Whether it’s our daily website, Weekly Bulletin newsletter, monthly print edition—or our newly launched podcast––our experts’ career tips and industry insights are why you tap into Music Connection, right? So, here are our picks for the best of the past year.
Songwriting
If you believe in yourself and feel that being a songwriter is what you are meant to do, remember that it is a long road to success. As long as you love what you’re doing, keep doing it.
– Sophie Rose
songwriter (Steve Aoki,
Charlie XCX)
November
I love writing with other people.... I actually prefer it—I like picking other people’s brains and having them walk in my shoes and vice versa, and getting lines you wouldn’t have thought of yourself. It’s an exercise in empathy.
– Maren Morris
June
You have to be a convincing storyteller and then you have to actually make someone believe what you’re singing is real.
– John Oates
Hall and Oates
April
Singer-songwriters are understanding that by adding a rhythmic element they can achieve more than if they just had a traditional acoustic arrangement
– Patrick Moxey, Founder/President, Ultra Music
November
Dare to suck... One needs to share the idea that nothing truly sucks. Even a bad idea can turn out to be wonderful.
– Shelly Peiken, songwriter (Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Ed Sheeran)
November
Collaborate as much as possible. Don’t be afraid to be open. The more you put out, the more options you’ll have.
– Tony Shimkin, songwriter (Madonna, Taylor Dayne)
November
Songwriters shouldn’t sell their copyrights. In 99.9 percent of their work, they are writing about the pain and joy of their lives, and they’ll never get paid for it. It’s that lightning in the bottle that strikes. They don’t know which one of their stories will pay. And they should be fairly compensated.
– Alex Heiche, Founder, Sound Royalties
April
Network, Network, Network...
Nothing breaks down barriers like making friends. It is hard to hate when you understand one another, and realize that even though you come from different cultures all people fundamentally want the same things.
– Shahed Mosheni Zonoozi, DIY artist
January
Have conversations and don’t be afraid. Major brands have people who can easily be found on
LinkedIn and through email.
– Justin Lefkovitch
CEO/Founder, Mirrored Media
February
The more people that know about your event, the more likely you will have a crowd to perform for. Use this as a rule: for your marketing, for every 10 people that are made aware of your show, maybe one will attend.
– Antonio Ponce, author/musician
March
If you ever get the honor of being invited to play a music festival, you must do everything in your power to get there. Most festival showcases are attended by people who have the power to change your musical destiny, and it would be a shame to miss that opportunity.
– Antonio Ponce
author/musician
March
Especially in the beginning.... Meet other local bands and play with them at the different venues.... Find a way to stay in touch, ‘cause that’s how you really build and you’re able to keep it going—really amazing and loyal people who care about what you’re doing and believe in it and feel it’s their own.
– Natalie Closner, Joseph
April
A&R Reps
Working with an artist is like forming a partnership, or entering a marriage. So you want to be sure you can make a long-term commitment. And that might take a little while to determine.
– Gary Leon, A&R, Atlantic Records
January
I like self-sufficient acts that are in it for the long haul. Acts that understand the business and have put in work already are no brainers. What I won’t sign are acts that feel entitled.
– Portia Sabin, Owner and President, Kill Rock Stars
January
I like artists who have a positive effect on the world. I look at lyrics and their messages, but I’m not opposed to controversy. After all, change does not occur in a comfort zone.
– Tyler Porterfield, Owner and President, Pop Cautious Records
January
Managers’ Perspective
Never sign a contract without counsel. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for most people to understand contract language. You need an expert to guide you through it and protect your interests.
– Steve Gordon, entertainment lawyer
June
Working as a manager is about always going above and beyond. You should be willing to do almost anything for your acts. But, you have to pick your battles and still do whatever it takes to make your artists successful.
– Tracy Brown, CO5 Music/Sensei Management
June
New artists are the future of the business. It’s very rewarding when you help an act achieve success. Sure, it’s a lot of work, but you can’t just work with acts that are already established.
– Chris Nilsson, Tenth Street Entertainment
June
Film/TV Composing
Know your history of film. Know what came before you. And try to meet other filmmakers. When I started, I would stop by film schools, leave my name on bulletin boards and try to meet everyone.
– Marcelo Zarvos, composer
March
It’s easy to settle into a comfort zone, find something that works and just do that. I’m more into the creation part of it, the blank page and finding what the key is. And I don’t walk in with preconceived notions. That can interfere with finding the original voice for the project.
– Joel J. Richard, composer
May
Knowledge of storytelling is vital and separates quality music supervisors from amateurs. Ability to think like a director or producer is key.
– Thomas Golubic, music supervisor (Better Call Saul)
June
It’s a matter of really being thoughtful and being a self-starter and also ingratiating with the community.
– Eliot Glazer, writer-musician
July
Producers
Don’t be afraid to say no. Accepting a job that you can’t handle will sink you faster than saying no to a job that you know inside is beyond you.
– Howard Massey, producer
January
Write your songs in your house or a rehearsal room. It costs a lot to spend the day in a studio. Most of the time people are in there writing. Work out the song in a rehearsal room; get the album first. Writing a song outside of the studio can save artists $50,000.
– Linda Perry, producer/songwriter (Pink, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani)
February
Look after your instrument. I have a tech in on the first day to check them all because there’s nothing that can slow you down more than having a poorly set up guitar or a drum kit that keeps detuning itself. All these things cost time
– Mike Crossy, producer (Arctic Monkeys, The 1975, Twenty One Pilots)
February
It’s important not to make too many suggestions. Let an artist find their way and discover things on their own. There’s a tendency to be the smart guy and offer ideas. But by being dictatorial, you restrict them from growing.
– Ryan Ulyate
producer-engineer (Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
March
Don’t debate. Just create. I’ve watched producers argue [with artists in the studio] for hours over ideas that would take three minutes to record.
– Warren Huart, producer (The Fray, Aerosmith)
April
You can’t put too much into your beat. I make sure there’s room for the artist and the songwriters to make something groovy, tangible, catchy, interesting and beautiful––a blank canvas for someone to add their personality to.
– Axident , producer (Justin Bieber, Jason Derulo)
May
Serve the song. It’s not about you. Sometimes you’ll think that something will help and be the right thing. Then you’ll see that it’s not working; that it’s something you want to do. You have to continually check yourself and question if you’re serving the artist and the song.
– David Platillero, musician-producer
June
Communication. You have to respect the other people in the room. It’s not about who’s better. It’s about how to get the best out of us.
– Tony Moran, producer (Gloria Estefan, Madonna)
July
Studio Time
If I’m going to go to the studio I make sure I’m surrounded by my friends. I try to create a good vibe before entering the studio.
– Daye Jack
April
Train your ear to hear things. Not enough people spend the time to know what a frequency or a good guitar sounds like.
– David Platillero, musician-producer
June
A big “take it or leave it” personality is great and admirable, but not always productive. It’s a good skill to know when to calm down or amp it up.
– Peppina
May
Microphones capture creativity. Show a piece of creativity the respect it deserves by fully understanding the mic being used to record the performance.
– Doug Fenske, engineer-producer-mixer
July
You have to find a [cost] formula that works not just for larger acts with budgets, but also for the local heroes.
– Jono Manson, producer (John Popper, Tao Seeger)
August
Mastering
A lot of young people want to get into this field and it’s a hard one to break into. But the better educated someone can be, the better an engineer they’ll be.
– Ron McMaster, Capitol Mastering
October
Speakers are the most important thing. You can get the cheapest EQ, but as long as you have the best speakers, you can create the sound you want.
– Vlado Miller, Vlado Mastering
October
Inspiration & Perspiration
Creativity is a very, very mysterious and very difficult-to-catch animal, and you’re hunting for it all of the time so you have to change your methods the whole time, because it changes, too. You have to trick it, somehow, or trick yourself into finding it. So approaching it from a different angle, a surprising angle, a different method than you’ve used before is always a benefit
– Sting
May
It’s the same whether you’re into music or writing: we live in a world where you can make something that doesn’t cost anything. It’s free to get it out there, So just make stuff. Record. Write a short script. Shoot and edit a video.
– Kyle Jarrow, playwright
January
You can’t just cram a bunch of instruments together and hope for the best. It’s a lot of careful carving, weaving and bumping.
– Adam Dutkiewicz, producer (Killswitch Engage, Underoath)
February
Know what kind of artist you are. Figure out what you want to be as an artist. Do research. Go through the history books and artists you feel you’re comparable to. Study their music but don’t follow or imitate their music—take some of the essence of what they created.
– Marcus Spence, Executive VP, Head of A&R, TuneGO Music Group, Inc.
April
You never have someone teach you how to rap, you listen to artists that you really like and see what they’re doing and try to copy it, and at some point you realize that the essence of rap is expressing yourself.
– Daye Jack
April
An inexpensive creative concept will perform better than a high-priced paint-by-numbers video every time. So get creative!
– Ari Herstand, author, singer-songwriter
May
The story of the music is more than just the plain audio file. We should use all this technology to tell the story to the fullest.
– Patrick Moxey, Founder/President, Ultra Music
November
Bantering onstage for too long can kill the vibe. However, an incredible story can last forever.
– Ari Herstand, singer-songwriter, author
August
Fans are #1
It’s all about giving fans content. We’re not overanalyzing anything. We don’t care if it’s going to be a Top 10 radio hit. At the end of the day, we just want to consistently entertain our fans.
– Matt Russell, Cheat Codes
January
Don’t think of production value in the sense of cost. It’s just something that’s going to create that moment in time that connects you with your audience and they’re going to want to share.
– Justin Lefkovitch, CEO/Founder, Mirrored Media
February
Studying data and the behavior of the audience. That’s something every artist should do. The more you acknowledge your audience, the more successful you’ll be.
– Shelita Burke, DIY artist
November
Trust yourself. As an artist, people are paying attention to you because they love what you are creating. Stay true to that and your fans.
– Justin Lefkovitch, CEO/Founder, Mirrored Media
February
Spend your resources on creating a great song and a great video and get it out. Fans expect music so much more regularly now than they did 10 years ago.
– Ari Herstand, author, singer-songwriter
March
Our main piece of advice for other independent artists touring would be to get out there and make connections with people—not just through your music, but off-stage as well. That’s where you build your fan base.
– Trevor McNevan, Thousand Foot Krutch
May
Inspiration is everywhere. Start with the truth and what truth it is about you that you want people to know. Then, find the most impactful way to make that come to life.”
– Frank Crowson, Senior VP of Marketing, Guitar Center
January
My highest aspiration is to inspire people and to make wide-open songs and compositions where people can find a little bit of what they need, or whatever they want. I don’t like to dictate what the song may or may not mean to them.
– Sam Phillips, singer-songwriter
January
We’re all human beings, we’re all fucked up and we’re all flawed. Why not be a voice that talks about it, admits it and has a little honesty?
– Caleb Followill, Kings of Leon
January
I think the key is being real with people. Showing people what you’re doing with your life. If you relate to people, they’re going to want to follow you and check out your life.
– Daniel Skye, artist
May
Getting the best out of someone is to get them to explore themselves. Anything that opens your mind and your god-given instrument leads to something new.
– Tony Moran, producer (Gloria Estefan, Madonna)
July
Great songs, great films, great stories, great relationships––all of these are happening in front of you every day. You’ve just got to open your eyes and see them. – Andrew “Drew” Taggart, The Chainsmokers
July
I feel like when you make music that feels good it’s gonna feel good. I don’t think it’s a name or the category you put it in.
– Timbaland
August
Social Media is Your Best Friend
Radio promotion is an entrОe best served hot with a side of social media.
– Paul Loggins, Loggins Promotion
June
It’s an amazing time that the digital age has ushered in. It allows audiences to come to music without having it go through a traditional channel, like MTV or the radio, or some other filter that really narrowcasts.
– Michael Franti
July
You’ll want to get all of your music up on SoundCloud. Not only is it an active community, like YouTube, it is the easiest way to send someone a streamable song.
– Ari Herstand, singer-songwriter, author
March
Today, with Instagram and Twitter, it’s better than ever to find the particular people that like the same musical, cultural and artistic things that you do.
– Chainsaw Rainbow
November
Music is a Journey
Be positive and set goals. Ultimately, create a vision for what you want and slowly but surely it’ll started happening.
– Matt Russell, Cheat Codes
January
Musicians bring a quality that I’m amazed by. It’s folks who are not afraid to fail, because music is a journey and there are many difficult times you have to work through to get to the beauty of making music.
– Frank Crowson, Senior VP of Marketing, Guitar Center
January
Just because we’ve had small successes [with Compass] doesn’t mean we’re anywhere near where we need to be. Never be too comfortable or complacent. A good artist should always think that he can do better.
– Old Salt Union
April
Stay honest with yourself. Don’t try to do something you can’t.
– Eric Vasquez, Head of Creative/VP, A&R SyncStories
September
It doesn’t matter where you come from, it matters where you end up.
– Siedah Garrett
songwriter (Michael Jackson, Dreamgirls)
September
Work Smart
Focus on your strengths. It’s easy when starting something new to focus on your weaknesses. … Be positive and set goals. Ultimately, create a vision for what you want and slowly but surely it’ll started happening.
– Matt Russell, Cheat Codes
January
If you’re in a major city, I recommend an internship. If you’re in a place where you don’t have the means to get an internship, start booking bands that are small and happy to play for $100 or $200 a night. Build relationships with bands and their teams and hope they get bigger and start making money. You’ll grow with them
– Heath Miller, Vice President & Talent Buyer, Webster Hall
March
Artists have to have a full plan today to get things done. Don’t rely on a label or anyone else to put things together for you.
– Mondo Cozmo
March
Your bio is your story. It is the single most important piece of your release—next to the music, of course. It should reveal why people should care about you. What sets you apart? Why are you unique? And more specifically, what is the album’s story?
– Ari Herstand, singer-songwriter, author
March
The right partnership can offer many options for the delivery, promotion and consumption of music. There are new platforms launched almost weekly, and managers must keep on top of that. Partnering with a brand can create new methods of expression, and tap into the cultural aspects of music.
– Martin Kierszenbaum, Cherrytree Music Company
June
You gotta go through trial and error to get to perfection.
– Timbaland
August
Don’t burn bridges, even if it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. That’s key, because if you rub people the wrong way chances are you’re going to come across that person at some point.
– Eric Vasquez, Head of Creative/VP A&R, SyncStories
September
If someone is looking for music, it’s tempting to send them a lot of songs, but you should give them a few great choices rather than sending everything, because no one has the time for that
– Randy Frisch, President, LoveCat Music
October
Artists should submit something as close to a final product as they can––something different that doesn’t sound like 10,000 other records
– Patrick Moxey, Founder/President, Ultra Music
November
People think you can just put something out online. It’s just not how it is. First you have to tap in with the attorneys, tap in with the label.
– Ty Dollar $ign
November
The best choice I could make was signing with a label more concerned about my future than just a flash in the pan.
– Molly Kate Kestner, artist
May
Better Banter
You need to think about your entire performance as a whole. It’s not just about the music, it’s about every single second on stage.
– Ari Herstand, author, singer-songwriter
August
Artists sometimes have a hard time understanding that stage banter should be rehearsed. You rehearse your songs, don’t you? Why would you do anything on stage that isn’t rehearsed? That’s what separates pro’s from amateurs.
– Larry Butler, tour manager, author
August
Banter is about connecting with the audience, so you need to try to show your personality. Tell them something about yourself...give them some insight into who you are.
– Gilli Moon, President, Songsalive!
August
Bantering onstage for too long can kill the vibe. However, an incredible story can last forever.
– Ari Herstand, author, singer-songwriter
August
A lot of musicians don’t realize what the job is. The job is to entertain the audience. And unless you’re a well-known artist with hit songs, the music alone isn’t enough.
– Mike Giangreco, Founder, Meroke Sky Records
August
The Human Factor
I don’t have “yes” people around me. It’s so nice to have people around me who are proud but who can rib me and keep me humbled and sane.
– Maren Morris
June
Musicians should start banding together. We should all agree that we’re better off if we can stand up for the profession of making music.
– John Acosta, President/Executive Officer,, American Federation of Musicians
August
There are a lot of people in the industry who don’t get enough thanks or credit. Kindness doesn’t cost anything. And it goes a long way.
– Bent Knee, August
You’re no good without your team, and I have a great team. It allows me to stay in my space and they understand me as a person. You should have somebody just as hungry as you.
– Timbaland
August
Some artists get it backwards, where the thought is to be the big rock star. If you don’t have that passion and love for what you do, you’re not going to last.
– Eric Vasquez
Head of Creative/VP, A&R, SyncStories
September
When pushing toward the best result, sometimes less feels like more. If it’s meant to happen, it seems like it does happen.
– Andrew W.K.
October
Value Your Voice
Learn to sing properly, and learn to save your voice. If you’re not learning, you’re stagnating; it’s as simple as that. It doesn’t have to be formally taught; there’s millions of ways of learning.
– John Oates, Hall and Oates
April
Dairy is not good for the voice; neither is turmeric. Although it’s good for inflammation, it thins the voice.
– Vassy
April
We have both worked with vocal coaches and it really teaches you the importance of warming up and taking care of your voice.
– Tyler Hubbard, Florida Georgia Line
April
Meaningful Songs
We need real songs more than ever. We need honesty. We either need songs that help us get anger out, or songs that help us forget a little bit.
– Bebe Rexha
September
If I feel chills, that’s what I’m trying to get to. It tells you you’re alive. It’s emotional in a way that you can’t define as happy or sad. It’s just being moved.
– Andrew W.K.
October
You’ve got to have a voice, stay true to it and try not to worry too much about what other people are doing. Make sure to develop your sound so it’s exactly what you want it to be before you start pushing it out to the world.
– Graham Dickson, Founder, Axis Mundi Records
October
You never want to be pigeon-holed or stuck writing the same song over and over again, trying to replicate that success.
– John Gourley, Portugal. The Man
October
You can’t really manufacture emotion and put it into a song. It should be about music that speaks to you and you don’t feel like you’re being lied to, or that it’s over-produced.
– Jake Kiszka, Greta Van Fleet
October
Do What You Love
Whatever you do, lend your honest, individual perspective to everything. That’s what will make you unique and interesting. If you’re pursuing anything in any industry, tune in, listen to your gut and don’t lose yourself.
– Lisa Roth, Vice President/Creative Director, CMH Label Group/Rockabye Baby
June
The music business is for real music lovers. It just depends on what you want to accomplish. As long as you are passionate and work with true artists you can overcome any naysayers.
– Martin Kierszenbaum, Cherrytree Music Company
June
If you want to be in the music business and have a career that means something, you’ve got to be bold; you’ve got to be brave; and you’ve got to put your ass on the line or it’s just not the right place for you. This isn’t the place to rest on your laurels and hope someone else does the scary stuff.
– Ricky Reed, producer (Twenty One Pilots, Jason Derulo, Pitbull)
