new music seminar

Why buy music when you can stream it?

I guess it's safe to assume Adele and Coldplay are making decent livings in the music business, but I wanted to talk with an average band to see how they were doing. What sort of income did they see from Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube, vs. selling CDs or downloads? So I chatted with Phil Metzler, from Just Off Turner, and he was willing to share some income numbers. The band has been featured on soundtracks on shows from ABC, MTV, E!, and Oxygen; they've toured the U.S., Europe, Brazil, Australia, and the U.K.

They made three … Read more

Will the single kill the album?

Is an album a more substantial work of art than a single? Or is a well-crafted single all we need? There were always singles, but in the days before the Internet, fans were sometimes "forced" to buy albums to get the music they wanted, even when most of the album's tunes weren't great. The hugely entertaining "The Great Debate: Singles vs. Albums" held last Monday at the New Music Seminar in NYC covered the issue in depth.

Robert Christgau, one of the first generations of professional "rock critics," was there to defend … Read more

Is the record business headed for oblivion?

I've attended New Music Seminars in NYC before, but this year's event definitely had more passion and spirit. The subheading of this year's festival, "Appetite For Disruption," hinted at the possibilities. The shindig's hub, the old Webster Hall concert venue, hosted nonstop action, and there were more goings-on at 17 clubs and music halls in Manhattan and Williamsburg (Brooklyn).

Guest speakers ran the gamut, from heavyweights like Bob Pittman, CEO of Clear Channel; Lyor Cohen, CEO and chairman of the Warner Music Group; Steve Boom, Amazon's VP for Digital Music; Steve Savoca, head … Read more

Does the Internet help aspiring rock stars?

There's an interesting spat going on between Tom Silverman, who founded hip-hop/dance label Tommy Boy Records and runs the New Music Seminar for new artists to learn about the music industry, and Jeff Price, the CEO of TuneCore, a service that helps musicians place their songs on iTunes and other digital-distribution outlets.

In a three-part interview with Musician Coaching, Silverman dismissed the idea that the Internet is helping new musicians break. For purposes of this argument, his definition of "breaking" is selling more than 10,000 copies of an album in the year of its release, … Read more