The year was 1983. My wife and I had recently moved back to Virginia Beach from Nashville, where I had been pursuing a career in the music business. Growing up in Virginia, I wrote and performed music throughout high school and college. When Sharon and I moved to Nashville in 1979 for her to finish up her undergraduate degree, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could make a career of it. Eventually, I landed a job in the sales department at a record label, all the while writing new material and playing dates with friends, hoping I’d get “discovered.” But alas, this was not to be. When I played my ..read more

If you've ever thought, "That artist would have a slam-dunk hit on their hands if they recorded the song I wrote!" then here's some very practical advice if you want them to consider your tune. Unfortunately for songwriters everywhere, there’s a recent trend for label artists to try and write or co-write as much of their material as possible and to only use an “outside cut” if that song is more compelling than anything the artist already has. This means that today’s up-and-coming songwriters must be intentional about writing with tomorrow’s up-and-coming artists. Successful artists often ..read more

For the past two decades, my colleague Bob Hutchins has been at the forefront of digital marketing in the entertainment space. His clients have included Disney, Sony Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Time-Life, Warner Brothers, General Motors, Thomas Nelson Publishers, and Zondervan. A respected writer and communicator, he’s been published in the New York Times, Fox News, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, INC Magazine, and lots of other notable publications. Bob is currently VP of Digital Marketing at 5by5Agency.com. Join us as we discuss how artists can build an authentic and profitable online c ..read more

If you've ever thought, "That artist would have a slam-dunk hit on their hands if they recorded the song I wrote!" then here's some very practical advice if you want them to consider your tune. Unfortunately for songwriters everywhere, there’s a recent trend for label artists to try and write or co-write as much of their material as possible and to only use an “outside cut” if that song is more compelling than anything the artist already has. This means that today’s up-and-coming songwriters must be intentional about writing with tomorrow’s up-and-coming artists. Successful artists often ..read more

For the past two decades, my colleague Bob Hutchins has been at the forefront of digital marketing in the entertainment space. His clients have included Disney, Sony Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Time-Life, Warner Brothers, General Motors, Thomas Nelson Publishers, and Zondervan. A respected writer and communicator, he’s been published in the New York Times, Fox News, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, INC Magazine, and lots of other notable publications. Bob is currently VP of Digital Marketing at 5by5Agency.com. Join us as we discuss how artists can build an authentic and profitable online c ..read more

If you knew there was at least a 75% of chance that the plane you were scheduled to fly on would crash, would you take the risk? I thought not. So, why are so many teenagers so heck-bent on becoming teen music superstars when they’ve seen so many of their heroes crash and burn? Could it be that no one thinks it will happen to them? I can name on one finger a former teen artist who seems to have survived superstardom relatively unscathed: Taylor Swift. But the list of those who’ve struggled through depression, self-harm, and addiction is alarming, to say the least: Britney Spears, Justin Bieber ..read more

Nashville, TN — National radio personality and popular financial advice podcaster Paul Winkler recently featured music industry veteran and entertainment attorney Vince Wilcox in a two-part podcast about the music business on his top-streaming podcast, The Investor Coaching Show with Paul Winker. Winkler, himself an advocational musician, runs Paul Winkler, Inc., a Nashville-based investor coaching, financial planning, and investment management services company whose certified and experienced associates base their advice on statistical models rather than commissionable sales of proprietary fin ..read more

As a recording and touring artist, we performed an average of a hundred dates a year for five years. Although we had written and recorded our own music, there was hardly a night when we didn’t play at least one “cover” tune (a recognizable song previously performed by another artist). Later, as an artist manager, I continued to see how cover tunes could make a setlist even more powerful. Here are six things that artists should consider when adding cover songs to their repertoire:  The first question to ask when putting a setlist together is what are the expectations of the concert host a ..read more

The year was 1983. My wife and I had recently moved back to Virginia Beach from Nashville, where I had been pursuing a career in the music business. Growing up in Virginia, I wrote and performed music throughout high school and college. When Sharon and I moved to Nashville in 1979 for her to finish up her undergraduate degree, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could make a career of it. Eventually, I landed a job in the sales department at a record label, all the while writing new material and playing dates with friends, hoping I’d get “discovered.” But alas, this was not to be. When I played my ..read more

Most of us are acquainted with the opening lines of The Serenity Prayer, penned by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. The Serenity Prayer is associated with Twelve Step programs and is often recited at the beginning of recovery meetings. So, what does this prayer have to do with the music business? Plenty. I’ve been in the music business for more than 40 years and have seen otherwise healthy and creative people wreck their lives on the rocks of disa ..read more