NHT Blog

This week’s blog is a guest contribution, written by the guest from Episode 299 and Episode 30 of the weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast.  This is a firsthand testimony to what is often said on NHTE as well as in posts here in the weekly blog – that very, very few people in the music industry are doing just one thing.<

I’m in Las Vegas right now at the NAB Show. I also am already registered to attend Social Media Marketing World next March in San Diego.  I’ve written blogs on here before about the importance of professional development, so it’s important that I practice what I preach.

That being said, I was already planning to write about social media posting today, but a session I attended here yesterday reinforced it for me.

Last year around this time I posted a blog about not exaggerating when it comes to the size of your business, your company.  If you’re a solopreneur, I wrote, just admit and be proud of that.  But I’ve witnessed enough in the almost twelve months since then that I need to provide a sequel to that post.  The behaviors that I need to discourage this time around can only help you avoid someone coming away disappointed from what they expected.

It’s ironic that what I’m writing about this week is flaring up right as I’m in the middle of working with a recording artist client on getting some of her original music copyrighted.  I guess if nothing else it symbolizes how important it is in the music business to get that task taken care of.

It’s never-ending when you’re a DIY musician.  Between writing and recording original music, rehearsals, trying to book live shows, keeping up your online presence, learning new songs, doing the financial part of the business, well, the list goes on.  It gets worrisome when you start feeling like you’re forgetting something too.

We’ve all heard the expression, “It’s a small world.”  Living in Tampa, I’ve always taken it one step farther and said, “It’s a small world, after all, as they say just an hour east of me over at Disney World.”  I know, it sounds like a ‘dad joke.’

The fact is, the longer that you’re in the music business the more you’ll find that it honestly is a small world.

On social media apps like Instagram, we often see users put up a whole bunch of photos accompanied by a caption of “Photo dump,” sometimes adding “from this weekend” or “from my vacation in (destination).”  For me, this week’s blog is a notebook dump, as there have been a lot of observations accumulating that I’m ready to share with you, in no particular order.

Last summer I was in Nashville in July and August.  This week I’m back, writing this blog from my hotel room in Music City.  I’ve only been here for 24 hours and already I’m reminded why so many music creators leave the only city they’ve ever called home to chase their dream here.

Independently produced music has always struggled to stand up alongside major labels. But the rise of modern digital technology has changed all that. Today, both sides of the industry operate on a level playing field –– or at least something closer to one. This has been especially apparent throughout the pandemic.

I know, it’s exciting.  The world is back open for business and live music is happening anywhere and everywhere.  Independent artists have returned to the places they’ve loved performing and are on the prowl again for new sites that will book them to play.

It’s time to get paid, a colleague of mine always liked to say.