Years ago I got back late after a local gig and was exhausted. I carried in my guitar and cash box, but left some of my other gear in my car - including my $2,000 trumpet (no judging - I was young, stupid and TIRED). The next morning, as you would imagine, I awoke to a smashed ba...

For you Twitter beginners please read Why You Have No Twitter Followers first. That will give you the basics of Twitter and will catch you up to speed to understand this piece.For the rest of us though, let's get into this debate.Over the years, I've had many Twitter friends, er,...

I outlined in Double Your Income...No Really why merch is so important and how it can directly lead to you becoming a full time musician. It's the way every one of my tours is financially successful. I should say that again. The reason I'm one of the few musicians who has made ev...

I originally wrote this for ASCAP. I've recorded 4 full length albums, 1 EP, many singles (see YouTube), two live albums and countless demos. I've sat in on famous A room sessions to home studio sessions and I've worked with Grammy winners to students and everyone in between.T...

Musicians hate the word 'networking.' It feels contrived and dishonest. Marketers and entrepreneurs love the word and the act. These people are constantly out meeting new people and... wait for it... networking.So why do musicians hate it so much, but traditional entrepreneurs lo...

Not two hours after I posted my Should You Pay To Play article, I happened to received this email from an LA 'promoter.'Here is how our conversation went...T's response:Ari. This is an EXCELLENT post. There's definitely a stigma associated with pay to play. But respectfully, I dr...

I live in LA. I've only been here 3 years, but in that time I've met many excellent musicians in town all talented enough to explode at any moment. The sad reality is, in a town so saturated with incredible musicians, the cream isn't necessarily rising to the top as quickly as it...

I get a lot of questions from bands about how to get their numbers up on social media sites. After a 2 minute scan of their sites I completely understand why their numbers aren't higher (and it's not because they suck - many of these bands are actually great). It's because they d...

I've never had a manager. Don't take this as I never wanted one. I made it the goal of 2008 to find a manager. I didn't find one that year (but I did open for Ben Folds). I didn't find one in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and I'm still self managing my career myself (and have managed ot...

...unless you know how to leverage it. I got a few questions this past week about my take on singing contest shows (from Request a Topic form below). I touched on it in You Should Try Out For American Idol, but I'm going to go a bit deeper.+You Should Try Out For American IdolLet...