engaging crowdfunding campaign. That's all well and good, but as soon as you've figured that out, you have to stop thinking like a band and start thinking like a fan.

REWIND: The New Music Industry’s Week In Review

• Zoe Keating Shares Call Transcript After YouTube Says Her Claims Are "Patently False"

• Apple Adds Free On iTunes - A Hub For Free Music, Film and TV

• Google Tells Zoe Keating: Sign Music Key Deal or We'll Block Your YouTube Channel

• Sony To Close Music Unlimited, Partners With Spotify For New Service

TOP POSTS: This Week's Most Read Posts on Hypebot.com

 

• New Apple DRM Patent Points To Music Sharing
• Zoe Keating Shares Call Transcript After YouTube Says Her Claims Are "Patently False"
• 13 Effective Marketing Plan Essentials
• 5 Truths Indie Artist Must Understand About Today's Music Industry 

This Week in Music Commentary

• Zoe Keating’s Experience Shows Us Why YouTube’s Attitude To Creators Must Change

• Brand And Music Collaborations Need To Work For Fans, Not Brands

• The 3 Biggest Delusions Musicians STILL Have About the Music Industry

Getting It Done: The Week In D.I.Y & Indie Music

• 5 Truths About Today's Music Industry That Indie Artists Need To Understand
  
  
• 13 Essential Elements Of An Effective Marketing Plan

• 4 Habits of Successful People That All Musicians Should Adopt

• 5 Things That Need To Be Readily Available on Your Band's Website

Sign This Label Deal or We’ll Shoot The Dog - Making Choices

Guest Post by Cortney Harding on This Week In Music Tech

Like everyone else, I read Zoe Keating’s blog post about YouTube Music Key’s contracts last week. I was a little turned off by her “I’m a struggling artist! Who met Eric Schmidt at Davos last year!” vibe, but I’ll give her credit for shining some light on the inner workings of these deals. From my vantage point, the deal YouTube is offering isn’t bad — they’re helping artists monetize, claim their work, and make sure their catalog is complete. If artists want a real alternative to Spotify, Music Key could be the solution.

6 Ways You Can Improve Your Band's Image

Guest Post by Amy Sciarretto on Sonicbids Blog

Like it or not, image is everything. While your music is the most important thing, the look and visual you project needs to line up with your sound. Oftentimes, your look and logo give fans and media their first impression of your band – before they even listen to a note of your music. Aligning look and sound isn't always as easy or as seamless as one might think, so here are six simple ways to alter your band's image for the better.

Bandsintown Adds Tour Date Promotion On SoundCloud

Bandsintown just announced it's newest feature, an integration with SoundCloud that allows artists to promote their tour dates on their artist profile. Any artist with Bandsintown Manager installed will be able to display a "Tour Dates" tab within SoundCloud, giving fans easy access to their gig calendar. As artists become more and more reliant on successful live performance for income, the two simple steps it takes to setup this new service are certainly worth their time. 

Social Media and Festivals: Boosting Cross-Platform Attribution and Targeted Messaging

Guest Post by Jason Hobbs CEO and founder of found.ee 

For the ever-changing music industry, the desire to understand where ticket sales are coming from has grown exponentially over the past couple of years, and for legitimate reasons.  Understanding sales paths—or what we call attribution—is necessary to not only increase immediate sales, but it’s also necessary for understanding the behavior of a festival fan that purchases tickets, so that you can develop future campaigns more effectively.  

SoundExchange Bests Personal Record With $773 Million In Royalty Payouts In 2014

SoundExchange released it's 2014 year end numbers this morning, revealing a new record for the company of $773 million in royalty payouts to recording artists and record labels. 2014's total payout is up 31% from the $590 paid out to artist and labels the year prior. The fourth quarter of 2014 also brought with it a significant increase in distribution with more than 38,000 payouts totaling approximately $183 million. 

Zoë Keating vs YouTube: Is This The End of an Artist’s Right to Choose Where Their Music Appears on The Internet?

Guest Post by David Lowery on The Trichordist Blog

This is a call to action folks.

Many of you may already be aware of this blog post from  Zoë Keating detailing the new terms of the Google/YouTube “Music Key” service.  YouTube’s “communications manager” Matt McLernon has followed the Spotify approach and attacked Zoë Keating’s story as “patently false” although it looks like Google is not exactly backing up their “communications manager“.

5 Things That Need To Be Readily Available on Your Band's Website

Guest Post by Carla Jean Whitley on Sonicbids Blog

You've released your first EP, booked some dates, and you're ready to generate some buzz for your band. With all of that accomplished, it sounds like you're on the right track! But there's another thing to mark off your checklist: is your website press-ready?

YouTube's Offer To Musicians Might Need Some Slack, But A Change In Policy Is Still In Order

  by Mike Masnick of Techdirt.com

 Last summer, there was some kerfuffle about YouTube allegedly threatening to kick musicians off of YouTube if they didn't agree to license their music to the subscription service it was building. At the time, we wrote about how this was overblown.

5 Truths About Today's Music Industry That Indie Artists Need To Understand

By Bobby Borg on Sonicbids Blog

In the information age in which we live, falsehoods, myths, and misnomers about today's music business are prevalent. But if you want to get ahead and achieve your goals, you better focus on the realities of the business. Here are five universal truths that all musicians should understand. 

TuneCore Artist Earnings Top $134 Million In 2014

(UPDATED) This morning, TuneCore announced over $134 million dollars in 2014 artist earnings, up 11% from 2013 and totaling $504 million since 2006. In addition to an impressive uptick in artist revenue, artist downloads and streams were up 120% year over year, with more than 7.5 billion in 2014, and more than 12.4 billion since 2006. TuneCore experienced significant expansion in 2014, broadening horizons as a company and the independent artist community that they serve. 

More Strong Tunecore Stats:

Song Catalog Finances - The Future Of Music Publishing

By Luiz Augusto Buff from Berklee College of Music's Music Business Journal.

After the music industry was shocked in the early 2000s by the growth of piracy and file sharing, many investors were skeptical about the future of music publishing assets, worried that the value of songs would decrease significantly due to consumer’s free access to music. However, the rise of legal alternatives for music consumption offered listeners a way to access music conveniently and affordably, while at the same time compensating publishers and songwriters for the use of their work. Throughout the past decade, the publishing side of the music business ended up suffering a significantly smaller hit than the record labels.