Opinion

Brian Hazard Interviewed for M3 Event

April 30, 2012

M3 Event is a music conference focused on the future of music distribution, to be held in Maastricht, Netherlands on May 30. This series of lectures, talks, workshops, and discussions aims to generate some rational and intelligent debate about where the music industry is heading. My interview with conference organizer Kez Whelen went live this [...]

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An Argument Against “Pay What You Want” Pricing

February 28, 2012

Lady Gaga shot to the top of the sales charts upon the release of her last album, in part because it was deeply discounted on Amazon. Radiohead pioneered the “pay what you want” approach, with most downloaders opting to pay nothing at all. Last week I asked my fans which pricing model they prefer, and received [...]

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An Argument Against Fan Funding

November 1, 2010

Let’s be honest. You don’t need the money. Anyone can make a record for next to nothing these days. Almost any other hobby is more expensive: photography, mountain biking, even video gaming. When a teenager singing into a webcam gets exponentially more views on YouTube than your latest “professional” video, the answer isn’t more money. [...]

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Rock Band Network Authoring Best Left to the Pros

March 4, 2010

After 45 hours of work over six weeks, my song is one of the 118 approved to be in the RBN Store when it launches. My last article laid out what it takes to get your song in the game, namely a deep skill set and lots of time. While I managed to clock in [...]

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Rock Band Network for Dummies?

January 26, 2010

A few weeks ago, Kevin English of eleetmusic got me in to the closed beta of Rock Band Network, which provides the necessary tools to get your songs into the game. When it launches, the RBN Store will sell those songs through the game’s interface, with 30% of the purchase price going back to the artist. Now [...]

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The Case for Online-Only Promotion

December 28, 2009

I promote to establish and nurture a genuine relationship with my fans. I measure my success by the number of subscribers to my mailing list. Notice I said mailing list, not Twitter followers or MySpace “friends.” I’m talking about the people who grant me permission through a double opt-in process to email them directly on [...]

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Why I Switched to Ableton Live

December 19, 2009

Musicians might be interested to read why I switched to Ableton Live.

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Money Can’t Buy You Love

November 30, 2009

If I had $5,000 to spend on music promotion, I certainly wouldn’t waste it on any of the following: Ads. It’s easy to get “dazzled by the numbers” when given the opportunity to reach thousands of people. We think, “If only 1% of those people bought the album, I’d double my investment!” Don’t let the [...]

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The Electronic Copyright Office

May 21, 2009

I’m a big fan of the whole “paperless society” thing, as my Kindle will attest to. Going electronic saves time, money, and resources – unless you’re dealing with the US government. Every few years I register a new album with the United States Copyright Office, and every time I wonder if I’m supposed to submit [...]

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Is Jango Payola?

May 8, 2009

My last article on Jango sparked spirited discussions on the Just Plain Folks forums, the CD Baby forums, and Music Think Tank. Words like “scam” and “payola” are recklessly thrown about. We need to dispel these unfair and inflammatory accusations before we can have an honest debate. Is it a scam? Absolutely not! It is [...]

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