NHT Blog

Come on, who doesn’t love a Top 10 list, huh?

Before we get too far into January, and thus the new year, let’s take a look back at what got the most attention on our website last year – well, in the Blog section, that is.

In reverse order, with links so you can go back and read the full post, here are what got read the most in 2025.  Go back and check out what you missed!

Every January, business owners and creatives step into a brand-new year with fresh planners, renewed determination, and big goals. Vision boards get pinned to walls, online courses are bookmarked, and that satisfying first-page-of-the-notebook moment finally arrives. As you crack open that clean journal, break out your favorite gel pens, and start resetting subscriptions and systems, there is one thing that can be surprisingly easy to overlook in all the excitement: your marketing plan.

We’re just two days away from December 31 and turning the calendar over to 2026.  People are up to their eyeballs in planning for what they’re going to do in the new year.  Today, however, I prefer to campaign for what people should not be planning to do as we head into the fresh slate that is the next twelve months ahead.

The calendar says December 22 and not November 27.  In other words, I recognize that this isn’t Thanksgiving Day or the week leading up to “Turkey Day,” as many here in America like to call it.  Instead, it’s the week of Christmas, with the big day falling exactly four weeks after most folks will have gathered around the table with family for the gratitude-centered holiday.

Oddly enough, September 15 is National Thank You Day.  They even consider December 26 to be National Thank You Note Day.  (And yes, that’s Boxing Day in Canada.)

While I get nervous writing a song review about an artist that I “just” published something about, this latest occurrence has opened my eyes to a positive spin on it.

Just over three months ago I published a blog about the song “Legendary” and now the artist E-NAY has released “Unlove You,” which gets my seal of approval as well.  But instead of fretting about the calendar, I’m choosing instead to support the fact that an artist is putting out new music with some degree of frequency.

Creators on TikTok all want to know what the formula is for a video that will go viral.  Similarly, Instagram users are always wanting to make a Reel that’s going to be the start of the next trend.  Meanwhile, songwriters are looking for the direct route to a hit song.

Welcome to a new month and a new season.  As of today, it’s December and instead of talking about Thanksgiving the conversation has shifted very quickly to Christmas.

Unfortunately, I wish I could be reporting on change in the music industry, but some very recent examples show that things look the same, unfortunately, and there’s still work to be done as a result.

This Thursday (November 27) in the United States is Thanksgiving Day.  People will sit down at tables across the country to eat turkey, likely while watching an NFL game, and hopefully talk about what they are thankful for.

It always strikes me as odd that we need one day singled out as such to dictate that we should have those feelings that day.  Why can’t we be more aware of our gratitude throughout the year instead of just on that holiday?  Perhaps we’re too caught up in where we’re trying to get to rather than what we’ve already achieved.

Although I’m a Member of the Recording Academy, I’m also realistic about my standing in the music community.  I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a household name or someone that readers of Rolling Stone magazine see mentioned regularly in articles published through that legendary publication.

Yet, it is still tough to get my attention with a song you want heard.  And like so many other things, timing is key.

If you have long followed my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast – listened to the show, read the free weekly e-newsletter, and/or followed its official Instagram account – you know that I go out of my way to highlight when I’ve hit a milestone episode, either by its number or an anniversary.