Banana Republic Promotes Musicians with New Collection
By Musician Wages.comBanana Republic recently launched a new promotion called “City Stories” that features 12 musicians, including 2 jazz musicians (David Sanchez & Esparanza Spalding) and one classical violinist (David Garrett, who…
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The Self-Released Album 201: The Details
By Cameron MizellIn what seems like a past life, the only way to release an album was through a record label. The label had the money to pay for your recording, the ability to distribute it around the world, and the marketing resources to make sure people knew your album was hitting the stores. Today, any resourceful individual with a little bit of money and a lot of creativity can make an album commercially available to the same number of people as the major label.
Ready to release your own album but not sure where to start? In this article you’ll learn how to make a basic production schedule, the basics of manufacturing, and some legalities you may need to sort out before releasing your music, such as copyrights and licensing cover songs.
Regional NYC Orchestras Cut Rehearsal Time, Performances
By Musician Wages.comThe New York Times reports this week that many of regional orchestras surrounding New York City are reacting to the impact of the economic recession with decreased rehearsal time and,…
Honolulu Symphony Not Paid in 6 Weeks
By Musician Wages.comNews station KNHL in Honolulu recently reported that, as of March 22nd, 2009, the musicians of the Honolulu Symphony had not been paid for 6 weeks.
The Honolulu Symphony, a union orchestra in the International Conference of Symphony and…
Tuscon Symphony Orchestra Receives Wage Cut of Nearly 5%
By Musician Wages.comThe Arizona Daily Star reported this week that the Tucson Symphony Orchestra has ratified a new contract that will cut 4.8% of the musicians salaries for the current season. The…
Texas Ballet Theatre Pays $30k to Prerecord Music in China
By David J. HahnThe Texas Ballet Theatre (TBT) will be performing Rimsky-Korsakov’s Cleopatra March 27-29, but because of financial restraints, they will be performing the ballet with a canned orchestra.
With the economy…
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The Self-Released Album 101: The Basics
By Cameron MizellIn what seems like a past life, the only way to release an album was through a record label. The label had the money to pay for your recording, the ability to distribute it around the world, and the marketing resources to make sure people knew your album was hitting the stores. Today, any resourceful individual with a little bit of money and a lot of creativity can make an album commercially available to the same number of people as the major label.
Ready to release your own album but not sure where to start? In this article you’ll learn where you can sell your album online, what distribution means, how digital music distribution works, and some bare essentials necessary to start selling your music.
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Top 10 Gigs You May Not Have Thought Of
By David J. Hahn1. Transcribing songs. There are a few different ways to get paid for this. I once worked with a singer-songwriter who didn’t read or write music, but worked with musicians who…
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An Introduction to the Self-Released Album
By Cameron MizellIn what seems like a past life, the only way to release an album was through a record label. The label had the money to pay for your recording, the ability to distribute it around the world, and the marketing resources to make sure people knew your album was hitting the stores. Today, any resourceful individual with a little bit of money and a lot of creativity can make an album commercially available to the same number of people as the major label.
I have been involved with coordinating the release of about 200 albums, ranging from my own self-released album to Herbie Hancock’s Grammy winning River: The Joni Letters (2008′s Album of The Year). My previous job at a record label taught me a great deal about this process, and it’s definitely helped me when I released my own albums. This is knowledge that I’ve taken for granted, but after several of my musician friends have asked me things like, “How do I sell my music on iTunes?” or “How can I sell my CD from my website?” I realized I ought to put it all in words and post it on MusicianWages.com for everyone else out there that wants to release their own album.
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Tax Tips for Musicians
By AllegroEach year, as the tax season approaches, Allegro publishes these updated tax tips provided by Local 802’s accounting firm, Gould, Kobrick & Schlapp P.C.
Overview and Highlights
The following outline focuses on aspects of the tax law that specifically affect musicians. For additional information on deductions, exemptions or filing status, see a tax advisor or www.irs.gov.
Here is a quick overview of some highlights for this tax year:
- The top four basic tax rates above 15 percent remain the same. (The rates are 25 percent, 28 percent, 33 percent and 35 percent.)…
International Musician features MW writer
By Musician Wages.comMusician Wages.com writer David J. Hahn is featured in this month’s International Musician magazine. The article, “On the Road: Eating Well When It’s Least Convenient,” discusses healthy eating…
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Calculating an Hourly Rate as a Musician
By David J. HahnIt can be difficult to establish an hourly rate as a musician. We’re not, after all, like other industries. We aren’t selling widgets, and we don’t have specific costs of employees or raw materials to base our calculations on. Furthermore, as friendly as we all are with each other, we often have no idea how much other musicians are making in our area. Consequently, I think the answer for most of us is usually: As much as I can get.
While it may be a acceptable (or at least common) to tailor our rates to the situation, let’s try to nail down a formula here that we can use to establish a standard base rate. Then we’ll talk about how to use this base rate.
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Musician
By David J. HahnThe U.S. Supreme Court has finally ruled on a case involving the Vermont musician Diana Levine. As we wrote about in November, 2008, Levine had her right arm amputated…
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Music Marketing with a Purpose
By David RoseThis past year I posted a blog called The $52.45 Music Marketing Plan that turned out to be the most read article at KnowTheMusicBiz.com all year. There are now so many options available for marketing music online it seems like everyone who has ever written a song is giving it a go. Let’s face it, writing a great song is the tough part but successfully marketing your music is a must if you want it heard among the crowded field of musicians vying for attention. As with most things, a little planning can go a long way towards helping you succeed.
When putting together a music marketing plan I usually suggest thinking through three “what” questions before taking action:
1. What do your fans want?
2. What do you want to accomplish through your marketing efforts?
3. What are the priorities?
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Home Recording for Indie Musicians with Indie Budgets
By Cameron MizellThe cost of creating a home recording studio has dropped significantly in the last 10 years. Coupled with the low cost and ease of distribution via the internet, the amount of self-released music by independent musician has increased dramatically. You needn’t look any further than a company like CD Baby, one of the leaders in distribution for independent artists to realize that, while the major label and traditional brick-and-mortar retail sectors of the industry are suffering, companies are growing on the backs of independent musicians.
This is both good and bad. On one hand, more interesting and niche-oriented music is being released. Music that makes up a tiny part of the market, simply because it has a very specific and rather small audience, can still be created and widely distributed. On the other hand, there is a lot more low quality and, let’s face it, bad music flooding the market.
If you’ve been hesitant about recording at home, the information here will hopefully encourage you to give it a try.
