NHT Blog

I saw something recently that argued that “innocent until proven guilty” has been reversed in recent times to where people are starting to feel like, “guilty until proven innocent.”  The music industry version of that might be – as tough as this is – that when you start getting into the song review business you can easily get pulled into a posture of assuming the songs are going to be bad until someone convinces you otherwise.

Last month marked seven years already since the fatal shooting in Orlando of pop star Christina Grimmie.  At only 22 years old this was absolutely a case of gone (way) too soon.  Clearly, she was otherwise destined to very much make her mark on the music scene for years and years to come.

We’re halfway through the ten-year anniversary of one of her most popular and iconic albums.  To mark the occasion, her brother Marcus (artist name mGrim) is carrying on her legacy, reimagining the title track from “With Love” in a rock/math rock form.

At the end of April, London-based Lola Aviva released the single, “Green Eyes.”  As a big fan of Elton John, I automatically started singing his song, “Blue Eyes” in my head and thought, “Whoa, unfair comparison.  That’s setting the bar way too high.”  Besides, he is a piano player and the artwork for this track shows Aviva holding a guitar.

It was good to let the two songs stand on their own, but for a variety of reasons.

Starving artists.  Independent musicians.  Gig economy.  Creatorpreneur.  (Okay, I might’ve made up that last one.)  (Although ©2023 Bruce Wawrzyniak on it, nonetheless.  Wink.)  There are terms and phrases out there that imply that the individual is living paycheck to paycheck.  Another en vogue expression is that someone is “bootstrapping” their operation.

You remember how to make a G chord on the guitar.  You have instant recall when it comes to what gets plugged into where for your live music setup.  You have lyrics that you know by heart.  You still replay lessons from your voice teacher in your head when you fall back on the techniques that he or she taught you.

But what about the big lesson that we all learned during the pandemic?  And just because we’re now beyond May, it doesn’t mean that we can discard mental health awareness.

We happily interrupt your regularly scheduled weekly blog for the creator industry to instead present another song review because it means that a melodic needle has been found in the haystack of submissions.

This time around the track that gave me great joy to not have to hit the Decline button on is a tune called “Suffocate,” from an artist named Rae Lou.  It just came out a little over six weeks ago and I’m optimistic that it has been enjoying increased growth and popularity.

Social media has become an essential tool in the music industry, especially for new musicians looking to gain attention and create a following. The Plugged Into Music study from the marketing agency Wasserman found that “one in three use social media to share music they like with friends and family.” They also found that “TikTok is the most used social media platform for music discovery among Gen Z.”

Nice guys always finish last.  For years (and years) I have said that I, unfortunately, have had to learn that the hard way, meaning, firsthand.  Although mind you, I certainly won’t apologize for leading with my heart and being nice to people.

While it’s true that in business you do need to think with your brain and not your heart or you’ll end up broke, I think it’s awfully tough to criticize someone who is kind, honest, thoughtful, polite, and, well, just always trying to do what’s right.

You can imagine how nerve wracking and what a range of emotions it has to be for an artist when they’re about to release their newest single.

There’s the obvious excitement, of course.  There’s also relief that the project is completed.  He or she (or the band) also is hopeful that the song will be well received and, obviously, that listeners will buy it and/or pre-save it.  Unfortunately, it’s also human nature that negative forces will try to chip away at one’s confidence and whisper, “What if people don’t like it, though?”

Variety is the spice of life, they say.  But it’s true, isn’t it?  It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when you’re a creator and have been at something for a long time and get to a point where you feel almost as though you’re on an assembly line, meaning, just doing the same thing over and over again.

This even extends to writing a weekly blog and so this week I’m doing a song review instead of the content you’re typically used to seeing here.