Under Construction
As you can tell, we’re making some changes here on the website. All sorts of new features are coming, but in the meantime, feel free to browse the archives or get in touch with us for more info.
Musician’s Library: The 4-Hour Work-Week, part 1 (Elimination)
Here at Music Is My Day Job, we're always looking for new ways to help you make music your full-time gig, thus our "Musician's Library" feature, where we look at books, articles and ideas that you should be adding to your reading list. Today, we are focusing on The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris...
Ghostbusters and the Modern Musician, part I (Keymasters & Gatekeepers)
I have been thinking a lot about Ghostbusters lately, and the more that I think about it, the more that I believe that there is a lot that independent musicians can learn from the film. Seriously! Thus, our new series: Ghostbusters and The Modern Musician. Today, we examine one of the film's key...
James Mercer (The Shins) on Going Independent
The Shins’ James Mercer was recently interviewed by Pitchfork regarding the bands line-up changes, new album and new self-owned label. When they asked about why he is going to start releasing his music via his own label, he replied, “Because you get more money…I mean, it’s more work and it’s more headache and all...
John Doe on the Current State of the Music Industry: “You sort of deserve it.”
The one-and-only John Doe was interviewed by the guys over at CNET on modern recording techniques, the price of music and file sharing. The whole thing is worth reading, but here is one of our favorite quotes: I don’t have the discipline or the organizational skills to have my own label but I take...
What’s In Your Contracts?
The guys over at ArtistsHouse shared this article from indie-metal entrepreneur Wicked D on what band’s need to make sure the include in their contracts–not contracts with labels and promoters, mind you, but with one another. He includes tips on copyright, business formation, and more, and as it’s not too long, we recommend taking...
5 Characteristics of Digitally Engaged Music Seekers
Tom Ewing (on his always-enjoyable Freaky Trigger blog) has listed five shared characteristics of a group he has dubbed “Digitally Engaged Music Seekers” (DEMS for short). The list was based on a simple twitter question: What’s your favourite current song and how did you first hear it? Check out the full article here.
Gardening Your Way to More Fans
On the always brilliant New Music Strategies blog this week, Andrew Dubber describes his new method for reaching “tastemakers and gatekeepers” with your music and, more specifically, with promotional copies of your music. His suggestion? Gardening. Learn more here. What do you think–is he on to something? (We think so.)
What Would You Add to This List?
Christopher Carlson at the blog A Musician’s Journey is working on a document to track what DIY musician’s should be doing each week to promote their music, and how often they are doing doing it. He’s asked for help to determine what categories would be most useful, and once he incorporates suggestions from readers,...
Musicians Library: Highlights from Around the Web (5 May 09)
In our Musician’s Library features, we highlight books, articles and essays that can help musicians as they strive to earn a living from their music. Today, we feature some of our favorite articles from around the web that you should consider adding to your library (virtual as that library may be). Today we look at...
Chuck D: Get Yourself Out of the 90s
I finally sat down and spent some time going through the Red Bull Music Academy interview with Public Enemy's Chuck D from October of 2008, and while it is long (more than 120 minutes!), it's worth spending some time with. Besides providing insight into the early days of hip-hop and the history of P.E.,...
Stop by for Steve Albini’s words; stay for the comments
Steve Albini created a fake ad for the Chicago Reader with some comments on Record Store Day and the importance of indie record stores. It’s a fun read, but know that you will not get your money’s worth if you don’t check out the argument that is going on in the comments over record...
The Key to Success