Thank you for joining us for another installment in our our ongoing Journalism Tips series. We started this column as a way to help aspiring writers get their start in music, but over the couple months we have been evolving into a place writers come to have their questions about life in the business answered. Today we are continuing that effort with a response to a question posed by multiple reader in regards to taking time off. If you have any questions about developing as a writer/blogger in music, please do not hesitate email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Several weeks ago I wrote in this very column about the benefits of learning to disconnect from the digital world and embrace the chaos of reality. My intentions at the time were to address those that feel unable to walk away from their digital efforts for even a few hours, but a conversation with a relatively young writer this week made me realize I completely neglected one of the biggest causes for young writer panic: Vacation.
We have all been raised to believe that vacations exist so that people are able to disconnect from their work life and spend time with people they love doing the things they enjoy. For many young writers, especially those who have chosen to start their own music blogs, what actually happens when these so-called breaks occur is the furthest thing from rest and relaxation. Writers today are growing up in a world that has a never-ending demand for content and, thanks to the internet, a source to supply said content whenever the spirit desires. For bloggers, this means there is always a potential to win over new readers, and the allure of all those possible clicks can be too much for some to resist.
Here’s the thing too many writers do not seem to realize about those random clicks: They will still be there tomorrow. The anonymous IP address might change, but the likelihood of some random person coming across your site or content today is as high as it will be tomorrow, and the same goes for the Tuesday three weeks from now. More importantly, those clicks don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things unless they are converted to regular readers, and very few people have ever been swayed to regular subscribe to any one site just because a four sentence news story was posted within five minutes of a press release going out. Passerby to subscriber conversion happens when a connection is made through the content being shared. Time is not a factor.
When the opportunity to take a vacation presents itself it is easy to understand why many young writers begin to fret over what kind of negative impact any type of extended break may have for their site/content/brand. These are the same people have come up in a world where they know what all their friends are thinking as fast as those people can post their thoughts to Twitter, so of course they are going to feel pressure to share any new content as soon as it breaks. Getting the first or second post out about a major news items can be great for single day traffic bumps, but the shelf life will likely not extend past three or four days. News is disposable. Any one story is only hot until the next news item breaks, and then it’s forgotten almost as fast as the accompanying embed code was copy/pasted into the initial blog pot. Writers know this deep down, but for whatever reason they convince themselves continuously feeding the news machine will eventually result in a strong, dedicated following. That is entirely a possibility, as there are sites right now who thrive on such efforts, but for the vast majority of individual writers there is little-to-no benefit in forcing content creation efforts. It’s exhausting and offers little reward, especially over the long term.
Becoming a professional music writer requires individuals to be okay with taking breaks from the internet. The digital world changes quickly, but it does not move so fast that disconnecting for a few hours or several days will cause someone to be forgotten entirely. Will your traffic dip? Probably. Will they miss a few big headlines? Almost certainly. Will they also begin to think more creatively and have an easier time brainstorming ideas, which will ultimately lead to better content for their readers? Guaranteed.
Creative people need breaks. Writing content, even brief news posts, forces the brain to work incredibly hard. Over time that constant push to create results in mental exhaustion, which leads to lazy writing and bad grammar. This can be avoided, or at least made to not be as much of a threat against a young creative mind, as long as individuals can learn to step away from their work. They must embrace the true idea of vacations and disconnect fully, including shutting off their phones. The best ideas come from experience the world and determining what can be done to make it a better place. What do people need to know? Who do they need to listen to? What song will be the next to save someone’s life who is currently contemplating suicide? Individuals hoping to be professional writers do not have to seek out the answers to these questions as much as they simply have to spend time in the world, contemplate what they experience, and then share those observations with anyone willing to listen. That is the purpose of being a writer, after all. To take on the responsibility of not only keeping people informed with what they want to know, but discovering what they need and bringing it to their attention.
Take vacations. Seriously. Take them. There will always be a big story about to break and another two or three big headlines in the works no one sees coming. No one news story is going to make or break an individual’s career, but setting a standard for consistently strong and original content will lead to a prosperous career in time. The key, at least for those starting out, is accepting the fact success is a process and learning to settling in for the long haul. Work as hard as possible and take breaks whenever needed. Make the most of the time allotted for creativity and learn what can be done to allow the mind to relax. Success comes to those who are driven, patient, and capable of taking care of their own mental state.
“Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless.” – Bill Watterson (Creator of Calvin & Hobbes)
Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us. If you are reading this article on the day it goes live then you are no doubt counting down the minutes until your weekend arrives. For what it’s worth, we appreciate you killing time by browsing our blog. Hopefully it helps the time pass.
Each and every Friday we like to take a brief break from our regularly scheduled programming to update and reflect on everything happening at Haulix HQ. We are far more than a music blog, as many of you already know, and posts like this give us an opportunity to share more our efforts with all of you.
We typically start these posts with updates from the development side of things, but this week is unique because we’re ending things with a handful of projects in various states of update that we’re currently unable to write about at length. We want to, we really do, but we need just a few more days to get everything in order. Next week, however, all will be revealed.
On the blog end of things, the final week of May was spent prepping for the start of what we have been calling ‘year 2.’ We have enjoyed creating content over the last year and will certainly continue to update the blog regularly, but we have a wealth of new ideas rolling out as well that we believe you are going to love. Podcasts, anyone? How about videos? The next few months are going to get very interesting.
In case you missed anything this week, here is a list of every article posted in recent days:
Next week on the blog we are going to be talking about bitcoin, summer touring, workout tips for artists on the road, and more.
That’s all we have this week. Be safe this weekend and do your best to step outside your comfort zone whenever possible. Life is for the living. Get out there and do something crazy.
Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us this afternoon. We spent the last month planning a series of guests posts with our dear friend Deborah ‘Zuke’ Smith that we are thrilled to continue today. Zuke is an industry professional with knowledge and insight well beyond her years, but I am sure all of that will come to light through her posts in the weeks ahead. If you have any questions about developing as a writer/blogger in music, please do not hesitate email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Finding your authentic and original sound can be both a frightening and wonderful experience, but it can also be so damn confusing with the mixed messages you hear. You try and develop your original sound, and then someone asks whom you sound like. So you say, “I sound like me, I’m original!” Then you read articles and blogs saying, “no one is that unique and special, everyone is derivative of someone else.” So you’re left trying to come up with some clever answer that kinda-sorta is a reflection of whom you sound like. Unfortunately, even that can be confusing. If you could mix the DNA of Michael Bublé with Buckethead in a petri dish, that’s what I sound like! …Really?
Let’s get something straight right away. You have a voice, it’s yours, it’s not copied, maybe it’s unique, maybe it’s not, but the bottom line is that you need to go through a journey of self-discovery to release the natural sound of you. And eventually, that natural sound will start to develop like a fine wine. But you need to put in your time and homework on the development of your voice.
As a singer, you probably started out in your youth copying, inflection for inflection, your favorite artist. You pretended you were a star on stage and imagined what it would be like to be just like them. It’s important to start your developmental growth as an artist by copying those you look up to and admire. As you continue on your artistic journey, you start emulating habits and styles from other singers you admire. Perhaps you only choose one element that stands out about them and you make it your own. I’ve heard singers utilize the intense and audible breathing between phrases as Matthew Bellamy of Muse does. And I’ve heard many of my female singers use a lazy and cool non-articulated approach like Adele. We are products of our environment and when we’re bombarded with the latest marketed sounds, we start copying without even realizing it. How do you break out of this?
Don’t stop copying, but do start listening to other types of music far removed from your genre. Allow your ears to soak in sounds from ethnic and world artists. If you hate pop/punk, listen to it and emulate the lead singer. Can’t stand the twang of country? Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it. Use your voice to emulate an instrument and not just a singer. Imitate a child, a bird, the sound of machinery, your aunt yelling at you- your voice is an instrument. Think about that. Instrumentalists are aware that they need to shed hours and hours on their guitar or sax to develop an automatic response as well as an individual style. What makes you think the voice is any different?
When I was in college, I was asked to be the private student of Eileen Farrell, a famous opera singer. At the time, I was schlepping around coffee houses singing Joni Mitchell covers and writing my own songs. I knew nothing about opera! Ms. Farrell assigned my first lesson with one of her graduate students, Cassandra Hayes. I remember her name because she made me do something that’s etched into my memory forever. I had to sing looking into a mirror and I was petrified. She was trying to get me to open my mouth and let out some real sound. Finally she said to me “if you could imitate an opera singer, what would they sound like?” I ran through a scale and used a very affected and mocking operatic voice and she said: “Finally!” I was confused and liberated at the same time. I had imitated a sound I wasn’t familiar with, but it opened up a new and exciting way of using my voice. So a few years later, when I formed an original punk/new wave band, it was easy for me to sing like the artist Nina Hagen.
“Nina Hagen” by Nicole Smith
Become a painter with your singing and discover all of the colors and textures to help you find your authentic voice.
Deborah ‘Zuke’ Smith is the founder of Zuketunes and a seasoned industry professional. She’s one of the coolest people you could ever hope to meet and has really wonderful insight on not only vocal technique and training, but navigating a career as an emerging artist. We’re thrilled to have her join our contributing team throughout the months of May and June. If you enjoy her columns, please seek out her other work.
This series is written and curated by publicist and industry mastermind Bill Meis. When not helping your favorite band planned their next phase of promotion Bill is a family man with an interest in sharing the creative people he’s met through music with the world. Through his official blog he recently started interviewing those he finds interesting, and with his permission we are going begin sharing them on our site as well. You can find Bill on Twitter and Tumblr. Follow him.
I work with a lot of interesting people.
Each of these industry war-hogs have their own stories and a shed full of tools they use every day.
My Callsheet blog series showcases these well oiled machines of the music business.
I met Seth W at a show in upstate New York about 13 years ago. I played with my band, and Seth was his own. Since then he’s become one of the sharpest blogging minds in the country.
Your mobile hardware: iPhone 5 with Mophie Juice Pack, laptop, Logitech wireless mouse
Your computer: 2008 Aluminum MacBook
Your 5 Go to Web/Mobile Apps and why:
1. Rdio: New releases every tuesday, old favorites, social works well with people I follow, and the Recommendations are pretty spot on. Waiting for Metallica, though! Argh.
3. TweetDeck: Twitter on the web is awful, and I don’t like the Twitter Desktop app, so this works best.
4. TweetBot: 80% of Skull Toaster is done through Twitter, so I need an app that’ll keep up when I’m mobile, which is most of the time.
5. Evernote: Perfect sync of notes between my laptop and phone. I couldn’t do Skull Toaster without this. Holds all my client work info, travel details for when I’m on the road (like screenshots and phone numbers). Can’t recommend Evernote enough.
What’s your workspace setup like?
Just a laptop on a desk, or kitchen table.
What’s your best time-saving tip or trick?
Using followupthen.com to remember to follow up on certain items. This means I don’t have to set a reminder or a Calendar item to follow up. That may only take a minute, but add that up over a year and that’s too much time. I just forward the email and it pops up in my inbox when I need to act on it.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
I don’t use one.
Which area of technology excites you most?
Mobile web. Blogs ruled in 2006. Social media rules now. I think mobile web becomes the wild west and I can’t wait to see how that plays out.
Besides your cell phone and computer, what gadget can’t you go without and why?
Mophie Juice Pack. I don’t fault the iPhone at all, since I use this amazing piece of technology that fits in my pocket every hour of the day.
What everyday thing are you better at than everybody else?
Managing email. Inbox zero, always. As I mentioned before, followupthen.com let’s me get emails out of my inbox to follow up when needed. Then forwarding emails toEvernote, and organizing them by client or project helps me stay super organized. So when someone asks for details on a project I can go to Evernote (on my laptop or iPhone) and find the details in seconds. That means no folders or “tags” or whatever in Gmail. I’d never go back to organizing things in email ever again.
Twitter. If the news is big enough, it bubbles up to people I follow. I stopped following news ever since I read ‘Four Hour Work Week.’
What advice would you give to someone who wants to do what you do?
“Ship,” from ‘Linchpin’ by Seth Godin. Ship something. Get it out of the door. Make a website. Produce a video. Have something to show for your expertise, no matter how bad the first version is. Ship it, anyways. The next one will be better, and the one after that. Always be shipping. Five years from now you’ll wished you started today.
What’s the one activity you use to escape?
Long walks with no music. I force myself to 100% be in the moment, and not let the problems follow me. If shit is on my mind I look at a tree and think, “tree, tree, tree.” Look at a house, and think, “house, house, house.” The faster I get out of my head, away from everything, the better I’ll be when I sit back down at my computer to get back to work.
What’s your sleep routine like?
I’ve been couch surfing since 2010, and have only had my own bed for seven or eight months during that whole time. Right now I sleep on a couch. Asleep at 3am, up by 9am most everyday, or earlier.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
“We’re not saving lives.” Shit happens, deadlines are missed, managers are angry, label doesn’t like a review, at the end of the day, hey, we’re not saving lives. Relax.
Are more a phone call person or email/text worker?
Email and text.
What music app do you use to consume music the most?
Proud paying subscriber to Rdio for the past few years.
Inspired by the fine folks at LifeHacker and their How I Work blog series, the Callsheet series gives the spotlight to the people behind the scenes that keep the music business going. The managers, road dogs and 3am phone call takers who live and die making things happen. Callsheet gives you a chance to learn their secrets, tips and tricks that make their day easier.
Hello and welcome to the ninth installment of Eric Morgan’s How To Kill Your Band. This column offers advice to up and coming artists from the perspective of a professional musician who has thrived with and without label support over the last decade. If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog, or if you would like to learn more information about the services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
An Introduction:
I’ve been in the music industry as an artist for nearly 10 years now. In that decade I’ve achieved nearly all of my childhood music dreams, but I’ve also made just as many mistakes that run over my mind before I fall asleep each night. A wonderment of how a few different decisions, rerunning in hindsight, would work out in some alternate universe. This ever creeping determinism is a fallacy I’m quite aware of but one that I will never completely shake, though it’s these experiences I’ve learned the most valuable lessons. These are the things I’d like to share in a series of mini-blogs I call How To Kill Your Band.
Part 8 – A Conversation With Hopesfall’s Adam Morgan (Part 1)
This week on the HTKYB, I will be sharing part 1 of my interview with Hopesfall founding drummer Adam Morgan. Hopesfall was founded in 1998 and quickly developed from a regional favorite to a national force that blurred the lines between metal and hardcore with unconventional song structures and spacey melodic soundscapes. The group dealt with the entire spectrum of band troubles ranging from a multitude of member changes to publicized confrontations with their label all while their music continued to grow and become a pillar of the hardcore scene. Adam was kind enough to take part a series of back and forth emails over the past weeks where we discussed his experiences in the band and shed light on the lessons he had learned during his time in the industry.
E: For those who may not be familiar with you, let’s start by stating your name and position:
A: My name is Adam Morgan, and I played drums for Hopesfall from 1998-2003.
E: Hopesfall formed in 1998 and found success as one of the cornerstones of a budding hardcore scene. Can you tell me a bit about how the band came to be and what the local music scene was like as you were first getting involved?
A: Hopesfall started out as just a bunch of friends playing music together. We were always a tight-knit group of friends, in which music played a huge part in our lives. We were all at that point in our lives where we were discovering and sharing our newest musical findings. The further we got from the radio, the more we were learning about the underground punk, emo, and hardcore scene, and it was an exciting time. We were all so hungry for new, cool music. Eventually, we just kind of decided to make our own music.
At the time, I thought the local scene was great. There seemed to always be a good show going on at Tremont Music Hall [Charlotte, NC], and especially in Winston Salem and Chapel Hill.
Bands like Prayer For Cleansing, Undying, Learning, Aria, and Codeseven were amongst our good friends, and we were constantly playing incredible shows together.
E: That same year you recorded your debut album, The Frailty of Words. Can you tell me about the writing and recording process for that album? Was it your first time in the recording studio?
A: Well I was still in high school at the time, while everyone else was either in college or working.
As far as writing the album goes, I don’t think we ever had that in mind. We would all just get together every single chance we had. I think I can speak for everyone when I say, there was nothing more we’d rather be doing. We just wanted to play, write, and create music together.
Eventually, we had just written enough songs to make a record.
The studio where we recorded our first album was just a small building, behind someone’s house, in Columbia, SC. If I recall correctly, we would leave our gear down there and drive down on the weekends until it was finished. For the most part, it was our first time in a studio. We were young and severely limited with what we had to work with. I don’t think we realized that at the time, but looking back now, it was somewhat of a guerrilla approach at recording an album. Nonetheless, we were having the time of our lives.
E: That debut album was released in 1999, was it a situation where you guys started touring as soon as you graduated? Did the others have to chose to leave college to tour full time? What was the decision like for you between choosing to do music full time vs applying for college or starting a non-musical career?
A: We didn’t really start touring full time until later down the road. In 1999, up to around 2002, we were mainly playing weekends around Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and the Carolinas. During “summer break” we’d play longer stints and get further away from home. Mostly east coast and a little Midwest stuff. No one really had to compromise their schooling, or career at that time, but eventually, as we started entertaining the idea of taking on more shows and signing with a new label, we did end up losing our singer, due to choosing to pursue his non-musical career path.
For me, personally, I never really had college on mind. Even before I was involved with a band – which I regret.
I started working, right out of high school, which was when our first album came out. I ended up having to quit that job shortly after, due to tour scheduling conflicts, and ended up getting a new job that allowed me to take off whenever I needed to, for however long I needed to. After that, I never had to choose work or tour. I was lucky enough to have job security while hitting the road.
E: Musicians, even within the same band, seem to have drastically different personal feelings towards tour. What was being on the road like for you initially? How did it compare to your expectations?
A: Initially, I thought it was great. It was an incredible feeling of freedom, adventure, and sense of “living the dream”. I would often think about all my other friends and co-workers back at home, while riding around in the van, heading to a new city, and think to myself “This is incredible. Everyone back at home is heading to work right now, or making the same drive down I-77, toward school, and I am lucky enough to be on the road, playing music, meeting new people, seeing new skylines, all while hanging out with my best friends.”
It wasn’t by any means a feeling of superiority, just more so a feeling of gratefulness, and pride.
I’d say the only thing you really can’t prepare for though is learning how to live with four other guys in very close quarters. No matter how long you’ve been in a band, or have been friends with the people in your band, up until the point you all pile in the van together, you are use to doing things your way, on your schedule.
All of that changes immediately once you enter that van. That can be difficult to adjust to. So the more flexible you can be, the more easy going you can be, and the faster you can come to terms with not being in control, then touring will get easier.
E: I would have to agree that living in a van with even the best friends can redefine your relationship and really opens you up to vulnerabilities that are hard to hide in a 10’ by 5’ metal box. It’s hard to give up absolute control over your daily decisions, but like you said, the ability to be flexible makes things a whole lot easier for all parties.
It sounds like you were playing a lot of weekend and DIY type tours up until your EP No Wings to Speak Of was released in 2001. Takehold Records initially put that record out, what was the process like working with that label? How did they approach the band?
A: Prior to meeting Chad Johnson, (Takehold Records owner) we had played with a lot of the bands that were on his label. Bands like Underoath, Tantrum Of A Muse, Few Left Standing, Two Thirty-Eight, etc. So after our first album had been out for awhile, we had already met him a few times. Eventually, we were sitting on four new songs and Chad offered to send us to the studio and put out the EP for us. I don’t even remember signing anything. He was always such a great dude and the timing just kind of worked out. Other than just being friends with him, we never really had to deal with any “business” with him. We were never under any contract with him.
E: In 2002, Trustkill Records re-released the EP. Was that partly a consequence of Takehold being absorbed into Tooth & Nail Records? It looks like this lines up to when you said you guys started touring full time, was getting the Trustkill deal the catalyst that turned this into a full time band?
A: I’m not sure if that really had anything to do with Trustkill re-releasing the EP. That was all pretty much between Trustkill and Takehold. I guess it was just in Trustkill’s best interest to purchase the rights to that record.
Signing with Trustkill was definitely a time in the band’s career where we decided to start touring full time. Being on a label with Poison The Well and Eighteen Visions, and seeing how much they toured was sort of an eye-opening thing. It just clicked at that point. “This is what you need to do to market yourselves and get your name out there.” So that’s what we decided to do.
E: Around this time, things for Hopesfall started to spark and get national attention. At what point did you realize you were doing something incredibly special?
A: I think it really started to click when we went out to the west coast for the first time. At the time, a lot of our shows were sold out, and the kids were singing along to all our songs, and going crazy. Keep in mind, this was all before Facebook and Youtube. It was much harder to get a gauge on your fan base, other than weekly SoundScan reports.
E: That’s a great point, it’s probably impossible for today’s bands to think about developing at a time when there wasn’t Facebook, YouTube, or even MySpace – now these services let artist know instantly how far their music has spread and even how many people will be at a show weeks ahead of time. I imagine that it would of been a bit liberating to play music without having to worry about posting statuses everyday, maintaining twitter accounts, etc.
Would you have preferred to have this tools available when Hopesfall was born? Do you think it would of helped or hurt the band’s development? In your eyes, has this state of constant connectivity been positive or negative for the music scene in general?
A: Honestly, I could go both ways. I think if we had all the social networking tools that bands have now, it could have definitely helped us. Being able to broadcast new songs, tour schedules, links to ticket vendors, merch sites etc, would have helped tremendously.
Even now, if it wasn’t for Facebook, I might have easily missed out on an opportunity to catch my favorite band while they were in town. Even music streaming sites like bandcamp and SoundCloud have been great resources for helping me discover new bands.
The days of taking a blind chance at buying a band’s album, because you saw their name in your favorite band’s “thank you” list, in their CD liner notes, are over. I think the only problem I have with social networking within the music industry is that it makes it too easy to sell a bullshit image, and diverts the attention from the most important thing; the actual music.
Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us this afternoon. We have spent the last month planning a series of guests posts with our dear friend Deborah ‘Zuke’ Smith, which we are thrilled to launch on the blog today. Zuke is an industry professional with knowledge and insight well beyond her years, but I am sure all of that will come to light through her posts in the weeks ahead. If you have any questions about developing as a writer/blogger in music, please do not hesitate email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
You just woke up and it’s one o’clock in the afternoon. You can barely talk, and you’re freaking out because you have a gig tonight from 10:00 tonight until 2:00 in the morning. You know you’ll be partying after the gig, so you’ll probably wake up the next day with an even worse voice. And then after that, you have to drive to yet another gig in some other town. How are you going to get through this tour?!
Do you really think your tiny vocal cords can handle night after night of abuse if you don’t know how to properly care for them? Don’t feel bad; when I was younger, I did some really stupid things that damaged my voice. I’m here to tell you that you can repair that damage. And you can learn to do it correctly, without compromising your artistic integrity or your signature sound.
The first step in my book toward good vocal health is: Hydration. Carry a water bottle with you everywhere you go. Drink herbal teas. Eat foods high in H2O, like cucumbers, celery, watermelon, and strawberries. Stay away from things that dehydrate the voice, such as alcohol, caffeine, sodium and sugar. Ok, so only excess caffeine will dehydrate you, but really, that gnarly feeling in your mouth and that jittery sensation in your body after too much doesn’t make for a fun singing experience.
Number two is: Sleep and Vocal Rest. Sleep regenerates the body and vocal rest means absolute silence. Do not sing. Do not speak. You all have smartphones, just type out messages if you need to say something. If your voice is shot and sounds like you swallowed a pail of nails, don’t you think your body is telling you to be quiet? It’s really very simple. If it hurts, you probably did something wrong. If you sound like a scratch track, you probably need to cool it for a while.
Aside from those first two “Must-Dos,” getting on a regular exercise program for the body will help you maintain your vocal stamina for many years through many late night club hits. Did you play any sports as a kid and did your coach make you warm up before you ran or played ball? Your vocal cords are begging you to treat them with that kind of respect as well. How about after the game? Did you have some type of cool down routine? Yep, you know where I’m going with this. Your cords need to calm down after you sing.
There are many various exercises for all types of vocal fatigue and abuse, but you must learn to make the basics a daily habit so you can try and prevent damage. The best, most well trained singers may find themselves in trouble and face vocal surgery. This is not unlike a top-level athlete. Even with Olympic level training, the pro athlete can suffer injuries. Do your cords a favor and treat them like they are worth a million bucks. Someday, they may be!
If you have any doubts that I know what I’m talking about, I’m 55 and a breast cancer survivor. Chemo completely destroyed my voice for a year. I thought I lost parts of my voice forever. Fortunately, I found a vocal coach willing to work with me and not only did my voice come back, but I also discovered a passion for teaching that I never knew existed.
How can I help you to help yourself? If you have any questions, drop me a note here.
Deborah ‘Zuke’ Smith is the founder of Zuketunes and a seasoned industry professional. She’s one of the coolest people you could ever hope to meet and has really wonderful insight on not only vocal technique and training, but navigating a career as an emerging artist. We’re thrilled to have her join our contributing team throughout the months of May and June. If you enjoy her columns, please seek out her other work.
Hello and welcome to a new week of music industry advice and insight on the official blog of Haulix. We are thrilled to have you joining us, even if it’s not on the day this particular post goes live. We strive to keep this blog active and up-to-date, but we need your help in order to know what content should be planned for the months ahead. If you have any questions about developing as a writer/blogger in music, please do not hesitate email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
After writing about music for five years there are only a few things I would say I know to be absolutely true about the industry. The first is that everyone who makes it has given everything that they have to pursue whatever ambition lead them to consider the music industry as a career. The second, and perhaps most often emphasized, is that almost no one working in music ever has free time. The movers and shakers of this business rarely rest, and having an opportunity to share your latest creation with these influential people is something hundreds, if not thousands of artists strive for every day, but only a few ever manage to accomplish. There is only a finite amount of time any one person can dedicate to music discovery, after all, and the demand for that person’s attention during that time is always extremely high.
When presented with the challenge of figuring out what information can be relayed about any one artist or work to convince bloggers or other industry professionals to consider something new, most artist fall back on the once tried and true formula of sharing whatever digital accomplishment that have accumulated in recent years. Whether it’s the hundreds of ‘Likes’ a recent interview garnered for a small blog, the fact they have 30,000 followers on Twitter, or the news that their video has garnered over 250,000 plays on YouTube, artists LOVE to tell industry professionals about their supposed buzz online. What they rarely consider, however, is just what – if anything – these numbers actually mean in the business world. Do 30,000 Twitter followers means more or less than the fact an artist can generate a lot of plays on YouTube? Likewise, does ten thousand streams for your latest song on Soundcloud mean more or less than the fact someone at Noisey or Pitchfork said your album was good?
Numbers and reputable press quotes may grab the attention of younger professionals, but industry lifers know that no amount of digital attention can match an artist who has a proven ability to draw on the road. Follows, Likes, streams, and all related digital numerations might make artists and the people who back them feel good inside, and there is not a doubt in my mind that large social media numbers helps certain people feel more confident about themselves, but your career will go nowhere unless artists can convert those meaningless numbers to actual, paying consumers of their art. It is possible to make money off streaming numbers, yes, but artists who reach success on a national level (or beyond) need more than YouTube plays to create a sustainable career. They need ticket sales and merch sales, coupled with whatever music they are actually able to sell.
If we all wake up tomorrow in a world without the internet the music industry will not die, and that is something artists should keep in mind when creating press kits. You and the music you create are more than internet hype, or at least you should be if you have any intention of making a career in this industry, and you need to learn to present yourself to others without relying on the crutch of digital popularity to do so. Every writer I know, and by writer I mean everyone who does more when posting online about music than copy/paste press releases, lives for the day when they stumble across the next big band. They all want to hear that one great song no one else with influence has heard, and then work with the creator of said song to share their art with the world. What none of them want, or at least no one that I have spoken to, is to speak with last week’s viral sensation. People don’t write about bands with strong digital numbers unless they have other, real world accomplishments as well. 50,000 Twitter followers only matter if you can guarantee your next tour of 300 capacity venues will sell out every night. If you’re unable to do that, you’re either unaware of how analytics work or you do not actually have a large following of dedicated fans. Either way, the industry will eventually catch on and they will not have any further interest in working with you.
There is no reason to exclude your digital accomplishments from your press kit, but they should not be the first details shared about your art with the world. Press and industry professionals need to know who you are, where you come from, what type of road experience you have, and what you are trying to accomplish with your music. Are you out to have a good time, or are you trying to write a song that will change the world? These things matter, and they are a hell of a lot more interesting than reading through a bunch of numbers associated with networks that will be irrelevant five or ten years from now.
If you want to stand out from the increasingly cluttered world of underground music, do yourself a favor and embrace what already makes you unique. Leverage who you are and what it is you are creating in order to gain the attention of those in a position to help further your professional efforts. Digital support will follow, and by the time your numbers are high enough to warrant sharing with others you will already have a wealth of actual professional accomplishments to share.
A lot has been written about the supposed dire state of the music industry, but truth be told there are a number of successful and growing companies, including record labels, that are thriving in 2014. In this column we bring together every job opening we can find from the companies responsible for building the future of the business and present them to you, our reader, in hopes of aiding you on your journey to join the global music industry professional family.
Each Sunday we scour the internet for the latest and greatest job postings throughout the music industry. You can help us better serve our community by sending any job openings you find or have to james@haulix.com. Be sure to include the name of the company hiring, a detailed description of the position being offered, a desired start date, contact information, and any additional supplemental information you feel may be needed.
Job summary: This job is based around project management skills, including the ability to schedule many projects simultaneously. It is essential to be able to work to multiple production deadlines. Should have skills in office administration, oral and written communication, industry networking, budgeting and financial management are required. Because label managers deal with artists, they need tact and diplomacy. The label manager must have a thorough appreciation of and commitment to the multiple genres of music that the label deals with. It’s useful (but not necessary) to also have some technical knowledge about recording and production in order to understand the needs of the artists when setting up recording sessions. Technical knowledge of digital marketing strategy will help.
Job summary: Emmy Award winning production company looking for a temporary (possibly leading to permanent) Music Coordinator to join the team in our LA (Culver City Adjacent) offices. Under the direction of the Executive in Charge of Music, this position will be responsible for acting as the department’s music coordinator across multiple projects.
Job summary: Universal Music Group is currently seeking a Team Coordinator position in our Hollywood, CA office location. The purpose of this position is to provide strong administrative and organizational support to the VP of Adult Programming.
Job summary: A leading, cutting edge, Culver City Entertainment company is looking for a talented and enthusiastic Music Supervisor position to join the team. The candidate will be expected to manage the demands of entertainment marketing, working under high stress, with urgent deadlines in a fast pace environment. The candidate must possess a vast knowledge of all types and genres of music and have preexisting established contacts at labels, publishers, and music marketing agencies and have a complete understanding of the music clearance process.
Job summary: Looking for a music clearance coordinator to assistant of various projects. Minimum 1 year previous experience in film & tv music clearance and/or licensing. Must know how to perform song searches on the various PRO’s. Must have exceptional attention to detail. Duties will include song research, sending out quote requests, tracking approvals, processing licenses and payments and other admin duties. Must be able to work in a faced paced environment.
Job summary: Sony/ATV Music Publishing Los Angeles is seeking a detail-oriented, highly motivated, and career-minded Creative Assistant to support two A&R/ Creative Executives. The candidate must be able to work well in a fast paced environment, have the ability to multi-task and be knowledgeable of music as a whole. Major duties of the job will include answering heavy phone volume, booking travel, and maintaining various creative documents for the A&R staff.
Job summary: To be one of the leaders of the core agency team responsible for developing and executing effective advertising campaigns for Axcess TV & Radio. The Media manager is responsible for setting the bar for strategic and creative thinking in all media services.
Job summary: Barsuk Records is seeking an experienced individual to join our Seattle office. As a small company with a select roster of artists and where most current staff have worked for 5-10 years or more, there’s a fair amount of responsibility-sharing at Barsuk. Ideal candidates will have experience (3-5 years minimum) in one or more record industry disciplines, including but not limited to marketing & promotion, A&R, project management, warehouse operations, artist management, event planning, bookkeeping, copywriting, and/or design. Familiarity with Barsuk’s catalog and 15-year history is strongly preferred, but not necessary.
Job summary: Atrium Music, a new-model, boutique music licensing and publishing company is seeking an experienced, well-connected and highly motivated team member for the position of music supervisor/sales agent to pitch and place the company’s vast catalog of artist and composer music.
Job summary: As a key member of the Digital Marketing team within UMe, the Manager’s position marries strategy with execution across all digital channels for a designated set of projects, from start to successful finish. The Manager will work collaboratively with internal stakeholders and global counterparts, per project as well as with external industry and consumer facing outlets to develop online, social, and mobile opportunities. In an unconventional approach to catalog priorities, this role will also take on the onus to develop core, genre comprehensive campaigns to elevate and optimize deep catalog titles, tracks, and artists. The Manager will report directly to the department head for Digital Marketing.
Job summary: Securing from music publishers any and all rights required in order for WMG’s U.S. record labels to exploit any musical compositions embodied in the sound recordings and records that those record labels release, negotiating the corresponding mechanical and other licenses covering those musical composition rights, and paying those music publishers the corresponding mechanical and other license advances, fees, and/or other royalties in an accurate and timely manner.
Job summary: This position will provide administrative support to the Business & Legal Affairs contract administration staff, and assist in digital rights management and administration. Advances/Payments/Checks: Manage the requisition and distribution of all contractual advances and other payments.
Job summary: Scout Staffing is actively seeking an experienced and personable Administration and Licensing Manager for Nashville’s fastest-growing independent record label. Working closely with the Director of Administration and VP of Publishing, this role includes both publishing and record label administration duties while also managing a full-time coordinator. If you have a passion for licensing, a team-oriented mindset and management style, and a want to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, then this role with an innovative label may be the one for you!
Job summary: Under general supervision, performs increasingly responsible and complex duties in developing and serving an account base and attaining sales goals of company products in an assigned territory and within a team environment.
Job summary: Wonderful opportunity for the right candidate. TEAM provides talent and union payroll services to music clients in the Film, TV and Sound Recording industries. The Music Payroll Coordinator is a “team-player” position that requires accuracy, attention to detail, initiative and a pro-active approach to duties and responsibilities in working with intercompany departments, clients and colleagues. Discretion in handling company and private or personal client and employee information is required, along with a positive attitude, professional ethics, appearance, and conduct.
Job summary: Are you interested in driving highly visible initiatives for MTV Artists? Do you enjoy working in an entrepreneurial environment solving complex technical problems and delivering innovative solutions? MTV is looking for a Technical Project Manager to help us make our MTV Artists website and apps even better! This role will provide project leadership, mitigate project risks, make tradeoffs, and balance business needs versus technical constraints. You will work with various software and business teams around the company to identify and drive innovative solutions that achieve business goals. This is an opportunity to shape the next generation of MTV artists!
Job summary: Assist Coordinating Director of Music, Music Director and Music Coordinators in the preparation, filing, coordination and organization of music licenses and related music documentation. Oversee the management of digital audio resources, storage and organization of the department’s audio libraries. Handle the update of music data to the cue sheet management system, as well as the distribution and handling of cue sheets to licensors.
Job summary: The Country Music Association is currently seeking a Senior Manager, Market Research to manage a broad range of research initiatives related to CMA initiatives and the country music industry as a whole under the direction of the Sr. Director, Market Research. The position will design, manage , implement and report primary and secondary research to provide a multi-dimensional and in-depth understanding of the Country Music consumer and marketplace. Position will also manage CMA Insiders – CMA’s proprietary consumer panel.
Job summary: Gibson Brands, Inc. (f/k/a Gibson Guitar Corp), the world’s premier manufacturer of musical instruments and professional & consumer audio equipment, is building out its Product Management function in Corporate Marketing and is seeking to hire six (6) Product Managers. The Product Managers will be located in Nashville and report directly to the Executive Vice President of Product Planning. They will have responsibility for managing existing product lines as well as creating and integrating new products and product changes within their specific product line.
Job summary: Yamaha is seeking a dedicated Office Manager to work on a temporary basis for a period of approximately three months. The length of the temporary assignment may vary contingent upon business needs. Individual will be responsible for various clerical and administrative functions in the office.
Job summary: The Maintenance/Process Supervisor is responsible for overseeing and executing the work of maintenance staff. The maintenance staff is responsible for the upkeep of vinyl presses and other machinery needed to produce a high quality product. The role also provides support to the execution of the production schedule. The successful candidate must have strong communication and troubleshooting skills, and possess the ability to perform maintenance duties as needed.
Job summary: You love music, technology, operations and the coming together of all three. You have the ability to look at music on the asset level and understand data trends surrounding it. On a day-to-day basis, you aren’t afraid to dig into databases for more information and know how to communicate your findings to a broader team. You execute quickly on projects, are detail oriented, love creating processes and enjoy troubleshooting issues. You understand music as a digital asset and know what it takes to move an asset along a value chain to generate revenue in today’s complicated music landscape. You will work closely with our global sales group, contributor services, content curators and contributor relations teams. Your focus is to ensure that our high quality music offering grows online and offline while also spearheading delivery of our music offerings to existing and new customers. You will also be a conduit between our contributor base and music partners and facilitate our music submission process when necessary. You must understand music licensing as a business and technical formats for digital music assets. Most importantly, you must like working on a diverse team, love to execute according to a plan and learning as you go.
Job summary: Oversees and manages the LA Phil’s accounting practices, financial controls, financial reporting, audit and tax filings, cash management, payroll, insurance and retirement plan administration.
Job summary: The Manager Membership of the GRAMMY Museum is responsible for all aspects of a highly successful membership program, including strategic planning and growth; providing a significant base of unrestricted annual support and donor cultivation; providing excellent benefits and services; developing effective marketing strategies and programs; increasing and improving member renewal, retention, upgrades and acquisition.
Job summary: The finance team provides financial reporting, accounting, planning, budgeting, financial compliance and auditing for the company. TheFinance Director reports to and partners directly with the Chief Financial Officer to assist with a broad range of Finance activities including shared supervision of Finance Manager.
Job summary: The Director & Chief Curator leads all activities directly related to the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi® collection and exhibitions in carrying out the organization’s mission, vision, strategic plan, and budget.
Job summary: If you are tired of the typical AdOps jobs and want to provide higher value beyond the execution of campaigns, you are ready to work with Complex Media. Set up a meeting with us to learn how you can be part of the team that is making Complex Media’s Digital success a reality! Bring in your creativity! The idea is to stay ahead of the market by offering digital advertising products that are unique – we provide the venues to challenge the established guidelines.
Job summary: Sonicbids (part of Backstage.com) is looking for a Director of Marketingto grow its two-sided opportunity listing marketplace. The Director of Marketing will grow band and promoter (venues, festivals etc) signups via acquisition marketing at high volume and low cost. You will be responsible for narrowing Sonicbid’s marketing focus and solving the marketplace chicken vs egg problem. The Director of Marketing will manage the marketing team and work in partnership with the Director of Brand and Content.
Job summary: Candidate will support the A&R team. Responsibilities will include booking studios, coordinating travel, assisting with budget preparation, preparing expense reports and heavy phones.
Job summary: Warner/Chappell Production Music is looking for a results driven, professional, flexible, hardworking individual for the full-time position of Director of Licensing- Trailers in our Los Angeles office. This is a fun and challenging position in fast-pace environment.
Thank you for joining us for another installment in our our ongoing Journalism Tips series. We started this column as a way to help aspiring writers get their start in music, but over the couple months we have been evolving into a place writers come to have their questions about life in the business answered. Today we are continuing that effort with a response to a question posed by multiple reader in regards to how long it takes to begin making money as a writer. If you have any questions about developing as a writer/blogger in music, please do not hesitate email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
There are a dozen ways Facebook can suck you in and steal hours of any given work day, but for me the biggest hurdle to overcome is the allure of the platform’s messaging system. Any time I log on there are either friends or industry peers available to chat, and it’s rare that I do not click one or two just to say hello. After all, networking and communication are key in this industry. Earlier this week, however, I was pulled into a conversation for over an hour with a writer I had never met or known. They claimed to be fans of this blog and wanted to ask my opinion on something related to their writing career. I was flattered by the comments, but to be honest I still struggle with these kind of situations in public. The music industry is a crazy place, and what works/worked for me might not have the same results for someone else. This blog allows for advice to be given in a generic sense, making it possible for a lot of people to take in the ideas and refine them to fit their needs, but when talking one-on-one everything is much more direct.
I confessed all my apprehensions about offering advice, but ultimately gave in and asked what the question was this person had been pining over for so long that they felt compelled to seek help. Their answer, surprisingly, was one of the most frequently contributed questions this blog has ever received:
How long does it take to become a professional writer, and when should I expect to start getting paid for my work?
Questions like this are similar to the questions I think everyone asks themselves in music from time to time. The hard truth is, unfortunately, that there are no definite answers. One thing I know for sure though is that no amount of money can make someone a professional. Likewise, just because you’re getting paid to write does not necessarily mean you are a professional. Let’s expand on this, shall we?
Professionalism, as we have discussed in the past, is not determined by wealth or cultural status. To be a professional is to enter into a mindset where you treat the things you love doing as a profession. You strive to create the most interesting and in depth content you can, without thinking of the payment or praise you will receive for your efforts. The only thing you need to find satisfaction is the completion of whatever you are working on in the moment, and from there you will find a new project to begin. It’s not about figuring out the best way to do something and doing it that way forever, but rather inventing new ways to tell original stories that people may or may not know they want to hear. It’s about setting the curve not just for yourself, but for everyone around you as well.
Individuals become professionals in music journalism when they accept the fact there is no end point in the pursuit of writing perfection. Whether your first or five hundredth article goes viral does not matter if the 400+ articles in between are complete crap. No one story is going to make or break your career, but focused and consistently strong writing will allow you to continue pursuing your love of combining music and the written word. You might not get paid at times, but then again money is never the goal of the professional. It’s nice, and in many ways needed for survival over the longterm, but professionals realize money is little more than a means to acquire the items needed to survive and not the tool for survival itself. You can learn more about professionalism here.
On the topic of compensation and when writers can expect to begin receiving payment, there is no way for me or anyone else to provide any type of substantial answer. It’s likely you could be getting paid to write content right now if you clicked through enough Craigslist ads and LinkedIn postings, but if you want to get paid for creating content you are truly passionate about it may take some time to reach a point where you are able to support yourself from such endeavors. I interview writers every week who have been working in music for a decade or more, and nine times our of ten they admit to not making a dime for their writing for years (usually five or more). If they did somehow start getting paid sooner, they have been around long enough to see the rise of digital media cause a drop in the rates publications are willing to pay freelance contributors.
Reaching a point where you are able to cover the things that matter to you takes a combination of time, practice, networking, and – to be entirely honest – luck. You have to write long enough to develop a unique voice that people not only recognize, but seek out on a regular basis. Once you have established that, you need to create a portfolio of content, as well as a collection of new ideas, which can then be shared with editors and publications around the globe. Those who receive your submissions will then have to review those articles and content ideas to see if you fit in with the voice/focus of their site as whole and get back to you. They also may not even bother to contact you again. That’s just the way the business works.
Some may think starting their own website will be a quicker way to reach a point where advertisers and/or publishers are willing to pay for content, but that path has its own set of drawbacks. First and foremost, as the demand for content grows so will the need to either expand your writing staff or lessen the amount of time you spend on each post. Either decision will alter the way your only voice is received, and as time goes on that demand is only going to grow. If you do land a publishing deal, there will be an expectation for the type and amount of content created, which can make many writers feel stunted in term of coverage options.
If you really want to be a professional and make money while doing so, make it a point now to focus on your craft and set personal goals. Don’t worry about traffic or compensation, but do stress over the quality of the material you deem worthy of being shared with the world. Each article you create, whether a review or news update, should showcase your abilities as a writer to the fullest extent possible. Success comes to those who dive in without worrying about temperature of the water or how others will view their efforts to swim. Be yourself and embrace the fact you have a voice entirely your own, then use that voice to share the best and worst of the world with others. Success will follow.
“I have never in my life found myself in a situation where I’ve stopped work and said, ‘Thank God it’s Friday.’ But weekends are special even if your schedule is all over the place. Something tells you the weekend has arrived and you can indulge yourself a bit.” – Helen Mirren
Hello and welcome to the final Haulix update of the work week. Whether you relate to The Queen’s feelings about Fiday or not, there is something universally true about the wonderful sense of allowed indulgence the weekend presents. Consider this particularly weekend includes a holiday in the states, the above quote could not be more fitting than it is right now. We are just hours away from the five o’clock hour while crafting this post and we thank you for taking a few minutes from your avoidance of afternoon labor to spend with us.
Each and every Friday we like to take a brief break from our regularly scheduled programming to update and reflect on everything happening at Haulix HQ. We are far more than a music blog, as many of you already know, and posts like this give us an opportunity to share more our efforts with all of you.
REMINDER: We will be performing general patch updates in all of our servers this Saturday, May 24, from12:00PM to 4:00PM CST. There will be some minor downtime during the process and services will be unavailable.
Another work week is finally coming to a close, and as always our team is hard work on the future of anti-piracy efforts. Our testing for Toppletrack integration continues, with plans already being set for the evolutionary steps that will follow. We feel confident that the year ahead will see some of the biggest and best updates in our history, and we look forward to working with all of you to further develop the future of this industry we all love.
Speaking of years, next week marks the one year anniversary of this blog’s birth. When we started we had only a few ideas on how to engage the industry, and now that we’ve logged more than 250 updates we feel like we have a much better understanding of the business we exist within. More importantly, we like to believe we have also made a difference in the lives of readers through our interviews, advice, and job board postings. We have a lot of ideas for the future that will see expanding our messaging beyond this blog, but we will always make it a point to create content for this outlet as well. The columns you love will continue and new features will be presented. This blog exists to help you as much as it does to aide us in promoting our platform, and we want your assistance in planning its future content. We say this a lot, but if you have any questions about the content of a post, or if you have an idea for a future column, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
In case you missed anything in recent days, here is a rundown of the week’s content:
That is all we have for this work week. A new ‘Journalism Tips’ will go live tomorrow, with additional columns running Sunday and Monday. Have a great weekend, everyone!
