Posts Tagged ‘creative’
Who Needs a Record Label?
There has never been a better time than now to be an independent artist. More easily and efficiently than ever, you can build a digital recording studio in your home, connect directly with fans through social media, and distribute your wares around the world through artist-friendly companies like CD Baby and Tunecore. It’s a DIY world,…
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The Tyranny of Music Genres
As a recording or performing artist, you find yourself answering a familiar question: “What kind of music do you play?” How do you answer? Maybe you have a stock reply — “rock,” “folk,” or “pop.” Or maybe you try to be a little more descriptive — “modern rock,” “folk rock,” or “indie pop.” Or maybe…
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Are You Serious About Your Creative Work?
Seriously. Do you give your best to your art? Maybe you do creative work for yourself, maybe you do it for others. Maybe it’s a mix of the two. In any case, whatever you’re up to, if you’re not serious about it, it probably won’t amount to a hill of beans. Sound a bit harsh?…
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Stop Waiting for Creative Inspiration
Of course it happens to you. It happens to everyone. You want to write, you want to make music… but you’re just not feeling it. Creative inspiration, it seems, has forsaken you and your prodigious talent. It has vacated the premises. And you have no idea where to find it again. What can you do?…
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Finding Your Natural Audience
Songwriters, do you know who your natural audience is? Your songs exist at a point within or outside the commercial mainstream. If they fall in the mainstream, they are similar to other songs, and are most likely to be embraced by a pop audience. If they hang out on the fringes, they are discernible from…
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Why Originality Matters
If you’re a musician, you probably get asked whether you do original songs or covers. And as unassuming as that question sounds, it’s actually a hornet’s nest buzzing with speculation on your intent, ambition, and talent. Do you have your own thoughts? Do you have something engaging and identifiable to say? Or do you just echo…
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Building Context for Your Creative Work
Why do you make music? Write books? Make films? You might know, you might not. Either way, you do it for a specific reason. Maybe it’s to explore. Maybe it’s to affect other people. Maybe it’s to inject a little fun and excitement into your life. That reason gives your creative work context. So does your…
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The Myth of Writer’s Block
Ever decide you were suffering from “writer’s block”? How did you define this mysterious condition? As a mental obstacle? A chronic ailment? A demon bent on tormenting you? Did you use the phrase “if only” in your tale of woe? If you did, stop. There is no such thing as writer’s block. There is no ominous,…
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Kickstarter vs. NEA: Paths to Indie Funding
Have an album you’re ready to record and release? A film you want to produce and screen at festivals? How are you going to pay for it? Talking Points Memo (TPM) reported this week that Kickstarter, the popular crowdsourcing platform, will likely distribute more funds to creators this year than the National Endowment for the Arts…
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SOPA: Your Role as Artist and Advocate
Some people think the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is about censoring content creators. Others think it is about guarding intellectual property. Either way, the proposed legislation is about the control of creative works. It promises to have a measurable impact on everyone who disseminates and accesses content via the internet. In a (generalized) nutshell, the…
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