Partnered Projects Review: Is Their Spotify Promo Worth It?
Thinking about using Partnered Projects and wondering if they’re worth it? I’ll give you the short answer first: Based on my personal experience running a campaign, Partnered Projects is a legit, effective means of driving streams and engagement on Spotify. Our campaign, which I received as a free trial worth $189, drove about 10,275 streams […]
Boyscout’s “Done” Leaves the Past Where It Is
In golf, they call it a Mulligan. Your original shot didn’t work out, and you get the consent of your golfing buddies to try again, from the same spot. A do-over, if you will. In relationships, it doesn’t feel quite the same. It’s like a rebound relationship, but with the same person. Sometimes, over and […]
How to Get Your Songs on TikTok
TikTok has changed the music industry. Here’s how to take your first steps toward riding the wave.
8 Best Songwriting Competitions to Enter in 2024
Entering a songwriting competition can be beneficial in many ways. If you’re a beginner, you’ll get unprecedented exposure while observing and sharing experiences with other like-minded artists, and you might receive a monetary prize or record label deal if you’re successful. A songwriter contest is also an opportunity to understand how we can improve our […]
7 Best Guitar Courses in 2023
If you have played in various bands for almost two decades, like myself, chances are you started playing some of your bandmates’ instruments. In my case, that’s the guitar. I was never a proficient guitarist, but every now and then, during a show, I’d abandon my beloved drum set and accompany the occasional (and often […]
“Pull” by Joel Ansett is a Welcome Moment of Calm
It’s a loud, busy, frenetic world out there, isn’t it? Sometimes it can be overwhelming, I know! If you need a couple of minutes to escape from it all, you could do a lot worse than to listen to “Pull” by Joel Ansett. Gentle, confident guitar notes are counted in and a sweet voice with […]
Jake Minch’s “handgun” and the Question of Growing Up
Jake Minch has a young adult voice: newly strong, brave enough to let its softness show. You can hear the little kiss he gives to the word “you.” His speaker in “handgun” narrates with that same combination of strength and tenderness: strong enough to carry some heavy questions, tender enough to sing about love. This […]
Elizabeth Hume’s “Somewhere in Arizona” is Like Seaglass
Maybe it’s summer approaching, but I can’t get it out of my head that Elizabeth Hume’s music is rather like seaglass. There’s something translucent, but hued – hazy and rounded, but inherently sharp – a sensation that until the moment her song washed up on shore, it was quietly but violently roiling, roiling beneath opaque […]
Miss Machina Explores Online Relationships in “Like That”
Miss Machina is an L.A. artist who grew up in Dallas with the real name Ash Smith. She reminds me a lot of a certain artist headlining the “Eras” tour. Like Ms. Swift, Miss M writes ultra-catchy songs that offer societal insight. Her new single “Like That” combines a hyper-pop melody with a lyric that […]
The Mayfield Four Triumph on Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues”
“Sing what you know about.” This well-established trope has been central to musicians’ integrity, creative flow, and authenticity for a century. Freddy Mercury did it (even if the audience didn’t know it at the time,) Lead Belly did it (even when it meant writing and performing a song for a Texas governor, in hopes of […]
