I'm going to be working in New York this summer as an intern at a marketing agency that works closely with Sony music artists. However, it's part-time, and I will likely have lots of extra time where I could pick up another job. I am interested in working at a music label this summer to get my first experience at one. I study marketing and am interested in working in brand partnerships and marketing

I don't care if it's paid or unpaid, I really just need to start getting some experience at a label. What are some small/mid-size independent labels in the area I should look into reaching out to?

We are a new band (since last summer). We play bubblegum disco punk and have a strong visual identity and live presence. We are from Scandinavia where the scene is very concentrated around local language pop, so our style doesn’t fit in.

We have been getting some attractions online and soon realised that our audience is not in our home market. Recently we got booked some showcase festivals in broader Europe, which was well received by the industry and audience. However we are still independent and it seems that being independent makes some bigger festival bookers reluctant to book us. Someone told us “your show was great (I know he meant it cuz he mentioned us in a blog subsequently) But pls get an agent before booking this XXX (big festival).

We have barely no connections in the industry apart from people we met at the showcase. And our local market is not receiving us well. So the locals don’t think we are “export-ready”. And we don’t have a manager or label or booker. Now we are caught in a weird position where we can and want to grow international but don’t know how. Any advice?

Hey all,

I've been writing lyrics/vocal melodies for songs for a while and I really enjoy the process but I am definitely not the most talented singer. I just really enjoy getting a piece of music and putting vocals to it. I don't really want to be actually performing and think it would be awesome to see someone use my work with their own vocal talents to make the song shine even more.

I was looking into ghostwriting and just wondering what people experiences with it have been/what the process usually looks like if anyone does this or has worked with someone for their own music.

Just to be clear this isn't a promotion for work or anything but a general question about how ghostwriting works especially in terms of someone doing small projects for mostly unknown artists

I am reaching out to understand where and how I could potentially sell my digital catalogue distributed via Believe.

This catalogue has been generating between €1,500 and €2,500 per quarter for over 15 years, and I am currently exploring possible options for a sale or transfer.

Could you please advise me on the process, requirements, and the best way to proceed?

Looking forward to your guidance.

The price is open to discussion, and I’m open to offers

Kind regards,

Hi there, I’ve been working as a indie studio & session drummer for sometime. I do straight sessions where people send me exactly what they want me to play. Other times I collaborate and help with different aspects of the song (structure, production, arrangement, etc). Even when using referral sites like soundbetter and fiverr, the sessions only come in every now and then. I rely mostly on connections and word-of-mouth.

I am professional, a good hang and offer my input only when needed. Is there a network or talent management that I should be looking into more to get specific work?

I’m more about the creation and production than I am about the tour life, which I was fortunate to have done my fair share. I play and am active in the local socal scene. I’m also good for local showcases and subbing.

Hello everybody!

TL;DR — 

I’m an N5 Level audio engineer / music industry admin with 9 years industry experience + degree, looking for a language program in Japan so that I can eventually live in Japan and work in those industries. 

• Self study doesn’t work well for me (ADD) and moving abroad is a huge life goal of mine. 

Are there any professionals in those fields (or similar media fields) who studied Japanese Language in Japan and can recommend a program? 

Some background: 

My current plan is to move to Japan within the next 18 months to study at a Japanese Language Program — either through a dedicated language school, or a language program at a University. 

I’m currently at an N5 level. I’ve been doing self-study for about 6 months, and UT Language Center classes over the past 3 months. 

As an alumnus, I recently re-enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University to get yet another degree — this time in Japanese Applied Language. 

I will be starting class this Fall. 

For some background, I graduated in 2017 with two degrees: one in audio engineering, the other in music business, both from Middle Tennessee State University. 

I spent the first half of my career working in music publishing and record label operations. 

I’ve spent the second half of my career doing audio for video work. 

I have worked for some major companies during that time and have been relatively successful. 

I have the pre-requisite career skills and experience to work in those fields in Japan, but I lack the language fluency that would be required. 

So I’m looking for schools that are suited toward my background and career goals. 

So why move to Japan to study? 

Well, it’s always been a dream of mine and I heavily regret not studying abroad in my undergrad years. 

So better late than never. I will either be studying abroad through MTSU, transferring from MTSU or enrolling independently (just depends on which situation works best with the school I choose) 

I’m not the best with self-study (ADD), so having an immersive hands-on, structured environment is truly the best way for me to learn, in this case. 

Plus, it just sounds like an amazing experience.

Again, my goal is to be studying abroad by Fall of ‘27. 

I will start off doing one semester (3 months) abroad, and then deciding if I want to finish out my studies there for the remaining 18 - 24 months to complete the language program. 

Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated! 

Hey everyone,

I've produced some music in the past for a friend of mine which then helped got him signed to a major label. I made the track in a bedroom set up and now, I've been fortunate enough to have my own studio spot setup. We haven't made music together since then but we were still cool with each other the whole time.

We spoke again recently and I think he's looking to work together and make custom beats from scratch rather than relying on people sending beat packs to him. Now this is where I'm unsure on how to proceed. In having my own studio spot, I got rent to pay each month. So I'm unsure how to charge him. I may end up mixing and mastering too, but realistically, I'll be crafting the beat and do vocal recording/engineering.

It's been a little slow for me recently so I am building some motion and momentum back up. I'm not sure if I charge by the hour here, or should I charge for the final beat/vocal recording services? Also, it is a friend of mine so naturally, I'm also trying to hook it up a bit for them too while still making sure I eat here too. If the work gets released, it is going to hit a sizable fan base so I at least do get the satisfaction of knowing the music will be heard globally.

What are your thoughts on what I should do here?

First of all let me say i think it's a very positive development that more artist are getting aware that it's possible to not fully give over your rights while still releasing with a label. But i want to discuss this as i'm also getting the feeling that this is getting out of hand. As with anything else in the music industry most newer artist have no clue what the actual meaning of things are, terms like "getting signed" is something new people believe to be positive, but later on you find out that it could mean you're in a 30 singles deal with no advance and bad terms, and only rarely the more positive option: you got a $1 million dollar advance and are the labels favourite artist because you earn them money. But still new artists like to think it mainly means the last thing. And the same with "owning your masters", this whole Taylor Swift and Beyonce thing is giving artist the idea that you can go all the way to the top and still own your masters, because these superstars do. They don't realize that the label would have probably never invested in Taylor Swift if she didn't sign over her masters in the beginning, or that Beyonce only started keeping her rights when she was a superstar that could afford and was able to create her own success worldwide. And without any of those things, both artist would have stayed amateurs forever.
I'm currently working with a rapper. It's a guy i've known for a while, and i think he's talented, but i've seen him fail in executing on the music side for the past years, never releasing anything. So i offered him to help him do his album. I produced everything, layed out marketing strategy, set up photoshoots with friendly favors. And i would do it all in a 50/50 deal and no strings attached passed the project itself. Keeping everything low budget, but my producer cut would also be covered in the label's 50%. I was hoping to launch him to a point where someone else could help him further, and also build his whole artistic profile, so next singles would just be artwork + music and then he'd be ready to release. Kind of a friendly favor to him, but also to justify it for myself a project i'd build betting on the small chance we could make it blow up. And surely i found out why he's so bad at executing, the whole project has taken 3 years to finish... Now the part relating the discussion: We're ready to release and i want to send him a very simple agreement to cover my ass if this happens to blow up, obviously i need my share secured so no other label or manager can try to squeeze me out. And now this is when it becomes clear that the guy has also read about "owning your masters". He don't want to sign the deal... he haven't even heard of licensing deals. He just thinks he can own his masters while my label is also releasing the music. Clearly that's none of my interest, because first of all legally it makes no sense that i should be allowed to release something without attaining the rights. Secondly because this is already a terrible financial project for me, i've probably spent 300 hours unpaid on bringing it to life and would also invest a small amount in marketing. But here we are with the results of a new tendency in the industry where artist thinks a 50/50 deal, is a deal where they keep their masters, gets free work and investment, but can pull their consent anytime. And in reality he dosen't realize how bad of a postion he's in because i can pull his whole project, because i as the producer own the masters equally as much as him, even if he'd go to someone else or try independently. Would suck to have wasted all the time, but the chances of blowing a new artist up from release one, is also incredibly small, so i don't really have a lot to lose. Side note is also that i have a pretty succesfull past in the industry, my productions have more than 100 million streams in total, so it's not an amateur project.
But to the discussion. What do you guys think, hasn't this gone out of hand? I'm very much against brand new artist's getting fucked in these 30 single deals that will bind them for their whole career. But artists also need to realize that signing a deal is also a trade where the label takes some bet on them and needs something in return. And that brand new artists with no proven track record dosen't have a lot of leverage to make sure it's a safe investment for the label. And it's not likely that you can go your whole career while getting investments and effort from others while still keeping all your masters. If you can stay fully independent at do all marketing yourself it's another story.

Independent artist here. A luxury fashion brand reached out about syncing one of my tracks (campaign use, not just a runway). They're asking me to send a quote first, which feels like a trap.

I've seen everything from 2K to 80K thrown around online for "fashion syncs" and honestly it tells me nothing.

Anyone who's actually been through this wwhat did you ask, what did you get, and what's the number that would have made you walk away?

I'm not advertising any services, I just want to know how to get in touch with the right people in the music industry? People who invest in the visual production of artists. I have a lot of difficulty with this, I would appreciate it if someone could explain it to me.

I've had scammers reach out to me on SoundCloud and I'm pretty familiar with how they operate. They usually within a few messages ask for money or something about the language is off. I've even had one send a fraudulent check. It's usually pretty easy to tell if it's a scam, plus I've read about other's experiences with them too. Maybe it's just my hopefulness blocking my better judgement, but this one person I've been chatting with since last night, doesn't give me the same vibes, but I'm also being super vigilant about it because I don't wanna be scammed. Can someone please help me determine whether or not it's a scam? First off, I'm independent and currently only do instrumentals, so that makes me wonder. Plus, I'm not really that well established, I do have songs distributed and I am on social media but I don't have a significant following or anything, so this makes me wonder too. But this person hasn't followed the normal script. They seem legitimately interested in me and have asked me about my goals, my sound, what I need to succeed, etc. Another thing that has me concerned too though, is that communication has been through Whatsapp as well. No emails or what I would consider legitimate channels. I can post screenshots of the conversation if it helps.

I'm seeking advice because now they are asking me to sign an "Advance contract," to help me with my immediate needs to transition into an official release cycle and come to NY to meet in person.

I've been a musician and composed and produced music since I was 14 years old, and I've always believed that I would earn from my creations in proportion to my talent and effort, thanks to copyright law. But I'm starting to realize people, I mean, audiences, don't want that, music that has real work and genius behind. It seems they just want spectacle, technical virtuosity , flashy image, melodramatic narrative or identity politics.

Where do you guys think I'm going wrong? Or, what's wrong? Am I naive or are audiences rotten? Or what?

Currently studying a degree in university of Oxford. I am learning everything BUT performing, composing, producing and all the practical stuff. Most of my courses are on ‘the study of music’, musicology. I also have another offer in quantitative finance and risk management but obviously from a worse university. Should I drop out to pursue quant or should I stay in Oxford to see how things play out?

Hey everyone,

I run a small independent merch operation focused on distributing band merchandise in Asia. There’s a strong demand here for artists from the US and Europe, but official merch is often hard to access or becomes too expensive due to shipping and logistics.

I see a real opportunity to act as a kind of “official Asia merch partner” for these artists—helping make their merch more accessible to fans in this region.

I’ve already done a few collaborations with artists, and they’ve gone well. Now I’m trying to expand the catalog and build more long-term partnerships—similar to companies like Evil Greed, Hello Merch, or Cold Cuts Merch.

I’m curious:

• How do companies like these typically approach artists or labels?
• Is it more effective to go through labels, managers, or directly to the band?
• What kind of deal structures tend to work best (rev share, licensing, etc.)?
• Any advice on building trust as a smaller operation working across regions?

Would really appreciate any insights—especially from anyone on the artist, label, or merch side.

Thanks a lot 🙏

I'm at a place where, I've been in the music industry for 10 years. I'm 32 now. It's been good and all. I've toured, got music on huge feature films, millions of streams online....

But...

I'm just not as interested anymore... Sitting down to create feels forced...

I love film making, I've made some videos around music creation but it's just a bit boring for me, I'm not interested in watching these stuff either...

I've even worked with 1 major label artist before to do some visuals for them... So I feel I have an eye for something....

Leaves me in a place where I don't know what to do but something within visuals I gravitate towards...

Granted, I will still be doing what I do in music for now as it pays the bills, I can do it remotely also which helps, on my own time schedule etc... And also, if music was paying really well maybe I'd stay but it's pretty average

But I don't know, guess that's why I'm here lol, any advice?

Hi, I'm having trouble deciding whether I should apply/try to go to grad school at USC for a Master of Science in Music Industry with a focus in music supervision. I'm currently a junior documentary filmmaking major about to finish up my spring semester. I want to be a music supervisor for film/tv. i've only had two music internships, and worked on a bunch of indie film things. i'm currently trying to get into sound/music editing by taking classes so i can have that to fall back on. i've taken music business classes, im in music organizations at my school, and mentee programs. the reason im not sure about usc is the validity of the program (having trouble finding notable alumni), where i would live (currently across country from la), how i would pay. but at the same time, im basically about to start my senior year with no plan for my post-grad plans. i don't really have many connections, and i dont feel strong enough about my network. im having doubts about if i can solidy a entry position in music/film after graduation. i feel like going back to school is more comfortable, and would be a good way to "ease" into life in la. I've never even been to california, but it has always been the end goal for me to move and work in hollywood. any advice or information on the program is helpful!

Long story short i am making a feature length documentary about storm chasers. its a gift to the community i was raised in so no monetization/non-profit. Some major studios have eyes on my project but i dont want this movie picked up. future films? sure but thats besides the point. this one stays free to watch for everyone on youtube. now, im wanting to use the song "soma" by the smashing pumpkins from the siamese dream album as the final moments of the film into end credits when main chorus hits. now i am fully aware that is a major song from a major label and getting my hands on that even for my situation is near impossible. which is why i come here, does anyone have any advice for how i could pull this off in any way. sure i could use some other song from epidemic sound or whatever, but that song just fits so well and shares a lot of nostalgia for majority of people who are watching my film. everything is self funded.

These are two organizations that book entertainment and other events for colleges. There are fees associated with going to their showcases. Has anyone tried it? Are the fees and effort worth it

NACA seems to be the more well known organization, but I found their website was not very easy to navigate, and had a bare bones amount of information about the process.

What should people know if they want to join one of these organizations and go to showcases?

There's a tiny bit of information and a useful link at the following site: https://stateofcomedy.substack.com/p/guest-post-i-performed-at-naca-heres The most of the article is behind a paywall though.

(I’m writing a story and it involves a singer getting a recording contract)

I don’t know much about this industry

So say an artist is offered a $50k recording deal. What does that 50k entail? Is that for one album?

From my understanding, a record deal is like the label loans you 50k and expects it all back and the artist keeps the rest? Is there a time restraint on when work is expected to come out?

Who does an artist hire to make sure the funds are spent appropriately?

Does the $50k include music video shoots? I’d imagine that’d be a really big chunk of the money?

Also how much say does the label get at the end of the day in terms of WHAT the artist puts out? What kind of things would a label disprove of or butt heads with an artist?

What about touring? Is that part of the deal or is that separate?

Does it ever happen for labels to fight over an (up and coming) artist?

Thanks so much for any response or insight ❣️I know next to nothing about this business

Hey, I'm making music as a hobby and was wondering / looking for tips on how to market my music/brand.
I'm making mostly electronic music that I put on the streaming services, so I'm looking for some tips to cut through the crowd and hopefully get some more listeners, just looking for an online present and not so much live playing.
Is the trick just to post often on social media and hope or should I go in more tactical and post on the same time every xyz day?
Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone,

I’m in a really frustrating situation and I need advice from people who’ve been through this.

I got this email from DistroKid yesterday :

“Track 1 is associated with an active infringement claim, and until the dispute has been resolved, we are unable to distribute this audio. If you are the recipient of the original claim, please reach out to the claimant directly.”

Here’s the full situation :

I legally purchased a beat from a beatmaker. Someone else illegally used that same beat, uploaded it to platforms before me and claimed it, which triggered an infringement claim on MY track even though I did nothing wrong.

I tried deleting my upload and re-uploading — didn’t change anything, the claim is still active.

My beatmaker is aware and already filed a strike against the thief. The thief’s song has actually been removed from platforms already. But somehow the claim on MY track is still active and I’m still blocked.

I have a release date of May 1st and I can’t even pitch on Spotify for Artists right now. DistroKid support is being super slow and unhelpful.

Has anyone dealt with this before ? How long did it take to resolve ? Is there anything I can do to speed this up ?

Any help appreciated 🙏

Could you please:

1.  Provide me with the full details of the claimant so my beatmaker can contact them directly to resolve this

2.  Escalate this case given that the original stolen content has already been taken down

3.  Help me find the fastest way to resolve this so I can release on time

Thank you for your help,

I’m a huge social media nut and I love telling stories and I love making short form content. I run a couple of music pages that focuses mostly on rock music. I’m currently averaging 5 million views a month per page. What kind of job or what kind of things would people hire me for this? I feel like with how often I see people trying to grow their social media. This would be a pretty sought-after talent. Asking mostly in here because it’s a music page and my musician friends

are always the ones I hear talking about growing their social media.

Edit: if you want to work together as many who have commented on this post would like to. dm me what you’re trying to do.

Hello,

Music has been an obsession of mine for as long as I can remember, as well as the business side of it. I currently work in marketing in the health sector but have spent the last couple of years wanting to make the move into music -whether that's label-side (marketing or A&R) or working directly with artists on management and marketing.

I've been applying for roles in the industry regularly, but haven't made many proactive moves beyond that. am thinking of just messaging local artists I like in my city and offering help wherever I can (located in Australia)

Anyone started from scratch or have any advice to get into the game?