Coldwave Blog - Music Tips For Independent Artists

A Guest Post by Symphonic Distribution Originally taken from MusicClout If there is one thing we have learned in running and growing Symphonic Distribution is that we MUST follow up in order to get things done. As strange as it may sound, we have even gone to lengths of CC:ing ourselves in emails so it’s more efficient for us to follow up to multiple items at once. We’re in the Music Service industry and our job is to give our clients the best service possible. Our clients ask us for something and we do whatever we can to accommodate that request. We reach out if we have to and if we hear nothing then we do what we must and that is we simply follow up. So you are a record label and you want to do what you can to grow your brand, releases, artists, etc. Well, It’s important to put out quality product (this you know and we have already discussed that before as we always include it in our documentation). It’s also known that we have continuously said that for record labels to ...

Blog post originally from the   SymphonicBlog This post originally appeared on Sonicbids By Amy Sciaretto Despite mountains of easy-to-find evidence to the contrary, musicians still have some serious delusions about the music industry and how to “make it.” To quote the amazing Dicky Barrett of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones – because what he says is #truth – “If it was an overnight success, it was one long, hard, sleepless night.” If that still hasn’t penetrated your skull, well, here are three more specific delusions musicians still have about the biz, and each one revolves around the idea that overnight successes are a serious myth . 1. Talent is enough to bring you success Talent is the most important thing. You have to have it. Without it, you have nothing, really. But you also need to hone that talent, sharpen your skills, and develop and fine-tune all other ancillary elements of band-dom . You need to rehearse – daily. You need to tour in a crappy, smelly van that h...

A Guest Post by Brian Hazard of Passive Promotion Originally from   MusicClout “Garbage in, garbage out” is a common saying among mastering engineers. The quality of the source material limits the quality of the final product. Most of my clients have no problem following my simple  preparation instructions , but they stop there. They figure once each mix sounds as good as they can get it, they’re done. In fact, there’s a higher level of refinement that pays huge dividends. I’ll break it down in this mastering engineer’s guide to final mixdown. 1. Choose a reference. Find a major label track with the tonal balance you’re looking for – ideally something that hasn’t been totally decimated in mastering, since you’ll be comparing it to your unmastered tracks. If you followed my earlier advice on using a reference during the mixing process, you’ll want to use the same track here. 2. Load in your tracks . I’m assuming that you’ve already rendered all the tracks for your rel...

Blog post originally from MusicClout In today’s ultra-competitive and sometimes oversaturated music industry, it is important for independent bands and artists to not only go out and perform in order to gain fans, but to also understand and relate with these people. Knowing who your audience is and what they are all about can help you connect with them on a deeper level in order to gain truly devoted followers of you and your music. These things are necessary in order to independently take your act to the next level! As an independent musician, your fans are your greatest asset. Learning about them any way possible can turn them from a casual fan to someone who buys your merchandise and attends all of your shows. One of the first things you should ask yourself is “Where do my fans (or potential fans) hang out? What is their ‘scene’? What other bands do they listen to and where do those bands play?” Knowing this will enable you to book shows and events in the right parts of town....