Trust Is The Next Big Data Opportunity

This year, the battle lines are being drawn in the fight for consumer privacy.

In January, Apple CEO Tim Cook, took a stand for consumer privacy rights in an article for Time Magazine, asserting that consumers have a right to know how their data is being used.

The past few years have been like the “wild west” in data harvesting. Taking a stand for consumer privacy at this moment in time is a calculated move on Apple’s part. Building trust around data and privacy is necessary in today’s digital world.

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MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: Email Lists

• Laura Schneider | Email Lists for Musicians – Where The Heck To Start!
• Shimul Kabir | Top 5 Ukulele Starter Tips Everyone Should Know
• Alex Cowles | How To Release Your Own Music – Full Presentation
• Ghostly Beard | Dirty Money And The Starving Artist

Top 5 Ukulele Starter Tips Everyone Should Know

Those who are ukulele beginners and start to learn to play the ukulele may get tips from here.

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Email Lists for Musicians – Where The Heck To Start!

Did you know that email marketing is the top way to get people to move from being fans to fans who actually buy your music? 

It’s true!

Email marketing has come a long way since the early days of AOL and it is the perfect things for musicians to incorporate into their music strategy. Emails can help you build deep relationships between you and your fans. They can help you launch a new album with massive sales. And they don’t have to be a standard newsletter of tour dates. 

So how the heck do you start if you’ve never thought about having one before? 

Let’s chat about where to start with email marketing, how to get people to sign up, and what to send those new fans.

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How To Release Your Own Music – Full Presentation

In January 2019 I was asked to present a talk on how to release your own music to a group of people in Riga, Latvia.

It was the first time I’d done anything live, with regard to self-releasing, but I took up the challenge and wanted to fit as much information into the talk as possible.

Turns out, I went overboard and spoke for almost TWO HOURS on the topic! I had so many stories, tips and things I wanted to discuss.

Anyway, I re-recorded the presentation here, and was more concise and a little faster. I managed to get the presentation down to a little over an hour.

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Dirty Money And The Starving Artist

As artists, we need to value our work, be proud enough to put a fair price to it, as fans and art lovers, we need to respect the artists we love and support their work for what it’s really worth. It’s a matter of respect.

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MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: Memorable Melodies

• Hunter Farris | How Imagine Dragons Writes Memorable Melodies
• MusicThinkTank | MusicThinkTank: Call For Submissions!
• Renita Holyfield | How To Get Started In Music Publishing
• Adam Durnham | 5 Dangers Of Becoming A Musician

MusicThinkTank: Call For Submissions!

Thank you for your committed readership and the insightful content that many of you have shared! Without your contributions, Music Think Tank would not exist. If you have something to say about the music industry, please consider contributing a post to MTT. Remember to review the submission guidelines posted on the MTT open page before posting.

Thank you in advance for your thoughtful submissions, we look forward to reviewing and sharing your content!

How Imagine Dragons Writes Memorable Melodies

What gets us to remember a tune?

Have you ever remembered a song well enough to sing along to it the next time you heard it? Maybe you didn’t know the words, but you could at least hum along. Or have you ever played “name that tune”? What made you win some rounds so easily and yet lose others? One answer lies in how, precisely, the melody is set up.

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How To Get Started In Music Publishing

Have you ever heard someone say I’m signed to BMI, ASCAP or SESAC so I’m set for publishing?

Registering with a performance rights organization (aka PRO) is an important step to collecting your publishing royalties, but there are three major types of additional publishing royalties that you are probably not collecting if your only step to collecting your publishing royalties has been affiliating with a PRO.

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5 Dangers Of Becoming A Musician

Musicians have talent and passion. Although their jobs are rewarding, they may pose many risks. People may admire the lives of musicians because they may not have a nine to five work schedule.  Musicians are also often associated with big paychecks, though that is not always true, of course. 

On the surface, it may appear that the life of a musician is enjoyable, full of partying and entertainment.  However, this may not be true. Even if it is, there are ups and downs. If you plan to embark on a career as a musician, you need to know some of the dangers that you may face.  Here are five potential dangers of becoming a musician:

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MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: Context For Your Music

• Ayla Smith | How To Develop A Context For Your Music
• Jessica Dais | 20 Guitars From Different Eras [Infographic]
• David Miller | Registering Your Band Name, Phrase Or Logo
• Chris Senner | Classic Keyboards Are Being Dominated By MIDI Keyboards

20 Guitars From Different Eras [Infographic]

As a beginning guitarist, the world is your oyster. You have a variety of opportunities at your fingertips. You not only get to decide what type of guitar you want to play, but also what style and genre of music you want to learn.

Whether you’re just starting out, or you’re a seasoned player needing some inspiration, check out the interactive graphic below. On it you can view 20 types of guitars from different eras, as well as the legends who played them.

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How To Develop A Context For Your Music

Guest post by Ayla Smith. This article originally appeared on Soundfly’s Flypaper

Online audiences are a powerful engine. When people listen online, they can easily share your music far and wide. Getting discovered is not dependent on someone walking into a record store, and it’s easy to find out who’s listening and where they’re from so you can maximize your impact. But too often, a song alone is not enough to tell your full story. 

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