Rawk & Rowl will end on December 31, 2009. Read More
Here is a great roundtable discussion that took place on NPR! The topic of the discussion was “The Role of the Record Label” and features a roundtable of executives from popular indie labels like Matador.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monitormix/2009/11/roundtable_discussion_the_role_1.html
Amber Pacific have announced that they have signed to Victory Records.
Vic Firth has a super useful page with audio and video of all 40 Essential Rudiments of the Percussive Arts Society. Drummers: bookmark this one!
Check out this interesting article including interviews with bands as diverse as Hawk Nelson and Steel Train.
Social Media and Music PR: The State of Play as Told by Artists and Publicists
Right now the “You Gotta Believe” EP by The Rocket Summer is burning up the charts. The “You Gotta Believe” EP was released October 26, 2009 on Island Records. Buy it at 
.
Not only an entertaining, insightful read but also packing some serious science.
You may or may not know but this blog is directed at beginner to intermediate musicians and bands that are just starting out. If you are in that situation, one term that you should be aware of is “pay to play.” Pay to play is a phrase that describes any scenario where your band gets booked for a gig but has to pay for having the gig. Sometimes you may be in a pay to play situation and not know it.
For instance, a common pay to play scenario is you get booked for a gig where the venue or promoter requires you to sell a certain number of pre-sale tickets. The booker hands you, say, 30 tickets, and says, “Just sell these and we’re good. We’ll settle up the day of the show.” Sweet! Your band has a gig! Wait just a second, though. This is pay to play. Sure you didn’t have to pay anything to get the gig OR the pre-sale tickets, but what will happen is captured in that phrase, “We’ll settle up the day of the show.” When you get there on the day of the show, the booker says, “OK and from you I need the money for 30 tickets.” You pay him and play. That is pay to play. You, the band, paid the booker before the show.
Only you can decide if a pay to play scenario is right for your band, but, in general, this is a detrimental practice for bands. The venue or promoter is placing the cost risk for the show on the band. Struggling young bands already have enough on their plates without this risk being added.
Here is a short and sweet article from eHow offering some great advice for those preparing to enter the studio.
In an article at Musician.com, Daniel Glass tells you how to choose the right cymbals.
“Although they often play second fiddle to the drums, your cymbals are just as important in defining you as a player. Put as much care into choosing them as you would a new kit, a new car or any other “serious” purchase. Here are a few things to keep in mind when preparing to bring a new cymbal into the fold …”
