New practice recordings are up on the Music page.

Show this Saturday the 28th with Buttonjaw

Come on out and see us at the ever cool Mississippi Pizza in the super trendy yet still edgy Mississippi District in Portland Oregon!

Checkout the new video of “Daylight” from Someday Lounge.

It’s just a start but check it out:

I used to manage bands in my former life in San Francisco. I even taught a class about how to break into the music business. So it’s funny that lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make it in the music business.

Since I was last serious about “making it” online streaming has taken over from download sites. Check out Spotify or MOG or Napster.

You can also get your music anywhere with distribution from places like TuneCore.

So how do you make money at this?
Shows and merchandise are still big winners for bands that want to tour. But how are people going to hear about you 5 states away or even continents and oceans away?

The good news is that it is almost free if you have access to a computer to record and distribute a record worldwide. The bad news is that everyone else can as well. Think having a hit song is free now? Not quite – check out this great article on the cost of a hit single from NPR about Rhianna.

Now this might sound naive and it certainly is subjective but everything starts with the song and the performance. I think the recording is less important. You need to have something important to say and the melody has to be memorable. The performance has to be passionate, it doesn’t need to be perfect but please tune your instruments and sing on key. I’m a pop music fan so you should have a hook as well. Recording? Some of my favorite song were done in on a tape deck in a hotel room. (see Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska).

You also need people that want to support you and spread the word about your music and band. The best example of this is the Grateful Dead and that was all before social media, even before the internet. The process of connecting and promoting is different but the idea is the same.

Of the people I know that made it they were able to do two things:
1. Connect with people [both fans and business advocates]
2. Create great work compulsively and also conspicuously.

Write a ton of music because you never know which song will connect. Create music is a manner that allows people to be a part of the process. Connect with fans and stay in touch regularly; this is easy with email lists and blogs. Connect with the gate keepers and advocates in the business. It never hurts to have fans at radio, press, publishers and record labels.