Hitting the road is a lot of fun, but the expenses can add up. Being away from your day job, high gas prices and constantly eating out are just a few of the things that might make touring seem like a financial strain—especially if you’re not guaranteed to make money at every gig. So you may be wondering if it’s at all cost effective to rent a van to transport you and your gear. I run into this situation all… [Read More]

You’ve spent so much time focusing on making music, you may not have even considered an important part of your CD or demo: album art. But even though most people download MP3s and your CD art tends to be relegated to a tiny square in the bottom corner of iTunes, it’s actually a more important aspect of your demo than you may think. Setting the Tone Like it or not, your CD cover sets the tone for the whole experience… [Read More]

You may have heard of companies such as ASCAP and BMI. These are called Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) and they exist to help you as an artist get paid whenever you get film placements, TV placements, and other music licensing opportunities. If a cell phone company uses a musician’s song in one of their commercials, for example, that songwriter will get paid through whichever PRO he is a member of. Different Performance Rights Organizations There are several PROs in the… [Read More]

We’ve already discussed how to get your music on Pandora Internet radio, probably the holy grail of online radio services. But there are plenty of other radio stations—Internet and otherwise—that might have a spot in their playlist for your latest track. One resource for potential radio airplay is satellite radio stations on SiriusXM radio. Sirius vs. XM? Not Anymore. It used to be that there were two competing satellite radio services: Sirius and XM radio. But in 2008, the two… [Read More]

After all the writing, recording and post-production you’ve taken on for your recording project, you may be left hoping there’s nothing left to put work into. The job isn’t quite finished at this point, but you’ll be happy to know that the hardest work is already behind you. Writing some great songs and recording a professional demo is no small feat, and you probably won’t have to expend quite as much emotional energy when designing and manufacturing the album. But… [Read More]

You’ve probably caught on to the fact that artists today should be sure to get on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Myspace. They’re a great way to connect and communicate with fans directly and can work as excellent music promotion tools. But while it’s essential to get in the social networking scene because of the millions of built-in users, you should never overlook the importance of creating your own website. A website allows you to have a central… [Read More]

We’re always on the lookout for innovative songwriters. That’s why Studio Pros is giving away a free $1,000 production in our first ever songwriting contest! All you have to do is submit a recording of one of your songs via Sonicbids (link below). It doesn’t have to be a professional recording—we’ll take care of that for you if you win! One winner will get a full production package worth $1,000 for free. The cost for submission is just $5. Submission… [Read More]

When your production is finished, it’s time to start promoting your music. Millions of music fans are listening to Pandora, an online radio service that allows users to create “stations” based on their musical tastes. After a user creates a station, Pandora plays them a constant stream of music from artists with similar sounds. The best part about Pandora for independent artists is that if your music is in their database, your songs can be played alongside famous artists that… [Read More]

As musicians, we want our music to be loved by everyone. Maybe not everyone in the world, but at least everyone who hears it (or everyone we know) So we make up reasons why everyone we talk to will love our songs. “If you like good music, you’ll like my music.” “My songs transcend musical tastes, so just listen and you’ll love it.” “Our band plays songs that appeal across generations and to every culture.” The problem is, in our… [Read More]

This is a pretty amazing time in the music industry. Sure, you might be hearing a lot about how the business is suffering, records aren’t selling, and all sorts of other stories of doom and gloom. But what you may not be hearing about is how exciting it is for independent artists at the moment. Yes, big record companies are suffering at the hands of the Internet and file sharing. But there’s something else going on that you may also… [Read More]