NHT Blog

It’s Independence Day and the 186th day of 2016.  That means we’ve just passed the halfway point of the year.

It’s a day off for many, as families and friends gather for 4th of July parties.  Many businesses are closed in recognition of the national holiday.

John F. Kennedy once said, “We can’t know where we’re going unless we know where we’ve been.”  There’s an application for that in the music industry too.

When you’re out singing somewhere and you talk in between songs, it’s not scripted, right?  Whatever you decide to talk about just comes naturally at that point, right?  So, that same comfort zone should be where you stay throughout your whole performance.

If I started off this week’s blog by saying that there is a lot to do when you’re an independent artist, I’d have to change the byline to Captain Obvious.  We all know that it’s true.  There are a lot of hats to wear.  In all likelihood, you, the indie artist, wish you could say, “The heck with everything else, I just want to perform.”

I was logged in recently looking at the data for one of my clients and the sales of that artist’s CDs.  I will save the Spotify opinion for another blog some other day, but am always pleased to at least be able to see such a vast array of distribution that those releases are getting purchases or streams from.

Wouldn’t it be funny if Britney Spears was performing the song, “Oops I Did It Again” and she messed up the words?  No, actually, it wouldn’t be.  Ironic, sure, but it wouldn’t be a moment to just be laughed off.

Last night was the Billboard Music Awards.  This is only May and already that was at least the fourth such major event, having been preceded by the People’s Choice Awards (January), the Grammys (February), and the iHeart Radio Music Awards (April).  (What happened, March?)  Still this year there will also be the MTV Video Music Awards, the GMA Dove Awards, the CMAs, and the American Music Awards

Even though the school year is ending, there are so many performance opportunities everywhere, all year round, that an argument can be made that there’s no real “audition season.”  One need look no further than the reality competition shows like “The Voice” to realize that auditions are happening in a variety of locations for a variety of reasons.  There are even online auditions nowadays.  And here in west central Florida there are theme

Everyone puts in a lot of time and hard work trying to get noticed.  Whether it’s a record label, a potential endorsement opportunity, or a media outlet, so many brands are trying to get the attention of somebody.

I often find myself reminding people that if you “only” sing, then your voice is your instrument.  When they think about a musical instrument, people – more so listeners than performers – seem to focus more on something that can be carried around in a case.