Management

There’s a moment that every musician experiences when you get what you think could be the final masters back from the mastering engineer. You sit in your car with extremely close friends. And you confide in them that this is your new song off of your new album. You spent the be...

I just left the studio last week where we finished the final tracking for my new funk project's debut record. For the past 8 months or so I have been working on this record on and off. My producer, co-front person and I tracked (mixed and mastered) one song to figure out if we we...

Giving away song downloads used to be the standard incentive to get people to sign up for your list. Now that fewer and fewer people want to download music, you have to come up with other incentives to get them to sign up. It's best to list on your website what the fan will get i...

You know how everyone comes up to you after your shows and they tell you how great you were? That feels nice doesn't it. I sure love it. But how many of them are being genuine or just being good friends? Because I remember talking to a drummer buddy of mine who was so excited aft...

It's always been one of the biggest difficulties for an independent musician: how to get their music heard by 'important people.' Influencers. Industry people. Celebrities. Bloggers. Radio DJs. Music supervisors. Promoters. Booking agents. Managers. Labels.The issue has always be...

The thing you start to learn the longer you're in this business is no one really knows anything. They think they do. They pretend they have all the answers. But no one really knows.People have their personal experiences. If they became successful by doing it one way, they'll clai...

Last night I had an incredible show at one of my favorite places to play in the country, The Hotel Cafe. I got to meet many awesome Ari's Take readers. At the end of the night, after I finished chatting with everyone by the merch booth, I glanced at my mailing list clipboard and...

Back in the day artists created and managers managed. The end.When I hear artists today say 'I just want to make music, I don't want to do any of the business stuff.' I want to scream 'YEAH, ME TOO!'But that's not today's reality.Artists who are lucky enough to have a manager who...

I fly a lot with my guitar. It's a $2,000 Taylor. Over the years, airlines (namely US Airways and United) have told me that my guitar MUST be checked. This usually happens at the gate. However, at LAX they have their own guards checking you BEFORE you even get to security. A few...

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...