The links below are mostly to PDF documents (articles abstracted from external websites and presented in PDF document format for convenience)
- Albums: is the album format redundant?
- Band agreements
- Bandit Tips Service
- Convert music files to a different format (e.g. wav to mp3) – free software
- Could 2021 be a boom year for the music industry?
- Cue Sheet tips service (soundtrack requirements for movies/tv programmes)
- Digital/Internet age: is the new digital model better than the old record company model? (Steve Albini’s 2015 views) (a) Talk on You-Tube (b) Transcript of his lecture
- Digital Music News – music piracy 2016
- Digital Music News – streaming income rates from Spotify, Deezer, etc.
- Discmakers Blog – short useful articles about the technical side of music production and live performance
- Essential reading – key music industry and pop music books
- Excellent advice on musical instruments, live performance equipment and recording gear (https://hearthemusicplay.com/)
- Finding a manager
- When is the right time to find a manager?
- How to attract a personal manager
- Five steps to improve your singing for gigs
- From demo to hit single: the story of “Owner of a lonely heart”
- Getting serious about rehearsals
- Going full time as a musician – how do you know the time is right?
- Going into the studio (12-step approach)
- Making the most of studio time (Rohan Healy)
- Hip Hop – Lyrics and videos which disrespect women: when will the #MeToo movement start affecting misogynistic hip hop artists? (genius.com video)
- Hiring a producer: the various costs
- Home recording versus paying a recording studio
- How music got free: how mass copyright theft became the norm (a review of the Stephen Witt book exploring piracy within the music industry)
- How to create a set list
- How to get signed to a label
- How to build a music career
- It’s about the song, not the singer
- Limit your takes and make better recordings
- Loudmouths at concerts
- Make money with your music in films
- Making a living playing music: straight talking advice from a seasoned musician
- Making a reasonable living from music: some success stories
- Making money creatively: how an indie musician can make $19,000 in ten hours using Twitter (much quoted Amanda Palmer article)
- Mixing – advice for audio engineers
- Mixing music – choose moderate volume
- Music file formats (a beginner’s guide)
- Music merchandising
- Music sampling and the law
- Open mic opportunities in the Dublin area (including singing clubs)
- Open mic opportunities in Dublin – a useful 2016 Facebook resource
- Performing: organise great live song intros
- Performing: what to do when the song ends
- Performing: improving live performance & dealing with stage nerves (Rohan Healy)
- Performing: Looking for gigs (advice from an Irish venue manager)
- Playing live – what the venue sound engineer wants to know
- Recording vocals in the studio
- Record contract basics
- Record Label Contracts Explained
- Record Label Contracts Explained (Marshall Brain)
- Record labels still essential
- Rescuing the music business – follow the music, not the money
- Scoring – composing for movies
- SongLink tips service
- Taxi tips service
- Success without a record label
- Talent is not enough
- Talent spotting: are metrics and data enough?
- The Ten A&R Commandments
- Tip Sheets (subscription services listing publishers seeking new songs) – see separate articles within this section entitled Bandit; Cue Sheet; SongLink
- Twelve dance production tips
- 360 degree deals
- 360 degree deals – explaining how they work
- What to expect from a producer
- Why it is so hard for recording artists to make money (a tiny slice of the pie)
- Why it is so hard for recording artists to make money (the money trail)
- Why recording artists make nothing from their first album
- Why recording artists make so little from their first album (Steve Albini article)
- Writing a vision statement
Rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal – the secret to effective use of studio time