no, not Andy Kaufman…

The owner of Taxi, a great a&r service out in LA.

Anyhoo, Discmakers did a great interview with him about how to get heard in the music biz…

Keyword: marketing. Bands don’t market themselves at all, and that’s why they don’t make sales. Seems obvious, but most artists don’t pick up on it.

Read the article here. Seriously, do it. It isn’t that long…
-t. Laskas

So I was trolling around myspace and happened upon Halestorm (one of my favorite bands). I checked out their gig schedule, and noticed that they have a residency at The Viper Room in LA. What a gig!

How, you might ask, did they get the gig? First off, they are super talented, and second, they are signed to Atlantic Records, and they have a great team working for them as well as strong fanbase. They have been at this music thing for quite some time, and they are seeing some great rewards.

Anyway…I digress. I checked out the Viper Room’s booking policy, and I think that it is something every artist should note. It is a short, yet very sweet, checklist of how to get a gig at the Viper Room, and I think their tips are universal for any gigging musician. Main idea: PROMOTE!!!!!

Click here for the link (once you are there, click on the “booking” page…I tried to get a direct link to it, but for some reason it goes to their main page…)

Happy Monday everybody…If you are concerned about selling your music, I suggest you check out this article from Wired: Cheat the Music Industry: Never Pay for Music….

Basically, this is a “how to” article on how to get your music for free, both legally and illegally.

There are consumers out there now that have never had to buy music, and thanks to web gems like BitTorrent it looks like they never will have to either.

So how do you get someone to pay for something that they can get for free?

What about water? People can get that for free, but they are still buying it…a lot of it…

With all of these music “taps” available, we have to figure out a better way to bottle our music and convince consumers that it is essential to value our product.

-t.L