Producers Are the New Songwriters
Producers today make as many compositional decisions as entire songwriting teams of yore. How does this affect publishing? Hint: it could use a rethink.
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Ben Weinman: How to Super-Serve Your Superfans
In his lesson from The Business of Uncompromising Art, Ben Weinman explains how the “1,000 True Fans Theory” can help you serve your fans.
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How Rap Ushered the Piano Into Its Next Developmental Phase
Hip-hop is officially pop music. With Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar’s sweep of the Grammy Awards earlier this year, it’s evident that hip-hop has officially shed its status as “that controversial music genre” that prompted the Grammys’ organizers to refuse to air any rap categories back in 1989, which subsequently prompted some to boycott the event.…
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Can You Learn a New Language Through Song Lyrics? Technology Thinks You Can
Music can have a ton of both emotional and psychological effects on the brain. Its mnemonic power has been called upon for millennia, as poets and storytellers fashioned some of humanity’s first works of literature from the oral tradition of singing epics. From Tibet to England, the bards of old could recite hours and hours of…
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Introducing “Enough Is Enough: A Black Lives Matter Playlist”
Curated by Efa Etoroma Jr., “Enough Is Enough” is a powerful Spotify playlist accompanied by analysis that sheds light on contemporary Black protest songs.
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Here’s Everything Rightsholders Need to Know About The MLC
Established by the Music Modernization Act of 2018, The MLC is a valuable asset for any songwriter, producer, or artist. Learn more here…
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Advice for the Indie Artist: 4 Things We Learned at CD Baby’s DIY Musician Conference
This past weekend, more than 1,000 musicians descended on the most haunted hotel in Chicago for CD Baby’s 2nd annual DIY Musician Conference. Over the course of three days, attendees heard from a wealth of speakers about opportunities and strategies for succeeding in the music world as an independent artist. It also included a jam…
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What’s the Difference Between Mechanical and Performance Royalties?
+ What are you working on? Share your musical goals with us and we’ll help you develop a plan to achieve them! Learn more about Soundfly Mentorship here. Almost every musician knows they can make some money off playing a gig or selling CDs, but not every musician knows the difference between each revenue stream, nor…
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Your Composition, Your Money: Songwriting Royalties Explained
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ervq_5moQL4 The above video was taken from Soundfly’s free course, How to Get All the Royalties You Never Knew Existed, taught by Ari Herstand. Sign up for access to the full course content. There’s a lot going on in the world of music publishing and artist royalties, but how do songwriters collect the money they…
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Entrepreneurship in Music: Mideast Tunes
Entrepreneurship in Music Series: 012 MIDEAST TUNES Founder Esra’a Al-Shafei We want our humanity and our futures in our own hands and we use the internet and other forms of technology to fight for those rights. — Esra’a Al-Shafei Mideast Tunes is a music streaming platform promoting social change and cultural dialogue by promoting the…
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Why This Is the Year to Finally Pay Attention to Music Conferences
Why this year looks to be shaping up to be “The Year of the Music Conference” for independent musicians of all kinds.
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Considering the Impact of NFTs on the Music Industry
A beginner’s guide to what NFTs are and how they can be used by musicians to create deep fan connections and new, lucrative revenue streams.
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4 Tips for Songwriters Looking for Artists to Record Their Songs
+ Improve your songwriting with Soundfly! Explore our range of courses on emotional chord progressions, basic songwriting technique, songwriting for producers, and many more. Subscribe for unlimited access here. The goal of many a songwriter is to find artists to sing our material. And there are few things more thrilling than when you hear your music come to life. The first…
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The Aretha Franklin Songs That Inspired Us and Touched Our Lives
Singer, songwriter, pianist, inspiration, Aretha Franklin, known to many as the Queen of Soul, passed away Thursday. She was 76 years old. In the last 24 hours, as we assume will continue for days, weeks, perhaps years, many artists and people of all walks of life have been sharing stories of how Franklin’s music and…
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One Chord to Rule Them All
When Bob Marley toured New Zealand for the first and only time in 1979 (he died in 1981), I’d never heard music like it. His visit was so significant that he was a lead item on the nation’s main TV channel’s prime time news. He left a significant impression on our own musical culture, from…
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Black Lives Matter: Our Statement
Dear Soundfly community, So much of the music we love (and make) is the creation or legacy of Black people. In fact, so much of the music we talk about here on Soundfly is the creation or legacy of Black people. Jazz, rock, blues, hip-hop, R&B, techno, electronic music, even parts of classical music as it…
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7 Key Members of Every Artist’s Team
Being a musician is a full-time job. You chose to pursue this journey because of your desire to write, experiment, and perform — not to chase club promoters or make pitches to media outlets. And while being an independent artist is empowering, it doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. As many artists start…
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5 Tips for Protecting Your Instrument While Traveling
Traveling with your instrument, whether it’s a backpack ukelele or Stradivarius violin, can be nerve-wracking. Here are some tips for protecting your gear.
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6 Tools That Address the New(ish) Needs of Producers
What kinds of mobile apps and digital services does the modern audio producer need? If you’re anything like us… These!
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11 Music Conferences to Keep Your Eye on in 2018
One of the coolest things about this industry of ours is all of the incredible and unique connections you can make with others who have also chosen to pursue their passions and create careers out of their love of music. The opportunity to network is all around you — at local shows, at in-person meetups,…
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How to Start Getting Your Music Licensed – Industry Insiders Share Their Secrets
Sync licensing opens up a whole world of revenue and exposure for your music. Here are key tips from industry pros on how to secure placements and get paid.
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Straight Outta Wakanda: How the “Black Panther” Score Fixed Marvel’s Music Problem
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for the movie Black Panther. If you haven’t seen the movie, you may want to stop and bookmark this page to read the…
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Remembering Jerry Garcia’s Musical Impact on the Anniversary of His Passing
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. Jerry Garcia was the lead guitarist of the Grateful Dead, a rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco that forever changed how music is written,…
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How to Make a Music Supervisor Happy: Choose Your Words Wisely
Scoring that lucrative sync license is the goal of many artists today. Here are some tips for making sure your lyrics and titles win the client over!
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How to Make a Music Supervisor Happy: Be Prepared with Instrumentals & Alt Mixes
Scoring that lucrative sync license is the goal of many artists today. Make sure you’re prepared with the proper tracks when the opportunity strikes.
