The Developing Artist

Where I’ve Been Lately, and Where Else You Can Find Me

Jeff McQ — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:10:31 +0000

In case anyone has been wondering about the slowdown on blog posts here lately, a bit of explanation is in order. Around the first of this year, I became the content manager and editor for a new music news site called Music Is My Oxygen. It’s taken a little time to get over the learning [...]

Ways to Make a Living In Music (If You Want To)–part 1

Jeff McQ — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 16:04:19 +0000

If I could get snarky for just a moment–I’m frankly getting pretty tired of hearing jaded musicians talk about how difficult (or impossible) it is to make a living in music. I understand the frustration, believe me, and I have great compassion for artists who are having a difficult time making ends meet. But focusing [...]

Why You Should NOT Do Music for the Money

Jeff McQ — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 16:55:01 +0000

There’s a paradox that many young musicians must come to grips with, especially those who want to make a living at it: If you want to be successful as a musician, you can’t be doing it for the money. That’s right. The best way to make money doing music is not to care whether you’re [...]

Picking the Right Songs for Your Demo

Jeff McQ — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:38:40 +0000

As a working musician, you probably already know that a solid demo recording is your ticket to just about any music opportunity out there. Our demo is our calling card, our resume, so to speak; we use demos for everything from booking a gig in a local pub to landing a record deal with a [...]

“When Are You Gonna Grow Up?”

Jeff McQ — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:38:14 +0000

I’m always intrigued to hear artists and musicians tell their personal stories. With many of them, there is a common thread within their story–a bit of resistance they feel, especially as they get older, usually from family or significant others. The words may vary slightly, but the sentiment behind the words is pretty much the [...]

Some Linkage Love To Get You Through In the Meantime

Jeff McQ — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:04:40 +0000

Sorry for the void of regular posts in recent weeks…a combination of holidays and heavy work loads. (Hey, they don’t pay me to write this stuff.) Meanwhile, while I haven’t been posting much, some other places have been putting out some good info for DIY musicians. So to get you through in the meantime, check [...]

An Insider’s Look (part 2-Mike Lavelle)

Jeff McQ — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:00:10 +0000

(Read part 1 here.) In the previous post, singer/songwriter Angie Stevens gave an independent artist’s take on the music business. Today, we continue with the same Q&A from a manager’s perspective, with Angie’s manager and Boss Koala Records co-owner, Mike Lavelle. Q: What’s happening in the music industry these days? MIKE: That’s pretty much the [...]

An Insider’s Look (part 1–Angie Stevens)

Jeff McQ — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:40:45 +0000

For this post and the next, we have the opportunity to get an insider’s look at the state of the music business, from two distinct viewpoints: artist and management. Angie Stevens is a veteran Denver-based singer/songwriter with firsthand experience in making a go of it as an independent artist. (I’ve actually been after Angie for [...]

Finding Fresh Ways to Get Your Music Noticed

Jeff McQ — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:12:19 +0000

With all the self-promotion tools available to DIY artists, the bottom-line goal with all of them is simple: get your music noticed. Get your act on the radar with as many people as possible, both consumers and industry professionals. The question is how to do it–and despite what anyone might tell you, there’s no single [...]

Tips for Improving Your Music Sales

Jeff McQ — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:51:07 +0000

Let’s cut to the chase: as a DIY musician, you want to make money from your music. That doesn’t just mean paid gigs; it also means music sales. If you’ve recorded anything (which you should, if you’re serious), you want to sell records. (Unless, of course, you’re some richy-rich heir doing this as a hobby.) [...]