New in MTT Open: Hyperlinks, Pay to Play, Face the Interface, and Are You Really Selling Music?

Are You Really Selling Music? Nate Talbot poses a simple, yet powerful question: What am I selling? The post tells the story of Ray Kroc who helped McDonald’s become one of the largest fast food chains in the world. According to Kroc, he was in the real estate business because every McDonald’s was located in a high traffic area. The point that Nate is trying to make is: YOU are the product. Artists connect with fans through their music and their stories

“Music is more than a series of notes that someone enjoys hearing. Music, unlike any other medium, is something that consumers make personal.” (Read on )

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New In MTT Open: Publishing, T Bone Burnett vs. the Internet, & OK Go

With over 40 years of experience in the music and entertainment industry, T Bone Burnett surprised the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit at Georgetown University when he said that the future of music is analog. This was shocking because most of the music industry conference has been focused on the Internet and digitization. David D has posted about T Bone Burnett’s concern about the quality of recorded music such as the MP3. What do you think about the quality of recorded music? Do you care more about convenience or about better quality? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

“To someone starting out at as an artist today, his advice would be “stay completely away from the Internet.” (Read on and watch the video)

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New In MTT Open: Andrew Heringer Interview, Social Networking, & Making It In One Year

Josiah Mann continues his year-long monthly series about his journey to be fully supported by music within one year. Josiah Mann is the lead singer and founding member of the band Sufficient Cause. Their goal is to become fully supported by their music, recorded or performed, within 12 months without signing to a label. Since the last post, the band has played 7 shows and distributed 600 CDs.  The post details the good things that have been happening and the things the band is learning along this hard, but exciting journey. Josiah emphasized the importance of telling a story through music. 

“One of the big problems with hearing music online is that it’s just a song. Don’t get me wrong, music is great, but stories are what draw people in. If a song is not connected to any experience, the song, as well as the artist, is quickly forgotten among the mass of music that exists online.” (Read on.)

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Music Think Tank Brings On New Intern

Good afternoon all, I wanted to take a moment and announce that we have a new intern that’s helping around Music Think Tank. Her name is Natalie Cheng (@ncswim881).

She is from Sugar Land, TX. She is twenty-two and is very interested in music marketing and branding, new trends in the music and record industries, and distribution. She wants to learn more about the changes affecting the music industry and how artists are changing the way they interact with fans.  Her career goals include working in a marketing position at a music company or label and working as a session musician for major artists. Currently, she is seeking a job/internship at music labels and companies in the Texas area or to continue her education, possibly pursuing a master’s degree in music or marketing. 

Here at Music Think Tank, she’ll be focusing on tagging posts, writing post summaries, approving comments, and getting involved in a myriad of other ways with Hypebot too.

Take a moment to welcome her to the community.