I received the first few physical copies of my book project, The Local Music Journey, in the mail from my publisher today.  It was extremely gratifying to hold the finished product in my hands.  It’s similar to the feeling of accomplishment us musicians get after finishing an album project and finally holding the pressed disc with the album artwork and liner notes in our hands--you have something tangible to show for your hard work.  All the hours, weeks, months and even years leading up to that moment seem to be summed up in the physical product in front of you.

That idea got me thinking about our digital-age of music...Is the target audience of physical albums really the musicians that create them and perhaps other musicians that can appreciate what goes into such a project?

While I do think there is still a viable place for physical CDs in our current indie music industry (mainly to sell at live shows so fans can support their indie heroes with a memento of their live concert experience), as a musician I can attest that a physical album is definitely a badge of dedication to the art musicians produce.  It’s a symbol to proudly show that you are serious about your craft.  You want others to share in your enthusiasm, and of course you want folks to also buy and enjoy the music you labored over as validation for the journey you’ve embarked upon.  However, the effort is perhaps most appreciated by none other than the creator of the art, and/or those fellow musicians who understand that feeling.  This common badge that indies proudly display is part of how indie musicians build camaraderie in our music community.

By:  Nick Venturella

I just read the Indie Music Tech blog post titled, 10 Resources for Booking Gigs. 

The blog post was a nice list of online resources to seek and find gigs.  While I do agree that the resources listed are valuable I would argue that the most valuable resource was not listed.  I'm talking about other bands and artists that you know.  In other words, referrals.

Not only does keeping in touch with other bands you know allow you to continually build useful reciprocal relationships it also allows you to obtain leads on more qualified gigs.

For example, if I'm looking into performing at a certain venue that I know XYZ band, who is a friend of mine, has played before I'm more likely to ask them about their experience and possibly who I should get in contact with there to try and land a gig.  The beauty with this gig finding system is that it's free.  Some of the resources listed on Indie Music Tech's blog require some sort of annual fee, like Sonicbids.  One resource though, was SplitGigs, which is essentially an online version of my example, the principle of which I think should have been emphasized more, hence this post.

Building your network of contacts can help you get more gigs as well as better gigs.

By:  Nick Venturella

I just read an article on the Wired Magazine website about a new book called, The Music Instinct: How Music Works and Why We Can’t Do Without It. 

What struck me as most interesting, as a reason I might pick up the book, was learning the psychology behind how and why music evokes various emotions in its listeners.  As a musician and creator of music, that sort of information could influence how I write songs to help make them more "sticky." (and by "sticky" I mean catchy--you know the kinds of songs that end up being timeless and evergreen in their popularity)

From the article it sounds like the book also discusses quite a bit of the history of music and traditional music education as it relates to understanding music terms and the math involved with reading and counting notes and measures.

By:  Nick Venturella

In reference to the Huffington Post article, The Music Industry’s Next Model, Where Is It?, I’m asking the question:  Are CD sales and digital download sales really where musicians are going to make their money now and/or in the future?

My initial thought is, no.  Now, I’m not claiming to have the answer, but based on my own experiences as an indie musician, my money is made on live performances.

That got me thinking, should I spend less money on recording and releasing an album, or even song-by-song music production for digital downloads, to be able to get it to my fans cheaper because I’m not making much in return on those efforts?  However, recorded music is still vitally necessary, but do my fans really care if I recorded it in a professional studio vs. my basement to save on production costs if the quality matches their expectations? 

My point is, as an indie musician these days you might be best off to learn and understand how to record your own music very affordably, to the reasonable listening quality expectations of your fans, market it knowing that the recorded music isn’t going to make you tons of money, but if it can help you get fans to your live shows where you’re being paid by a venue and selling additional merch. (T-shirts, CDs, stickers, posters, etc.--folks often want to commemorate a live show experience with a suvineer, even a CD) at the live shows and concentrate on booking shows and marketing those shows, using your recorded music as a driving force in your marketing of performances.

By:  Nick Venturella