If you are an artist, this is a situation to which you should be paying close attention!

Please visit http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003653349

Michael Anderson is a friend and colleague…and an amazing songwriter and artist. I hope you will find this information helpful.
Michael has a great web site you should visit www.michaelanderson.com

As you’ve probably noticed by now, I am a foundational guy. I like getting to the bottom of something and understanding how it works.

The basic principles you learn about songwriting will stay with you from your first song to as far as you can go in your career. Hopefully those basic principles become second nature, you incorporate them as a matter of course in your craft and build on them with experience.

In my opinion the fundamental music form of American music is the three chord blues. I am not going to explain it here because you can’t learn it by reading about it. It is like sex or Zen; Continue Reading »

Here is some more great information and insight from producer Kim Copeland. Please visit her site at www.kimcopelandproductions.com and Susan Tucker’s site www.songwritersconnection.com

Imagine that you walk into a casino and see two roulette wheels which both offer the same tremendous payoff. The only difference in the two is the odds. At the first wheel, the odds of you beating the house are 3,000,000,000 to 1. At the second table, the odds of you winning are 100 to 1. Either way, you lay down your money, the wheel spins and you take your chances; all or nothing. Which wheel would you want to play? Continue Reading »

This article is from producer Kim Copeland. I hope you will find these ideas as useful as I do.

www.kimcopelandproductions.com

Sun block? Water bottle? Golf clubs? Beach chair? Favorite snacks? Good book? As you head out for your vacation, don’t forget to pack your songwriters antennae. Continue Reading »

It’s a familiar tune, a sad lament actually, about a product falling victim to counterfeiters. Lately, they’ve been picking on guitars.
Please visit www.kotv.com/news/national/story/?id=137180

Gibson’s Self-Tuning Guitar
By John Borland –
It’s every guitar player’s nightmare: you step onstage, strike your rock-god pose, triumphantly strum the first chord of a song–and discover that your guitar is out of tune. A new line of instruments from Gibson Guitar now promises to banish this scenario to the dark ages with high-tech self-tuning technology built into the company’s flagship electric-guitar models.
Please visit http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/19462/

Benny and I asked readers to submit some questions for us to ask ourselves and music industry professionals. This is one of many we received but this one really struck a chord with me.

Are you prepared to be brave and change the music business/model so you can have a job in the next five years? Continue Reading »

This article is excerpted from “Michael Anderson’s Little Black Book of Songwriting” available at michaelanderson.com

mel•o•dy n

1. a succession of single notes of a different pitch arranged in a way that it is a recognizable entity – the principle part of a piece of harmonized music
2. the primary and most recognizable part in a harmonic piece of music Continue Reading »

Jennifer Yeko is a colleague on whom I can always count to offer great information. Here is an excerpt from some responses she got to an e mail on touring and making it in the music business. I hope you enjoy….and, hey, visit Jennifer’s site at www.truetalentmgmt.com

Hey Jennifer,

I just want to thank you for sending me this email. How very right you are. I firmly believe that the image of success already dwells within the mind before it becomes a reality. I believe that when you truely are compelled to fulfill that which is your heart’s desire, the universe will conspire to help you if you maintain the focus of your dreams, specifically your goals and what you want to achieve. Yes, there will be tough times, rough shows, people within the band that quit for various reasons and it can be daunting at times to look at artists who have “made it” and see their successes in comparison with where you are at. But, it is the attitude, the drive, and the determination along with talent and some luck that gets you there.
{Editor’s Note: Sounds like someone’s seen or read “The Secret”. Continue Reading »

British singer Robert Palmer, best known for his sharp and dapper dressing style and his iconic 1980s videos for songs like “Addicted to Love,” died on this date in 2003. He was 54. Palmer, who had lived in Switzerland for the previous 16 years, died in Paris. One of my favorite Palmer songs was his medley version of Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me” and “I Want You”. I and many others really loved his music and style. He truly was an original!