Engaging Your Audience Is a Long-Term Commitment

Examining the Pros and Cons

Be Afraid...Be Very Afraid...

Inviting Fans to Support Your Music

Know when to get help!

Editorial Changes at Electronic Musician

An Inside Chat with The Team Behind the Release

LET’S FACE it: Unless you’re the 1% of the music industry, the rock star model is over. So where does that leave the rest of us?

Given talent and drive, if you manage your expectations, you’ll make prudent decisions that will lead to better opportunities for building a viable career. Of course, you need to work all of the angles, from touring to publishing. This means staying on top of evolving earnings models in the digital landscape.

In this month’s MasterClass (“Digital Paycheck”), we break down online distribution royalty structures and show you how to work them to your advantage.

If your recordings are getting digital distribution, income is being generated for you. There are safeguards in place, but you have to pay attention. You don’t have be an attorney to understand digital royalties. However, it’s how you apply that information that counts. And here is where it really pays to approach your...

Now that SXSW is over, it's time to start thinking about performing at next year's festival. No, it's not too early...read on to learn how to work festivals to your advantage...

 

Assuming you’ve polished your stage act and are touring or at least performing locally regularly, showcasing at a festival is a chance to take your act to the next level. Arguably, the two most important festivals are SXSW and CMJ. Each year, literally thousands of bands submit their applications for a coveted showcase slot. The scale of these festivals is huge, with attendance as large as 350,000 attendees and 2,200 acts at SXSW, and 1,300 acts playing CMJ. However, it’s important to have realistic goals and expectations going in. First, realize that a festival gig is not a magic ride to stardom. Ask yourself, what are you going to accomplish if you get in? You’re going to have to make a significant investment of travel expense, time and effort, and there’s no guarantee of a return on any of that. Are you ready to make...

There's been more than enough said publicly about Billie Joe Armstrong and the events of last year, leading to some personal re-tooling. Suffice it to say, past is past, but it's now that counts. This much-anticipated return of the Bay Area power-punk trio was the talk of SXSW before Thursday night at the Austin City Limits Moody Theater, and that excitement certainly carried over into a true rock-and-roll comeback event that wouldn't let up.

 

Billie Joe led the band onstage like a platoon of Marines hitting a beach head, launching into the show with those ever-seducing big power chords and crisp vocals through a pristine sound system. From first drum count-in to the last fading bath of feedback, band and audience melded into one huge, super-entertaining block party. Totally animated, fit, and ready to rock, Billie Joe announced "This is not a f***ing party, this is not a first date, it's not a bar mitvah...it's a celebration!"And celebrate they did.

 

Green Day didn't just play to the audience,...