Music career info, news

Hi everyone...

Here is a very interesting website if you are looking into music careers: http://musicians.about.com/.

I left a comment after one of the articles on Internet radio residuals. I think Internet radio should pay something for the rights to play people's music, but people can get too greedy. There's got to be a balance! They also bring up the web-neutral concept (not allowing people to buy webpage ranking.) I think it's important to keep the web as independent as possible; keep the playing field level and allowing small business (including indie music) to effectively compete against the majors.

There's all kinds of other useful information on this site... check the sidebars for titles of articles.

If you have sources of info you'd like to share with the community here, please leave a comment on any post. I feel very strongly that it is important to share our journeys with each other. Not just a touchy-feely sentiment, I know from experience that no one makes it alone and sharing successes and setbacks makes the struggles worthwhile.

As for me... I'm busy in the studio this summer with students and clients working on new projects. The latest one was my 15 year old Mississippi girl Jordyn Mallory. We put some awesome vocals on her unusually seasoned voice (for such a puppy). She's got a major Nashville music attorney interested in her. It's only a matter of time.

I'm also working on the big revision of our play "Runaway Home". New script, new songs... and there are some fantastic plans for it. I'll tell ya when it's time...

Happy father's day for all you singing dads out there. I'm going to Mississippi to be with mine. He wants me to play piano and sing the soprano version of "The Lord's Prayer" in his little country church. I told him I will, but that it will undermine all my country credentials :) He said a little high brow was good for them! Coming from my dad, a traditional bluegrass mandolin player, I had to smile. Wish me luck, that sucker gets high and I've never been much of a morning person. You can bet I'll be using PPP techniques!

Singers' Gadgets & Gear

Hey guys & girls... I want to talk about gadgets. Singers' gadgets, that is. Here's my new favorite purchase- it's a dynamite little device that I use almost every day:

• Sony ICD-SX25 Digital Voice Recorder

I got mine on Amazon for $99... I think it was on sale. It was suggested by my blogging mentors, "The Blog Squad" at http://www.buildabetterblog.com/. They use it to record teleseminars. I use it to create cds!

• I record a voice lesson or song demo,
• upload it with the software it comes with,
• and save it as a .wav file on my desktop.
• Then I open my Nero Burning program, add this wav file and burn a really clear and amazingly good quality cd!

Its only downside... it won't save the file as an mp3. For this, I use a cheap software called "Mp3 Wav Editor 2.30". I add the wav file from my desktop and convert it to an mp3 file, which can be emailed easily or added to an mp3 player. You might want to look for a newer digital recorder which DOES have the capability to save in mp3 format.

And by the way... you don't have to spend a fortune on an mp3 player. I-pod, schmy-pod... there's a 1G Sansa mp3 player for under $80 at Radio Shack.

OK... please share... what's your favorite gear these days??? It doesn't have to be electric... anything useful for your music will do...Click "comment" below and let us know!