On this day in 1976, the #1 song in the U.S. was “Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart” by Elton John and Kiki Dee. Surprisingly, this was Elton’s first #1 single in the U.K. and his last until “Sacrifice” topped that charts 14 years later.
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” was also Elton’s first duet with Miss Piggy…
Dude, got any t-shirts? A lesson in creating merch…
I get asked a lot of questions, but lately this one has risen to the top: “Can you recommend a good/cheap/fast place to get shirts made?” Every single band feels that after they’ve recorded some tracks and booked a few gigs, they need to have t-shirts to sell. And while your “Kiss Army” t-shirt from ’82 is a prized possession, keep in mind that you’re...
I love Rdio.
I wanted to come up with a more profound title, but I couldn’t. Although, a declaration of true love seems pretty emphatic, don’t you think? Staying up with the trends in the music industry is important to me. In particular, I remember the brouhaha surrounding Qtrax. They were one of the first to offer a subscription based program with unlimited music from all your favorite artists...
Say what? Say how? Just say it?
I had an interesting conversation today. While the topics ran the gamut of marketing “disciplines,” the recurring concept being debated is that of appropriate voice. And I have to admit, the debate continued long after the conversation ended. Because it was somewhat of a lazy Sunday, there wasn’t much competition for my brainwaves, but regardless I couldn’t reach my own...
Gotta be all Mr Smarty Pants…
The other day I accepted an offer to do a guest lecture at NYU. More specifically, it’s in the “Clive Davis Dept. of Recorded Music” of the Tisch School of the Arts. For me at least, that’s all kinds of impressive. I’ve guest-lectured a bunch of times at Berklee, UMass, Emerson, and a few other places, but this one seems just a bit more special. It’s not like I...
Vacation failure
Palm trees were gently swaying. There was brilliant sunshine glistening off of the water. Folks were laughing, frolicking, and cavorting. And me? I was responding to a series of emails despite the automated away message that clearly explained I was far from any device with an apple on it. So what happened? How’d I manage to vacate my vacation so easily? I guess the answer is pretty simple...
Under the Meadowlands?
Direct-to-Fan: Releasing the Video
The gentlemen of Hollow Vixen made a killer video for their song, "B.O.B. (Battery Operated Boyfriend)." And that video sat in the virtual can for a while 'til there was a best time to both release it and capitalize on it. This made sense then, and the proper time, effort, and coordination was what would (hopefully...) going to lead to something that'd launch the band to the next level ...
Hollow Vixen debuts “Battery Operated Boyfriend”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Hollow Vixen Debuts “Battery Operated Boyfriend” to Disgust of Moral and Decent People Everywhere Boston band feels compelled to shatter the myth of man over machine – women agree. BOSTON, MA – July 6, 2010– Hollow Vixen (www.hollowvixen.com), the music industry’s leading advocate of beer consumption, loud music, and gender relations...
I love Tom Silverman
While this might come across as something, I’d carve into an oak tree during the last week of summer camp, it’s really more of a professional statement. In a recent Digital Music News post, I read the following: “80 percent of all records released are just noise — hobbyists,” Silverman told Wired. “Some companies like Tunecore are betting on the Long Tail...