A Walk-Through: Sampling

I’ll be writing a periodic set of articles all designed to present the necessary information to make complex topics in the music business more easily understood—”walk throughs,” if you will. The first in the series is a walk through on sampling.

I chose this topic because it allows us to view an action—sampling—which requires an understanding of an array of music business elements. As such, I’m able to introduce several important concepts at the same time. Even if you yourself are an artist who does not sample, it’s important to understand the process because someone may desire to sample your music.

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A House For Lions: Raising Money Their Own Way

Bands and artists are finding continued success with fan-funded platforms like Kickstarter and PledgeMusic. When indie rock band A House For Lions was looking into the different crowdfunding platforms available to help raise money for their debut album, they found another option. Mike Nissen, the band’s guitar player (and designer), did a little digging to find out if a Wordpress plugin existed to help with their approaching campaign. Sure enough, he found Ignitiondeck, a Wordpress plugin that lets you to implement a crowdfunding campaign without any fees (except the cost of the plugin itself and small PayPal transaction fees) or middlemen.

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How To Start: An Interview With John Strohm

Video Interview with John Strohm

Where to start? When to start? How to start? These are the questions that come up so often. The questions raised by anyone who feels his or her music should be heard, but is unsure of the appropriate next steps.

I recently had the opportunity to interview my good friend John Strohm. John is uniquely qualified to speak to the above questions. Sure, John is now a successful entertainment attorney— representing, among others, Grammy winners Bon Iver, and one of the most successful independent (and by that I mean their own label, distro through TuneCore) artists of all time, The Civil Wars—but long before John became a man of law, he too was an independent artist working his way through the same issues and opportunities that you may be.

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Amanda Palmer, Independent Musician

On September 11, Amanda Palmer—AFP to fans and friends—will release Theatre is Evil with TuneCore providing digital distribution. If you don’t know Amanda Palmer, you should; the successes of her career can serve as inspiration for many DIY performers.

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