NHT Blog

The overwhelming majority of the time my blog here each week is about and for the indie music community.  Today is one of those exceptions.  Sort of.  It’s Memorial Day and despite the Covid-19 crisis, people will still be more relaxed today, so, why not ease back a tad on the blog?

For many years I would laugh at people continuing to use the expression ‘new media’ in reference to what, in fact, really wasn’t all that new anymore.  And now, similarly, can we dispense with the repeated usage of ‘new normal,’ which has really been overdone? 

It’s back to the mixing console at Crystal Blue Sound Studios for Dominick Pages this morning, as a new week begins.  His setup is a bit different from what he sits down to as the Front of House Engineer and Audio Director at New Hope United Methodist Church.

So much of the talk around indie artists always ends up coming back around to streaming and the royalties earned (or not earned) from such.  Am I right?  This could be just two or it could be two hundred indie artists gathered together (well, pre-coronavirus, in the case of the latter).  Or, it could be you thinking about your own music distribution and the consumption of what you put out.

No matter where you fall on the positive/negative, love/hate scale, at the end of the day, streaming isn’t going anywhere.

There used to be an expression (somewhat dated now, likely due to its also being somewhat sexist) about separating the men from the boys.  The entertainment industry version of that could be something along the lines of separating the pros from the amateurs.

In my blog last week, I provided some inspiration so that you wouldn’t get sucked into thinking that just because of the shelter-in-place order there isn’t anything to do (career-wise).  As sort of a follow-up to that, this week I’m here to report (enthusiastically) that collaboration is alive and well during the pandemic.

As a result of my being such a tireless, devoted, energetic, enthusiastic entrepreneur, it saddens me that people that can be excelling during the coronavirus pandemic are doing the opposite.  The attitude of, “Oh well, I guess there’s nothing to do but wait this out” will only result in being left at the side of the road while the vehicles driven by us creatives race past.

While this blog every week is always aimed at presenting helpful insights for the aspiring performer – not unlike the “Now Hear This Entertainment” episodes every Wednesday – I also am quick to clarify that this is not a news site.

Watch on Facebook for the Garth Brooks live stream concert tonight.  And if you’re an indie musician, take notes.  After all, if you haven’t already started, you should be live streaming too.  A lot.