Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff Break Down Music Business For New Producers

Might as well keep it Philly for a while… Here is a great video of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff aka the legendary “Gamble & Huff” breaking down why it’s important hold on to your publishing & masters.  If you don’t know, these guys are a legendary songwriting and production duo that have over 170 gold and platinum records in their credits.  They were also the masterminds behind Philadelphia International Records, which was the center of the illustrious “Philadelphia Sound“.  Philly International was home to The O’Jays, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Billy Paul & MFSB.  It’s great to see some of the old school guys chime in on the current state of the music business… PAY ATTENTION!

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Producer Psychology 101: Avoiding “Fu@# You Syndrome” & Taking Losses Like A Man! by Jim Bond

Hi.  My name is Jim.  I used to write for this blog way back in the day.  Since my last post*, I have found a new calling.  I am officially an internet marketing nerd.  My goal is figuring out how to make a modest amount of  money online in a completely passive manner.   I have been focusing ALL of my time toward it the last couple months…

What this nonsense has to do with Being A Better Producer…

I recently took my first big loss in internet marketing (read about it here).  While reflecting on it, it reminded me about the losses I took while trying to break into the music biz, how I reacted to them and how I see others react to their own losses.  So I decided to delve into the psychological aspects of success and failure in the music biz…

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Stories From The Music Industry Trenches – Chapter II: Networking to “Bright Lights Big City”

“Stories From The Industry Trenches” aims to give valuable insight into the music industry through the telling of true stories…

A bunch of people have been asking me how I placed the “Bright Lights Big City” track with Jim Jones.  It was pretty easy actually.  I Didn’t need a grand scheme or plan (which has worked for me before).    I’ll try to make this sound as  interesting as possible… but its really not.  This is a straight forward example of how real networking pays off.

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Stories From The Music Industry Trenches… Chapter I – Small World

“Stories From The Industry Trenches” aims to give valuable insight into the music industry through the telling of true stories…

Chapter I – Small World

Five years ago, I was in negotiations for a 10 song production deal with an indie label.  At the time, I had not sold a beat for more than $150 and hadn’t worked with any known artists.  Needless to say, this deal was going to bring in a lot more money than that.   After working out the basic terms, I was eager to sign the dotted line.   Even though I got a lawyer to check out the paperwork when it came, I was so impatient, I decided to get some free legal advice online first.  I did a search for “Entertainment Lawyers” and anonymously instant messaged a random entertainment lawyer to see what he thought about the deal.

I talked to this guy about the deal for a bit then just started to BS with him.   Turns out he was in NY.  He  was also working as a consultant on an MC’s project.  Out of all the MC’s in the world this guy could have been working with… … Continue Reading

Music “Industry” Horror Stories… “A Percentage Of Nothing”

Give me 20%... NOWWWWWW!!!!!!

This is a gmail conversation I had with a fellow producer a while ago.  This is probably the craziest and most blatant industry rip off scheme I have heard of.  The names & locations have been changed to protect the innocent (also with permission of the innocent).  The conversation has also been left intact for narrative impact lol…

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