April 17, 2011

So You Are Multi Talented Music Artist – Choose Your Passion Wisely

This post is directed at the growing number of multi-skilled music artists among us who choose to direct much of their energy and skills to additional music talents. Although being multi-talented maybe necessary at the beginning of ones musical career, it will one day come down to choosing one. Choose your passion wisely.

What questions do we ask ourselves when deciding which career path to pursue? Music offers many possibilities, and part of the challenge in finding our way is recognizing opportunities as they present themselves. Then we must decide what is right for us.

Gone are the days of minimal opportunities for the musically talented. Now each music career path chosen can be as unique as the artists themselves. The problem is not the lack of opportunities, but the ease in which new artists can market, produce and distribute their own music and talents on a global scale.

Which means every Johnnie’s uncle/cousin on daddy’s side of the family can sing into a mic, record vocals with some backing tracks and have it uploaded to the internet by days end. If Johnnie’s cousin happens to be a better marketer than you, then it is more likely he will garner more exposure than you.

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guest author

March 31, 2011

Indie Artists: Connecting with New Fans is Key

“I’ll quit my job, we’ll head out west” are lyrics Howard Jennings wrote in his song “Around the World.” These lyrics are actually taken quite literally by Howard, who took the chance of a lifetime and entered the music industry.

I normally don’t feel short at concerts, but standing next to a red-headed giant of a man, Howard sure made me feel four feet tall. I was at IOTA in Arlington, VA – outside of Washington D.C., to see the Damnwells on tour to promote their new album. I was checking out shirts at the merch table in the back, when I noticed Howard who seemed nervous, but anxious and was setting up merchandise for himself and the other artists he was touring with.

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Duane Charles

March 27, 2011

5 updates independent music artists should consider on their websites

I spend a great deal of my time on the unexplored highways of the web searching for and visiting artist’s music websites. Sometimes during the week, I might visit hundreds in a single day. It is just part of what I do here at Gighive.

internet highway

So you can say, I maybe more of an authority on exploring the web for new and interesting artists than most who only travel the major interstates from one major city to the next. I for one think life is more interesting on the lanes less traveled than hitting the 6 to 8 lane congested highways.

So I decided to write a report on my findings and give the locals some tips on how to improve there site experience so visitors will return more often. Note* there are always exceptions to the rules!

Tip 1 – Ancient website design and web 1.0 type styling.

Old towns may have a certain charm with their rich heritage and unique architecture, but in my opinion do not translate in the online world.

There is no charm in blinking stars, colorful jpegs, animated gifs and flashing links; coupled with a confusing link structure all on the same page.

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