Though so many things in our creative world have changed in the last year, one constant is that I’m bringing you my annual list of music industry predictions for this coming year.

The basic idea is that each one of us feels the most understood and appreciated in one of five ways - receiving gifts, words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, and physical touch.

As musicians, making fans feel understood and appreciated is our job - our art expresses people’s emotions in beautiful ways they can’t. It’s our talent. So then, why not find various ways to show your fans you appreciate them back, spanning across the love languages to reach all sorts of personalities?

As musicians face a post-coronavirus economy, we need to have a personal strategy to overcome the mounting challenges that the virus has caused that will be here long after it dissipates.

Music lawyers are as important to artists as they are mysterious. Thankfully, we’ve got Ryan Kairalla in our corner.

I consider this article my duty to you, the artists, to remind you to check for a disconnect between what a music company labels themselves as, and what they do for their artists.

When someone wants to monetize their artistic pursuits one of their first thoughts is to roll out the band merchandise.

How to copyright your music is one of the first things you, an artist, ought to be learning how to do in preparation for a music release.

Many musicians and other creatives around me have been launching crowdfunding campaigns lately.

With the independent music business being the Wild West, it’s no surprise that snake oil salespeople have shown up to try and take advantage of emerging bands and artists trying to build a career.

I wanted to write this article to put some of my lapses of judgement and lessons learnt the hard way on full display, in hopes that it can help those reading from making them, or feeling stuck.

HOW MUCH OF YOUR TAXABLE INCOME DID YOU EARN THROUGH MUSIC LAST YEAR?

Some other act has the same name as you. Whether you are amused, livid, or anywhere in between, some serious considerations need to be made, and protective steps to be taken.

Scaling means that you are able to offer the same experience to more people, without sacrificing quality or needing to figure out how to be in two places at once.

Prepare your evil laugh, and let’s begin…

Just like Tinder, Bumble, or any similar app, there is a format and technique to presenting yourself to get the most out of your experience. Swipe, and this article will present them to you.

The “Starving Artist” trope is hard enough to prove wrong as it is, making it even harder are these three Canadian laws that are essentially siphoning revenue away from us.

The safest popular option we have in the music industry is the down payment. Here are three occasions where it should absolutely be used.

If you haven’t heard by now, Danielle Bregoli, AKA Bhad Bhabie, AKA the “Cash Me Outside” girl just signed a deal with Atlantic Records.

Like many aspects of the music business, record deals have also adapted with the new, digital age. Because there is a lot less extra money to throw around in the industry, labels are taking fewer chances on promising talent, and are carefully calculating the risks and ROI (return on investment) that every act they are considering brings.

With the modern stat that less that 1% of albums breakeven on sales alone, many independent artists are left asking themselves “how the heck will I make my money back?” The answer is to have fans to sell it to.