As a musician, I used to face the difficult task of “getting a record deal.” I play blues, a distinctly small niche in the Manila music scene — and no record labels wanted to talk to me or my band leader Binky Lampano. Five years ago, my Filipino blues band LAMPANO ALLEY finally released an album on an indie label, and more recently has seen numerous concert videos uploaded onto YouTube and have watched our reputation spread throughout Southeast Asia — even though our band has only played two short reunion tours in the past eight years. And within the past month, a local radio station learned about my privately recorded originals with my project band TOMCAT & THE DAWGS, and suddenly my songs are in the regular daily song rotation on one of Manila’s most popular radio stations. People are already asking me, when can we catch your next gig?
Why do I share this on a blog for writers? Because musicians have been slowly discovering how to reconceptualize their approach to the business — in a manner that is directly applicable to writers. And it seems, over the past year, writers and publishers are beginning to follow the same route.
With that in mind, I would like to share with you a remarkable, brief article for musicians from which writers can learn a lot: So you wanna make it in the music biz? Here are the new rules.
As you know, I’ve been reporting a lot about the impact of computers, the internet and digital media on the business of writing. To easily follow my thread of posts, just look into the Table of Contents drop-down menu in the sidebar and click on the “E-books” and “Marketing” chapters.
The most recent big news is the opening of the Barnes and Noble online E-Book store. Last week, Publisher’s Weekly gave this announcement major coverage. What is most interesting, perhaps, is that unlike Amazon and its Kindle hardware, Barnes and Noble will make its titles available in a digital format that does not require its own expensive electronic reader. Moreover, Barnes and Noble will be aggressively adding new titles to its e-book store. Now writers will have an entry point into Barnes and Noble.
Take a look at the Barnes and Noble e-Bookstore and tell us what you think.
reunion tours in the last 8 years. And within the past month, three original songs by my project band TOMCAT & THE DAWGS have suddenly won a place on the regular rotation list on one of Manila’s most popular radio stations.
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